Whether it is understood or not, it still is as it is.

Ta-Wan

The fascinating truth is that, whatever this is: call it; life, universe, mystery or scientific fact - Can only be just as it currently is.

There is no alternative to right now. You couldn't have done anything differently, you can't influence the present state. It is automatic with no controller. It just is.

Understanding all, or being completely ignorant are both perfectly valid. Being apparently successful or an apparent failure are perfectly valid. The universe is forever changing state. We attach to passing forms. Your mind can become trapped.

Conflict in the mind is due to what the mind sees and what it wishes to see being different. Zen, Taoism and so on would have you see that what the mind wishes to see may as well be what it does see. And thus no conflict.

Even that is if you see great horror, that's what it appears to be. The desire for an alternative is where the mind foolishly, egotistically, places itself as sole actor and creator of reality, and convinces itself it could, should or can have an alternative.

The old "acceptance" - "yesterday is history, tomorrow a mystery" cliche.

Que Sera Sera, Whatever will be will be, the futures not ours to see. Que Sera Sera!

You can check out Ta-Wan's other musings here.

I Think, Therefore...

Ta-Wan

...I am not Zen.

This post originally appeared on Ta-Wan's blog, Tao Wow.

Nothing to Negate

Ta-Wan

No meditator

No meditation

No where to meditate

Nothing to meditate on

No one who could meditate

No thing to be meditated

No thing to meditate it

No seeing, no source, no seen, no end; a cycle of no linear nature and no dual nature. No Om. No ommer, no omming, no noer, no knower, no known and no.

This post originally appeared on Ta-Wan's blog, Tao Wow.

Zero Is Infinity

Ta-Wan

I had some long winded path to a beautiful conclusion but forgetting both leaves me with just this one remanence that emerged mid flow someway towards the early middle.

This post originally appeared on Ta-Wan's blog, Tao Wow.

A Note From Self to Ego

Ta-Wan

So you think you are analytical - I think you are staring at the wall.

So you think you are spiritual - I think you speak mumbo-jumbo.

So you think you are religious - I think you have a closed off mind.

So you think you are happy - I say stop thinking and you will be.

So you think I have it all worked out - I know for sure you can't.

And this is why I exist in bliss,

knowing the only certainty,

is this.

This post originally appeared on Ta-Wan's blog, Tao Wow.

Tao Wisdom

Ta-Wan

Tao is Wisdom

Taoism is religion

If it is not clear yet then let me state I am not religious and I feel religion to be a failure in the person.

Wisdom is everywhere and it happens that some of the purest recorded wisdom comes in the Tao Te Ching. To feel though that the 81 verses are all perfection and that nothing exists outside of them is error and understanding of the first chapter is clarification of this.

"The Tao that can be told is not the Tao."

Tao was the term Lau Tzu came up with when he backed himself into a corner and decided that, if pushed, he would call it Tao. Truly, and the way I see, there is and can be no name.

I would like to use another name, this is the trap of language, we kind of need a name to communicate, yet communication can not carry Tao.

Truth is FUUUUUUU!!!!!! WOW!! and then a calm deep intake of breath.

That we can have !!!! here, this - look I can touch, feel, see a reality, there is an indication there is a me, and a you, and so many of us, animals creatures, love, hair, feelings, bam! infront of us.. us, wow! that is incredible.

To conceptualise reality (what you do all the time and the next 80 chapters of the Tao Te Ching) is error.

There is absolute magic!

The atheist, the nihilist, the day to day person, is not wrong, they just deny or miss the magic.

The religious person any form of "-ist" or "-ism" is not wrong they just feel there is somewhere they have to find "it" - not wrong, they are just looking not seeing.

Teaching and wisdom points, that is all.

It seems so many, even though they can quote "finger pointing to the moon" still are hung up on the finger.

Well, finger to you, middle that is, there is bliss and WOW here and that is all I am here for.

This post originally appeared on Ta-Wan's blog, Tao Wow.

Know It All

Ta-Wan

Think you know the universe and it will give you something to prove you don't.

Talk of knowing and it will trip you up.

Admit you don't know and you bathe in bliss.

Say you know nothing and you know it all.

This post originally appeared on Ta-Wan's blog, Tao Wow.

Just To Make You Jealous

Ta-Wan

I had 12 hours meditation today, paid.

