The Wanderings - The Trees Dance, Part 1

Upon arriving at the town of Yi Chieh, they found this worthy anxious to purchase all the paintings of P’o-tzu, for they were indeed things of beauty. But being an honest man he spoke to them sincerely saying, “Though I would have them all I cannot afford to give you the sum of their true worth. Thus, I will purchase only these three and give you a recommendation to a worthy friend in our provincial capital who will be glad to have them at a handsome price.”

And Chen Jen’s former pupils, when they were admitted to their elder’s presence, ran to him and embraced him around his waist, calling him Revered Grandfather. “You have come to teacher us, is it not so!?” exclaimed the youngest.

“I may indeed again teach you briefly, if it is your father’s wish,” replied Chen Jen. “But for now I must go on to other business. But surely you have not forgotten what last I taught you?”

“No, Respected Teacher, we remember it well and apply it every day!” answered the eldest. “‘He who follows his open heart is never without a teacher.’ But we find it so much fun to share with each other that we always think how much fun it would be to share with you, our Respected Teacher, too!”

Turning to Yi Chieh, Chen Jen said, “Your children are a delight to my heart and your pride in their maturing wisdom must be great.”

“It is as you say,” replied Yi Chieh, “yet with wisdom comes freedom and with their freedom, my loss. Nevertheless, I would have it no other way, for I, too, am learning the lessons of letting go.”

Thus after a few days of rest and fellowship, Chen Jen and Tzu-yu departed for the capital of the province six days distant. Along the road they passed through many villages and in these they were able to find either a place in an inn for the night or the home of a willing native.

And upon arriving at the provincial capital they were quickly able to sell the remaining paintings to the friend of Yi Chieh for a most handsome sum. And though he entreated them to stay and share more stories of their adventures and of the character of P’o-tzu whose paintings he had purchased, they felt called to speed back to the town of Yi Chieh and from thence to send Tzu-yu back to the vale with the intended provisions.

This post is part of a series. To view the index, go here.

Playing with Numbers

As I'm sure many of you have gathered, I am a bit obsessive when it comes to numbers. I love to add, subtract, multiply and divide them. I really get into statistics; I like figuring up averages and the like. While this penchant gets applied to various sectors of my life, one area that preoccupies my time is related to weather and weather data.

This is not unusual for folks with Asperger's. We tend to focus undue amounts of time and energy on, sometimes, arcane subject matter. Since early childhood, I've been obsessed with the sinking of the Titanic, Custer's so-called Last Stand, and, of course, odd statistics. Re the latter, I used to spend hour upon hour figuring out weird statistics for all my thousands of baseball cards!

Since it rains a good deal of the time here in South Bend, one of my new favorite pastimes is factoring the amount of rain we receive in any given period versus the average for that period. To wit, in the period from May 1 - August 31, the average amount of rainfall for this area is 9.79" (2.45" avg/month). If we include September in this computation, the average amount of rainfall is 13.03" (2.61" avg/month). In this small neck of the world, May through September represents our dry season.

We're blowing those averages out the window this year! For the month of May plus the first two days of June, we already have 11.46" in the rain gauge. That's 1.67" more than we would normally receive by August 31 and another storm is forecast to roll in tonight.

Even if we extend the end date to September 30, we only need 1.57" inches more over the next nearly 4 months (120 days) to hit the average. We could suffer through an extended drought and yet still exceed the norm for this period. Statistically speaking, that blows me mind!

The annual water year runs from October 1 - September 30. (I have no idea why these dates are chosen.) At the rate we're going, we will most likely end this water year at 2 FEET of precip or more above average. Of course, you know you'll see another post of this nature around October 1 once I've tabulated all my scintillating data for the year. :-D

Forced Along a Path

Ever since I was the youngest of lads, I have felt a genuine affinity for the native peoples -- particularly the Lakota Sioux -- who populated this land before the white man came. I used to chalk it up as the over romanticized yearnings of a child and my penchant for pulling for the underdog. In later years, however, as I've immersed myself in learning about Tao, I've begun to realize that my affection for these people goes far deeper than I ever imagined.

While in a later post I will talk about their views on leadership and governance -- two aspects that resonate with me to my core -- I think the chief aspect that has drawn me to them is that they were forced down a singular trail that went against their free internal nature.

When whites first encountered the indigenous people of North America, their Christian eyes didn't allow them to see nor understand the developed civilizations before them. Because the native peoples did not bow down before Jehovah, they were deemed savages. (I've found much congruity between many of the native beliefs and the Taoist perspective.)

Because the Christian ethos sees itself as the pinnacle of human development, this meant that it was the Christian duty of the newly "Christian" nation to save the souls of peoples who neither wanted nor needed to be saved! While there certainly were other variables involved -- greed for natural resources to name one -- Christians took the lead in trying to bring these indigenous sovereign communities to their knees.

Initially, they tried a quasi-peaceful route: evangelizing. This met with little success because the worldviews of the differing cultures simply didn't jibe. So, if they couldn't convince the "savages" voluntarily to change their "evil" and "ungodly" ways, then they should be physically annihilated! At the behest of the paternalistic "Great White Father," the US Army did their best to carry out this mission.

Once the "hostiles" were summarily subdued and lodged on, mainly, the most ill-suited land (i.e., reservations), the remnants of these once-proud peoples again were attacked. However, instead of trying physically to kill them, white Christian society was bent on destroying their cultural identity through such nefarious strategies like forced assimilation.

In far too many instances, white society succeeded. Many natives no longer know their own language nor their long history. And all this was perpetrated because Christian capitalists believe there is only one singular path in life.

