Yantou said,
“Abandoning things is
superior, pursuing things is inferior.”
The Ultimate Path is simple and easy —
it is just a matter of whether
you abandon things or
pursue them.
Posts Tagged → meditation
stabilization is the final stage
Stabilization is the final stage of escape from the profane, the foundation of attaining the Way, the accomplishment of cultivated stillness, the consummation of maintaining calm.
When the body is like a withered tree, the mind like dead ashes, without reactivity, without seeking anything, this is the epitome of tranquility. There is no mindfulness of stabilization, yet there is stability. Thus it is called tranquil stabilization.
Chuang-tzu said, “One whose capacity is tranquilly stabilized radiates natural light.” Capacity refers to the mind, natural light is active insight. The mind is a capacitor of the Way; when it is as uncluttered and quiet as can be, then the Way stays there and insight emerges.
Insight comes from original nature; one does not just come to have it now. That is why it is called natural light. It is just because of the muddling confusion caused by craving that it comes to be obscure. Clean it, make it flexible, rectify it, and restore it to purity and calm, and the original real conscious spirit will gradually become clear of itself; this does not mean that you are just now producing that insight.
Once insight has emerged, treasure it and do not compromise stability by too many concerns.
Treatise on Sitting Forgetting
magnificent things are possible
Devotion to truth
enables a revolution.
The hexagram Ko announces the arrival of a time of revolution. A set of conditions, internal or external or both, is ready to pass away in favor of a more beneficial situation. What enables this transformation is your conscious and vigorous adherence to correct thought and behavior.
No revolution in outer things is possible without a prior revolution in one’s inner way of being. Whatever change you aspire to in your affairs must be preceded by a change in heart, and active deepening and strengthening of your resolve to meet every event with equanimity, detachment, and innocent goodwill. When this spiritual poise is achieved within, magnificent things are possible without.
The revolutions of others are enabled also when we refine the fire of goodness and truth inside ourselves. Sincere commitment to higher things travels outward in powerful waves from the superior person, and all those around are affected by this. Indisputably, to lead one’s inner self to truth and peace is to lead the outer world to truth and peace. A beneficial revolution is assured to one who takes this path now.
The I Ching, or Book of Changes
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Hua hu Ching, Wei wu Wei Ching,
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the universe is already harmonious
Forget
about understanding and
harmonizing and making all things one.
The universe is already a harmonious
oneness; just realize
that.
If you
scramble about in
search of inner peace,
you will lose your
inner peace.
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book.
progress like the rising sun
school of rock and light and air
You progress like the rising sun.
The brighter your virtue,
the higher you rise.
This hexagram announces a time of significant and easy progress. Your influence and understanding grow by leaps and bounds as long as you maintain your alliance with the Sage, for it is from that alliance that the current progress springs. The only limit to growth now is your devotion to higher things: if this is true and complete and steady, there will be great gains now.
The image of the hexagram is that of the sun rising over the earth. To our view, the further it moves away from darkness, the higher the sun rises. The same is true of us: the extent to which we progress is determined by how far we distance ourselves from inferior influences.
It is important, when success comes, not to fall into the traps of the ego: taking credit for gains, resting on laurels, indulging in desires, or plotting towards ambitions. The superior person instead uses times of progress to brighten his virtue, recognizing that it was his commitment to proper principles that brought success in the first place.
Continue to purify your thought, attitudes, and conduct now. The greatest power in this beneficial time accrues to those who serve the Higher Power in every moment.
The I Ching, or Book of Changes
wei wu wei ching ☯️ hexagram 35
ebooks & apps of the Tao the Ching, I Ching,
Wei wu Wei Ching, Hua hu Ching, and
Art of War for iPad/Phone, Kindle,
You
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the I Ching as part of a
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for iPhone or iPad for less than
the cost of one hardcover
book.