Tag: Taoist Philosophy

 

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From the Introduction

“This book is a love child born from the mingling of the Mystical Traditions of both the West and the East. To illustrate its mixed heritage I have chosen to title this work “Liber Tao,” a pairing of the Latin word Liber or “Book” with the Chinese word Tao or “The Way” whose combined translation, “The Book of the Way,” is a direct reference to the legendary classic of Chinese Mysticism known as the “Tao-Te Ching.

It has been my intention with “Liber Tao” to recreate my own version of the “Tao-Te-Ching.” By “my own version” I do not mean another translation or interpretation of the original masterwork, but rather a brand new effort based on the experiences and insights I have gained while trying to forge my own “Way” in life. In homage to the great Chinese classic I have subsequently organized this current work into the same format and style as the original “Tao-Te-Ching,” namely a collection of 81 entries (none longer than a single page) with each one written in a direct, minimal fashion………….”

 

“…………..By itself, the term “Tao” represents an idea that is at the center of all Chinese thought. While its most common translation is “ The Way,” conceptually the Tao may also be thought to mean a path, a method, a principle, a doctrine, or even the matrix of universal consciousness. Yet beyond all these possible translations, the Tao is ultimately recognized by the Chinese mind to be the symbolic name for the eternal essence from which all other reality emanates.

Even though it is believed that the true nature of the Tao is beyond human comprehension, ancient Taoists nevertheless endeavored to find traces of the Way in nature, the social world, and also within the individual. As a result, the Chinese feel there is a Tao or Way that represents the purest and most truthful approach to any activity or form of being. The desire to be more in touch with this type of awareness is essentially the driving force behind all evolution, so when the Chinese speak of understanding the Tao, they are essentially referring to the possible bridge that can be forged between our normal daily perceptions and the Intuitive, Divine presence that permeates all life…………”

 

From the Text

 

6    

 The usefulness of a vessel is not how much it can hold

But rather how much it serves

 

This distinction is subtle, yet forms the root

Of the difference between fear and courage

 

Fear wants the vessel to always be full

And will hoard in anticipated need

 

Courage uses the vessel with impunity

Seeing the cycles of emptiness as the way of life

 

This dynamic is the root of all creativity

And allows the student to see how letting go

 

Is the first step to acquiring what is necessary

 

                                 43

 When small children are brought to cemeteries

They want to run and play between the headstones

 

Yet they are scolded and told to respect

Something they do not understand

 

When small children are brought to churches

The candles, shadows, and echoes, seem like a funhouse

 

Yet they are scolded and told to respect

Something they do not understand

 

This is how we all get divided from the Tao

Into the illusory world of this and that

 

Yet there is room in a cemetery for more than death,

After all, a cemetery is maintained by the living

 

And there is room in a church for more than piety,

After all, a church is a refuge for the wayward in spirit

 

Therefore, to reunite ourselves with the Tao

We must remember to sometimes forget

 

All we’ve been taught to understand

 

50

 When we perceive the world

Without intending to do so

 

Like a mirror that reflects

Everything it faces

 

This is called “no mind”

 

What we think of as “mind”

Is because we discriminate

 

Between ourselves

And what is around us

 

This is why the mind is always in conflict

With the world in which it exists

 

Therefore, just as a mirror can be useful

For expanding the sense of a small room

 

So too can embracing “no mind” be of use

As a doorway beyond our discrimination

 

And into the Tao

 

60

 Creativity is how we interact with the unknown

The Tao is how the unknown interacts with us

 

Thus our consciousness is an alchemical marriage

Of an awareness of form and a formless awareness

 

When one does not allow this partnership to deteriorate

Through attachment to temporary conditions

 

This is known as relinquishing the mind

Without abandoning it

 

62

 The Tao allows for every possibility

Yet the mind seeks perfection

 

Eternity is endless

Yet the mind searches for conclusions

 

Birth and death are infinitely recurring

Yet the mind forms a sequence

 

Being and Non-being require each other

Yet the mind retains a preference

 

It therefore makes perfect sense

Why museums preserve the brains of famous men in jars

 

It is a way for us to see

The nature of our limitations

 

71

 What are the sounds of wind and rain?

 

Moving in the heavens, the wind is silent,

Only to be heard when it meets resistance

 

As it shakes the trees

Or fills our ears

 

Falling from the heavens, rain is also silent,

Only to be heard when it meets resistance

 

As it hits the roof

With its steady drumming

 

Both wind and rain come from silence

Yet are known by how they disturb the silence

 

Likewise, we come to know ourselves

Only by what we do,

 

Unaware of what we truly are.

 

78

 Our mind is a flame

And our body is a candle

 

Yet what remains

When the fire and wax are done?

 

Such is the essence of the Tao