Fortunately, people like author Joseph Marshall III are working today to resurrect the memory of the cultures that white America so fervently sought to extinguish. Many of the indigenous of this land are reconnecting with their age-old beliefs and culture. Many of us white folk too are beginning to understand the beauty, majesty and developed nature of their culture.

I think this is wonderful because there are many paths to the ultimate destination, whatever that may be.

Daodejing, Verse 17

Daodejing - Other Voices

The Shoulds and the Tao Verse 17

When the Master governs, the people
are hardly aware that he exists.
Next best is a leader who is loved.
Next, one who is feared.
The worst is one who is despised.

If you don't trust the people,
you make them untrustworthy.

The Master doesn't talk, he acts.
When his work is done,
the people say, "Amazing:
we did it, all by ourselves!"
Tao Te Ching, verse 17 (trans. Stephen Mitchell)

I am reading a wonderful version of the Tao specifically for parents by William Martin. In his translation of the above verse, he writes, "You can control your children through threats and punishments/and they will learn to fear./You can control your children by praise and reward/and they will learn to look outside themselves/ for approval and worth....Or you can love and guide/without controlling or interfering/and they will learn to trust themselves./If your child fails at something/merely express your confidence/in their ability to handle the consequences."

The first few lines of Martin's verse generally describe the way I parent, or the way I have been, anyway. Big cereal bars are the most likely candidate for reward, with watching an episode from our Curious George Goes Green DVD a close second. Withholding one of those two carrots is our most usual form of punishment, though we do use the occasional time-out (trying to be extremely neutral about times-outs because we don't want Elle to connect quiet time with punishment. When we give a time-out, we try to emphasize our own need for space when we get disregulated. Who knows if she understands what we're talking about, but it makes Tom and me feel better.)

But as I wrote in a previous post, I am trying to get away from my habitual pose as Cheerleader Mom. I keep asking Elle, "Oh, how does that feel when..." When you put your toys away, when you make your brother laugh, when you have a tantrum. The answer is invariably (and interestingly) "Good."

Today at lunch she was filling me in on her morning with her babysitter.

"I played with her really well, Mama. I didn't even have a tantrum."

"Wow," I said, nodding. "What does it feel like to have a tantrum?"

"Good," she said, munching on her sugar snap peas.

"Does it feel...like a lot of movement, or does it feel still?" I persisted, genuinely curious.

She chewed some more. "Um," she thought about it. "It feels move-y and still. Both."

"I know what you mean," I said. "That's how it feels to me sometimes too..."
~ from How to Be an Adult, author Nerissa Nields, original post date: 6/25/09 ~

This post is part of a series. For an introduction, go here.

The Wanderings - Two Devotees, Part 2

If you haven't read Part 1 of this story, you should go back to read it first.

And here in the inn, while taking their mid-day meal, they were approached by an excited pair of seeming-sages, for their heads were shaven and their blue robes distinctive. And about their necks hung necklaces of some exotic seeds died in a hue to match their robes.

“Sirs,” said one, “from your appearance it is clear that you are wandering sages, for your staves are much weathered and your sandals thin as paper. Is it not so?”

“It is true that we wander and call no place home,” answered Tzu-yu. “But as for being sages we make no such claim.”

“Then it is providential, indeed, that we have just now met, for we have found that for which in your wanderings you do seek! There is a great sage in Wen who has brought the True Teachings to the world and even now he has amassed a great following! And we are his disciples and are on our way to once again sit at his feet! Join us! And we can teach you on the way!”

“May you find that for which you clearly must still seek,” replied Tzu-yu. “But you have failed to understand the nature of our wanderings, if you think they have some end or that their cause is that we seek. We wander because we seek not. The path arises before us and we take it because it is there.”

“It is only the self that must seek,” added Chen Jen. “No-self seeks not.

‘There are no answers in emptiness.
Questions do not arise.’

But it is clear by the self-conscious trappings of your appearance and your enthusiasm for the teachings of a sage that you still abide within the prison of self. For what is identity if not mere identification? And what is the self if not a whirlpool, endlessly pulling the world of externals round and round an empty hole? You seek spiritual fulfillment for that which is a mere construct of your mind, and your sage and his teachings but bind you further to the one while promising you the former.”

“You would have us lose our very selves? What manner of teaching is this!?” exclaimed the devotee.

“I would have you do no such thing; nor would I give you a teaching,” responded Chen Jen. “Only I would have you to understand the nature of our wanderings about which you have made ill-conceived comment. But know, too, that you cannot lose your self since you have no self to lose. We call the cold wind North, but when it has passed we see that it was always only the movement of air. Or the endless waves that break upon the shore; were they ever anything more than the sea’s own waters?”

“How then can we realize no-self?” asked the second devotee.

“By realizing no-self,” answered Chen Jen.

“But by what method is this achieved!?” exclaimed this devotee.

“By no-method,” answered Chen Jen. “Method is just another tool of self; how then could it realize no-self?

‘Fear cannot conquer fear,
Nor self itself subdue.’

In the realm of transcendence there is neither means nor end. Find and follow your own heart-teacher; it will show the way.”

“It has shown us the way to the greatest living sage and to him, and not to you, will we listen,” replied the first devotee. And with that, they turned and left the inn.

“You are a most useless sage, my friend,” exclaimed Tzu-yu, “for every time we have a chance to gain some disciples, you set them to their heels!” At this they both broke out in hearty laughter and ordered another flagon of wine.

“We must remember,” Chen Jen said upon further reflection, “to buy new sandals, though I am loath to part with my staff!”

