no power so great as modesty

release and flow and let go

 

The Creative acts

to empty what is full and

to offer abundance to

what is modest.

 

This hexagram suggests that a deepening of one’s modesty now is a sure means of improving the situation. There is no power so great as modesty for compelling the assistance of the Sage – nor one so hindering as immodesty. Those in high places who retain their modesty are loved by all and continually prosper; those below who cultivate modesty inevitably rise on the strength of their merits, without making enemies along the way.

But what does modesty mean? Certainly it entails a refusal to boast or act imperiously with others, even in small ways. But beyond this steadfast humility it also means that our effort to discern what is right and then do it is constant; we do not work against ourselves, and we do not indulge in doubts about the wisdom of correct conduct. This unwavering commitment to what is correct might be called “the modesty before the Sage”.

So there is in modesty a component of nonaction – that is, not indulging in arrogant, ego-centered behavior – as well as a component of active effort: looking for opportunities to correct ourselves, to assist justice where there is injustice, to feed where there is hunger, to give solace where there is pain.

Finally and most plainly, modesty means holding to innocence, sincerity, and openness in every situation. To do this is to empty ourself and make room for the blessings of the Creative to take root.
 

The I Ching, or Book of Changes

Hexagram 15, Ch’ien / Modesty

 

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not even enlightenment will help now

deathbed zen

 

One morning in the zendo

as we were all silently sitting zazen,

Suzuki Roshi said, “Don’t move. Just die over

and over. Don’t anticipate. Nothing can save you

now, because this is your last moment. Not even

enlightenment will help you now, because

you have no other moments. With no

future, be true to yourself —

and don’t move.”

 

Shunryu Suzuki

To Shine One Corner of the World

 

dissolve all ideas of duality

support sheldrick wildlife trust

 

The teaching

of the Integral Way will go on

as long as there is a tao and someone who

wishes to embody it; what is painted in

these scrolls today will appear in

different forms in many

generations to

come. 

 

These things,

however, will never change:

Those who wish to attain oneness must

practice undiscriminating virtue. They must

dissolve all ideas of duality: good and bad, beautiful

and ugly, high and low. They will be obliged to abandon

any mental bias born of cultural or religious belief.

Indeed, they should hold their minds free

of any thought which interferes with

their understanding of the

universe as a harmonious

oneness. 

 

The

beginning

of these practices is

the  beginning of

liberation. 

 

Hua hu Ching, Chapter 7

 

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Hua hu Ching, and Art of War for

iPad, Phone, Kindle, Nook,

or Android

 

You

can now buy

Hua hu 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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