Darkness
has been given as
a nightshirt to sleep in.
Remember how human beings
were composed from water and dust
for blood and flesh with oily resins heated
in fire to make a skeleton. Then the soul, the divine
light, was breathed into human shapes. The work now is
to help our bodies become pure light. It may look like
this is not happening. But in a cocoon every bit
of worm-dissolving slime becomes silk.
As we take in light, each part
of us turns to
silk.
We
made the night
a darkness, but we bring
shining dawnlight out of that.
In the same way the mound of your
grave will bloom with resurrection. Sufis
and those on the path of the heart use darkness
to go within. During the night vigil the universe
is theirs. With all the kings and sultans and
their learned counselors asleep, everyone
is unemployed, except those wakeful
few and the divine
presence.
sing in the dark and try to forgive
In the dark times
Will there also be singing?
Yes, there will be singing.
About the dark times.
—Bertolt Brecht
There will be prayer, too,
but to a different god,
and dread will lurk
in the songs we sing.
Doom in the timpani
no matter what the tune,
the tune a variation
on the theme of doom.
We will sing in the dark
and try to forgive
and try not to dwell
on the lives we lived.
The music we play
will be a funeral song,
the poetry we speak,
that ancient tool
we used to believe
was the vital spark,
or if not the spark,
will be the match we strike
again and again
in the darkest dark.
if we do not help those below us
they did, like this and like this
If we do not
help those below us,
we weaken our own foundation.
Times of increase only continue if
we remain generous, balanced,
and correct throughout.
sixth changing line
from The I Ching, or Book of Changes
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in harmony with what is right
“there is a wrong way and a right way”
To achieve
true power and true
greatness one must be in
harmony with what
is right.
False power and false greatness can be seen all around us in the world. Through egotistical and aggressive manipulations many people obtain a temporary position of influence. The I Ching teaches us a different way of acquiring and using power, one that leads to true greatness and enduring influence. The way of the Sage unites power with modesty, justice, gentleness, and equanimity.
The hexagram Ta Chuang indicates that you have increased your power now by purifying your thoughts and actions. Through contemplation of higher principles you have begun to open doors for yourself; through alignment with what is true and good you gain insight into situations and the power to resolve them in your favor. But it is important to remember that it is the Sage who is the source of your strength. If your ego takes over and wields the power that is at hand, the ensuing misfortune will be great.
The I Ching counsels us not to misuse our strength by judging, condemning, punishing, manipulating, or dismissing others. It advises reticence in speech and action: more often than not, the truly superior relies on stillness and nonaction, allowing inner truth to penetrate gently to the heart of difficulties. The I Ching also cautions us to wait patiently for the appropriate time for speech or action. Power can make us eager, but eagerness unbalances and leads us into trouble. By listening carefully and patiently to the Sage we know when to move ahead, when to wait, and when to retreat.
In the end, true greatness comes only to those in whom strength and proper principles are firmly united. If you follow the Sage and persevere steadfastly in what is correct, you will inherit the power of the great.
from The I Ching, or Book of Changes
Hexagram 34, Ta Chuang / The Power of the Great
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there is freedom at the end
There is freedom
from desire and sorrow
at the end of the way. The awakened
one is free from all fetters and goes beyond
life and death. Like a swan that rises
from the water she moves onward,
never looking back.
The one who understands
the unreality of all things, and who
has laid up no store, that one’s track is
as of birds in the air. Like a bird in the air,
she takes an invisible course, wanting
nothing, storing nothing, knowing
the emptiness of all things.