This post is part of a series. To view the index, go here.

Book Review - The Day the World Ended

I am almost finished with the second book, The Day the World Ended at Little Bighorn: A Lakota History, of the three my dad lent me that discuss various aspects of the Battle of the Greasy Grass. Let me tell you, this book was magnificent!

While the first book, Soldiers Falling into Camp, focused almost exclusively on the major battle and the one that preceded it, this work by Joseph Marshall III simply uses the battle as a mooring to tell of the overall story, history and culture of the Lakota people. While I certainly don't mean to suggest that Marshall's effort gives a short shrift to the battle itself -- it is covered very well in the first two chapters and makes timely appearances throughout the book -- the story he tells is far deeper and insightful than can be contained in one historical event.

Too often, in American history books, the vanquished are presented as faceless people who lack value and a sense of community. Marshall seeks to introduce us to his ancestors in an easy-to-read style and personal manner. We are reintroduced to the big names -- Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, Red Cloud, Spotted Owl -- that most people will recognize as well as to many that white historians have neglected altogether.

Here's what Publisher's Weekly (via Amazon.com) had to say about this book published in 2007.

America's westward expansion in the 19th century was far from a foregone conclusion to the thousands of indigenous peoples, whose ancient way of life lay in its path. Historian Marshall (The Journey of Crazy Horse; The Lakota Way), who was born on South Dakota's Rosebud Sioux Reservation and has long chronicled the traditions and perspective of the Great Plains tribes, explains the context and the painful aftermath of this major turning point in his people's history. His careful description of the Greasy Grass Fight of 1876 (or the Battle of the Little Bighorn) overturns the popular misconception that the Lakota and Northern Cheyenne warriors' victory over the U.S. Seventh Cavalry was a "fluke" or, worse still, "a massacre." Yet he also registers the enormity of the change that followed — including forced settlement, assimilation and dependency — when Crazy Horse surrendered his rifle to a U.S. Army officer less than a year later. Chapters alternately emphasizing strategy, weaponry, beliefs, lifestyle and other areas lend a fractured quality and some redundancy to the narrative. But Marshall's thoughtful reflections and rich detail (much of it drawn from the oral stories of unidentified Lakota elders) also immerse the reader in the experience of a once free people wrestling with an uncertain destiny. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

If you're interested not only in the dynamics that helped to create "Custer's Last Stand," but also to learn about one of the great indigenous nations of the North American continent, there are few books that I would recommend more. In fact, several more posts about specific topics that resonated with me from this work will appear in the next few days.

The Wanderings - Two Devotees, Part 1

When the leaves had twice fallen, Chen Jen awoke one morning and saw his path arise before him, leading away from the hermit’s vale. And Tzu-yu, having heard him so speak, confirmed that he, too, felt the call to wander once more. And seeing that the provisions they had previously brought were now long exhausted, it was decided that they would leave and return once more to replenish them. For though both P’o-tzu and Yu Chu were able to live without the simple luxuries of rice and candles, they were greatly aided in having them.

Moreover, P’o-tzu had used all the ink and silk required for his painting and though he seemed as equally content in the exercise of his skill as in its absence, his works were of such moving beauty that the others felt it was a treasure not to be ignored. And learning of their intention to renew his supplies, he insisted that they take all but one of his creations and get for them whatever price they might bring and use the proceeds for the provisioning and for their future wanderings.

“For if these paintings stir the hearts of men such as you,” said he, “would they not be better out in the broad world where they might stir other hearts to find the Tao within? I will keep only that painting which speaks to us of the passage of our friend King Ching Chi.”

Thus the two sages once again took that familiar road out of the forest and to the town of Yi Chieh, the father of Chen Jen’s former pupils. And passing by the home of the farmer and his family they informed them of the passing of King Ching Chi.

But when his children wailed in grief, the farmer surprised them all by rebuking them saying, “It is normal that we should grieve the passing of our friend, but this wailing goes too far. For King Ching Chi’s passing is but another transformation and the way of all things under Heaven. You cried for the bird found dead at our door this winter, but was there not a new nest and more birds this very spring?”

Once again upon the road, Chen Jen again marveled at the wisdom residing within the heart of this simple farmer. “Is it not a great lesson to us both,” said he, “that such wisdom should reside in such a simple man of the earth?”

“Truly,” replied Tzu-yu, “wisdom is as far removed from books and learning as the stars from these roadside paddies. And the path to Tao is by way of simplicity.”

Arriving at the village still three days distant from the town of Chen Jen’s previous employ, they took to a small inn for a few days’ rest. For though both sages were used to long journeys, they were both more aware of their years and of the effects of their leisurely existence in the hermit’s vale.

This post is part of a series. To view the index, go here.

Welcome to My Press Conference

I'd like to thank you all for coming. I'm here today to announce that -- after my recent scandal involving a forklift, a case of oreo cookies and Zhuangzi's great, great, great, great, great, great, great granddaughter (she really was GREAT) -- I'm forming a completely new Taoist sect called The Newer Than the Previous New Life Philosophical Taoist Enclave. This new enclave will be open to ALL people, even those dastardly Nabisco folks who took away my oreos.

My dear wife is standing beside me in this effort. See. She's right over there...Hey, where did she go? (Dear, this isn't helping matters! I thought we had this all worked out last night!)

To prove that I'm not the conniving megalomaniac that the media and my former enclave members would have you believe, I'm starting small this time around. We're holding "meetings" in the basement of my small, quaint 17,000 square foot home in a gated community. We won't even think of erecting an enclave sanctuary until I can dupe motivate sell convince enough people to pass onto me the enclave their life's savings. Of course, anyone can send me bucket loads of money by going to my brand new website, Im_a_filthy_bastard.com.

