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PostPosted: Thu May 05, 2016 3:09 pm 
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You asked - "What is the meaning of the Tao?"

With this answer I will only act as the humble messenger for Mr Jos Slabbert of Namibia. A modern Taoist Master (and from Africa!). I first read what he wrote in 2001 and I have not found anything in modern Taoist writing more profound than his writing :-

The Way is Tao

By Jos Slabbert

All these thoughts, words arranged on paper, come from the Tao and return to the Tao. Yet they do not touch it.

1

Do not disturb the world. It is the temple of Tao.

2

The silence of Tao is filled with power. Not even the roar of cannon can silence the silence of Tao.

3

Charity has no label, compassion no religion, wisdom no dogma, empathy no rules. Integrity needs no laws, enlightenment no temples. Living in total harmony with Tao is beyond culture, oneness with Tao beyond philosophy. Emptiness and silence cannot be defined. The Way has no name, for it is Tao.

4

The ignorant fall in love with words, yet words do not touch the Tao. The wise fall in love with truths, yet truths do not capture the Tao. The sage in harmony with Tao needs no words or truths, for she accepts emptiness and embraces silence.

5

The Taoist sage knows truth that can be captured is falsehood. He does not invest his faith in truth. His faith is in the Tao which is silent and empty.

6

The Tao is invisible to the intellect. Faith in the total mystery that is Tao brings wisdom and compassion.

7

Silence cannot be told or heard. Emptiness cannot be thought or felt. The Tao is vague and mysterious, yet more real than our senses and our mind.

8

The Tao is silent, yet its silence guides the humble. The Tao is empty, yet its emptines gives strength to the meek. The Tao is vague, yet its vagueness gives clarity to the compassionate. The Tao is unreachable, yet it is part of your true self.

9

The Tao is cruel and false to the hypocritical and unscrupulous, but to the sincere, the Tao is mercy and truth.

10

The Tao is cold and dispassionate to those addicted to desire, but to the detached, the Ta is warmth and consolation.

11

The Tao is relentless to those without remorse, but to the repentant, the Tao is a new beginning.

12

The Tao is unpredictable to the artificial and the egotistical, but to those in harmony with their true nature, the Tao is the Way.

13

The Tao is the source of destruction to those controlled by hatred, but to the compassionate, the Tao is the Mother of Life.

14

The Tao is folly and suffering to those dedicated to illusion, but to those that have traversed the valley of disillusionment, the Tao is wisdom and joy.

15

The Tao is nonsense to those clinging to the intellect, but to the sage residing in emptiness the Tao is common sense.

16

True faith is to serve and to endure without the hope of personal gain. To walk with the Tao is to live beyond merit.

17

The Tao seems cruel to the heartless, but warm and kind to the merciful.

18

The way of the Tao is repugnant to the greedy, but a joy to the humble.

19

The Tao is obscure to the ambitious, but clear and glorious as sunrise to the gentle.

20

Even though the Tao cannot be understood by anyone, the compassionate and the sincere know the Tao, for they are close to it. The faith of the sincere is unshakable for it is not based on understanding, but on mystery.

21

The sage sidesteps thinking when it bars his way to reality, but he ignores reality when it is in discord with his inner vision. The sage transforms life without interference, for his inner visio comes from emptiness and silence

22

There is no clarity in the world of differentiation. Concepts are dirty mirrors distorting reality. Lucidity lies beyond discrimination. Yet clarity does not exist even in emptiness. The Tao is vague, for there is neither oneness nor separation in it, yet its mystery is the source of true understanding.

23

The Tao permeates all beings, yet is beyond our reach, untouched, untainted. It is like the sunlight on your palm, which blesses you with warmth, but disappears the moment you close your hand to capture it.

24

Even in paradise the fool will turn the emotions clouding his mind into the reality of suffering. The Taoist sage has a mind empty as the blue sky. She avoids the avoidable, and faces the inescapable with equanimity.

25

Like water in its everlasting cycle the sage in harmony with Tao follows her humble path, nourishing all, always returning to the source from whence she has come.

