Tao Bible - Ezekiel 39:7

So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
~ King James version ~

Tao has no name to besmirch.
~ possible Taoist alternative ~

God seems overly preoccupied with his image. If he's not afforded the respect he thinks he's due, he becomes enraged.

Tao is a name invented by humans to refer to the Grand Mystery. The Grand Mystery is formless and desireless, so there is no image to protect.

If you're interested in reading more from this experimental series, go to the Tao Bible Index page.

Chapter 15, Part 2 - Confucius

The Master said, "Ts'ze, you think, I suppose, that I am one who learns many things and keeps them in memory?"

Tsze-kung replied, "Yes, but perhaps it is not so?"

"No," was the answer; "I seek a unity all pervading."
~ James Legge translation via The Internet Classics Archive ~

Go here to read the introductory post to this serialized version of the Analects of Confucius.

Out of Time

Trey Smith

The other day I was watching a human interest feature on ESPN. One of the stories concerned ultra distance runner Diane Van Deren. She was diagnosed with epilepsy in her 30s and later underwent surgery in the attempt to halt her many seizures. The surgery has proven successful, but it came with a strange cost: Van Deren easily loses track of time.

In the report (see video below), reporter Tom Rinaldi asks Van Deren at some point in the interview how long she thinks they have been talking. She guesses less than one hour and Rinaldi tells her they've been talking for nearly 2 and one-half hours!

In this modern world, most of us consider keeping track of time so very important. We have to get to work on time plus appointments to keep and social engagements to attend. Most people either wear a watch or constantly check their electronic device for the correct time.

While I certainly am not in the same boat as Van Deren, I can identify with her situation somewhat. I don't have a job and I don't socialize much. Most of my time is spent alone and, in many ways, the days seem to run together. I often can't remember what day it is or what the date is. I just sort of float through a lot of my life.

On the other hand, I still have appointments to keep and certain responsibilities around the house that involve specific times -- like feeding the dogs or making sure the trash is out by the alley at the correct time on the proper day.

Still, while I realize the difficulties Van Deren must face on a daily basis, I sort of envy her. Existence in a sort of timeless space sounds liberating. Often, it is the constraints of time which cause us stress and so being freed from such constraints might reduce the stress...or maybe not.

Afternoon Matinee: The War On Democracy 5 of 7

The "Other" Religion?

Trey Smith

In replacing religion as the final source of knowledge in popular estimation, science begins to look a bit like a religion itself.
~ from Ethics for the New Millennium by the Dalai Lama ~

I find this quote interesting for two reasons. First, I've never consider religion as a source of knowledge. From my vantage point, religion provides perspective and, in many cases, this perspective flies in the face of what we call fact.

[I should stipulate that my background and knowledge of religion mainly pertains to Christianity and Judaism because these two are prevalent in the US and there is an organic relationship between them. Maybe it is or is not less true for eastern faiths like Buddhism and Hinduism.]

A lot of people read the Old Testament and consider it a true reckoning of what took place during a given period of time. Such individuals believe that Adam and Eve were real people, Jonah lived inside of a whale and God turned one unfortunate woman into a pillar of salt.

In my book, that doesn't represent knowledge; those are fairy tales! If a person believes that these things are facts, then they should just as easily believe that unicorns and leprechauns are real too.

The other part of the Dalai Lama's statement that makes my head spin is this idea that science is something akin to religion. The latter is based on ancient suppositions that remain unchanged over many millennia. While religions do update a few of their precepts from time to time, it tends to occur because reality has left them behind and they don't want to lose too many of their members. It certainly does not happen because they have rigorously studied the issue and decided that, maybe, their god had it all a bit wrong.

Science is an ever-evolving discipline. What was once accepted as truth is later discarded as untruth. This is done by rigorous examination, experiments and complex computations. If you think you have discovered or uncovered a new fact, you ask others either to try to replicate your results OR to poke holes in your formulation. What religion does that?!

If we put this in religious terminology, it would be like destroying and reformulating god every few years, decades or centuries. The god of ancient times would have been killed several times over, only to be replaced by new ones who were then dismantled and replaced again.

Can you imagine the Christian Church holding up the story of Jesus to such rigorous scrutiny?

