Our
understanding is not just
an intellectual understanding.
True understanding is
actual practice
itself.
paths which ought not be taken
There are
paths which ought not be
taken, forces who shouldn’t be struck,
cities to which siege should not be laid,
positions better left uncontested.
When the sovereign’s orders
fly in the face of this, it is
wiser not to carry
them out.
from The Art of War, Chapter VIII
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how long has it been since i left home?
With so much on my mind
It’s hard to express myself in letters.
How long has it been since I left home?
Old friends are no longer young.
Frosted leaves fall into empty bird nests;
River fireflies weave through open windows.
I stop at a forest monk’s,
And spend the night in “quiet sitting.”
Ta Ch’u 大畜 The Taming Power of the Great
In the face of
rising tension, keep still.
Honor in practice what you have
learned from the
I Ching.
A difficult and challenging time must be taken as an opportunity to express in the outer world our highest inner principles. This hexagram counsels us to keep still under pressure and embody the virtues of the I Ching. In this way even the most arduous trials can be successfully met.
Others are often tempted to test the inner strength that we have gained through study and discipline. By pushing and prodding they hope to reveal the weakness of our connection to truth. If we allow them to do this, we are undermined, and they go on, unlearning and satisfied at having engineered our downfall. On the other hand, if we keep still and cling firmly to what is right—the power of the great—then eventually we can tame the negative energy and instill in others the desire to grow spiritually.
It is just such challenges to our strength and character that enable us over time to embody in practice the strength of the I Ching. A spiritual understanding that is not practiced under fire is without value; only by applying our knowledge in trying situations do we come into genuine possession of it. So use these tests as opportunities to purify your thoughts and actions. By holding to what is correct in the face of pressure, you gain the strength and peace of mind of the spiritual masters.
If you deviate from the path of the Sage and act to punish or condemn others now, misfortune will result. Instead, meet attacks with stillness, acceptance, and fidelity to proper principles. Treat others with gentleness, patience, and forgiveness. If you are steadfast in this, good fortune will ultimately be yours.
from The I Ching, or Book of Changes
Hexagram 26: Ta Ch’u 大畜 The Taming Power of the Great
Be
the same
all the way through:
quiet, still, at home. In the
absence of mind, all phenomena
can be seen for what they
are: empty. This is
freedom.
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it bears repeating: soul on deck shines like gold
My friends, do not lose heart. We were made for these times. I have heard from so many recently who are deeply and properly bewildered. They are concerned about the state of affairs in our world now. Ours is a time of almost daily astonishment and often righteous rage over the latest degradations of what matters most to civilized, visionary people.
I grew up on the Great Lakes and recognize a seaworthy vessel when I see one. Regarding awakened souls, there have never been more able vessels in the waters than there are right now across the world. And they are fully provisioned and able to signal one another as never before in the history of humankind.
Look out over the prow; there are millions of boats of righteous souls on the waters with you. Even though your veneers may shiver from every wave in this stormy roil, I assure you that the long timbers composing your prow and rudder come from a greater forest. That long-grained lumber is known to withstand storms, to hold together, to hold its own, and to advance, regardless.
In any dark time, there is a tendency to veer toward fainting over how much is wrong or unmended in the world. Do not focus on that. There is a tendency, too, to fall into being weakened by dwelling on what is outside your reach, by what cannot yet be. Do not focus there. That is spending the wind without raising the sails.
We are needed, that is all we can know. And though we meet resistance, we more so will meet great souls who will hail us, love us and guide us, and we will know them when they appear. Didn’t you say you were a believer? Didn’t you say you pledged to listen to a voice greater? Didn’t you ask for grace? Don’t you remember that to be in grace means to submit to the voice greater?
Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach. Any small, calm thing that one soul can do to help another soul, to assist some portion of this poor suffering world, will help immensely. It is not given to us to know which acts or by whom, will cause the critical mass to tip toward an enduring good.
What is needed for dramatic change is an accumulation of acts, adding, adding to, adding more, continuing. We know that it does not take everyone on Earth to bring justice and peace, but only a small, determined group who will not give up during the first, second, or hundredth gale.
One of the most calming and powerful actions you can do to intervene in a stormy world is to stand up and show your soul. Soul on deck shines like gold in dark times. The light of the soul throws sparks, can send up flares, builds signal fires, causes proper matters to catch fire. To display the lantern of soul in shadowy times like these – to be fierce and to show mercy toward others; both are acts of immense bravery and greatest necessity.
Struggling souls catch light from other souls who are fully lit and willing to show it. If you would help to calm the tumult, this is one of the strongest things you can do.
There will always be times when you feel discouraged. I too have felt despair many times in my life, but I do not keep a chair for it. I will not entertain it. It is not allowed to eat from my plate.
The reason is this: In my uttermost bones I know something, as do you. It is that there can be no despair when you remember why you came to Earth, who you serve, and who sent you here. The good words we say and the good deeds we do are not ours. They are the words and deeds of the One who brought us here. In that spirit, I hope you will write this on your wall: When a great ship is in harbor and moored, it is safe, there can be no doubt. But that is not what great ships are built for.
☯️😘🐢