Those who
awaken never rest in one place.
Like swans, they rise and leave the lake.
On the air they rise and fly an invisible course.
Their food is knowledge. They live on
emptiness. They have seen how
to break free. Who can
follow them?
a superior person cares for the well-being of all
A superior
person cares for the
well-being of all things. She
does this by accepting responsibility
for the energy she manifests,
both actively and in
the subtle
realm.
Looking
at a tree, she sees not
an isolated event but root, leaves,
trunk, water, soil and sun: each event
related to the others, and “tree”
arising out of their
relatedness.
Looking at
herself or another,
she sees the same thing. Trees
and animals, humans and insects,
flowers and birds: these are active images
of the subtle energies that flow from the
stars throughout the universe. Meeting
and combining with each other
and the elements of the earth,
they give rise to all
living things.
The superior
person understands this,
and understands that her own
energies play a part in it. Understanding
these things, she respects the earth
as her mother, the heavens as her
father, and all living things
as her brothers and
sisters.
Caring for
them, she knows
that she cares for herself.
Giving to them, she knows
that she gives to herself.
At peace with them,
she is always at
peace with
herself.
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You
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this love is beyond
Those
who do not feel this
love pulling them like a river,
those who do not drink dawn like a cup
of springwater or take in sunset
like supper, those who do not
want to change, let
them sleep.
This love
is beyond the study
of theology, that old trickery
and hypocrisy. If you want
to improve your mind
that way, sleep
on.
I have
given up on my brain.
I have torn the cloth to shreds
and thrown it away. If you are not
completely naked, wrap your
beautiful robe of words
around you, and
sleep.
the great tai chi
If you go
searching for the Great Creator,
you will come back empty-handed.
The source of the universe is ultimately
unknowable, a great invisible river
lowing forever through a vast
and fertile valley. Silent and
uncreated, it creates
all things.
All things
are brought forth from the
subtle realm into the manifest world
by the mystical intercourse of yin and yang.
The dynamic river yang pushes forward,
the still valley yin is receptive, and
through their integration things
come into existence. This is
known as the Great
Tai Chi.
Tai chi
is the integral truth
of the universe. Everything is
a tai chi: your body, the cosmic body,
form, appearance, wisdom, energy, the unions
of people, the dispersal of time and places.
Each brings itself into existence through
the integration of yin and yang,
maintains itself, and disperses
itself without the direction
of any creator.
Your creation,
your self-transformation, the
accumulation of energy and wisdom,
the decline and cessation of your body:
all these take place by themselves
within the subtle operation
of the universe.
Therefore
agitated effort is
not necessary. Just be
aware of the Great
Tai Chi.
ebooks & apps of the Tao the Ching, I Ching,
Hua hu Ching, and Art of War for
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.
the marvel of chi
No time
to lose worrying about
enlightenment — forget about
ambition, hide your talent in
the coalshed: let your
wisdom speak for
itself.
The power
of the sword lies not in anger
but in its unsheathed beauty: in potential.
The marvel of chi is that internalized, it radiates
in flow like a golden shaft of light
anchoring our spirit with
the universe.