Tao Te Ching 15

Do you have the patience to wait till your mind settles and the water is clear?
Can you remain unmoving till the right action arises by itself?

The Master doesn’t seek fulfillment.
Not seeking, not expecting, she is present, and can welcome all things.
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Is there a belief system in the world that doesn’t extol the virtues of patience? Meditation is training in patience. In meditation we’re invited to “just sit” and allow the mind to settle and regain its natural clarity.

Water is water and remains water at all times and all places, no matter what else is put into it, no matter what sediment might be stirred up into it. There’s no such thing as muddy water, only water that has had dirt placed in it by some non-water means. Therefore, the water, pure and clear, is always present and available for those who have the patience to wait for it to arise.

Given the chance, our thoughts and feelings will simply and slowly settle, coming to rest at the bottom of our mind, so to speak. While we may think that our mind has become clear, in fact, it has always been clear. We’ve just allowed the non-water elements to settle down, for the moment.

When our mind is settled and clear then the things that we’re seeking in the mind will arise and become apparent – not by our seeking, but by our non-seeking. Remember the coin – seeking and non-seeking are co-dependent, one arises out of the other. Paradox is ever present.

The practiced master has trained her mind to move beyond seeking, and beyond the expectation that attends seeking, and in so doing she becomes aware of the clarity within her and in that clarity she discovers that all things are present and available to her. She is fulfilled.

Disappointment is a function of expectation. Drop one and the other goes away. The irony is that what is left behind isn’t a lack of fulfillment, as we might expect, but a fulfillment that will never disappoint.