Buddhism says: Hatred never ceases by hatred but by love alone is healed. Christianity says: Love your enemies. Taoism says: I am good to people who are good. I am also good to people who are not good. Islam says: It may be that God will ordain love between you and those whom you hold […]
Quit trying. Quit trying not to try. Quit quitting. ~zen saying Ha! The universe just had a good laugh at my expense. Or perhaps at my benefit. I’ve been “trying” to write this post for days. The basic structure of a post generally comes to me easily. I spend some time editing and polishing, but
圣人行不言之教 This is one of my favorite lines in the Tao Te Ching. The first two characters 圣人 mean sage. The next 行 can mean to move, proceed, engage in, practice. The next two characters 不言 mean no words. The next 之 is a linking character, like a possessive. And the last character 教 means
What seems so brokenIs but a dreamAnd all our effortsAre in vainThe dream cannot be fixedBeing broken is the nature Of what was never realWe waken into wholenessOf what was never lost
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The Lord gives his blessings where he finds the vessel empty. ~Thomas a Kempis The fourth chapter of the Tao Te Ching uses several images to describe the mysterious and indescribable Tao, or Way. The first image is based on the character 冲 , which can be translated as emptiness, as in an empty vessel. The
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Trust Like the treesIn patient beingResting in acceptanceOf whatever comesThe perfect surrenderOf majestic treesQuietly showing usHow it’s done
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曲则全 These opening characters of chapter 22 of the Tao Te Ching can be translated several ways. The first character can mean bend, deflect, yield, twist, or curve. The second character links the first to the third, meaning thus, then, becomes. The third character means complete, whole, perfect, preserve intact, or in a looser sense,
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Listen wellTo silenceHear the crystal singing of your soulThe song of homeCalls allTo come
Oh wow. Oh wow. Oh wow. ~Steve Jobs’ last words That these were Steve Jobs’ last words, or really anyone’s last words, captures our imagination. A message from the threshold of death, from one perhaps seeing something marvelous, unable to describe it, simply expressing wonder. We might think that what is being seen is what
Embrace tigerBurn eyes brightInto your heart and soulReturn to mountainFrom its heightSink deep into the earth
The Tao that can be understood is not the eternal TaoThe name that can be named is not the eternal nameThe nameless is the origin of heaven and earthThe named is the mother of ten thousand thingsDesireless one can see the mysteryDesiring one can see the manifestations ~Tao Te Ching These are the
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RhythmDrums deep deepDays rollingMoons hideBabies crySap risesFlowers dieBlood tides flowLovers smileRain sings singsRhythm humsDrums Deep
I was at my cabin in the hammock, which hangs suspended between two giant trees. Looking straight up, I had a sense of being held in the loving embrace of their boughs. Gradually, my breathing fell into a rhythm that, at least in my imagination, mirrored the breathing of the trees. As they exhaled oxygen,
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Every hero’s journey returns him home. ~A Course of Love We are so fond of seeking. “I’m a seeker,” someone says at a spiritual retreat. “It’s all about the journey,” someone else says. We struggle to be content with chronic longing because we get so tired of looking for that special place, that place we
We ride the breath into formAnd then forget who we areBelieving that we are formDreaming the illusionAs we search everywhereWondering what it is that we forgotSeeking it where it is not and never will beUntil at lastWe hear breath’s callAnd ride it home again
How many of us have tried to glue together a broken plate or cup or figurine in such a way that the damage is invisible? A friend once sent me some ceramic tai chi figures that all got broken in shipment. I spent hours piecing together the fragments. Most of the repairs were almost undetectable,
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On cloudy daysTime stands stillNo sun marks its pathNo shadows trace its passingSuch days are magicDoorways into mysteryStep throughInto eternity
EvenAfter all this timeThe sun never says to the earth“You owe me”Look what happens With a love like thatIt lights the whole sky~Hafiz When I’m at my mountain cabin, I often sit by the creek. I just watch. And listen. And breathe. Everything is so beautiful. Water dances along. Trees stand impossibly tall while the tiniest