a time of darkness comes to a close

patricia r. miranda

 

Receiving

this hexagram is a sign

that you have reached a turning point.

This moment is akin to the winter solstice: the

greatest adversity is past, and the light is beginning

to return. Nonetheless, one cannot force the

completion of the change, and it is wise

to rest. Act only when you can move

gently and innocently, and all

will be well.

 

Fu also comes

as a reminder to return

to the light in yourself. Growth is only

possible when we relinquish the expressions of

the ego: pride, impatience, anger, and desire.

To act forcefully or ambitiously

now will only generate

misfortune.

 

Let things

develop naturally, in their

own way. Simply observe and accept

changes as you observe and accept the rising

of the sun. Allow yourself to rest and gather strength

for a time of growth ahead. By holding to modesty,

gentleness, and correct conduct, you prepare

the ground for a fruitful blossoming

when the light fully

returns.

 

from The I Ching, or Book of Changes

Hexagram 24, Fu / Return

 

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she who is filled with goodness

innocence

 

She

who is filled with

goodness is like a newborn child:

wasps and snakes will not bite it, fierce

beasts will not attack it, birds of

prey will not pounce

on it.

 

Its

bones are soft

and its muscles weak,

but its grip is firm. It hasn’t yet

known the union of male and female,

yet its organ stirs with vitality.

It can howl all day without

becoming hoarse,

so perfect is its

harmony.

 

To

know harmony is to

know the eternal.  To know

the eternal is to be

inspired.

 

Prolonging

life is not harmonious.

Coercing the breath is unnatural.

Things which are overdeveloped must

decay.  All this is contrary to Tao,

and whatever is contrary

to Tao soon ceases

to be.

 

from The Tao te Ching of Lao Tzu,

Chapter 55

 

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gradual cultivation

lori andrews

 

You must keep this

mind balanced and equanimous,

without deluded ideas of self and others,

without arbitrary loves and hates, without grasping

or rejecting, without notions of gain and loss.

Go on gradually nurturing this for

a long time, perhaps twenty

or thirty years.

 

Whether you encounter

favorable or adverse conditions,

do not retreat or regress — then when you

come to the juncture between life and death,

you will naturally be set free and be not afraid.

As the saying goes, “Truth requires sudden

awakening, but the phenomenal

level calls for gradual

cultivation.”

 

Yuanwu

zen letters

 

do non-doing and inherit the universe

giovani cordioli

 

Why

wait around for

a teacher? Pick up staff

and knock the sense out of

yourself, so you can

enter eternity.

 

The ancestors

are everywhere around you,

offering the silent light of truth.

Put down what you’re doing with

your mind and pick up that up.

Do non-doing, and you’ll

inherit the whole

universe.

 

Wei wu Wei Ching, Chapter 7

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