Line by Line - Verse 63, Line 4

to consider what is small as great, and a few as many;
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

Magnify the small, increase the few.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

Great, small, many, few
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

Pay attention to details.
Start small and work your way up.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

This line runs counter to the way society, unfortunately, tends to operate. We seem to focus on what is big and bold, while neglecting what is small and quiet. Our economic system seeks to grant benefits to the few, while keeping the many trampled down.

To view the Index page for this series to see what you may have missed or would like to read again, go here.

Wear It Well

Trey Smith

Here is something I have never understood. Why is it that, whenever I read a news article about someone appearing before a judge in court (particularly for an arraignment), the reporter goes to great pains to describe what clothes the person is wearing? Why is this considered so damn important? Who cares!

To offer but one example, here's what a Reuters reporter had to write about William Bryan Jenning's day in court:

Jennings, wearing a blue blazer, white shirt and royal blue tie, entered the pleas in Stamford Superior Court.

Did you get that? His tie wasn't simply blue -- it was royal blue. I'm utterly shocked we weren't informed how many buttons were on his shirt! Without this crucial information, how can I arrive at knee-jerk decision as to whether he's guilty or not?

While describing a defendant's dapper attire is one thing, my eyes roll back in my head when I am told that the defendant appeared in court today in a prison-issued orange jumpsuit. Ooh! Now there's vital information. What in the heck did the reporter expect the defendant to be wearing?

A suit of armor?

A Halloween costume?

A Ku Klux Klan hood?

Chapter 15, Part 1 - Confucius

The Duke Ling of Wei asked Confucius about tactics. Confucius replied, "I have heard all about sacrificial vessels, but I have not learned military matters." On this, he took his departure the next day.

When he was in Chan, their provisions were exhausted, and his followers became so in that they were unable to rise.

Tsze-lu, with evident dissatisfaction, said, "Has the superior man likewise to endure in this way?"

The Master said, "The superior man may indeed have to endure want, but the mean man, when he is in want, gives way to unbridled license."
~ James Legge translation via The Internet Classics Archive ~

Go here to read the introductory post to this serialized version of the Analects of Confucius.

Daily Tao - Irrationalise

What are these silly games attempting to rationalise the irrational?

This is why the great ones sip from the cup with an empty mind.

Daily Tao is a reprint from Ta-Wan's blog, Daily Cup of Tao, which offers one post per day for an entire year. You also can read these posts in an ebook.

The Great Openness

Scott Bradley

The Great Openness is a term used in the Zhuangzi only in passing, yet it is one which I find most evocative of the Daoist vision.

When I speak of the Daoist vision, I mean that hypothetical, psychological experience of being in the world which is uniquely Daoist. I approach it as merely hypothetical not only because I have not experienced it, but because I suspect the one who originally used it did not experience either. In that case, this and every comparable reference to the ultimate experience of sagacity is only an ideal to which to aspire and is realized only by approximation.

I understand it as psychological because, in the absence of any real knowledge about Reality, every experience of It is necessarily subjective. It does not inform me; I inform it for my own purposes. And these are intended to create a psychological experience most conducive to tranquility. As I so often say, no Truth is on offer here. I simply don't know any. Thus, I can only suggest, Do you wish to experience tranquility? Try this. Or don't.

The Great Openness, like every expression of sagacity, is Dao-likeness. Dao impartially embraces everything without discriminating the 'good' from the 'bad', the Dao-like from the non-Dao-like. Yet Dao cannot truly be said to be Open, since this implies the possibility of Closed. In this sense, the Great Openness as a concept is predicated on human psychological experience. It is a 'place' which is only a state of mind.

In a previous post I said that openness is not best likened to opening a door into oneself, but rather to turning oneself inside-out. The Great Openness is not a selective openness on a continuum with closedness, but an absence of selectivity. What this implies is a loss of one's insular identity, where identity assumes intrinsic difference. And this implies the loss, among other things, of identification with opinion, on the one hand, and the acceptance of every identification with opinion, on the other. One need not affirm the content of an opinion to affirm the one that holds it. Zhuangzi, in his "equalization of the assessment of things", did not say that every opinion is 'right', but that every opinion is both 'right' and 'wrong'; in this, they are equal.

The Great Openness is an experience of being which is best imagined by the individual. In other words, I have digressed into my own imagined meanings. Since it is presented by Zhuangzi, however, it might be helpful to remember other ways he spun it: It is "far and unfettered wandering" in "the vast wilds of open nowhere", "our homeland of not anything at all."

