Monthly Archives: August 2006

Seven – Paradox and Selfless Action

Posted on August 31, 2006 by bouligny

Lao Tsu’s seventh chapter is largely opaque to me; that is, I find it difficult to penetrate the poetry to reach some understanding of the list of paradoxes that begin the chapter. We have heaven and earth lasting forever because … Continue reading →

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Six – The Valley Spirit – Tao as Mother

Posted on August 30, 2006 by bouligny

I really love this formulation for the Tao: The Valley Spirit. I think it perfectly captures the meaning Lao Tsu wishes to relate in this chapter, both the idea of the pregnant void and the feminine spirit of motherhood. All … Continue reading →

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Five – The Bellows

Posted on August 29, 2006 by bouligny

Chapter Five is a good example of what I mentioned in my first post; that is, there are many ways to translate the text Lao Tsu has given us and it is often useful to consider several interpretations to get … Continue reading →

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Four – The Pregnant Void

Posted on August 28, 2006 by bouligny

Chapter Four of the Tao Te Ching is centered on the mystery of the void which is the mother of the ten thousand things. “The Tao is an empty vessel; it is used, but never filled. Oh, unfathomable source of … Continue reading →

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Three – Wu-Wei – Non-doing and The Purposeless Wandering of Chuang Tsu

Posted on August 27, 2006 by bouligny

So early in the text and we have run up against a truly alien standpoint to our everyday American sensibilities. In Chapter Two we had our first hint of wu-wei, the virtue of non-action. Here in Chapter Three we find … Continue reading →

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Two – Teaching No-Talking

Posted on August 25, 2006 by bouligny

Chapter 2 of the Tao Te Ching begins with an idea that can be found in many traditions and is found in most people’s common sense understanding of the way we consider dyadic relationships between concepts. It has been some … Continue reading →

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One – The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao

Posted on August 23, 2006 by bouligny

There is an interesting connection in the opening lines of the Tao Te  Ching and the Christian Gospel According to St. John. “The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao.” “In the beginning was the Word: and … Continue reading →

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A Place to Start

Posted on August 22, 2006 by bouligny

So, I’ve been working my way through all of the episodes of the X-Files over the last several months and I ran across an episode in season 7 that was written and directed by Gillian Anderson (who plays Scully) called “All … Continue reading →

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