I travelled home in a chauffeur driven vehicle so big that I could carry many people with me.

Really I had a long day at work cutting and folding paper, but it gave me lots of time to meditate.

And I got the bus home.

This post originally appeared on Ta-Wan's blog, Tao Wow.

Why Complicate Consciousness?

Ta-Wan

Gaia theory states that the Earth is a conscious being, Hindus texts have conscious planets and stars, Egyptian texts talk of conscious stars and the ideal next life to aim for would be that of a star.

Conventional science says we are of such complexity that we each produce a consciousness of our own. Some religions would say that the consciousness we have is given to us by some grace or process.

The idea that there is an unconscious goo in the womb that at such a level of complexity develops consciousness keeps the catholic priests busy in debate. The idea that planets like earth regulate an atmosphere to nurse life (Gaia Theory) is compelling.

But none of the theories add up to a complete simple "aaah" they leave much open and add complication.

I'm not sure that the Taoists ever got to explaining consciousness directly but instead told us to not bother with dual thinking and see all is "of one" - The idea that bits do not make up a whole rather that a whole divided to give the impression of bits.

The way I have come to see how it all fits together, and I think this is how Buddhists see it is that:

There is a consciousness and we are OF that one and only consciousness. - we are bits of it like bubbles on a stream.

Allan Watts said something like; 'Apples do not come into a tree but out of a tree, people do not come into the world but out of the world' I have this notion too that there is a consciousness of no shape form or time, that brings this about.

None of us then have consciousness, we are of the one consciousness we are in it, of it. Fed by it, infused with it. - Like a TV and the way TV Shows and electricity from one main source give the TV's their animatedness, the TV show is everywhere. A TV can become unfit to receive the show and new TV's just have to be able to receive TV shows, and not be such that they have to make TV shows.

This does perhaps leave some unanswered questions but none I have a problem with - it just seems to wrap it all up in a simple lovely package and removes all the complexity attached to many consciousnesses in a complex universe.

This post originally appeared on Ta-Wan's blog, Tao Wow.

My Religion Says I Can't Work

Ta-Wan

It crossed my mind some years ago to take on all religions so that I could have lots of days off work and lots of holidays. My friend invented his own religion called COJ (the Cult of John) with it's own holy book the Bibble, I have not asked him yet but I'm pretty sure that if I joined his cult he'd give me as many days off as I liked. - But why when I can have my own?

I find the hours we keep and days in seven's to be quite out of sync with my natural rhythms; so I state from here on in that I am now a tax exempt, work exempt, Wowist priest. Wowists do not recognise days of the week or time, so are exempt from everything.

When I meet you I (may) say the word wow in conversation and this should be seen as reverence to the great wow, you should respond by not really noticing and this shall be the way we honour the wow. I will wear wowist clothing which will be just like normal clothing so that anyone wearing normal clothes will too be stating love of the wow.

I may also like a bowl of ice cream, so I'll see to that myself now. - Apart from that, all will be about the same but I won't be paying tax or working again.

This post originally appeared on Ta-Wan's blog, Tao Wow.

What We Call Not Knowing Is True Knowing

Ta-Wan

What we call not knowing is true knowing, the empty thought is not attached to any one thing so has it all. Draw a concept, focus at all and you miss so much.

The "vastness" of space and time and the 10,000 things are, like us, the mind - and our knowing that is emptiness.

Our term emptiness is further example that English is not a language suited to spiritual truth. But when it is seen, it is truly grasped. Named, it is not.

Empty mind is whole mind.

This post originally appeared on Ta-Wan's blog, Tao Wow.

We live in a Yang orientated world

Ta-Wan

"We live in a Yang orientated world"

I heard that quote for the first time some years ago and though "Oooo how deep". - but it is meaningless.

Yang can only yang as yin allows this. We can not take the statement and say well "Yin must push back" as yin would then be yang. The nature of yin is to allow and for yang to enter. Yin by it's virtue allows yang.

To say "We live in a Yang orientated world" is to say that you are focusing on the Yang and it is to miss that we must always have a yin yang world - so the key to the whole is to see the yin and not ask yin to be yang. If yin pushed it would be yang and if yin stopped it would be death.

