Maintaining
quiet awareness from
moment to moment, you’ll see
that your enlightenment is not separate
from the ordinary world but one with it.
It doesn’t come from some distance to
get to you and it doesn’t go away
when you stop attending to it.
Make awareness continuous,
though, and it will
surround
you.
You
can now buy
Wei wu Wei Ching as part of a
five-app bundle of Taoist classics
for iPhone or iPad for less than
the cost of one hardcover
book.
Let there be small
countries with few people.
Let the people have no use for
complicated machinery. Let them be
mindful of death so that they
don’t move too far from
their birthplaces.
If there be boats and carriages,
let there be nowhere to take them to.
If there are weapons, let there
be no occasion to display them.
Let the people’s
responsibilities be few enough
that they may remember them
by knotting a string.
Let them
enjoy their food,
be content with their clothes,
be satisfied with their homes,
and take pleasure in
their customs.
Though
the next country
may be close enough
to hear the barking of its dogs
and the crowing of its roosters,
let the people grow old and
die without feeling
compelled to
visit it.
ebooks & apps of the Tao the Ching, I Ching,
Wei wu Wei Ching, Hua hu Ching, and
Art of War for iPad/Phone, Kindle,
☯️
You
can now buy
Tao te Ching as part of a
five-app bundle of Taoist classics
for iPhone or iPad for less than
the cost of one hardcover
book.
I know the way you can get
When you have not had a drink of Love:
Your face hardens,
Your sweet muscles cramp.
Children become concerned
About a strange look that appears in your eyes
Which even begins to worry your own mirror
And nose.
Squirrels and birds sense your sadness
And call an important conference in a tall tree.
They decide which secret code to chant
To help your mind and soul.
Even angels fear that brand of madness
That arrays itself against the world
And throws sharp stones and spears into
The innocent
And into one’s self.
O I know the way you can get
If you have not been drinking Love:
You might rip apart
Every sentence your friends and teachers say,
Looking for hidden clauses.
You might weigh every word on a scale
Like a dead fish.
You might pull out a ruler to measure
From every angle in your darkness
The beautiful dimensions of a heart you once
Trusted.
I know the way you can get
If you have not had a drink from Love’s
Hands.
That is why all the Great Ones speak of
The vital need
To keep remembering God,
So you will come to know and see Him
As being so Playful
And Wanting,
Just Wanting to help.
That is why Hafiz says:
Bring your cup near me.
For all I care about
Is quenching your thirst for freedom!
All a Sane man can ever care about
Is giving Love!
Want to
be happy? Forget
things. Never mind status.
Let go of the obsessions of the body
and the mind and the world.
Now you have everything
you need.
You
can now buy
Wei wu Wei Ching as part of a
five-app bundle of Taoist classics
for iPhone or iPad for less than
the cost of one hardcover
book.
Consistent
correctness turns every
situation to your advantage.
The image of this hexagram is that of a gentle wind dispersing storm clouds. A wind that changes direction often, even a very powerful one, will disperse nothing—it only stirs up the sky. The wind that causes real change is the one that blows consistently in the same direction. There is an important lesson for us in this example.
When faced with a difficult problem to resolve or a goal we wish to achieve, we often are tempted to take striking and energetic actions. Though it is possible to achieve temporary results in this fashion, they tend to collapse when we cannot sustain the vigorous effort. More enduring accomplishments are won through gentle but ceaseless penetration, like that of a soft wind blowing steadily in the same direction. The truth of the Sage penetrates to us in this way, and this hexagram comes now to remind you that this is how you should seek to penetrate others.
The advice given to you by the I Ching is threefold. First, establish a clear goal; the wind that continually changes direction has no real effect. Second, apply the principle of gentle penetration to yourself; by eliminating your own inferior qualities you earn an influence over others. Third, avoid aggressive or ambitious maneuvers now; these are rooted in desire and fear and will only serve to block the aid of the Creative. The desirable influence is the one that flows naturally from maintaining a proper attitude.
In your interactions with others, bend like the willow. By remaining adaptable, balanced, accepting, and independent, and by steadily moving in a single direction, you gain the clarity and strength that make possible a series of great successes.
from The I Ching, or Book of Changes
Hexagram 57, Sun / The Gentle (The Penetrating Wind)
ebooks & apps of the Tao the Ching, I Ching,
Hua hu Ching, Wei wu Wei Ching,
You
can now buy
the I Ching as part of a
five-app bundle of Taoist classics
for iPhone or iPad for less than
the cost of one hardcover
book.
