Tao Te Ching – Verse 31
Weapons are the tools of violence;
all decent men detest them.
Weapons are the tools of fear;
a decent man will avoid them
except in the direst necessity
and, if compelled, will use them
only with the utmost restraint.
Today: “Merge with the consciousness of others. Feel it as your own. Know it as your own. It includes awareness beyond your own personal view, colored by ego. If you can do this, then what it sees, you see. What it knows, you know.” – Today’s Reading
Where words fail, you can teach and lead by your example. Just keep up.
An individual is in a position in which he cannot so express his good intentions that they will actually take shape and be understood. Other people interpose and distort everything he does. He should then be cautious and proceed step by step. He must not try to force the consummation of a great undertaking, because success is possible only when general confidence already prevails. It is only through faithful and conscientious work, unobtrusively carried on, that the situation gradually clears up and the hindrance disappears.
Practice this:
Meditation: LA007-780117-Sadhana Yojina-To Infinity Upon Death
If you are a healer (or not), listen to one or more of the following audio clips from my healing classes:
Recap: Healing Intensive with Hari Nam Singh at Park Slope Brooklyn March 29-30, 2019
See Richard Wilhelm's translation for this reading
3 – Three. Chun / Difficulty at the Beginning
Thunder from the Deep:
The Superior Person carefully weaves order out of confusion.
Supreme Success if you keep to your course.
Carefully consider the first move.
Seek help.
SITUATION ANALYSIS:
New ventures always pack along their inherent chaos.
Though this is an annoyance at best, and can even imperil or downright doom an endeavor, it is also the friction needed to polish your project to jewel brilliance.
Learn from these early obstacles.
Nine in the fifth place means:He could rescue them, if only they would trust. Difficulties in blessing.
|
| An individual is in a position in which he cannot so express his good intentions that they will actually take shape and be understood. Other people interpose and distort everything he does. He should then be cautious and proceed step by step. He must not try to force the consummation of a great undertaking, because success is possible only when general confidence already prevails. It is only through faithful and conscientious work, unobtrusively carried on, that the situation gradually clears up and the hindrance disappears. |
15 – Fifteen. Ch’ien / Modesty
The Mountain does not overshadow the Plain surrounding it:
Such modest consideration in a Superior Person creates a channel through which excess flows to the needy.
Success if you carry things through.
SITUATION ANALYSIS:
The Cosmos is moving toward equilibrium.
Extremes are being tempered, excess is beginning to shift toward the empty.
You can use these moderating influences to strike a balance in the world around you.
Remember, though, that this Leveling will not come about through an arrogant confiscation of excess, but through subtler persuasions.
Modesty and moderation are the keys.
Six in the second place means:
Modesty that radiates.
This course brings good fortune.
Modesty that comes to expression.
Perseverance brings good fortune.
“Out of the fullness of the heart the mouth speaketh.” When a man’s attitude of mind is so modest that this expresses itself in his outward behavior, it is a source of good fortune to him. For the possibility of exerting a lasting influence arises of itself, and no one can interfere.
34 – Thirty-Four Ta Chuang / Awesome Power
Thunder fills the Heavens with its awful roar, not out of pride, but with integrity; if it did less, it would not be Thunder:
Because of his Great Power, the Superior Person takes pains not to overstep his position, so that he will not seem intimidating or threatening to the Established Order.
Opportunity will arise along this course.
SITUATION ANALYSIS:
The Awesome Power available in this hexagram stems from what the Taoists call your Te, a term not perfectly translated into English.
Roughly, it is your Integrity — not in the Western sense of honor — but more in the psychological definition of a full integration of Who You Are.
This Awesome Power is achieved only by fully embracing both the good and the bad, the strong and the weak, the masculine and the feminine — all polarities within you.
Such self-knowledge spawns a Mastery tempered with the humility necessary to rein in and harness this Awesome Power.