You can check out Scott's writings on Zhuangzi here.

Tao Bible - Ezekiel 37:4-6

Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
~ King James version ~

When Chuang Tzu went to Ch'u, he saw an old skull, all dry and parched. He poked it with his carriage whip and then asked, "Sir, were you greedy for life and forgetful of reason, and so came to this? Was your state overthrown and did you bow beneath the ax, and so came to this? Did you do some evil deed and were you ashamed to bring disgrace upon your parents and family, and so came to this? Was it through the pangs of cold and hunger that you came to this? Or did your springs and autumns pile up until they brought you to this?"

When he had finished speaking, he dragged the skull over and, using it for a pillow, lay down to sleep.

In the middle of the night, the skull came to him in a dream and said, "You chatter like a rhetorician and all your words betray the entanglements of a living man. The dead know nothing of these! Would you like to hear a lecture on the dead?"

"Indeed," said Chuang Tzu.

The skull said, "Among the dead there are no rulers above, no subjects below, and no chores of the four seasons. With nothing to do, our springs and autumns are as endless as heaven and earth. A king facing south on his throne could have no more happiness than this!"

Chuang Tzu couldn't believe this and said, "If I got the Arbiter of Fate to give you a body again, make you some bones and flesh, return you to your parents and family and your old home and friends, you would want that, wouldn't you?"

The skull frowned severely, wrinkling up its brow. "Why would I throw away more happiness than that of a king on a throne and take on the troubles of a human being again?" it said.
~ from Chapter 18 of the Zhuangzi ~

Depending on how one looks at it, which is more important, life or death? Me thinks Zhuangzi would argue that each has their time and place!

If you're interested in reading more from this experimental series, go to the Tao Bible Index page.

Chapter 14, Part 47 - Confucius

A youth of the village of Ch'ueh was employed by Confucius to carry the messages between him and his visitors. Some one asked about him, saying, "I suppose he has made great progress."

The Master said, "I observe that he is fond of occupying the seat of a full-grown man; I observe that he walks shoulder to shoulder with his elders. He is not one who is seeking to make progress in learning. He wishes quickly to become a man."
~ James Legge translation via The Internet Classics Archive ~

Go here to read the introductory post to this serialized version of the Analects of Confucius.

Thinking or Being

Shawn Tedrow

I am not a believer that spirituality is just a clever-brain-game of rearranging perceptions of the mind. I personally think that type of mental practice has its benefits, but is tethered by limitations.

Living the way of Tao is not just something that occurs within the cognitions of the mind. Living the Way of Tao is found in the way we live our lives. Harmony is not a lofty thought. It is a life lived.

Tao is taught and learned in our daily living. After-thoughts and reflections are borne from living. Contemplative thinking, independent of living, is delusional.

Don't talk to me about harmony; show it to me by the way you live, and then talk to me about it.

You can check out Shawn's other musings here.

Afternoon Matinee: The War On Democracy 4 of 7

Startling the Faithful

Trey Smith

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert on Friday vetoed a controversial bill banning public schools from teaching contraception as a way of preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.

The bill, which also sought to bar instruction on homosexuality or other aspects of human sexuality other than the teaching of abstinence, would have been the first of its kind in the nation if it had become law.

It had previously cleared Utah's Republican-controlled House and Senate, and Herbert was widely expected to sign it.

In vetoing the measure, dubbed HB 363, Herbert said that as a parent and grandparent he considered proper sex education in public schools an important component to the moral education youngsters receive at home.
~ from Utah Governor Vetoes Bill to Curb Sex Education in Schools by Bob Bernick ~

Now, before you go thinking that Herbert must be some kind of raving left-wing Democrat, you should know that he is both Republican AND Mormon. Those factors are why his veto comes as something of a shock to many.

While I salute the man for using a bit of commonsense, that's not the part of this legislation that puzzles me. It is later stated in the article that "supporters of the bill argued that sex education was best left up to parents."

I know I'm painting with a broad brush, but, in my experience, the vast majority of social conservatives have a great deal of trouble talking about s-e-x, even in the company of adults. Make some offhanded remark about human sexuality and a good deal of them get the heebie-jeebies!

If you can't carry on a substantive conversation on the topic with adults, what are the chances you'll be able to handle the topic with your own children?