Neither is more powerful, yang can only yang as yin allows, yin can only allow for something with a virtue to take - they are just words for aspects of the whole and NOT things to tie to western ideas of dualism. Yin VS Yang is not the case, yin and yang are actions of the whole.

When yin has done all she can and yang has taken all he can then yin becomes yang , that is to say the nature alters to be the taking aspect of the whole. Yang always "pushes" as yin always takes, they do not alternate in action but the name alternates.

On a bicycle the legs change role of yin yang as they push or come up, if they both pushed the wheels could not turn.

This post originally appeared on Ta-Wan's blog, Tao Wow.

EveryThere

Ta-Wan

You are not everywhere but everythere. Conciser it.

Where is "where"? it is questioning and not present.

"There" is direct and "there"

"I am everywhere", sounds meaningful and deep and wholesome.

but

"I am everythere" is truth.

---

In meditation try an English mantra. I don't use mantras normally but can occasionally find use in them. In developing single pointedness or concentration they can be a tool but what is the use of one that means nothing to you? Ok it may remove wasteful thoughts but the mantras are meaningful to those whos language they are born from.

Try: "Absent" "Absent" "Absent" "Absent"

or if it is generating too much negativity and you don't have the strength to get to the core;

Try: "There" "There" "There" "There" "Here" "Here" "Here" "Now" "Now"

"This" "This" "This"

and other words that draw you from the dual.

This post originally appeared on Ta-Wan's blog, Tao Wow.

Extremist Taoism

Ta-Wan

The Hua Hu Ching states in its opening passage:

"My teachings are simple; if you try to make a religion or science of them, they will elude you."

and Taoism is at its best a philosophy, famously stating in the Tao Te Ching "The Tao that can be told is not the Tao" so by ruling out any religion or set method to its discovery. I recommend sitting by a lake over reading any book explaining Tao.

Yet even against the intent and strong statements in nearly all Tao literature that Tao should not form a religion - Taoism as a religion exists, it is a religion based around the Tao and has all the rubbish of all religion attached to it such as worship of deities and so on.

If we accept that anything that can lead to a religion will eventually give rise to extremist action and "us VS them", then wouldn't it be fun to set up a sect that was extremely lazy?

Take all the lines we can such as: "The sage, by doing nothing, does nothing wrong." and adapting the lines slightly like that to give them a real leaning towards the slacker.

We would then, in not too long have a Tao of absolute laziness loved by stoners, students, slackers and co - hopefully with time a member would take the teachings and see them as an undisputed truth that must be stood up for. With their leadership the whole group will be crystallized around the teachings and they will be seen as the word of God.

When the inevitable happens and the new extremist Tao is seen by its members to be being encroached upon by another group of people, politics or lawmakers, they will fight back.

Being the religious extremists they are they will go to the letter of their doctrine and fight their cause by staying in bed a lot, showing up late for everything, being religiously disorganized and aiming to fail.

The end result being a religious war where a group of disorganized folk don't really get much done. I'd say the body count would be very low.

So if anything, even when not intended to become a religion, even in stating it shouldn't, still does - we then by encouraging passivity, disorganization and laziness, make for a very laid back group of extremists come the revolution.

This post originally appeared on Ta-Wan's blog, Tao Wow.

"I" am the action of the universe

Ta-Wan

"I" am the action of the universe

"fake I" is a black-box recording unit

The universe is universing and doing all acts.

Wherever it makes something of interest, where it wants to monitor what is going on it places a black-box recording unit - you call this your mind or self.

As the black-box recording unit sees all acts just after they happen and records them, it thinks it is seeing them in real-time and it thinks it is doing them!

The plane turns left, the black-box records the event but thinks it did it.

The black-box in a plane thinks it is flying the plane, you think you are acting out your life. It is being acted out in complete oneness, you are a monitoring unit fooling itself it is driving.

When you see that you are truly the action of the universe and not this monitoring unit you go beyond the scope of the senses. Rather than "I, hear the rain, see the wall" it is "I am the rain, the wall, the garden, the human and the tree in one unified action".

This post originally appeared on Ta-Wan's blog, Tao Wow.

no matter

Ta-Wan

When where you are and where you wish to be are the same; you're perfectly content and pure happiness is the case. When the mind wishes to be elsewhere, anguish arises.

