tolerating disarray, remaining at rest

ap

 

A sage is subtle,

intuitive, penetrating, profound. 

His depths are mysterious and

unfathomable. 

 

The best one can do is

describe his appearance: the sage

is alert as a person crossing a winter stream; as

circumspect as a person with neighbors on all four sides; 

as respectful as a thoughtful guest; as yielding as

melting ice; as simple as uncarved wood; 

as open as a valley; as chaotic

as a muddy torrent. 

 

Why “chaotic

as a muddy torrent”? 

Because clarity is learned by

being patient  in the

heart of chaos. 

 

Tolerating

disarray, remaining at rest, 

gradually one learns to allow muddy water to

settle and proper responses to reveal themselves. 

Those who aspire to tao don’t long for fulfillment. 

They selflessly allow tao to use and deplete

them; they calmly allow tao to renew

and complete them. 

 

from The Tao te Ching of Lao Tzu,

Chapter 15

 

ebooks & apps of the Tao the Ching, I Ching,

Wei wu Wei Ching, Hua hu Ching, and

Art of War for iPad/Phone, Kindle,

Nook, or Android

 

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.

brian browne walker taoist app bundle ios ipad iphone

 

a master’s handiwork can’t be measured

Version 2

 

A master’s

handiwork cannot

be measured but still priests wag

their tongues explaining the “Way” and

babbling about “Zen.” This old monk has

never cared for false piety and my

nose wrinkles at the dark smell

of incense before the

Buddha.

 

Crazy Cloud

speaks of Daito’s unsurpassed

brilliance but the clatter of royal carriages

about the temple gates drowns him out and no

one listens to tales of the Patriarch’s long

years of hunger and homelessness

beneath Gojo

Bridge.

 

Ikkyu

wikkyu

 

In order to deepen his Zen understanding, Daito Kokushi (also known as Shuho Myocho, 1281-1338), the founder of Daitoku-ji, passed a number of years hiding out amoung the beggars clustered about Kyoto’s Gojo Bridge.

the highest virtue one can exercise

elephants world thailand

 

Most of the world’s

religions serve only to strengthen

attachments to false concepts such as self and

other,  life and death, heaven and earth, and

so on. Those who become entangled in 

these false ideas are prevented 

from perceiving the

Integral Oneness. 

 

The highest virtue

one can exercise is to accept

the responsibility of discovering

and transmitting the

whole truth. 

 

Some help others in order

to receive blessings and admiration. 

This is simply meaningless. Some cultivate

themselves in part to serve others,

in part to serve their own pride. 

They will understand, at best, 

half of the truth. 

 

But those who

improve themselves for

the sake of the world — to these, the

whole truth of the universe will be revealed. 

So seek the whole truth, practice it in your

daily life, and humbly share it with

others. You will enter the realm

of the divine. 

 

from Hua hu Ching, Chapter 16

 

ebooks & apps of the Tao the Ching, I Ching,

Wei wu Wei Ching, Hua hu Ching, and

Art of War for iPad/Phone, Kindle,

Nook, or Android

 

You

can now buy

Hua hu Ching as part of a

five-app bundle of Taoist classics 

for iPhone or iPad for less than

the cost of one hardcover

book.

brian browne walker taoist app bundle ios ipad iphone

 

channel your energy toward the light


 

Don’t

think you can attain

total awareness and whole enlightenment

without proper discipline and practice. This is egomania.

Appropriate rituals channel your emotions and life

energy toward the light. Without the discipline

to practice them, you will tumble

constantly backward into

darkness.

 

Here is

the great secret:

Just as high awareness

of the subtle truth is gained through

virtuous conduct and sustaining disciplines,

so also is it maintained through these

things. Highly evolved beings

know and respect the

truth of this.

 

from The Hua hu Ching of Lao Tzu,

Chapter 29

 

ebooks & apps of the Tao the Ching, I Ching,

Hua hu Ching, and Art of War for

iPad, Phone, Kindle, Nook,

or Android

 

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.

brian browne walker taoist app bundle ios ipad iphone