To learn more, check out the coverage of "this" press conference at USA Today.

Bruce is Back!

For all of you who so enjoyed Bruce Gerenscer's Restless Wanderings blog before its demise, you'll be happy to learn that Bruce is back in the saddle at NW Ohio Skeptics. Here's the intro from his blog:

Welcome to the NW Ohio Skeptics website. We are a group of agnostics, atheists,skeptics, humanists, and non-religious people who desire to present an alternative viewpoint to to the conservative, Christian viewpoint so common in NW Ohio and many parts of the United States. You can expect to find regular commentary on politics, social issues, culture and religion, with a focus on issues and news affecting NW Ohio. From time to time you will also find concise, passionate commentary on national politics, social issues, culture, and religion.

All I can say is "Welcome Back, Bruce!" We missed you!

The Wanderings - The Forest of Dark Sages, Part 3

If you haven't read Part 1 and Part 2 of this story, you should go back to read them first.

“Each and every thing has its own innate nature,” commented Chen Jen, “whether stone or tree or human being. And all things but man express that nature inherently. Let us be who we truly are, for that, my dear friends, is to find the bliss of harmony! Let us leave behind all knowing. Let us jump into the Flow of Nature and let it carry us where it will. And where we resist, where ‘humanity’ would diverge, let us rather go with that which is most primal. Let us go with Nature’s Flow.”

Then Chen Jen offered:
The heavens spin.
Seasons pass.
The wheel of life
Slowly turns
In the Forest of Dark Sages.

“Life flows on in the freedom of its own self-sustaining nature,” said Yu Chu. “But what do you mean by the Forest of Dark Sages?”

“The Forest of Dark Sages is everywhere and nowhere,” answered Chen Jen. “It is the great void of freedom in which the sage roams aimlessly, without purpose or meaning or identity. These sages are called ‘dark’ because they are unknown to the world, and indeed, they are unknown to their own selves.”

And P’o-tzu offered:
The pool is still
In the morning calm.
The reflected clouds
Cause not a riffle.

“Is not this the very image of the heart at peace?” suggested Tzu-yu. “The world and its passing entanglements are observed and reflected, but find no place in a heart at rest.”

Then Yu Chu offered:
This sea of grass
Tossed by the wind.
What freedom!

“I see it!” exclaimed Tzu-yu. “The wind sweeps the grass this way and that and it yields in joy to whatever might arise. This is freedom! And you, Yu Chu, have taken to the Tao like a fish takes to the water.”

“Is not this precisely the given nature of all that is?” responded Yu Chu. “For the fish to take pleasure in water is for the fish to flow with Tao. And for a man to be a man is for a man to flow with Tao.”

This post is part of a series. To view the index, go here.

No Thanks

As I travel around the blogosphere and leave comments on blog posts that speak to me, one response always puzzles me. I've never understood why blog hosts feel the need to thank anyone for leaving a comment.

To me, one of the whole purposes of having a public blog is to write stuff and then, if members of the reading public seem so moved, they can respond via the comments section. What is there to be thankful for re this transaction?

If we should each be thankful anytime someone says or writes something to us, then why don't we start every conversation with thanking the other person or persons for agreeing to converse with us in the first place?

Bill: Hi Sue!
Sue: Why thank you, Bill, for saying hello.
Bill: Well, thank you for thanking me.
Sue: I can't thank you enough for thanking me for thanking you.
Bill: I'm equally thankful that you thanked me for thanking you for thanking me.
Sue: I'm just so thankful...

Now, I realize that this may be something that doesn't compute in my aspie-infused brain; it may well make sense to the vast majority of the populace. Generally speaking, if I ask someone to do something for me and they do it, I see this as an appropriate reason to be thankful. If, on the other hand, someone offers something that is unsolicited by me, then I may well appreciate the act, but I am not thankful for it; no expectation was involved.

Since it's rather obvious I deviate from the norm on this topic, maybe a few of you would be so gracious as to enlighten me on this matter. What types of words or actions do you express thanks for and which do you do not?

Should I write "Thank you" in advance?

Daodejing, Verse 16

Daodejing - Other Voices

Sweet Sixteen
Empty yourself of everything.
Let the mind rest at peace.

This pretty much chimes with what I have recently been reading about time management – the secret is to get everything out of your head and onto a trusted source. Well, I guess that sources don’t come much more trusted than The Source to a taoist. Perhaps my next move should be the Tao of Time Management?

But for now we’re stuck with the tao of teaching.

And in particular, we’re stuck with a verse of the TTC that seems to be about death and dying. In short, the taoist wisdom of Verse 16 offers us this advice, “Look, you’re gonna die, OK? Deal with it.” Put next to Psalm 23, Verse 16 pretty much blows chunks. One is put in mind of the soon-to-be-deceased asking fearfully in the hospital room, “What’s gonna happen after I die?” Now, depending on whether the Catholic chaplain can move his chubby little legs faster than the taoist monk, he either hears, “You will be led through pastures green, by clear waters; you will live eternity in goodness and fear will be banished from your mind forever,” OR “Everything is pretty much going to stay the same. But without you.”

But this is the tao of teaching!!! What does Verse 16 have to offer us? Let’s try it out:

“Master Lao, before I go and teach my very first class, what have you to say that can help me to calm down?”

