Verse 21 - Living the Elusive Paradox

[Eva Libre]

21st Verse

 

The greatest virtue is to follow the Tao and the Tao alone.

 

 The Tao is elusive and intangible.

Although formless and intangible,

it gives rise to form.

Although vague and elusive,

 it gives rise to shapes.

Although dark and obscure,

it is the spirit, the essence,

the life breath of all things.

 

Throughout the ages, its name has been preserved

in order to recall the beginning of all things.

How do I know the ways of all things at the beginning ?

I look inside myself and see what is within me.

 

 

Contemplation/Meditation Verse

How do I know the way of all things,

          at the beginning ?

I see it within myself.

                 

Do The Tao Now

 

Today, become conscious of the force that allows your every movement.  For five minutes in your meditation, stay in "the gap" between your thoughts and notice the elusive but omnipresent invisible Source that allows you to speak, hear, touch, and move.  (I've created a meditation that can assist you in this process, and it's included in my book "Getting in the Gap".)

 

Source - Change Your Thoughts - Change Your Life (Living the Wisdom of the Tao)

by Dr Wayne W Dyer

[Eva Libre]

Advice from Dr Dyer –

 

Have an unquenchable thirst for the intangible

and enigmatic force that supports all life.

 

Communicate with the Source regularly: Ask for its guidance, and meditate on its sacredness.  The more you practice benevolent reverence for the invisible Tao, the more you'll feel connected to it.  The presence of a known connection with the Tao will release you from the worry, stress, and anxiety that are ego's way of looking at the world.  While others around you may stay focused on their pursuit of wealth, fame, and power, you'll notice it and smile compassionately as you practice being in a state of appreciation for "the life breath of all things", including yourself.  You'll feel safe and secure knowing that you're in a Divine partnership with the all-knowing, all-providing Tao.

 

I suggest that you simply take a moment or two several times a day to say aloud, "Thank You, God, for everything".  Make this your own personal respectful ritual.  In fact, just a moment ago I said  these very words: "Thank You, God, for allowing these words to appear, supposedly from my pen.  I know that the Source of everything, including these words, is the elusive and intangible Tao."

[Eva Libre]

Advice from Dr Dyer –

 

Memorize the final two lines of this verse and silently

recite them when needed.

 

Repeat these two sentences: "How do I know the ways of all things at the beginning ?  I look inside myself and see what is within me."  Doing so will remind you that the Tao comes from the truth that's inside of you at all times.  Give up trying to persuade anyone else of the correctness of your vision -- when they're ready, their own teachers will surely appear.

 

Here's a concluding thought on the elusive nature of the Tao, written by Hafiz many centuries after the death of Lao-tzu:

 

If you think that the Truth can be known

From words,

 

If you think that the Sun and the Ocean

Can pass through that tiny opening called the mouth.

 

O someone should start laughing !

Someone should start wildly laughing --

Now !

[Eva Libre]

From Tao Te Ching - The Definitive Edition 

by Jonathan Star

 

Perfect action,

True virtue,

Supreme power,

This is how Tao is revealed

         through those who follow it completely

 

Though formless and intangible

         It gives rise to form

Though vague and elusive

         It gives rise to shapes

Though dark and obscure

         It is the spirit, the essence,

         the life-breath of all things

"But is it real ?" you ask --

         I say its evidence is all of creation !

 

From the first moment to the present

         The Name has been sounding

It is the gate

         through which the universe enters

The witness

          by which the universe sees

 

How have I come to know all this ?

That very Name has told me,

That Name which is sounding right here,

          right now

[Eva Libre]

From Richard Grossman - The Tao of Emerson

From James Legge - The Texts of Taoism, 1891

 

The grandest forms of active force

From the Tao come, their only source.

Who can of Tao the nature tell ?

Our sight it flies, our touch as well.

Eluding sight, eluding touch,

the forms of things all in it crouch;

Eluding touch, eluding sight,

There are their semblances, all right.

Profound it is, dark and obscure;

Things' essences all there endure.

Those essences the truth enfold.

Of what, when senn, shall then be told.

Now it is so; 'twas so of old.

Its name -- what passes not away;

So, in their beautiful array,

Things forms and never know decay.

 

From the Essays of Ralph Waldo Emerson - "Language", "Circles", "The World-Soul"

 

There are no fixtures in nature;

The universe is fluid and volatile.

