The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earthThe named is the mother of ten thousand things ~Tao Te Ching, Chapter 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ~John 1:1 This chapter is the counterpart to both Chapter 14, which described the unknowable nature […]
Tao Te Ching – Chapter 21 Read More »
Followers of Tao are as elusive and mysterious as Tao itself. Mystics, living in the liminal space between being and non-being, movement and stillness, yang and yin, manifesting and returning. In this chapter, we are told that they cannot be known or understood, yet the author tries to give us a description of their demeanor.
Tao Te Ching – Chapter 15 Read More »
I started to write a post about my martial arts class yesterday, and then realized the next chapter in our Tao Te Ching chapter series is Chapter 11, which is directly relevant to what I wanted to write about. Synchronicity–gotta love it! Chapter 11 is a favorite one for many folks. It talks about the
Tao Te Ching – Chapter 11 Read More »
I am attending a martial arts workshop this weekend with a teacher visiting our school from California. This teacher is a small, slightly stooped, Chinese man in his late sixties. (That’s his photo above.) He said something today that made a big impression on me. Hours later I’m still trying to wrap my head around
You Are My Technique Read More »
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
A Girl Has No Name Read More »