in a great storm the wise bird

julie mcinnes

 

In a great

storm the wise bird

returns to her nest and

waits patiently.

 

This is a time of difficult and dangerous conditions. You should not be seduced into struggling, striving, or seeking solutions through aggressive action. Success is met only by waiting modestly for the guidance of the Creative.Trying times are a test of our integrity and commitment to proper principles.
 
The ordinary person reacts to challenges with fear, anger, mistrust of fate, and a stubborn desire to strike out and eliminate difficulty once and for all. While the temptation to act in this way can be great, to do so can only lead to misfortune and the loss of hard-won ground.

The way of the superior person faced with difficulty is that of nonaction rather than action. She does not strive after recognition or resolution or attempt to gain a higher position by conquering others. Instead, she retreats into her center and cultivates humility, patience, and conscientiousness. On the path of acceptance, self-inquiry, and self-improvement we obtain the aid of the Creative and meet with success after the storm has passed.
 

from The I Ching, or Book of Changes

Hexagram 62, Hsiao Kuo /Preponderance of the Small

 

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attention to what is correct

marc henauer

 

Your inner power

makes influence possible.

There is danger in ambition and

agenda-making. The truly beneficial

influence is that which flows

naturally from your

attention to what

is correct.

 

third changing line

from The I Ching, or Book of Changes

Hexagram 10, Lü / Treading

 

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the foundation of attaining the way

beth moon

 
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

 

discover the harmony in your own being

alfred eisenstaedt

 

Why scurry

about looking for the truth?

It vibrates in every thing and every

not-thing, right off the tip of your nose.

Can you be still and see it in the

mountain? the pine tree?

yourself?

 

Don’t imagine

that you’ll discover it by accumulating

more knowledge. Knowledge creates doubt,

and doubt makes you ravenous for more

knowledge. You can’t get full

eating this way. 

 

The wise person

dines on something more subtle:

He eats the understanding that the named

was born from the unnamed, that all being flows

from non-being, that the describable world emanates

from an indescribable source. He finds this subtle

truth inside his own self, and becomes

completely content. 

 

So 

who can be

still and watch the

chess game of the world?

The foolish are always making

impulsive moves, but the wise know

that victory and defeat are decided by

something more subtle. They see

that something perfect exists

before any move

is made.

 

This

subtle perfection

deteriorates when artificial

actions are taken, so be content not

to disturb the peace. Remain quiet.

Discover the harmony in

your own being.

Embrace it.

 

If you

can do this, you will

gain everything, and the world

will become healthy again.

If you can’t, you will be

lost in the shadows

forever.

 

from Hua hu Ching, Chapter 38

 

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