Posts Tagged → life

when the general is weak, the nation is weak

banksy

 

 
The general

is the bulwark of the nation.

When the bulwark is strong, the nation

is strong. When the bulwark is

weak, the nation is

weak.

 

There

are three ways

in which a ruler can bring

misfortune to his army: if he orders

the army to retreat or advance when it cannot

effectively do so, this is called “hobbling the army”;

if he attempts to administer the army when he does not

know how, its warriors will become frustrated;

if he commands the officers without proper

insight into how they function, this

will undermine their

confidence.

 

Once an army

has been confused like this,

trouble will arise from every direction.

This is known as “inviting chaos

and handing victory to the

opponent.”

💀

 

from The Art of War, Chapter III

 

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I knew no one worth my envying him


 

A day

so happy. Fog lifted

early, I worked in the garden.

Hummingbirds were stopping over

honeysuckle flowers. There was no thing

on earth I wanted to possess. I knew no one

worth my envying him. Whatever evil I had

suffered, I forgot. To think that once I was

the same man did not embarrass me.

In my body I felt no pain. When

straightening up, I saw the

blue sea and

sails.

 

Czeslaw Milosz

 

scarlett hooft graafland

 

Mind is consciousness

which has put on limitations.

You are originally unlimited and perfect.

Later you take on limitations

and become the mind.

 

Ramana Maharshi

 

a time for creating union

seeds of realization

 

Seek union with others

and with the Sage.

 

“Holding together”

denotes a time for creating union

with others in order to complement and assist

one another, just as the rain complements and assists

the earth, which is an image often associated with

this hexagram. In order for your unions to bear

the greatest possible fruit, certain

requirements must

be met.

 

The first

requirement for holding

together with others is that we hold

together with our own inner truth. This means

that we adhere to proper principles as a matter of habit,

striving always to remain innocent, balanced, and

correct. In short, marry the Sage first and

faithfully, and good fortune will

come to all subsequent

marriages.

 

The second

requirement for holding

together with others is that we

steadfastly resist the clamoring of

the emotional inferiors within. Every union

meets with challenges, and if we are not resolute

against the effects of fear, doubt, despair, and anger,

no lasting success will be possible in any relationship.

This is a good time to ask yourself if you are

displaying the steadfast correctness and

strength of character that are

at the heart of all great

unions.

 

Finally,

it is the responsibility

of one who would unite to see

that it is possible for others to enjoy union

as well. The desire for community is deeply felt by

all humans, and it is the shared responsibility of all those

on the higher path to make some sort of “family”

available to those in need. In doing this,

we pay homage to

the Sage.

 

The I Ching, or Book of Changes

Hexagram 8, Pi / Holding Together

 

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

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.

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be free of all worldly affairs

stop your search

 

Do not look for a chance to go out.

But if necessary, going out is permitted once a month.

People in the past lived in the remote mountains and practiced

far away in the forests. Not only were they free of all worldly affairs,

but they abandoned all relationships. You should learn the heart of their

covering brilliance and obscuring traces. Now is the time for the fire

on your head to be wiped out. Is it not sad if you waste this time,

concerning yourself with secular affairs? The impermanent

is unreliable. Nobody knows where or when this

dew-like existence will drop into the grass.

Not recognizing impermanence is

truly regrettable.

 

Dogen