meet difficulty with acceptance

fabio furlotti

 

Through openness

and gentleness the correct

solution is reached.

 

Arriving

at the correct solution

to a difficult situation requires a

receptivity to inner truth. Unless we are

willing to put aside the strong emotions of

our egos and devote ourselves to discovering

what is right, there can be no hope of

progress at this time. Help only

comes when we invite it with

a sincere and innocent

attitude.

 

The

I Ching teaches

a simple but effective

method of influencing difficult

people and arduous situations. It advises

us first to lay aside our prejudices — our feelings

of being wounded, angry, or in the right —

and second to seek to understand the

positions of others and the lesson

that the Sage is teaching

us with the

situation.

 

Even

when another is

truly out of line, it is only by

accepting this and remaining balanced

that you make it possible for positive change

to occur. Gentleness and understanding

create in others an unconscious

willingness to

be led.

 

The

superior person

therefore avoids the use of anger

and force in trying times, knowing that they

only prolong conflict. It is far wiser to accept that

each experience we have is necessary for us to learn

something about ourselves and about the higher

laws of life. The greatest openings come when

we meet difficulty with acceptance,

gentleness, and a desire to

understand the lesson

underneath.

 

The I Ching, or Book of Changes

Hexagram 61, Chung Fu / Inner Truth

 

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accomplish your ends by yielding

kawai gyokudō

 

A great country is like

a low-lying land into which many

streams flow. It draws powerful energies

to it as a receptive woman draws

an eager man.

 

The feminine can always

conquer the masculine by yielding

and taking the lower position. In this way

she becomes as low-lying land:

in time, everything comes

her way.

 

Therefore a great country

can win over a small country by practicing

humility. A small country can also win over

a great country by practicing

humility.

 

One wins by

willingly taking the lower

position. The other wins by

willingly acknowledging

its lower position.

 

The great country

wants to embrace and nourish

more people.The small country wants

to ably serve its benefactor. Both

accomplish their ends

by yielding.

 

The Tao te Ching of Lao Tzu,

Chapter 61

 

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

Tao te Ching as part of a

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the cost of one hardcover

book.

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the point where buddha is actualized

isaac levitan

 

We just sit in the midst

of this contradiction where, although

we aim, we can never perceive hitting the mark.

We just sit in the midst of this contradiction that is

absolutely ridiculous when we think about it with our small mind.

In our zazen, it is precisely at the point where our small, foolish self

remains unsatisfied, or completely bewildered, that immeasurable

natural life beyond the thoughts of that self functions.

It is precisely at the point where we become

completely lost that life operates and

the power of Buddha is

actualized.

 

Kosho Uchiyama