There is no outside, no inclosing wall,

          no circumference to us.

Every natural fact

         is a symbol of some spiritual fact.

The sage, until he hit the secret,

Would hang his head for shame,

But our brothers have not read it'

No one has found the key.

 

Thus there is no sleep, no pause,

         no preservation,

But all things renew, germinate

         and spring.

[Eva Libre]

From Vimala McClure - The Tao of Motherhood

 

21

SPIRITUALITY

 

The wise remain aware of the

spirituality of life.

 

Every mother has felt the

stillness and the stir of Eternal

Consciousness in her womb.

Remember that.

 

Bring that mysterious, silent

moment into the clamoring

present.

[Eva Libre]

Tao Te Ching - The Classic Book of Integrity and The Way by Lao-Tzu

A New Translation by Victor H Mair

based on the recently discovered Ma-Wang-Tui Manuscripts

21 (65)

 

The appearance of grand integrity

          is that it follows the Way alone.

The Way objectified

          is blurred and nebulous.

 

How nebulous and blurred !

Yet within it there are images.

How blurred and nebulous !

Yet within it there are objects.

How cavernous and dark !

Yet within it there is an essence.

Its essence is quite real;

Within it there are tokens.

 

From the present back to the past,

Its name has been imperishable.

Through it we conform to the father of the masses.

 

How do I know what the father of the masses is like ?

Through this.

[Eva Libre]

Lynn's - Daode jing of Laozi

 

A capacity for the virtue of emptiness, this alone allows conformance with the Dao.

       

Kong [usually "great"] here means kong [empty].  Only by embracing emptiness [kong] as virtue [de] can one ensure that one's actions conform with the Dao.

 

The Dao as such is but dim, is but dark.

 

"Dim" and "dark" refer to the appearance (1) of that which is formless and not attached to anything.

 

Dark, oh, dim, oh, but within it some image is there.  Dim, oh, dark, oh, but within it something is there.

 

It [the Dao] originates things thanks to its formlessness and brings things to completion thanks to its freedom from attachments.  The myriad things are originated and completed in this way yet do not know how it happens. (2)  Thus the text says: "Dark, oh, dim, oh, but within it some image is there.  Dim, oh, dark, oh, but within it something is there".  (3) 

 

Abstruse, oh, indistinct, oh, but within it the essence of things is there.

 

"Abstruse" and "indistinct" refer to an appearance of unfathomable profundity [shenyuan]. (4)  It [the Dao] is so unfathomably profound that we cannot treat it as something seen, yet the myriad things all proceed from it.  Because we cannot see it and so fix what its authentic existence [shen] is, the text says" "Abstruse, oh, indistinct, oh, but within it the essence of things [jing] is there".

 

Its essence is most authentic, for within it authentication occurs.

 

Xin [trust] means xinyan [authentication].  When things revert to the unfathomably profound, the ultimate state of authentic essence [zhenjing zhi ji] is attained and the natures [xing] of all the myriad things are fixed.  Thus the text says: "Its essence is most authentic, for within it authentication occurs".

 

From antiquity until now, (5) its name has never been revoked.

 

The ultimate of perfect authenticity [zhizhen] cannot be named.  Because it is "nameless"[wuming], this is its name.  From now back to antiquity, nothing has ever become complete except through it.  Thus the text says: "From antiquity until now, its name has never been revoked [qu]".

 

We use it to convey (6) what the father of everything is. (7)

Zhongfu [father of everything] means the origin of things.  We use "nameless" to convey what the origin of the myriad things is.

 

How do I know that the father of everything is so ?  It is by this.

 

"This" means what has just been said above.  In other words, if you ask how I know that the myriad things originate in nothingness, I know it by this.

 

 

Text, in Italics above, is Wang Bi's commentary.

The notes below, are from the translator, Richard John Lynn -

(deb's note - "section" is used for verse in these notes.)

 

(1)  The base text reads tan (exclamation) instead of mao (appearance), which would result in " 'dim' and 'vague' are exclamations signifying that which . . ."  However, mao (appearance) instead of tan occurs in a quotation of this passage in Li Shan's (ca. 630-89) commentary to Wang Jin's (d. 505) Toutuo si beiwen (Dhuta Temple stele inscription), inWenxuan, 50:3b, which seems more likely.  See Hatano, Roshi Dotokukyo kenkyu, 154.