From my perspective, these people should be overjoyed that a public employee will do the dastardly deed for them. That way they won't have to hem and haw over uncomfortable words (and "nasty" mental images) like penis, vagina, masturbation, condoms and -- dare I write it? -- iNTeRcoUrsE.

My Oh My Oh My! Since I typed THAT word, now I have to go and wash my naughty, naughty fingers!! ;-)

Line by Line - Verse 63, Line 3

to taste without discerning any flavor;
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

Taste the tasteless.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

Taste without tasting
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

Learn to appreciate everyday life.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

I think Derek Lin does a magnificent job in teasing out the meaning of this line.

As Tao cultivators, we take proactive actions without attachments or expectations of specific outcomes. We manage processes and affairs without trying to manipulate them. We get a sense (a taste) of the situation without becoming so involved and engrossed that we lose our objectivity.

To view the Index page for this series to see what you may have missed or would like to read again, go here.

So, Anything Goes?

Trey Smith

One of the great misnomers of the philosophical Taoist framework is that it is devoid of morality or ethics. Many people view the notion of each person defining their own path as a license to engage in any type of activity or behavior. In a manner of speaking, they equate Taoism as a philosophy that mirrors Cole Porter's famous song, Anything Goes (see clip below).

So DOES anything go? For me, the answer is both yes and no.

Taoists look to nature as a sort of blueprint for the ways we humans should comport ourselves. In the natural world -- apart from humans -- actions are not undertaken to quench egoic desires. The rain doesn't fall to woo the sensuous ground. The wind doesn't howl as a way to avenge the haughtiness of a mischievous forest. One creature doesn't devour another because of a perceived personal affront. All these things occur because of the inherent processes of the life force.

We humans, on the other hand, say and do most things as a mechanism to serve egoic desires. When a man sexually victimizes a child it is not because his biological organism will cease to survive if he does not so prey on that child; he instead is satisfying a fantasy that springs from the deep recesses of his ego.

While our egos are part and parcel of this package we call a human being -- we can't simply toss them aside -- we can learn to temper the control our egos exert over our decision-making processes. Using the natural world as our guide, we can learn to move through our lives as selflessly as possible.

In other words, it is only when we have reached the point in which the ego is not in the driver's seat that anything goes. In this sense, anything both is restrained AND unfettered. It is restrained from serving the basest wants of our craven desires, yet it is unfettered because we can express our primal virtue in innumerable ways.

Last weekend I was watching a golf tournament on TV. The commentators were going on and on about how a particular golfer had developed an unorthodox swing. While he certainly didn't copy most of the techniques taught at Golf Schools, he nonetheless kept his body in balance throughout the mechanics of his swing.

In essence, this particular golfer illustrates the notion of anything goes. His peculiar swing represents his crafting of his own path (unfettered) and yet it incorporates the universal principle of maintaining balance (restrained).

Chapter 14, Part 46 - Confucius

Yuan Zang was squatting on his heels, and so waited the approach of the Master, who said to him, "In youth not humble as befits a junior; in manhood, doing nothing worthy of being handed down; and living on to old age: this is to be a pest." With this he hit him on the shank with his staff.
~ James Legge translation via The Internet Classics Archive ~

Go here to read the introductory post to this serialized version of the Analects of Confucius.

Daily Tao - Objects

objects are best known as abstracts.

Daily Tao is a reprint from Ta-Wan's blog, Daily Cup of Tao, which offers one post per day for an entire year. You also can read these posts in an ebook.

Dancing Your Own Dance

Scott Bradley

There is a passage in the Gospels which has long intrigued me. In answer to his critics, Jesus responds (I paraphrase): "You play a jig and expect me to dance; then you play a dirge and expect me to weep." Or, as Dylan put it, "Everyone wants you to be just like them."

It may very well be that my appreciation of Jesus' refusal to be what others would have him to be is mostly a reflection of my own obstinacy. I have never been particularly amenable to the efforts of others to make me feel or behave in a particular way. If someone tells me to feel a certain emotion, I am likely to be rendered less likely to do so. Toss me a ball, and I may just step out of its way.

These posts are not intended to tell you how to dance; they are simply my dance. It may be the case that I have two left feet, or that I have little sense of rhythm. For this reason, I do not ask you to take my hand and join me in my dance; I would most likely end-up stepping on your toes. Yet I sometimes get the impression that toes feel they are being stepped on. Why is that?

You can check out Scott's other miscellaneous writings here.