26

True harmony with Tao is to dissolve the ego and become silent. The purest revelation is emptiness and silence.

27

Futility rises from the ignorant assumption that life has no meaning without objectives. Meaning based on ego is illusion created by ignorance, mere words signifying nothing, yet leading to despair. The Taoist sage has the courage to live without meaning. He knows the Tao has no meaning that can be captured by words. He accepts life like an infant snuggling against his mother’s fragrant breasts.

28

Attachment inevitably brings sorrow. The fool denies this and brings sorrow upon himself. The wise know the value of detachment and live prudently. The sage in harmony with Tao embraces life in joy and in sorrow, for he dwells in emptiness where the ego has lost its sting and where attachment and detachment are identical.

29

The ignorant revel in their likes and dislikes and they use their discriminatory faculties to find pleasure in life. The sage close to Tao does not discriminate and has no likes or dislikes. She finds joy without discernment and is therefore seen as naïve by the sophisticated and the quick-witted. But opinion does not matter to her, for her inner vision is at one with Tao, and her silence endless.

30

To the ignorant the senses are the gateway to delusion and suffering. To the sage the senses are the gateway to joy and enlightenment.

31

Like a child in paradise, the enlightened sage in harmony with Tao sees the world untainted by thoughts and concepts, an undefined effervescent kaleidoscope of transient colour and form, with herself an inseparable part, indistinguishable from the sentient beings roaming about. Her unity is one of awe and joy.

32

To the wise, silence in humiliation is the ultimate feat. To the sage residing in emptiness, humility comes as naturally as breathing. True power comes from emptiness.

33

One word of wisdom is worth more than ten thousand words spoken by a fool. One moment of silence in the presence of Tao is worth more than ten thousand words spoken in wisdom, for its silence describes emptiness.

34

Clinging does not preserve even the most cherished moment. On the contrary: it turns virtue and joy into vanity and despair. The Way of Tao is to let go so things will go their natural way. Only then will the essence be preserved. The sage in harmony with Tao finishes her task and moves on to the next.

35

Thoughts create illusion. Concepts conjure up desire. Ideologies evoke destruction. Emptiness is the womb of compassion. Silence is the source of wisdom. The Tao is the Way.

36

The restless spirit, immersed in the rush of life, will never find peace but only distress. The spirit frightened of life, escaping into emptiness, will never find tranquillity but only despair. Dwelling in emptiness yet living life to the full is true peace.

37

Words carried by the spirit corrupt the corruptible, but they transfer virtue to the virtuous.

38

The compassionate need neither words nor concepts to guide them on their way, but not even silence can liberate those embracing hatred.

39

The ignorant are guided by their egos and ambition, the righteous by their principles and laws, the wise by their wisdom. The sage in harmony with Tao needs no guidance, for she lives in emptiness, from where compassion and wisdom flow like pure water from an eternal spring.

40

The ignorant measure success by possession and honour attained. The wise measure success by insight and wisdom gained. The sage at one with Tao knows success is an illusion, and measuring greatness the admission of failure. The Taoist sage does not measure, but she eats when she is hungry and sleeps when she is tired.

41

At the very core of everything is Silence and Mystery. Reaching out to it is losing yourself.

42

She clung to her sorrow like to a lover, afraid to let go of her passions. Yet when she had wept herself empty, she arose, pregnant with life. The Tao is dispassionate, yet even beyond the trauma of loss, the Tao gives life to the grieving.

43

The ignorant, afraid of death, cling desperately to youth, surrounding themselves with symbols of virility, seeking substance in form. The Taoist sage revels in the natural rhythms of Tao and lives without trepidation.

44

Time is the great humiliator. Time destroys the vanity of the proud. Time confronts the ignorant with impermanence. Time disillusions the materialist with the bitter taste of futility. Swimming against the flow of Tao is ignorant. Accepting the inevitable is wise.

45

There is a time to be wise and a time to be foolish, but never to be old and vain.

46

There is a time to win and a time to lose, but never to be hungry for power.