“Empty yourself of everything. Let the mind rest at peace. “

“You are joking, aren’t you? I need to go in with a plan, a syllabus, a scheme of work, a record of work, a class register, a CD, a CD player, board pens, a board wipe, a class file, a text book, a teacher’s book, a workbook, some photocopies…”

Yes. Taoism uses the phrase “the ten thousand things” to talk about the entirety of things in this world. It really is possible that this phrase was coined ≠by Lao after he watched an EFL teacher scuttling into an imperial classroom with approximately this number of pedagogical accoutrements tucked in and around his person.

Lao tells us that we should empty ourselves of everything and “return to the source”. What is the source? It is “the way of nature”, which according to the Old Boy, is unchanging. It got the job of being the way of nature when it demonstrated its capacity for vastness, constancy and by being way Way beyond the ability of humans to comprehend. Actually, it was the only applicant for the job.

The Tao will never be tamed, labelled or fixed. Once you’ve got your head around that, why, then everything else just falls into place! And Tao is nature and is part of nature and is natural and is everything that is natural. And what could be more natural for human beings than language? So what does it mean to say that if we empty ourselves of everything, we will be able to return to the source? I’m going to suggest that this can be interpreted as saying that if we want to be at peace when we are learning/teaching a language, this is best done by leaving the crap at the door and going in ready to errr…use the language...
~ from Tao Te(a)Ching, original post date: 1/3/10 ~

This post is part of a series. For an introduction, go here.

The Wanderings - The Forest of Dark Sages, Part 2

If you haven't read Part 1 of this story, you should go back to read it first.

The three newly arrived sages, having each one implicitly decided to stay for some time, began constructing a modest hut to house them. Thinking it best to stay well within what must be the hermit’s protective circle, he alone seemingly immune to the tiger’s hunger, they chose a place nearby and closer to the stream. Here they found a cave-like hollow in the cliff that formed the vale’s south wall and with this to aid them, the work was soon done.

Next came the need for a garden and it was decided that the hermit’s garden could easily be enlarged. And though all gave a ready hand, soon it was clear that Yu Chu had discovered in himself a special love for this activity. And thus here he spent most of his waking hours, freeing them all for other pursuits of contemplation, art and poetry.

P’o-tzu applied himself as usual to long periods alone in the forest and amidst the ferns he called his friends. And from his brush came works of profound simplicity. Chen Jen and Tzu-yu likewise spent long hours absorbing the harmonies of the forest, but were careful to not stray too far lest they tempt fate in tiger form; for his roar was often heard. And often they wrote poetry, simple and spare, in an effort to catch the moods and thusness of Nature and the effect they had upon their hearts.

And frequently the evening light would find them all together, sharing and discussing their thoughts and works, in pleasant harmony.

Tzu-yu offered:
The tiger feeds
On an aspirant’s flesh.
The forest sage,
The final teaching.

“Truly death is life’s greatest teacher,” commented Chen Jen. “For nothing is more sure, nor is anything more hidden.”

Chen Jen offered:
What a joy, this singing stream!
Rising and passing beyond all knowledge
To and from an unknown sea.

“Indeed,” observed Tzu-yu, “of beginnings and endings we have no knowledge, only it must be that it is to and from a common Source. What is left, then, but to put away all fear and caring, and live in the freedom and joy of this relative moment!?”

And P’o-tzu offered:
In the sky above
A squirrel flies
In the talons of the hawk.

Life feasting on life
Ever self-arising in
Spontaneity.

“Is it not but one Life, after all?” suggested Tzu-yu. “And does it not arise spontaneously as though self-creating?”

And Yu Chu offered:
The summer grasses dance in the wind,
Nodding grainy heads,
Each according to its nature.

This post is part of a series. To view the index, go here.

The Wanderings - The Forest of Dark Sages, Part 1

Soon on the road, Tzu-yu and Yu Chu made slow progress, the latter being unused to long days of walking. But the distance was short and in five days’ time they were in conference with Chen Jen. With his time of employment nearly come to an end, Chen Jen suggested that they all three return to the hermit’s vale where perhaps Yu Chu might find a place with the hermit and King Ching Chi, the progress of whom they were curious to see. To this Yu Chu responded enthusiastically, thinking that a time of solitude might better enable his quest than long days of walking and the hardships of the road!

Now for Chen Jen this parting was no easy task, for his five wards had come to love him, and clung to him with tears. But he said to them sternly, though he too fighting back tears, “For what have you learned to think for yourselves? Now you can learn without the impediment of a teacher! And what are these affections given their own head, are you not meant to rein them and be greater than they!?”

But he was greatly moved and promised them that he would return, if fate allowed that he should, to give them further instruction if only for a short time. “And see to it that you are ready with minds clear and still, and able to teach the teacher what can never be taught!”

And with that they were soon off on the long trip to the vale. And staying again with the farmer and his family, they heard of how King Ching Chi had entered their hearts and how he had, in their opinion, become a sage of great merit. But after just a few days, and that mostly for the resting of Yu Chu, they departed again, leaving simple gifts thought rare so far in the country.

When again in the forest, both Chen Jen and Tzu-yu felt the call of solitude and the life of a hermit. For where better to experience harmony with the Flow of Nature than in her very bosom still unsullied by the grasping of men? And Yu Chu, too, became strangely elated, realizing perhaps the promise of the life that lay before him should he choose to stay in this wilderness beyond anything he had ever experienced.

They found the hermit working in his garden and he invited them all into his hut for some herbal tea. “This will refresh you,” said he, “for your road has been long and it tells on our new friend. But here you will find rest for more than your body,” he said, turning to Yu Chu.

