Here was my last post about the Tao De Ching
@yoda1917/how-many-of-my-problems-now-are-solved-by-the-smallest-ancient-book-in-the-world
Here is another one those moments where I am drawn to the Dao. I sit alone with much on my mind. Distractions such as television, the mighty iPad, and beautiful women are conveniently tempting to fall into for an escape.
However, with the remaining strength left in me I'll take a much needed revisit into the Dao De Jing. And jot down my flowing thoughts on this iPhone.
Dao De Jing Verse 2
When people see some things as beautiful,
other things become ugly.
When people see some things as good,
other things become bad.
Being and non-being create each other.
Difficult and easy support each other.
Long and short define each other.
High and low depend on each other.
Before and after follow each other.
Therefore the Master
acts without doing anything
and teaches without saying anything.
Things arise and she lets them come;
things disappear and she lets them go.
She has but doesn't possess,
acts but doesn't expect.
When her work is done, she forgets it.
That is why it lasts.
.......When people see some things as beautiful,
other things become ugly.
When people see some things as good,
other things become bad.......
The first thing I notice in this beautiful little translated script is PERCEPTION. Could it be that there is no such thing as the subjective reality? That all reality objectively exists in the minds of individuals according to their model of the world and influenced by what they are experiencing at the time. Many new age teachers passionately spread this message and do so to go as far as saying that all that is out there beyond the perception of sention beings like us are just a soup of nothing that is everything and pure potentiality. But hey, let's not get into that wonderful stuff today.
The labels that represent extremes of perceptions mentions such as good vs bad, beautiful vs ugly, high vs low, etc seem to be momentary snap shops of perceptions by individuals according to influence of the ego and emotions as the time.
Would it not be wonderful if everything can be seen as they are without labels. The Dao illustrates clearly something we as modern humans fail to see. Every time we praise or shunt something or someone would it not be true that there is an equal and opposite effect? As the Dao points out, to label one person as being special must mean that one or more other people is not special. I believe the people who are the least destructive and disruptive tend to be those who minimise passing such judgements.
What if one was able to see things as they are and not apply a label? A label that is based on emotions triggered by an endless variety of interactions with the living and the non living environment. To see things as they are and not better or worse than they are. If individuals who have this virtue exist, would be true that these people tend to be the leaders, guides, and oracles that we take for granted. Imagine the calmness and comfort of not being tainted by the influences of such thoughts from oneself and others. I sit and ponder what it would be like to live like that more often.
In the face of devastation (like an earth quake, or a financial crisis) some are devastated while others calmly accept what has happened and and just moves forward without the delay of emotional turmoil and recovery. On a tiny scale a personal triumph in this context is that my vehicle needs to go over the inspection pit. I faced this without frustration, and here I sit at the pit line enjoying my time with the Dao De Jing.
.......Being and non-being create each other.
Difficult and easy support each other.
Long and short define each other.
High and low depend on each other.
Before and after follow each other.......
In my personal experience and in the observation of what is around me I have noticed that when people thrive and party in the face of joy things are taken for granted and often forgotten. Strangely people tend to remember and amplify the effect of less desired experiences that they label as bad. If I was to ask why that is it may lead to an eternal spiral that takes me through un-empowering stats and lands me nowhere. So right now I will choose to focus away from that.
What if when faced with something that holds a label like depressing, frightening, frustrating, sad, etc one was able to just see it for what it is and understand that it is just a contrast point in the continuum of experiences? And to step it up a notch what if one is able to be grateful that these so called bad experiences give contrast to other experiences.
Have you ever met a person who has always dwelled in an environment where he or she always got his or her way without much effort or input? Perhaps the child of a wealthy household that over emphasises on material and emotional indulgences to their dependants. In my experience, these individuals often live with the difficulty of having non balanced expectations that lead to less pleasant experiences and creating more unpleasant experiences around them. If we look through the eyes of such a person we may see that everything is unpleasant and frustrating. This leaves little room for noticing the kindness and beauty that exists in the same space.
.......Therefore the Master
acts without doing anything
and teaches without saying anything.
Things arise and she lets them come;
things disappear and she lets them go.
She has but doesn't possess,
acts but doesn't expect.
When her work is done, she forgets it.
That is why it lasts.......
A Master.......
I'm my brief time here I have met a few people that have been masters to me. Some are aware they are, some are not. Qualities that are common amongst them are:
- Masters are well balanced with caring for people yet have little or no attachments to outcomes.
- Masters be what they demonstrate rather than telling others what to do.
- Masters see things as they are and not worse than they are when faced with challenges. - Masters see how things can be better and make it happen while minimising the indulgence of emotions.
- In the face of things going well, Masters are grateful.
- Masters stay present to and identify the emotions they experience without judgement. Then Masters make a decision on whether these emotions are taking them. Upon realising this they decide what emotions do empower them and craft their actions from there. Sometimes the decision leads to not take any action.
That is a head space I desire to be in more often.
I believe we are all capable of being in such ahead space. Some of us live there more or less often than others. An easy differentiation between people who do or don't is what results they create around them. Would it not be true that aside from the wisdom of WE ARE WHAT WE EAT, there is an equally wise phrase of WE ARE WHAT WE THINK ABOUT MOST OF THE TIME?
Thank you for allowing space to share my thoughts.