47

There is a time to laugh and a time to weep, but never to plan revenge.

48

There is a time to be loved and a time to be rejected, but never to hate.

49

There is a time to live and a time to die, but never to reject the moment.

50

There is a time to speak and a time to be silent, but never to be cowed into submission.

51

There is a time to buy and a time to sell, but never to succumb to greed.

52

There is a time to think and a time to act, but never to manipulate.

53

There is a time to agree and a time to disagree, but never to spread enmity.

54

There is a time to appear and a time to disappear, but never to be ruled by the ego.

55

There is a time for darkness and a time for light, but never to be the victim of ignorance.

56

There is a time to question and a time to accept, but never to lose faith.

57

The ignorant, being without compassion, capture a mocking bird and confine it to a cage, calling it beauty. But beauty cannot be captured, nor possessed. Listen to the lonely song of the mocking bird. It sings of suffering, not of beauty. The ignorant, being without wisdom, try to capture the Tao with words and confine it to a dogma, calling it God. But the Tao cannot be captured, nor possessed. Listen to the way the ignorant sing to their gods. They sing of suffering, not of Tao.

58

The thin line between wisdom and arrogance fades in the cold light of piety. Mercy becomes justice and forgiveness revenge when sinners shiver in the chill of righteousness. The Taoist sag is unaware of his own wisdom and does not distinguish between right and wrong. His warmth is a consolation to the desolate.

59

Like a prism breaking pure light into a rainbow of colours, language turns pure insight into the illusion of truth.

60

Between the thought and the word the truth is often dragged through the mud.

61

Words often confuse and divide. Silence flowing from Tao always brings clarity and harmony.

62

Smiles without agendas are delightful forms of silence creating warmth in even the coldest hearts.

63

The vast desert is empty and silent with not a trace of anger. The cool sea breeze fills my lungs and I am at one with the seagulls surfing the wind.

64

The ignorant search desperately for meaning in illusion. The wise find meaning in disillusionment. The Taoist sage is not bothered by meaning, for he finds joy in each breath that he takes.

65

The Taoist sage is detached and does not discriminate. She enters where the proud refuse to go. She touches the untouchable. She loves the unlovable. She forgives the unforgivable. She serves the undeserving. The Taoist sage overcomes all barriers, for she is empty and in total harmony with Tao.

66

Renewal is the acceptance of loss and insignificance. Even the slightest quiver of your ego will obscure Tao.

67

Do you want to know who I am? Just penetrate your own layers of illusion until you have reached emptiness, and you will find me where I have always yet never been.

68

Do you want to know what I am? See the open sky empty except for clouds in perpetual flight driven by the winds, as they have been since the beginning of time, and you will know.

69

Do you want to know where I am going? See all sentient beings drifting past in an endless stream of time and illusion, seemingly concrete yet transient and empty, and you will know.

70

Do you want to know if I am real? The Tao throbs in me. Touch me and you will know. Yet the moment you wink, you will find me gone. Not that I mind. It is the Way of Tao.

71

The ignorant seek salvation in action. The wise find consolation in virtue. The Taoist sage is unaware of virtue and does not act, for the world is sacred.

72

Thinking alone will never bring harmony with Tao. Clinging to philosophy instead of moving forward in commitment is the coward’s way of preserving the ego and avoiding emptiness.

73

The ignorant who cling to the beauty of their own thoughts instead of moving forward in compassion, are like pilgrims who sight paradise, but refuse to enter, intimidated by their own visions of demon angels grimly guarding the gates.

74

The sage in harmony with Tao knows without thinking, for she sees only the unity of emptiness. Like an alien amongst her own people, the person in harmony with Tao moves on the fringes, wary of the justice of her people, unable and unwilling to participate in their rituals of ignorance and death. The loneliness of the Taoist sage is separation induced by empathy and wisdom. Hers is the Way of Tao.

75

The spirit is vital and needs space, not regulation. Rules and laws signify the death of the spirit.

76

Clinging to thought instead of moving into reality is a futile effort to become wise without being committed.