The solution, then, is not to move the body to the mind's ever changing desires, but to let the mind accept the reality of where you are. You can't change the past, or the future. On not changing the past, your birthplace, actions, events, then this moment is all it could ever have been, the only possible reality.

You can check out Ta-Wan's other musings here.

If Not I Then Who?

Ta-Wan

If you say to someone there is no I and they decide to accommodate you rather than just assume you are mad - assuming they open up to the conversation, then they ask ..

"If there is no me, then who is doing it?"

..and of course that has no answer as if there is no I or me, then there is also no other to do it.

When there is no I there is also no universe, no possible thing. So they probably just nod and hope you go away soon.

This concept that is outside the bounds of language, is of a no-thing, not any thing. It comes over as you may accept there is everything or you may accept there is nothing - in either case you can not then have a notion of I or other or anything - even in the concept of everything you must see this comes to a one outside of definition.

All of this word play sounds like a pointless headache, the key writers on it do seem to go on and on and thinking about it is a koan in itself, and there is the point.. as on trying, you see the fallacy of trying and your mind stumps itself and stops - open to bliss. Bam - and you get it (well not you but it is got), the notion of I is blown away, you may smile or laugh and see the magic.

This post originally appeared on Ta-Wan's blog, Tao Wow.

Time Is Not Change Is

Ta-Wan

Look at these 3;

1) a movie is playing and people move across the screen

2) a computer game or animation is processing and people on the screen

3) life, people moving around

What is happening is just a happening which appears to be peopling. I was walking and smiling at this for some time earlier today, the happening was a happening, I was a smiling happening peopling but not aware of myselfeling. I was not there it was just a happening, then someone said 'excuse me' and it made me laugh, one of these peoplings spoke to me. I then felt like a happening peopling a answering - but the happening was still happening, I was the happening briefly identifying with a character.

You can identify with a character on screen, watch them flow through the story, but there is no one there - on the screen there is just a constant wave of changing colours.

The film or computer animation or game is occuring from a timeless source and the change produced is giving the idea of people doing things over time. There is no going back in the processor, no before or after. There is only that 110100100101 there right now becoming what you see, then it is 001010010111 it has just changed and you form a continuity from that.

There is just a changing happening. One of my parents friends just died, they are sad - the happening is no longer animating that person as was, that person is just the impression people have in their minds of them - but that is all they ever were ever anyway.

When you are not there and the universe is happening with no attachment to forms you are absent and in bliss due to this, you may view the happening from the level of the film or the viewer or the other characters but you'll get hung up if you do most of those. The state is not achieved by trying as the entity trying is starting from inside the trap of self to escape the self. Self can not escape self by trying as self is the doer.

It seems though by setting the task as something for the mind to do it short circuits, the camera no longer thinks it is moving the objects around on the film. The screen no longer thinks it is doing the processor.

This post originally appeared on Ta-Wan's blog, Tao Wow.

Now Has Already Happened

Ta-Wan

It has gone already. and this new now is also gone.

I have the pleasure of working during the week with a guy who gets very angry and stressed, he is one of the many things in my life that I use to re-emphasise truths.

He will be angry at things past, things happening, and angry about future events that he is sure are coming. So he is almost constantly annoyed with life. It is all someone else's fault and he is always right.

Thursday he had a new iPhone, he was pissed off at some lack of features and then the day went on, annoyed with this, with that, with this coming. He also makes many definite plans. "From now on I am leaving at 6 on the dot, I don't give a fuck what anyone says" and come 7.30 he is still there working and annoyed at something new. "I can't go home can I? That stupid so-n-so had that last minute job and now I'm expected to finish it"

During this time, I do the task at hand and sip my tea.

This post originally appeared on Ta-Wan's blog, Tao Wow.

Original Face

Ta-Wan

Drop the desire for enlightenment and then you are "not-I" and you regain your original face.

Anyone seeking enlightenment is of course not enlightened. Nor could anyone ever be enlightened, as on enlightenment, there is no I.

"I seeking enlightenment" is bound.

"Enlightened" is no-I, free.

So drop the idea you could ever achieve, as that achiever is not even possibly real. Drop the idea of an achieving entity so there is no longer a desirer; and then you reach the non-I, and there is enlightenment...

This post originally appeared on Ta-Wan's blog, Tao Wow.