Category Archives: Meditation

Therefore the sage avoids extremes, excesses, and complacency. I think in considering Chapter Twenty-Nine that we can divide it into two parts comprised of two stanzas each. I’ll address the second part first. The quote above sums up this second … Continue reading →

Be the valley of the universe! Being the valley of the universe, Ever true and resourceful, Return to the state of the uncarved block. We have heard mention of the valley spirit from Lao Tsu before. The valley spirit represents … Continue reading →

The still is the master of unrest. The practice of meditation is the training of the spirit in stillness. No matter how many times I try, I have never been able to still my mind in meditation. It’s almost as … Continue reading →

Something mysteriously formed, Born before heaven and earth. In the silence and the void, Standing alone and unchanging, Ever present and in motion. Twenty-five is one of the most overtly poetic chapters of the Tao Te Ching. Even in translation … Continue reading →

When I read Chapter Twenty-Four, the picture that comes to mind for me is of The Asshole-in-Chief, G.W. Bush, standing on an aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf a few weeks after the start of the war in Iraq saying … Continue reading →

If heaven and earth cannot make things eternal, How is it possible for man? It is only our grasping nature that demands the universe stand still for us. Change is so clearly the norm in the universe. It is interesting … Continue reading →

The Japanese martial art form, Judo, is the embodiment of the first line of Chapter Twenty-two. Literally in Japanese, “ju” (gentleness) plus “do” or Tao in Chinese (Way). Thus Judo is the Way of Gentleness; “Yield and overcome.” The philosophy … Continue reading →

Lao Tsu writes. “The greatest virtue is to follow the Tao and the Tao alone.” The problem is that the Tao is elusive, intangible, dim, and dark. Yet it is also contains within it image, form, and essence. In other … Continue reading →

Often the great masters of wisdom, the mystics of the world, seem crazy or foolish to the rest of us. They do not fear the things that others fear; they don’t care for the things that others care for. They … Continue reading →