77

Fleeing into emptiness to escape life is the foolish effort to find enlightenment without being compassionate.

78

Philosophy without application is a weak imitation of sincerity and brings no comfort, but only despair.

79

Stale ritual is the vain effort to capture vitality without being part of life.

80

Morals are the death shrouds, dogmas the wreaths, ideological arguments the sad choirs at the burial of the spirit.

81

Suffering cannot be defeated by stale dogma. Only the joy of the spirit breaks throug prescriptive barriers to follow its pure anarchic path of liberation.

82

What does it benefit a man if he can fearlessly confront the fiery tiger, but he is scared of his own ego? Isn’t he then like a child intimidated by a ghost invented by himself? The Taoist sage dwells in emptiness and is not afraid of attachment. Like a child filled with innocence, the sage is truly free.

83

To those blessed with life, suffering is unavoidable. To those blessed with longevity, deterioration is inescapable. To those blessed with the warmth of true relationships, the coldness of separation is the ultimate outcome. To the truly fortunate, the father dies before the son and the mother before the daughter. Life as a manifestation of desire may perhaps bring joy, but it will certainly bring suffering. It is the Way of Tao. The ignorant reject the reality of life but suffering will ultimately destroy their illusion and confront them with the despair of futility. The wise accept the reality of life, and suffer with quiet grace, yet their wisdom does not liberate them from the inevitable, but often increases their sorrow. The sage in harmony with Tao accepts life with the innocence of a child. He does not seek escape, but enjoys the warmth of sunlight and shivers when it is cold. His is the courage of emptiness, where hope is unnecessary. The sage at one with Tao experiences every moment of joy and sorrow with the lightness and humour of humility.

84

Trapped in their narrow circles of mercy, they are blind to suffering outside the boundaries set by their ignorance. Fathers, matrons, teenagers, lovers, children dressed for Sunday picnic, oblivious of suffering, enjoy the bloody spectacle of matador and bull, the agony of ritual murder. Their ignorance is complete, for they are unaware of it.

85

Not to expect any reward, to accept loss, to endure, this the person without ego can do, for the true self is the source of selflessness.

86

See the green fields spread out before your feet. Tread softly, for you are stepping on Buddhas.

87

Do not touch the morning glory entwined in the door. Enter through the window.

88

Do not disturb the children playing among the trees. Their laughter is the pure sound of Tao.

89

Do not snicker at the old lady tottering along the path in unmatched socks. She is Tao returning to Tao.

90

Separation from Tao is illusion. Understanding this gives courage. Living it is enlightenment.

91

Searching for paradise lost is futile, for it has never left you. It is the fiction of our minds that condemns us to hell. It is the reality of emptiness that liberates us. Break the illusion and return to emptiness, and silence will show you where you have always, yet never been.

92

The ambition for spiritual elevation is a form of greed even more destructive than greed for material possession. Spiritual aspiration claims divine purpose but it degrades the spirit as it turns virtue into vanity and compassion into demonstrative charity. The lust for spiritual greatness professes the promotion of unity but it manipulates and divides as wisdom becomes cunningness. Spiritual honour turns wisdom into folly and sages into silly old men. True spiritual greatness never glitters. Enlightenment belongs to the truly humble who reside in emptiness where the ego has no influence and ambition does not exist. The gates to true spiritual greatness are wide open to every single human being, yet those greedy for greatness will not enter, for they despise lowly paths and find no honour in emptiness.

93

The ignorant long for fame as if it were the elixir of life. The wise understand that fame is often the doorway to vanity and despair. The sage at one with Tao finds comfort in obscurity where the ego wanes and the spirit is revitalized by the power of humility. That is why not even fame can touch him.

94

Losing wisdom is a greater loss than losing wealth and honour, yet one instance of hatred is more devastating than the loss of eons of wisdom.

95

One moment of insight is worth more than ten thousand lifetimes of ignorance, yet one moment of compassion is more precious than even the profoundest insights gathered over ten thousand lifetimes.