“I see you have been busy with your brushes and ink,” said Chen Jen inspecting new creations hanging on the walls. “And this one here is of a different sort than the others I have seen. The tiger amidst the bamboo, so hidden he and the forest are one. And here in the distance a small figure steps from the ink to the untouched silk, into the empty void and eternity.” He paused, turned and studied the old hermit’s face and said, “King Ching Chi has fed the tiger, is it not so?”

“It is as you say,” replied the hermit. “On his very first day.”

“But that is horrible!” exclaimed Yu Chu.

Hearing this Chen Jen burst into laughter and the hermit and Tzu-yu soon followed suit.

Aghast, Yu Chu exclaimed, “At the news of the terrible death of your dear friend you laugh uproariously rather than mourn!?”

Mastering his amusement, Chen Jen answered him thus: “Your words were precisely the same as those uttered by King Ching Chi when he heard of another who had suffered the same fate. For this we are laughing and for the symmetry of events. For when our friend fed the tiger, he would have thought no such thing, having drunk deep enough of the Tao to see the beauty of death.”

“Nevertheless, should his death not be mourned out of proper respect!?” answered Yu Chu.

“Respect? Proper respect? Ah, yes I remember!” responded P’o-tzu. “Here in the forest, we have the advantage of living without proper respect for the ignorant conventions of men! What is our life but a morning mist, thin and tenuous and soon burned away? This is the Way of Nature, how could we not but say ‘Yes!’? It is the expression of Tao. What do we know more than Tao? We are free to live and truly live free when we let go this grasping to life and let be what be. King Ching Chi has let go his grip. Why would I grip it in his stead?”

“Who is Chen Jen,” added Chen Jen, “that I should fear for his loss? He is but a habit, and a foolish one at that. Who was King Ching Chi that I should mourn his loss? Miss him, I will, for he was a friend in this relative realm. But he has returned to the Source as all that is must do. That being so, should we not rather rejoice that his fulfillment has come?”

“It was his fate, then, to die so young?” asked Yu Chu.

“It is the fate of all men that they shall pass through the portal of death, but fate in the particular can only describe events now past,” answered Chen Jen. “As to whether young or old, the terms are merely relative and say little from the transcendent view of eternity.”

“Our friend is well mourned and remembered with affection in these very brush strokes before us here,” said Tzu-yu. “And his presence and his lessons are likewise brushed upon our hearts.”

With that the discussion ended leaving each one to digest the words as he would and to consider how much they reflected his heart’s own reality.

This post is part of a series. To view the index, go here.

Real Life Tao - The Dark Side

A negative attitude attracts negative people and creates negative results. The sage knows that maintaining a positive attitude will always bring a measure of success in due time.

~ Today's Taoist Daily Quote from Lao Fzu ~

Back in the 80s through early 90s, I plied my trade as a Licensed Social Worker. For the most part, I worked with dysfunctional families that had issues that centered around child and/or spousal abuse. While many of my adult clients readily recognized the problems within their families and worked hard to rectify the situation, a not insignificant number simply couldn't or wouldn't fathom why their lives were filled with so much negative energy and forces.

Of course, it was so every easy to identify these individuals. They were the ones who came to meetings with a dour expression and complaints about everything under the sun.

• My children, spouse, partner, parents, coworker, neighbor, pastor or (fill in the blank) doesn't like me or is out to get me.
• I keep getting involved with one abuser, alcoholic, deadbeat, pathological liar or (fill in the blank) after another.
• The world, God, fate, luck or (fill in the blank) is and will always be against me.
• No matter how hard I try to change, my boss, partner, in-laws, friends, relatives or (fill in the blank) always undermine[s] me.

It didn't matter what the issue was. It didn't matter how easy it might be to complete. It didn't matter if we bent over backward to give an individual a second, third or fourth chance to resolve the problem. Every attempt to help the family mitigate the key issues was met with negativity.

On many occasions, I would pointblank tell the person that their own negative aura was the biggest stumbling block to healing. In most cases, the people who attract negativity are the people who project it outward.

In many ways, our beliefs and attitudes about the world around us behave like a magnet. People who tend to see the good in life attract goodness and beauty. People who tend to see the badness of life are more apt to attract disharmony and ugliness. So, if negativity seems to cling to us like a fly stuck on flypaper, the first place to look is in the mirror!

This is not to say that individuals with a positive attitude never meet ugliness nor calamity along the path. In my opinion, it's impossible to live a meaningful life and NOT run into hurdles or barriers from time to time. But the person who embraces the Way is better able to deal with the yin and the yang of life.

When the negative person encounters lemons, she/he is apt to throw up their hands and mutter something about this being par for the course.

When the positive person encounters lemons, they simply make lemonade! In other words, they take in stride all that this life can dish out. They deal with the good and the bad, then continue walking down the road.

This post is part of a series. For an introduction, go here.

The Wanderings - A Gaggle of Geese, Part 2

If you haven't read Part 1 of this story, you should go back to read it first.

And there, upon its opening, stood Yu Chu. “I would hear more of your Tao, Tzu-yu, if you would consent to teach me,” said he. “For in my heart I know well that these vain speculations are lifeless and sterile.”

After seating him and calling for tea, Tzu-yu answered thus: “There is no Tao I can teach you, for it is as I said, merely a word. For if it designates the Unknowable then it means nothing at all. There is no Tao of which I can speak. But I can tell you this: that the Tao is found in Emptiness, though in Emptiness there is no Tao.”

“What then is Emptiness and how might I find it?” asked Yu Chu.

