Category Archives: Meditation

In Thirty-Nine, Lao Tsu begins with one of his parallel lists. The lists are bound together by the idea of wholeness – the Oneness of the Tao. Heaven, Earth, Spirit, The Valley, The Ten Thousand Things, and the Rulers all … Continue reading →

Chapter Thirty-Eight is one of the most difficult and yet important chapters of the Tao Te Ching. After carefully considering several translation, I think I like Feng and English’s best. The fourth stanza in particular is a convoluted set of … Continue reading →

The connections between and among the ideas of non-action or “effortless doing,” formlessness, and the quelling of desire are very intriguing to me. In Chapter Three we were first introduced to the concepts of wu wei and wei wu wei. … Continue reading →

Lao Tsu, as he often does, presents us first with a series of four opposites that are somehow necessary for each other. We have shrinking and expansion, failure and strength, casting down and being raised up, and receiving and giving. … Continue reading →

Living my whole life in New Orleans, except for two months following Hurricane Katrina, Lao Tsu’s words seem familiar. Passersby may stop for music and good food It is human nature to be drawn to the pleasures of the senses. … Continue reading →

In an earlier post I talked about the idea of Flow in psychology. In Chapter Thirty-Four Lao Tsu writes, “The great Tao flows everywhere, both to the left and to the right.” As we considered flow earlier in the text, … Continue reading →

Knowing others is wisdom; Knowing the self is enlightenment. For any philosopher the ancient Greek aphorism carved on the Temple of Apollo at Delphi is a familiar thought, one which is well-worn and comfortable like a favorite walking stick. But … Continue reading →

The Tao is forever undefined. Lao Tsu says that in its unformed state The Tao is small, though it cannot be grasped. I am reminded of the Katha Upanishad where it is said that the Self, or Atman, is thumb-sized. … Continue reading →

Good weapons are instruments of fear; all creatures hate them. Carrying on with the idea of Thirty, Lao Tsu makes it clear that weapons and war are never prized by one who follows The Way. Living as I do in … Continue reading →

Whenever you advise a ruler in the way of the Tao, Counsel him not to use force to conquer the universe. As I have mentioned in earlier posts, I have found many connections between the truths of Taoism and the … Continue reading →