96

The spirit asphyxiates in the stress of worldly ambition like a fish flung out of water gasping and writhing to death on dry sand.

97

The ignorant use intelligence to animate illusion. The wise use intelligence to break illusion and truly understand. The sage sees reality because she is close to Tao.

98

The ignorant do not care for virtue, but only for personal gain. The wise know nothing can be gained if virtue is lost. The sage filled with silence will sacrifice even virtue if compassion dictates him to, for he lives in emptiness, where there is no possession and nothing can be lost.

99

A lifetime dedicated to illusion is not worth a single day of life lived in the full awareness of impermanence and transience.

100

Not even the wisest sage, nor the most compassionate friend, nor the profoundest text can guide you more truly than your spirit in total harmony with Tao.

101

The ignorant prepare a cup of hatred for their foes only to swallow its poison themselves. The wise pour only peace into their cup in order to share its sweetness with friends and foes alike. The true sage neither pours nor drinks. She moves outside cycles of friendship and enmity. That is why the sage is a true preserver of peace.

102

Only compassion turns the comfort of theory into the risk of action. Only compassion transforms the futility of dualism into the mystery of unity. Only compassion gives meaning to the meaningless and warmth to cold hearts.

103

Restlessness is the slow suffocation of the spirit out of touch with Tao. Only in emptiness does the spirit find the peace to wait until movement becomes the natural manifestation of Tao.

104

Enlightenment is not the result of thinking, but of sincerity based on compassion and the wisdom of emptiness.

105

The ignorant cling to possession, status, honour, enjoyment and everything life offers. The spiritually ambitious prefer to withdraw from life as they strive towards quietude and enlightenment. The true sage has no spiritual ambition. His detachment cannot be disturbed by the ups and downs of ordinary life. His silence cannot be broken by the clamour for survival. He does not need withdrawal or seclusion to be at one with Tao. He lives with both feet on the ground but with his mind filled with Tao. His power is the true power of emptiness.

106

The sage in harmony with Tao would rather live with the disgrace of integrity than the honour of betrayal.

107

The sage at one with Tao would rather suffer rejection resulting from honesty than enjoy acceptance based on falsehood.

108

The sage dwelling in emptiness prefers the loneliness induced by wisdom to the company that pretence provides.

109

The sage is truly free, for she has the courage to face the derision that freedom exacts, and to reject the popularity that captivity brings.

110

The sage close to Tao will rather suffer the grief of compassion than enjoy the fruits of selfishness.

111

The sage filled with compassion prefers the bitter taste of defeat to the sweet nectar of cruel victory.

112

The sage filled with mercy knows the sacrifice of forgiveness is the difficult road to true closure, and the satisfaction of revenge the sweet fruit of evil.

113

The sage would rather live with the disadvantages of being gentle than enjoy the lucrative rewards of being manipulative.

114

The wise sage prefers the humility of silence to the pride of speech.

115

The sage at one with Tao knows the defeat that non-action brings is victory, and the victory resulting from manipulation defeat.

116

The sage secure in her wisdom would rather suffer the agony of disillusionment than be addicted to the ecstasy of ambition.

117

For the sake of integrity, the sage chooses the loneliness of Tao before the closeness of friends.

118

The ignorant strive to possess only to discover fear in a handful of dust. The ambitious strive for status only to discover futility in honour. The wise strive for wisdom only to discover folly is immune to truth. The sage at one with Tao does not strive, for she knows truth cannot be captured and compassion is only possible where ambition has ceased. Yet her refusal to touch the world is the way to true peace. It is the Way of Tao.

119

Being too busy is clinging to illusion. It is the cowardice of someone afraid of emptiness.

120

A single moment of anger can destroy the virtue of a lifetime, but a single moment of compassion can destroy eons of evil.

121

Language corrupts the noblest thought, but even the noblest thought corrupts the purity of silence.

122

The silence of Tao can be heard only by the silent.