“Emptiness is your awareness empty of all,” replied Tzu-yu. “It is the end of all knowing and the end of all belief—even the belief in the existence of your own self. Emptiness is your awareness free of self and all identity.

As to how you can find it, your answer lies within. For the only true teacher is your own heart. Follow your heart in stillness and it will show you the way, a way that is truly unique to you. How then could I teach it, or you to another?”

“Is this then the path to the Supreme Vision of Unity?” asked Yu Chu.

“The process is the goal; the goal is the process,” answered Tzu-yu. “The Way is your path; for this reason we call it the Way. Think not of achievement, focus not on an end—how can you foresee an end when you know nothing at all? Follow your path and let be what be. Remember the geese; do not clutter your sky!”

“I will follow this Way, I will resign my post!” exclaimed Yu Chu. “Might I not also accompany you?”

“The Way is in all things and expressed in the same,” replied Tzu-yu. “You need not abandon the life you now live.”

“I understand what you say, yet my bondage is beyond measure and my duties are to propagate the same,” responded Yu Chu. “Were I an executioner, a remover of limbs and heads, truly my duties would not be further from the Way!”

Thinking back to his very own pleas to Chen Jen and how his friend’s assent had brought him such growth, Tzu-yu could find no means to refuse. “Then so it shall be. Resign your post and when you have discharged your duties honorably, we will go to see my friend and mentor, Chen Jen-tzu who can help advise you as to your next best course. For our way of wandering is not for all, being fraught with danger and the rigors of the road.” For though his spirit was strong and his enthusiasm great, Tzu-yu saw, too, that he was frail and of dubious strength.

This post is part of a series. To view the index, go here.

Tao Book Giveaway - July

I thought I would do something different for July. Instead of offering one book, I'm going to offer a choice between two books. What this means is that the individual whose name is drawn gets to choose which one of the two books she/he desires and then that book will be shipped to them (anywhere in the world with a mailing address) for F-R-E-E.

As with last month's giveaway, here's how it works: Anyone interested in the book of the month needs to contact me in one of two ways: a) You can note your interest in the Comments section of this post OR b) You can send me an email. If you choose the first option, you will need to check this blog around July 1 to find out if you are the "winner". If so, you will need to email me your mailing address, so I can send you the book of your choice.

The two books to choose from for the July Tao Book Giveaway are:

• The Tao of Zen by Ray Grigg (paperback)
• The Living Tao: Meditations on the Tao Te Ching to Empower Your Life by Stephen F. Kaufman (hardback)

The Tao of Zen

Taoism? Buddhism? Zen? Zen Buddhism?!?

Ever get lost trying to untangle these terms? Well, you are not alone in the confusion.

Ray Grigg's The Tao of Zen provides a valiant effort to untangle the terms and can help you understand the confusion. The book, in an appropriately indirect way, also provides a sense of how Tao and Zen can be experienced in everyday life.

The main thesis of the book is provided in preface:

Zen is Taoism disguised as Buddhism. When twelve hundred years of Buddhist accretions are removed from Zen, it is revealed to be a direct evolution of the spirit of Taoism. Indeed, the literature known as the Lau Tsu and the Chuang Tzu begins a continuous tradition that can be followed through the Ch'an of China to the Zen of present day Japan. The formative writings of Taoism are essentially the teachings of Zen.

The Living Tao

Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching or Book of the Way is the ancient text on the art of living a comfortable and stress-free life. This unique interpretation of the Taoist philosophy presents Lao Tzu's message clearly and in a direct manner that avoids confusing mystical explanations. To Hanshi Stephen Kaufman, a distinguished martial arts grandmaster and educator, the Tao Te Ching is simply a book of poetry and passion and through Hanshi's staightforward approach and explanation you will come to see that to understand the Tao is to understand the beauty and simplicity of life.

The Living Tao presents eighty-one original poems followed by the author's commentary relating each to the physical, mental, and spiritual aspects of life based on the Chinese notion of yin and yang. The result is a guide for living that can empower you to achieve meaning and fulfillment in your life.

Daodejing, Verse 15

Daodejing - Other Voices

Push Hands: Wu Wei in action
Another Classic that often gets quoted in connection with Tai Chi Chuan is that mainstay of Taoism, the Tao Te Ching (The classic of the way and its power) * . While debate continues to rage in academic circles over whether you can truly say Tai Chi Chuan is a Taoist art or not, I’d like to neatly sidestep the whole issue completely. I

t’s obvious that you don’t have to be signed up card carrying member of a Taoist sect to read and enjoy the Tao Te Ching. What’s more its philosophy of “know the Yang, but stick to the Yin” has direct relevance to many martial arts, and Tai Chi Chuan in particular. To say that Tai Chi Chuan hasn’t been influenced in some degree over the years by the type of thinking found in this giant of Chinese literature is simply incorrect.

In this article I’d like to talk about how one particular verse from the Tao Te Ching can help you understand how the combat strategy of Tai Chi Chuan can be applied in Push Hands practice. Push Hands is a type of 2-person sparring exercise that belongs to Tai Chi Chuan. There’s a lot of subtlety to it, but in brief, one person pushes on the other’s arms, they try and deflect the push and then push back and so it continues in a circular pattern.

In a lot of classes it’s the only type of 2-person training available. Push Hands is not fighting, but it should be practiced in a competitive way – you’re meant to be actively trying to unbalance the other person when you push. If you’re both simply moving your arms around in circles then nothing is really going on. You need to help your partner out by giving them something to work with. If you don’t have any force to work with then how can you ever hope to understand that “A force of four ounces deflects a thousand pounds” (as it says in the Tai Chi Chuan Treaste)?