 

(2)  Cf. Wang's commentary to section 1, second passage.

 

(3)  Cf. Wang's commentary to section 6

 

(4)  The base text reads " 'abstruse' and 'indistinct' are exclamations [tan] signifying unfathomably profundity"; however, mao (appearance) instead of tan occurs in a quotation of this passage in Li Shan's commentary to Shen Yue's (441-513) first of five Zhongshan shi ying Xiyang wang jiao (Poems on Mount Zhong written in response to instructions received from the Prince of Xiyang), in Wenxuan, 22:15a, which seems more likely.  See Hatano, Roshi Dotokukyo kenkyu, 156.

 

(5)  The base text of the Laozi and Wang's commentary both read "from antiquity until now", as does the quotation of this line in section 1 of Wang's Outline Introduction.  As both Mawangdui texts read "from now back to antiquity" (Mawangdui Hanmu boshu, 119), this is one more indication that Wang knew a different version of the Laozi.

 

(6)  "Convey" translates yue, which usually means "observe" or "inspect".  Instead of yue, the two Mawangui texts have shun (comply):  "We use it to comply [shun] with what the father of everything is" (Mawangdui Hanmu boshu, 119).  Yue comes close to the meaning ofshun in some contexts, where it can be read as "contain" or "gather".  Jiao Hong (1541-1620) suggests in his commentary to this passage that yue should be read as it occurs in Lu Ji's (261-303) Tan shi fu (Lamentations on death): "A river gathers (yue) water and so becomes a river, / And water flows on with each passing day. / An age gathers [yue] men and so becomes an age, / And men move gradually toward the twilight of life".  SeeWenxuan, 16:11a; and Jiao Hong, Laozi yi (Wings to Laozi), A2:9.  "Convey" attempts to bridge the meanings of "comply" and "gather": the term "nameless" (the Dao) complies with and gathers together what is meant by "the father of everything".  See also the end of section 1 in Wang's Outline Introduction.

 

(7)  As both Mawangdui texts have fu, "father", the fu in zhongfu should be understand as "father" and not "origin".  See Mawangdui Hanmu boshu, 119. 

 

[Eva Libre]

From Stephen Mitchell - tao te ching - A New English Version

 

The Master keeps her mind

always at one with the Tao;

that is what gives her her radiance.

 

The Tao is ungraspable.

How can her mind be at one with it ?

Because she doesn't cling to ideas.

 

The Tao is dark and unfathomable.

How can it make her radiant ?

Because she lets it.

 

Since before time and space were,

the Tao is.

It is beyond is and is not.

How do I know this is true ?

I look inside myself and see.

 

From Byron Katie - A Thousand Names For Joy

- Living in Harmony with the Way Things Are

 

The Master keeps her mind

always at one with the Tao.

 

I have a word for God: reality.  I call reality "God" because it rules.  It is what it is, and it's so physical -- it's a table, a chair, it's the shoe on your foot, it's your hair.  I love God.  It's so clear, so solid; it's completely dependable.  You don't get a vote in what it does, and it's doesn't wait for your opinion or your permission.  You can trust it completely.

 

You can know that reality is good just as it is, because when you argue with it, you experience anxiety and frustration.  Any thought that causes stress is an argument with reality.  All such thoughts are variations on a theme:  "Things should be different than they are.", "I want ...", "He should ...", "She shouldn't ...".  It always hurts when you argue with what is.

 

"What is" is a story of the past.  The past is past.  It happened, and you can't do a thing about it.  Argue with that !  The same alternative is to ask, "What can I do from here ?"  The past is a teacher, it's benign, it's over.  But as long as people are living with an unquestioned past, they're living in the past.  And it's a past that never happened in the first place.  They're living in their story of the past.  They're missing what's present right now, which is the real future.  I never know what's going to happen.  All I know about it is that it's a good thing.

 

People spend their whole lives dedicated to changing the past.   It can't be done.  Thinking that the past should have been different is hopeless and masochistic.  "My mother should have loved me."  "My child shouldn't have died."  "The Holocaust shouldn't have happened."  Comparing what happened to what you think should have happened is the war with God.  (This is very difficult to hear when you're attached to concepts of right and wrong.)  Some people even think that sadness is an act of loyalty, that it would be a betrayal of the people they love not to suffer along with them.  This is crazy.