Today: “Saints and sages have more trouble than a normal person, because a normal person can sneak his way through; the saintly man gets stuck.” Yogi Bhajan
“Saints and sages have more trouble than a normal person, because a normal person can sneak his way through; the saintly man gets stuck. If he has to walk into the fire, then he has to walk into the fire. But why then doesn’t he get burned? Do you know why? Because he feels he is the creature of the Creator; and when you feel you are the creature of the Creator, then the cause does not give you the effect. Do everything in the name of the activity. Work your way through in the name of your Creator. It is a relationship which you have to mentally establish. It is also known as transcendental meditation.” Yogi Bhajan
Meditation: KWTC-870710-No One Complains About the Lord
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Tao Te Ching – Verse 30 – Whoever relies on the Tao in governing men doesn’t try to force issues or defeat enemies by force of arms
Tao Te Ching – Verse 30
Whoever relies on the Tao in governing men
doesn’t try to force issues
or defeat enemies by force of arms.
For every force there is a counterforce.
Violence, even well intentioned,
always rebounds upon oneself.
Today: “When you share your wisdom jewels, they don’t get it. Don’t push it. Once temerity subsides and trust develops they will follow your example.” – Today’s Reading
When you share your wisdom jewels, they don’t get it. Don’t push it. Once temerity subsides and trust develops they will follow your example.
An individual is in a position in which he cannot so express his good intentions that they will actually take shape and be understood. Other people interpose and distort everything he does. He should then be cautious and proceed step by step. He must not try to force the consummation of a great undertaking, because success is possible only when general confidence already prevails. It is only through faithful and conscientious work, unobtrusively carried on, that the situation gradually clears up and the hindrance disappears.
Tao Te Ching – Verse 29 – Do you want to improve the world? I don’t think it can be done.
Practice this:
Meditation: NM0406 – Know the Best of You – Share the Best with Others
Meditation: LA544 – 870610 – Know and Experience the Unknown
If you are a healer (or not), listen to one or more of the following audio clips from my healing classes:
Recap: Healing Intensive with Hari Nam Singh at Park Slope Brooklyn March 29-30, 2019
See Richard Wilhelm's translation for this reading
3 – Three. Chun / Difficulty at the Beginning
Thunder from the Deep:
The Superior Person carefully weaves order out of confusion.
Supreme Success if you keep to your course.
Carefully consider the first move.
Seek help.
SITUATION ANALYSIS:
New ventures always pack along their inherent chaos.
Though this is an annoyance at best, and can even imperil or downright doom an endeavor, it is also the friction needed to polish your project to jewel brilliance.
Learn from these early obstacles.
Nine in the fifth place means:He could rescue them, if only they would trust. Difficulties in blessing.
|
| An individual is in a position in which he cannot so express his good intentions that they will actually take shape and be understood. Other people interpose and distort everything he does. He should then be cautious and proceed step by step. He must not try to force the consummation of a great undertaking, because success is possible only when general confidence already prevails. It is only through faithful and conscientious work, unobtrusively carried on, that the situation gradually clears up and the hindrance disappears. |
33 – Thirty-Three. Tun / Retreat
The tranquil Mountain towers overhead, yet remains this side of Heaven:
The Superior Person avoids the petty and superficial by keeping shallow men at a distance, not in anger but with dignity.
Such a retreat sweeps the path clear to Success.
Occupy yourself with minute detail.
SITUATION ANALYSIS:
Retreat in this instance is not a desperate flight in disarray, but a conscious choice to distance yourself from forces that would rob you of your peace.
It is not a surrender, but a regrouping.
Retreat from this conflict is actually an advance toward your own center.
You move toward balance, and thus a much stronger position.
If you are a healer (or not), listen to one or more of the following audio clips from my healing classes:
Recap: Healing Intensive with Hari Nam Singh at Park Slope Brooklyn March 29-30, 2019
20 - Twenty. Kuan / Contemplation
The gentle Wind roams the Earth:
The Superior Person expands his sphere of influence as he expands his awareness.
Deeply devoted to his pursuit of clarity and wisdom, he is unconscious of the inspiring, positive example he is setting for others to emulate.
You have cleansed yourself; now stand ready to make your humble, devout offering.
SITUATION ANALYSIS:
The situation marks a rising to new heights.
As you climb for a better view of the panorama, you make yourself more conspicuous to those below.
This hexagram is also known as the Watchtower, because the shape formed by its lines resembles the ancient guardposts manned by Chinese soldiers.