The problem with push hands is that as soon as the idea of actively seeking to push the opponent is introduced the whole thing can descend into a very physical pushing and shoving match. In an effort to unbalance the opponent it’s human nature to try to impose your own will on the situation, which usually results in that great sin of Push Hands: Double Weighting (using force against force). I

t sounds contradictory, but to be truly good at push hands you need to try to not impose your own ideas on the situation – “Fundamentally, it is giving up yourself to follow others”, as it says in The Treaste on Tai Chi Chuan. Of course, that’s easier said than done, but I’ve found that reading the Tao Te Ching can add some great insights into how that is achieved. In particular I’d like to look at verse 15:

The ancient Masters were profound and subtle.
Their wisdom was unfathomable.
There is no way to describe it;
all we can describe is their appearance.

They were careful
as someone crossing an iced-over stream.
Alert as a warrior in enemy territory.
Courteous as a guest.
Fluid as melting ice.
Shapable as a block of wood.
Receptive as a valley.
Clear as a glass of water.

Do you have the patience to wait
till your mud settles and the water is clear?
Can you remain unmoving
till the right action arises by itself?

The Master doesn’t seek fulfillment.
Not seeking, not expecting,
she is present, and can welcome all things.

As soon as you touch your Push Hands partner’s hands you are “a warrior in enemy territory”. If you let your guard down you will be easily pushed, and this applies as much to the mind as to the body. You need to cultivate your sense of awareness. A calm, steady, but receptive mind is what is needed.

Verse 15 describes the actions of somebody with this type of mind, the “ancient Masters”, whose wisdom was “profound and subtle”. They are sensitive and receptive to conditions, so they can act correctly. In fact, it’s almost as if they don’t act themselves, instead the “right action arises by itself”.

Here we see the philosophy of Wu Wei in action – literally it means “doing nothing”, but I like to think of it in the terms described in Verse 15 – it’s effortlessly doing the right thing at the right time. Essentially, you don’t do it, instead it does itself...
~ from The Tai Chi Notebook, original post date: 5/21/08 ~

This post is part of a series. For an introduction, go here.

June Tao Book Giveaway Winner Is...

...Michael Lewis!

Since Michael entered the June Tao Book Giveaway via email, I should have little problem contacting him to get his mailing address. However, if for some unforeseen reason I haven't made contact with him by the end of June 10, an alternate name was also drawn.

Initially, I planned to announce the book to be given away in July around June 22, but I decided I will do a post later today and that will give you all a month to decide if you are interested in it.

The Wanderings - A Gaggle of Geese, Part 1

At this same time, Tzu-yu continued his wandering and came to the principal city of the region. And it came to pass that, as he took tea in the common room of the inn where he had taken lodging, he overheard three scholars at a table nearby who were discussing the Tao and some obscure metaphysics. And these worthies, noticing him for the first time and discerning from his clothing and manner that he was a wandering sage, invited him to join them at their table.

After introductions were made, a scholar named Yu Chu spoke to him thus: “Tell us, Tzu-yu, to what school do you belong and what can you add to our discussion, for we were speaking of the Tao and how it might be known? My colleagues and I believe it is through the pursuit of the Universal Principle of Li, but they cannot agree if this is expressed in belief in the rituals themselves or in what underlies them. And I am of the opinion that Li is not understood through ritual at all, but through a thorough pursuit of the knowledge of Li. Can you add to our debate and perhaps give weight to one side, for as it now stands, no one side has the advantage?”

“Sirs, I must tell you that I have no school, nor have I studied the teachings of your master, Kung-fu-tzu. Indeed, I have studied under no master at all and am not qualified to discuss these fine points. For as you have rightly perceived, I am a man who wanders inspired by Tao, but all that I have learned has come to me thus, in the company of others and at the bosom of nature. I must content myself, therefore, to merely listen and learn.”

At this the three scholars gave him a nod of resigned dismissal and proceeded to expound on their rarified metaphysics. This went on for considerable time and several pots of tea, until the scholars themselves seemed to tire of the subject. So turning again to address Tzu-yu, Yu Chu said, “Surely, Sir, you must have an opinion on all that you have here heard, or perhaps you might share with us what it is that you believe?”

Thus Tzu-yu reluctantly began: “Sirs, I am at a loss how to begin for I have been lost from the beginning. Yet I will tell you something of the way I follow Tao. And my words will be simple, for things of the spirit are above all simple and should be simply spoken. What I understand of the Tao is that it is the Great Mystery. It yields to no words, nor can debate achieve its description. It dwells beyond all knowing, and belief cannot reach it.

As great ones have said, ‘The end of knowledge is the beginning of wisdom.’ And again, ‘The wise sage stops where knowledge has its end.’ For the Mysterious Tao is known only in the intuitive heart and this knowing is a knowing beyond all words. And though a great mystery, the Tao is seen in all that is, if only we can look with a heart that is surrendered, open, and empty. And to have touched the Tao is to know harmony in unity with all that is.

Now you, Sirs,” he continued, “are very much like the novice painter in ink, who, having through simplicity achieved a great unity of the particular with a vast empty sky, decides it must have a gaggle of geese. But I see I have offended you, and that was not my intent. For you are scholars by profession and should practice your profession with pride. But I trust you will forgive me when I say you are no sages; for a sage would not attempt to explain the Tao or make things of the spirit the subject of debate.”

With these words, Tzu-yu saw his welcome had come to an end and so he excused himself and retired to his room where he remained in quiet contemplation until stirred by a tentative knocking at his door.

This post is part of a series. To view the index, go here.