EACH ONE REACH ONE, EACH ONE TEACH ONE

Welcome... please take your time, avail yourself of the wealth of information here, and know that there is always a mat and cup of tea waiting for you inside our little school....  Towels are available at the entrance.... 

Always feel free to email me with your current needs and concerns: ARoninPhilosopher@yahoo.com

On the Middle Road of Tao,

ARP

---

"Treat other people well and you won't have to be afraid of them...."
Anon

The main purpose in studying a spiritual teaching is to come into harmony with the universe....  Wars, poverty and disease all stem from a collective lack of harmony....  Through inner-growth, the individual makes a direct contribution to the harmony of the world but, also, influences others to change by example.                                     Robert Chuckrow, Ph.D.

From discrimination
between "This" and "That",
a host of demons blazes forth.
Huang-po

"For this is the path to all becoming: it grows and contains life within."
Richard Wilhelm

---

 

          A PLACE COMPLETE, WHERE THE YIN AND YANG MEET... IN A SACRED VIEW OF LIFE

"In the most general terms, there are but two world views.  One can take the view that life is sacred or that life is a commodity.  A sacred view of life gives birth to feelings of duty, protection, and love.  It emphasizes values of joy, beauty, happiness, and caring and sets up an internal constraint against the exploitation of other individuals, groups, or species.  Our word sacred comes from the Latin sacer from the root seen also in sanus, sane.  A sacred view of life, then, is a sane view of life.  A commodity view is interested in profit, domination, and control.  It seeks to "gain the world" and subjugate it to the will of man (and only "the fittest" men at that).  At the core of the commodity view of life are two seeds: individual self-interest economics and man against nature technology.  Planet Earth is choking on these seeds.

 

L.G. Boldt

The world will follow,
without fear of evil,
serene,
powerful,
secure,
one who follows the great symbol
of Yin-Yang (Tai Chi)

Lao Tzu (600 B.C.E.)/MacHovec (1962)

*********************************

Hold fast to the Great Form within

            and let the world pass as it may

Then the changes of life will not bring pain

            but contentment, joy, and well-being

 

Lao Tzu (600 B.C.E.)/Star (2001)

*******************************

Hold fast to the Great Image,

And all the world will come.

Yet its coming brings no harm,

Only peace and order.

 

Lao Tzu (600 B.C.E.)/R.L. Wing (1986)

 

Commentary:

This passage describes a state of mind --- a thought experiment --- leading to an awareness of the interconnectedness and interdependence of all things.  Lao Tzu cautions that the contemplation of the Tao may seem dull or difficult since it is not apprehensible through the senses.  Yet, he promises that an awareness of the cohesiveness in the universe --- the Great Image --- will bring the beholder a rich and powerful understanding.  The key to the Taoist perspective is to experience this sense of cohesiveness and complete integration with one's environment while functioning effectively in the outside world.  Such lives take on extraordinary meaning.

R.L. Wing (1986)

*******************************
Seize the great image
And the world will flock to you.
Flocking to you they come to no harm,
And peace and security prevails. 

Lao Tzu (600 B.C.E)/ Ames & Hall (2003)

Commentary:
Seizing the great image is having an inspiration, and having the strength of character and imagination to forge a way that leads the human community forward to live in their most productive manner. Those who have the vision will win the people, and in pursuing this vision, will secure their well-being.
The central metaphor that pervades the Daodejing (and the Analects of Confucious as well) is making our way in the world. Many travelers along the road of life are distracted by the alluring pleasures of the senses. But way-making fairly described does not resolve itself into this taste or that. Drinking one's cup of experience deeply is like partaking of artesian spring water that is at once the blandest of things, and the most delicious. Again, like spring water, effective way-making goes unnoticed, and yet it is not only essential to sustaining life, but without argument it is the most precious commodity in the world.
Ames & Hall (2003)

You Are Seeker/Sage Number

Member of the Wandering Daoists

Next Site Previous Site Next 10 Join Now Random Site Skip Next Skip Previous Need Help?

Hosted by WebRing

Temple and Waterfall by Gary's Clipart, http://members.tripod.com/~grainbow/index-clipart.html