These towers were placed on mountainsides to give a better vantage point.
To those below, the watchtowers served as landmarks to help them find their way.
The quality of your search for clarity in this situation serves as such a guidepost for others along the Way.
Six in the second place means:
Peeking from behind a screen may ensure your privacy, but it offers you only a partial view.
Contemplation through the crack of the door.
Furthering for the perseverance of a woman.
Through the crack of the door one has a limited outlook; one looks outward from within. Contemplation is subjectively limited. One tends to relate everything to oneself and cannot put oneself in another's place and understand his motives. This is appropriate for a good housewife. It is not necessary for her to be conversant with the affairs of the world. But for a man who must take active part in public life, such a narrow, egotistic way of contemplating things is of course harmful.
61 - Sixty-One. Chung Fu / Inner Truth
The gentle Wind ripples the Lake's surface:
The Superior Person finds common ground between points of contention, wearing away rigid perspectives that would lead to fatal error.
Pigs and fishes.
You may cross to the far shore.
Great fortune if you stay on course.
SITUATION ANALYSIS:
The subject of this hexagram discovers a key to Tranquility by first gaining insight into his own nature, then turning that vision outward.
By resolving inner conflicts and being at peace with himself, he learns to gain insight into others.
In effect, he enters another, sees with the other's eyes, listens with the other's ears, feels with the other's heart.
He then returns to his own center, with new perspective and understanding.
Today: “Spirituality and Godhead does not mean that if I meditate all the time I am very spiritual.” Yogi Bhajan
“Spirituality and Godhead does not mean that if I meditate all the time I am very spiritual. Spirituality does mean that I am perfect in my spirit as far as my relationship is concerned on all levels of consciousness.” Yogi Bhajan
LA021-780319 – You Will Feel Totally Conscious
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Tao Te Ching – Verse 29 – Do you want to improve the world? I don’t think it can be done.
Tao Te Ching – Verse 29
Do you want to improve the world?
I don’t think it can be done.
The world is sacred.
It can’t be improved.
If you tamper with it, you’ll ruin it.
If you treat it like an object, you’ll lose it. Continue reading “Tao Te Ching – Verse 29 – Do you want to improve the world? I don’t think it can be done.”
Today: “Merge with the consciousness of others. Feel it as your own. Know it as your own. It includes awareness beyond your own personal view, colored by ego. If you can do this, then what it sees, you see. What it knows, you know.” – Today’s Reading
Merge with the consciousness of others. Feel it as your own. Know it as your own. It includes awareness beyond your own personal view, colored by ego. If you can do this, then what it sees, you see. What it knows, you know.
Through the crack of the door one has a limited outlook; one looks outward from within. Contemplation is subjectively limited. One tends to relate everything to oneself and cannot put oneself in another’s place and understand his motives. This is appropriate for a good housewife. It is not necessary for her to be conversant with the affairs of the world. But for a man who must take active part in public life, such a narrow, egotistic way of contemplating things is of course harmful.
Tao Te Ching – Verse 28 – Know the male, yet keep to the female
Practice this:
Meditation: NM0406 – Know the Best of You – Share the Best with Others
Meditation: LA544 – 870610 – Know and Experience the Unknown
Previous reading: “Your duty is to live the truth. Not merely follow the leader. Keep your dignity.”
If you are a healer (or not), listen to one or more of the following audio clips from my healing classes:
Recap: Healing Intensive with Hari Nam Singh at Park Slope Brooklyn March 29-30, 2019
See Richard Wilhelm's translation for this reading
20 – Twenty. Kuan / Contemplation
The gentle Wind roams the Earth:
The Superior Person expands his sphere of influence as he expands his awareness.
Deeply devoted to his pursuit of clarity and wisdom, he is unconscious of the inspiring, positive example he is setting for others to emulate.
You have cleansed yourself; now stand ready to make your humble, devout offering.
SITUATION ANALYSIS:
The situation marks a rising to new heights.
As you climb for a better view of the panorama, you make yourself more conspicuous to those below.
This hexagram is also known as the Watchtower, because the shape formed by its lines resembles the ancient guardposts manned by Chinese soldiers.