123

The swallow has decided only summer exists. Every autumn, it turns its back on winter, and crosses rivers, mountains and oceans in arduous quest of its eternal summer. The sparrow takes the seasons in its stride. It enjoys the warmth of summer and shivers in the chill of winter. The clever and ambitious believe in the dominance of mind over matter. They emulate the swallow. The Taoist sage knows the true mind is in harmony with the seasons. He is a friend of the sparrow.

124

Knowledge carries with it the agony of disunity. Once you have eaten of the fruit, a return to primordial harmony is impossible. All our efforts to recapture primeval innocence drive us even further from the gardens of Tao. Listen to the winged demons wailing at the gates, their swords glistening in the shadows! They are painted devils created by our own minds.

125

The sage at one with creation recognizes the storm when it is still only a ripple on the surface of a tranquil lake.

126

The sage in total harmony with Tao eliminates enmity when it is still only a slight irritation.

127

The true sage arrests the deed when it is still nestling in vague thought.

128

The sage who knows that destruction starts with a quarrel prevents war even before it is a frown.

129

The true healer cures the disease before the symptoms arise.

130

The ignorant see fulfilment as the gratification of desire, and they enter where betrayal turns the search for satisfaction into despair. The wise do not enter where temptation may become betrayal. The sage in harmony with Tao seeks no fulfilment and enters where he wills.

131

There is only the certainty of illusion to the ignorant. The wise live with the agony of disenchantment. The Taoist sage needs no illusions and cannot be disenchanted. She accepts Tao and moves in harmony with change.

132

The true sage moves in cycles of mercy and not of vengeance. He treats the lowly criminal and the elevated saint with equal dignity. He breaks cycles of hatred by ignoring convention and following the natural way of Tao, where forgiveness has become unnecessary.

133

True compassion may take you beyond strength and hope to depths of despair where reward is loss, and acknowledgment rejection. The true sage is not afraid of weakness and feels at home where the righteous shudder to go. Her compassion is blind, for she expects less than gain. The Taoist sage moves in the realms of Tao.

134

Nothing moves except the true source of power. The sage knows the leaves rustling in the trees are moved neither by the wind nor her own mind.

135

Like a dry desert river waiting for water to surge from the mountains turning scorched dust into fragrant life, the sage stays motionless in the Tao. He has the patience to wait until action, clear and humble as water, arises by itself, not touching the sky, yet bringing life to withered hearts.

136

The ignorant try to find fulfilment in the gratification of desire. The religious fight desire as the source of sin and damnation. The wise nurture their desire for virtue and curb their desire for evil. The Taoist sage has the freedom of someone who knows life itself is a manifestation of desire. Living in total harmony with Tao, the sage does not fearfully avoid nor cling to desire, for she dwells in emptiness, where the ego has lost its influence. Like a child, she embraces joy and lives with whatever the moment brings, and evil does not touch her, for her innocence is complete.

137

The truly faithful do not discriminate and they are not confused, for they penetrate the illusion of diversity and see only the unity and beauty of emptiness which is real.

138

Suffering is the path to hell for those who hate, but it is the path to wisdom for those filled with compassion.

139

Suffering teaches compassion to the wise, and wisdom to the compassionate.

140

Suffering is a test of faith to the weak. To the sage in harmony with Tao it is the reward of trust.

141

The fool clings to the illusion of material things. The wise person cherishes the disillusionment of truth. The sage in harmony with Tao has given up the vanity of truth and feels at home with the humility of emptiness.

142

The wise fear the degradation of ignorance. The ignorant fear the humiliation of becoming less. The religious fear the disgrace of hell. The sage close to Tao is unintimidated by degradation and ignorance, because she seeks neither elevation nor wisdom, and she can face disgrace, for her humility carries the power of emptiness, where fear does not exist and courage is unnecessary.

143

The wise agree with the Master that fortune and blessing gather where there is stillness. The sage at one with Tao cares neither for fortune nor for blessing. His stillness has no ambition. He changes the world without touching it.

144

The ignorant are afraid of stillness because they refuse to face their own folly. The wise prefer to be still, because they believe stillness brings truth. The sage in harmony with Tao is still, because she is untouched by likes and dislikes. Like a vast deep lake, her spirit filled with stillness reflects Heaven and moves the Earth.