 

If my child has died, that's the way of it.  Any argument with that brings on internal hell.  "She died too soon."  "I didn't get to see her grow up."  "I could have done something to save her."  "I was a bad mother."  "God is unjust."  But her death is reality.  No argument in the world can make the slightest dent in what has already happened.  Prayer can't change it, begging and pleading can't change it, punishing yourself can't change it, your will has no power at all.  You do have the power, though, to question your thought, turn it around, and find three genuine reasons why the death of your child is equal to her not dying, or even better in the the long run, both for her and for you.  This takes a radically open mind, and nothing less than an open mind is creative enough to free you from the pain of arguing with what is.  An open mind is the only way to peace.  As long as you think that you know what should and shouldn't happen, you're trying to manipulate God.  This is a recipe for unhappiness.

 

Reality -- the way that it is, exactly as it is, in every moment -- is always kind.  It's our story about reality that blurs our vision, obscures what's true, and leads us to believe that there is injustice in the world.  I sometimes say that you move totally away from reality when you believe that there  is a legitimate reason to suffer.  When you believe that any suffering is legitimate, you become the champion of suffering, the perpetuator of it in yourself.  It's insane to believe that suffering is caused by anything outside the mind.  A clear mind doesn't suffer.  That's not possible.  Even if you're in great physical pain, even if your beloved child dies, even if you and your family are herded off to Auschwitz, you can't suffer unless you believe an untrue thought.  I'm a lover of reality.  I love what is, whatever it looks like.  And however it comes to me, my arms are open.

 

This is not to say that people shouldn't suffer.  They should suffer, because they do.  If you're feeling sad or afraid or anxious or depressed, that's what you should be feeling.  To think otherwise is to argue with reality.  but when you're feeling sad, for example, just notice that your sadness is the effect of believing a prior thought.  Located the thought, put it on paper and question it, for the love of truth, and then turn it around.  It was you who made you sad -- no one else -- and it's you who can free yourself.  This is very good news.

[Eva Libre]

Dr Dyer's Essay for Verse 21 -

Here in this 21st verse of the Tao Te Ching, Lao-tzu takes us back to the book's very first premise: living the mystery.  He has returned to the idea's definition and virtue and reaffirmed it with greater clarity and precision.  In this lesson, he not only asks us to become conscious of the elusive nature of the Tao, a principle that simply cannot be pinned down or experienced with the senses, but to also validate this awareness by recognizing ourselves as examples of this elusive paradox.

 

Re-read the concluding lines of this important verse: "How do I know the ways of all things at the beginning ?  I look inside myself and see with is within me."  Now go all the way back to your own beginning -- how did you get here ?  I don't mean from a droplet or particle of human protoplasm; go even before that.  Quantum physics teaches that particles emerge from an invisible and formless energy field.  So all creation, including your own, is a function of motion: from formless energy to form, from spirit to body, from the nameless Tao to a named object.  The process of creation, along with the theme of understanding eternal namelessness, runs throughout the Tao Te Ching.  This is the elusive paradox that you're invited to contemplate, allow, and experience.  You can know it by examining your own nature and recognizing that the same principle that creates everything is animating your every thought and action.

 

Right now make a simple decision to move your index finger.  Now wiggle your toes.  Next, lift your arm.  Finally, ask yourself, What is it that allows me to make these movements ?  In other words, what is it that allows you to see shapes and colors ?  What force behind your eyes invisibly signals you to process the sky as blue or a tree as tall ?  What is the formless energy that tweaks a vibration somewhere in your ear to give rise to sound ?

 

What it all is, is formless and nameless.  Yes, it is vague.  Yes, it is obscure.  And when you begin to see the world in this manner, you begin knowing that aspect of yourself.  This is what Lao-tzu describes as "the life breath of all things", and it needn't remain a mystery.  You have the same eternal Tao inside of you, and you apply it a million times a day.  It is within you . . . it IS you. 

 

This far-reaching verse of the Tao Te Ching asks you to let go of seeking results in money, accomplishments, acquisitions, fame, and so on.  Instead, shift your attention to the energy in the beginning of all things -- the elusive and intangible Tao.  The greatest virtue is to find this nameless, formless force within yourself.  Know it by looking within and seeing it at work in all of your thoughts and actions.