These towers were placed on mountainsides to give a better vantage point.
To those below, the watchtowers served as landmarks to help them find their way.
The quality of your search for clarity in this situation serves as such a guidepost for others along the Way.
Six in the second place means:
Peeking from behind a screen may ensure your privacy, but it offers you only a partial view.
Contemplation through the crack of the door.
Furthering for the perseverance of a woman.
Through the crack of the door one has a limited outlook; one looks outward from within. Contemplation is subjectively limited. One tends to relate everything to oneself and cannot put oneself in another’s place and understand his motives. This is appropriate for a good housewife. It is not necessary for her to be conversant with the affairs of the world. But for a man who must take active part in public life, such a narrow, egotistic way of contemplating things is of course harmful.
61 – Sixty-One. Chung Fu / Inner Truth
The gentle Wind ripples the Lake’s surface:
The Superior Person finds common ground between points of contention, wearing away rigid perspectives that would lead to fatal error.
Pigs and fishes.
You may cross to the far shore.
Great fortune if you stay on course.
SITUATION ANALYSIS:
The subject of this hexagram discovers a key to Tranquility by first gaining insight into his own nature, then turning that vision outward.
By resolving inner conflicts and being at peace with himself, he learns to gain insight into others.
In effect, he enters another, sees with the other’s eyes, listens with the other’s ears, feels with the other’s heart.
He then returns to his own center, with new perspective and understanding.
Today: “What is a habit? When the mind is tuned after an activity, it is known as a habit.” – Yogi Bhajan
“What is a habit? When the mind is tuned after an activity, it is known as a habit. First you tune the mind into activity and then the habit is established. You become slanderous if the habit is slanderous; you become divine if the habit is divine.”
Yogi Bhajan
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Tao Te Ching – Verse 28 – Know the male, yet keep to the female
Tao Te Ching – Verse 28
Know the male,
yet keep to the female:
receive the world in your arms.
If you receive the world,
the Tao will never leave you
and you will be like a little child.
Continue reading “Tao Te Ching – Verse 28 – Know the male, yet keep to the female”
Today: “Your duty is to live the truth. Not merely follow the leader. Keep your dignity.” – Today’s Reading
Your duty is to live the truth. Not merely follow the leader. Keep your dignity.
If a person responds perseveringly and in the right way to the behests from above that summon him to action, his relations with others are intrinsic and he does not lose himself. But if a man seeks association with others as if he were an obsequious office hunter, he throws himself away. He does not follow the path of the superior man, who never loses his dignity.
Tao Te Ching – Verse 27 – A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent upon arriving
Practice this:
Meditation: Breath to Conquer Time Space and Destiny
If you are a healer (or not), listen to one or more of the following audio clips from my healing classes:
Recap: Healing Intensive with Hari Nam Singh at Park Slope Brooklyn March 29-30, 2019
See Richard Wilhelm's translation for this reading
8 – Eight. Pi / Bonding
Deep Waters on the face of the Earth:
Surface waters flow together.
The Superior Person recognizes the situation calls for joining together.
Thus he cultivates friendly relations with all.
Good fortune is possible.
Cast the coins again to discover if you have the qualities needed to lead such a group.
Then there will be no error.
Those uncertain will gradually join.
Those who join too late will meet with misfortune.
SITUATION ANALYSIS:
This is a time of connection with another or others — not just an alliance, but a melding of parts into a new whole.
Such a connection may be too close, too intense for some.
Consult the oracle again to see if you have the qualities needed to strengthen and withstand such an intense synthesis.
Six in the second place means:Devotion comes from deep inside you. Hold to him inwardly.
|
| If a person responds perseveringly and in the right way to the behests from above that summon him to action, his relations with others are intrinsic and he does not lose himself. But if a man seeks association with others as if he were an obsequious office hunter, he throws himself away. He does not follow the path of the superior man, who never loses his dignity. |
29 – Twenty-Nine. K’an / Dangerously Deep
Water follows Water, spilling over any cliff, flowing past all obstacles, no matter the depth or distance, to the Sea.
The Superior Person learns flexibility from the mistakes he has made, and grows strong from the obstacles he has overcome, pressing on to show others the Way.