145

The spirit of the sage residing in stillness is vast and clear as the heavens. She may seem empty but she is the true mover of things.

146

The sage at one with Tao understands even the noblest action may defile the purest motives. Therefore he does not move until his motives have dissolved into nothingness and his movement is filled with stillness.

147

The sage who accepts the Mystery needs no faith to live in joy. He swims in Tao like a dolphin frolicking in the waves.

148

The sage immersed in Tao has so much faith that not even loss of faith can let her waver. Like a nightingale she will fill the dark forests with her sweet song even on the eve of destruction.

149

Righteousness turns virtue into vanity. Demonstrative charity turns natural virtue into artificial glitter. True Virtue is like a subterranean lake providing fresh water to thirsty creatures of the desert at fountains concealed in obscure crevices and dark pools hidden in caves.

150

True Virtue cannot be utilized for gain: men filled with greed despise it. True Virtue exists only in obscurity: men seeking fame will have nothing to do with it. True Virtue has no ambition: men seeking elevation and honour do not consider it in their actions. True Virtue does not seek merit: men ambitious for holiness ignore it. True Virtue does not touch the world: men hungry for power endeavour to destroy it.

151

Utilizing virtue destroys virtue. It is the path to hell. The ignorant will go to hell for honour. The religious use virtue to go to heaven, but enter hell instead. The wise avoid the path to hell and prefer the obscurity of virtue. The sage in harmony with Tao is not interested in virtue. He acts spontaneously and intuitively wherever his natural compassion compels him to, and he will even destroy virtue and enter hell when necessary. The sage’s detachment from virtue is True Virtue.

152

The religious forgive to be forgiven and to be cleansed of their sins The wise forgive to grow wise and to break cycles of hatred. The sage forgives without agenda even those that won’t forgive, because it is simply the way she is.

153

Look around you and see the delight of life. Do not let its seeming substantiality fool you, nor its transience make you sad. People in harmony with Tao filled with the wisdom of innocence live like children with whatever the moment brings, and with eyes giving life to everything they touch.

154

Moses in the desert Buddha in his grove Mohammed in his cave Christ on the mountain all had visions of glory corrupted by men lusting for power. The True Taoist Sage avoids inspiring men yearning for greatness, for she knows they turn truth into paths of hell. The True Taoist Sage dwells where truth is safe. She prefers the company of the humble dwelling in emptiness who turn their own lights inward and become less everyday.

155

Preparation for the Day

I am not the thoughts in my mind. Let them come and let them go. Silence is my natural state. Let me control my tongue. Stillness is the way. Give me patience and humility to act only when necessary. Tranquillity is my natural condition. Let my mind be a placid pool undisturbed by emotions, reflecting only Tao. Compassion fills my true self. May my thoughts, my speech and my actions be filled with compassion and guided by wisdom. Emptiness is my essence. Let me curb my ego. No vanity may enter my thoughts. No pride may enter my speech. No arrogance may enter my action. Let me find comfort in obscurity and anonymity. I am emptiness only. Nothing else. Everything else is illusion. Causing suffering to any creature no matter how remote or how different is cutting into my own flesh. Being kind to any creature no matter how remote or how different is being kind to myself. Separation is illusion, unity is real. I am part of every thing. Every thing is part of me. Let me move to the rhythm of Tao in total unison with Tao. Everything comes from Tao and everything returns to Tao. So let it be.

© Jos Slabbert 2001

Postal Address: P.O. Box 4037, Vineta, Namibia

Fax No.: 09264 64 46 1014 E-Mail:jos_slabbert@hotmail.com

This passage or excerpts from it may be reproduced for non-profit motives.


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PostPosted: Thu May 05, 2016 5:48 pm 
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Maybe an excerpt and link to the follow up next time, eh? :lol:

_________________
Take it easy, man. But take it.


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PostPosted: Thu May 05, 2016 8:34 pm 
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:lol: Good point: https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-meaning-of-Tao


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