SITUATION ANALYSIS:
You are facing a crucial trial along your Journey.
The danger of this challenge is very real.
It is a test of your mettle.
If you can maintain your integrity and stay true to your convictions, you will overcome.
That’s not as easy as it seems when you are faced with the sacrifice of other things you’ve come to depend upon or hold dear.
Today: “You belong to only one thing, and that is Truth; and you have got to be delivered to only one thing, and that is Truth.” Yogi Bhajan
“You belong to only one thing, and that is Truth; and you have got to be delivered to only one thing, and that is Truth.” Yogi Bhajan
See related posts
Tao Te Ching – Verse 27 – A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent upon arriving
Tao Te Ching – Verse 27
A good traveler has no fixed plans
and is not intent upon arriving.
A good artist lets his intuition
lead him wherever it wants.
A good scientist has freed himself of concepts
and keeps his mind open to what is.
Thus the Master is available to all people
and doesn’t reject anyone.
He is ready to use all situations
and doesn’t waste anything.
This is called embodying the light. Continue reading “Tao Te Ching – Verse 27 – A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent upon arriving”
Today: “Retreat merely means adjusting your course. Defeat is when your spirit is crushed.” – Today’s Reading
Retreat merely means adjusting your course. Defeat is when your spirit is crushed. Sometime you just have to leave the fool to his folly.
In retreating the superior man is intent on taking his departure willingly and in all friendliness. He easily adjusts his mind to retreat, because in retreating he does not have to do violence to his convictions. The only one who suffers is the inferior man from whom he retreats, who will degenerate when deprived of the guidance of the superior man.
Today: “They say that he who gives enjoys and he who takes is a beggar.” Yogi Bhajan
Today: “They say that he who gives enjoys and he who takes is a beggar.” Yogi Bhajan
Practice this:
If you are a healer (or not), listen to one or more of the following audio clips from my healing classes:
Recap: Healing Intensive with Hari Nam Singh at Park Slope Brooklyn March 29-30, 2019
See Richard Wilhelm's translation for this reading
33 – Thirty-Three. Tun / Retreat
The tranquil Mountain towers overhead, yet remains this side of Heaven:
The Superior Person avoids the petty and superficial by keeping shallow men at a distance, not in anger but with dignity.
Such a retreat sweeps the path clear to Success.
Occupy yourself with minute detail.
SITUATION ANALYSIS:
Retreat in this instance is not a desperate flight in disarray, but a conscious choice to distance yourself from forces that would rob you of your peace.
It is not a surrender, but a regrouping.
Retreat from this conflict is actually an advance toward your own center.
You move toward balance, and thus a much stronger position.
Nine in the fourth place means:The Superior Person sees retreat as an opportunity to strengthen his position, and makes it so. Voluntary retreat brings good fortune to the superior man
‘Retreat at New Bridge’ – B. Spencer Newman |
| In retreating the superior man is intent on taking his departure willingly and in all friendliness. He easily adjusts his mind to retreat, because in retreating he does not have to do violence to his convictions. The only one who suffers is the inferior man from whom he retreats, who will degenerate when deprived of the guidance of the superior man. |
Today: “They say that he who gives enjoys and he who takes is a beggar.” Yogi Bhajan
“They say that he who gives enjoys and he who takes is a beggar. That is why they say: If you want to learn knowledge, beg it and beg it so in pity and mercy that out of the giver of knowledge God may come.” Yogi Bhajan
Yogi Bhajan’s Seven Steps to Happiness
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Tao Te Ching – Verse 26 – The heavy is the root of the light. The unmoved is the source of all movement.
Tao Te Ching – Verse 26
The heavy is the root of the light.
The unmoved is the source of all movement.
Thus the Master travels all day
without leaving home.
However splendid the views,
she stays serenely in herself.
Why should the lord of the country
flit about like a fool?
If you let yourself be blown to and fro,
you lose touch with your root.
If you let restlessness move you,
you lose touch with who you are.
(translation by Stephen Mitchell, 1995)
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Continue reading “Tao Te Ching – Verse 26 – The heavy is the root of the light. The unmoved is the source of all movement.”