Tao Te Ching 42

Ordinary men hate solitude.

But the Master makes use of it, embracing his aloneness, realizing he is one with the whole universe.
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Unlike us ordinary folk, a Taoist Master is probably no longer able to feel lonely. S/he may be alone, like any of us, but s/he has learned to embrace it because in it s/he finds everyone and everything. The Master has embraced the interconnectedness, interdependence and essential harmony in life.

When all the presence of all people and things is realized, how could anyone feel lonely? Solitude loses its meaning, and the fear of solitude loses its power.

Tao Te Ching 41

When a superior man hears of the Tao, he immediately begins to embody it. When an average man hears of the Tao, he half believes it, half doubts it. When a foolish man hears of the Tao, he laughs out loud. If he didn’t laugh, it wouldn’t be the Tao.

Thus it is said:
The path into the light seems dark, the path forward seems to go back, the direct path seems long, true power seems weak, true purity seems tarnished, true steadfastness seems changeable, true clarity seems obscure, the greatest art seems unsophisticated, the greatest love seems indifferent, the greatest wisdom seems childish.
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For the few who have read these entries, I wonder: who immediately began to embody the Tao; who half believed and half doubted; and who laughed out loud.

When we hear the Tao and embody it, we see that life is not as it seems. We are called to a different vision, one that seems so contrary to the perceptions, assumptions and paradigms that we’ve long held to be true.

That which we thought was dark, becomes light; that which we thought to be backward, becomes a path forward; that which we saw as long, becomes direct; that which we deemed weak, becomes strong; that which we saw as tarnished, becomes pure; that which we considered changeable, becomes steadfast; that which seemed obscure, becomes clear; that which we dismissed as unsophisticated, becomes great; that love to which we were indifferent, becomes the greatest love of our life; and that which we regarded as childish, becomes wisdom.

Jesus said: he who finds his life shall lose it; he who loses his life shall find it; the least shall be greatest; the greatest shall be least; what is done in secret shall be rewarded openly; what has been said in the dark will be heard in the daylight; what has been whispered will be proclaimed; what is concealed will be disclosed; wolves come in sheep’s clothing; whoever exalts himself will be humbled; whoever humbles himself will be exalted; the first shall be last; and the last shall be first.

Such is the nature of wisdom throughout the ages. If we’re wise, we will embody it immediately.

21 - But, Who's Counting?

Today should have been Dan’s 21st birthday, a day to celebrate another passage into adulthood by being able, legally, to lift a pint of beer, a glass of wine or a flute of Champagne in that celebration. Tonight, if not very early this morning, Dan would have headed off with a few friends to mark that passage as it has been marked since society first drew a date-certain line in that section of the social sand.

Instead, I will take two, maybe four, bottles of Sapporo beer to a gravesite outside of town. Anyone who knew Danny will understand why the beer must be Sapporo, Asahi, Kirin, Suntory, Orion or Otaru. I will sit in the grass over that grave and drink one of those bottles, and at the same time pour a second bottle into the earth that now serves as the marker for Dan’s passage. Then, if either one of us is so inclined I will do the same with bottles three and four. I suspect we will be so inclined. After all, a guy only turns 21 once in a lifetime.

May 27 is the hardest, the worst of the “Danny days” on my calendar. It makes March 15 seem easy by comparison. March 15 will always denote the anniversary of a life ended. May 27 has become the antithesis of the anniversary of a life begun. Birthdays are for the living. There isn’t really any way, for me, to celebrate the birthday of a child who has died.

I know that life cannot be other than as it is this moment, and that accepting that reality is the path out of suffering. But, today, I badly want life to be other than as it is this moment; and so, today, I feel the suffering that comes in the absence of acceptance.

Tomorrow I will hear Dan invite me to return to the path.

Memorial Day

On May 1, I started wearing a red memorial bracelet in honor of Marine PFC Brandon Sturdy. PFC Sturdy was sitting next to my son in the back of a Humvee on May 13, 2004, when an IED went off just outside Fallujah. PFC Sturdy died in the blast; my son was seriously wounded, but came home and recovered. The difference for those two young men, and their families, was about the distance traveled by a half turn of the Humvee wheels.

My son, a Navy corpsman, was the last person to attend to PFC Sturdy. He did so with his uniform still on fire, for which he received a Navy Commendation Medal with Valor designation, along with a Purple Heart. Everything I could find out about PFC Sturdy is in the little memorial below. When someone dies at the age of 19, there often isn’t a lot to find out.

May is the month of my son’s birth, Brandon’s death, and Memorial Day, which we’re celebrating today. It’s an appropriate time to put on the bracelet. I believe that the appropriate time to take it off is after the last soldier or Marine dies in Iraq and Afghanistan. I hope that when anyone sees the bracelet I’m wearing, or anyone like it, they will remember the men and women the bracelets represent.

As of today, there have been 4,394 coalition troops (4082 Americans) die in Iraq. An additional 820 coalition troops have died in Afghanistan (507 Americans). More than 8,300 members of the Iraqi security / police force have been killed. At least 100,000 - 150,000 Iraqis and Afghan civilians have died in the war (there are estimates five times that number).

Four weeks from now, my son will return to duty in the Persian Gulf.

MARINE PFC BRANDON C. STURDY, 19, of Urbandale, Iowa, was killed May 13, while conducting security and stability operations. Friends say Brandon was always trying to make people smile. "He made everybody laugh. He could turn a situation around like that," said his eighth grade teacher Heidi Zlab, who said he disliked school but loved life, "I don't think he had an enemy." Brandon graduated from high school in Urbandale in 2003. "He was always trying to be the comical guy," said Sara Broek, 19, who attended elementary and high school with Brandon and was his neighbor. His mom is Shelly Rivera, an administrative assistant for an insurance company; his dad is David Sturdy. He was engaged to Tricia Johnson of Grimes, Iowa.

Tao Te Ching 40

Return is the movement of the Tao.
Yielding is the way of the Tao.

All things are born of being.
Being is born of non-being.
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When breathing, inhaling is the return of the breath; exhaling is its departure. Another word for breathing in is inspiration. There is inspiration in the movement of the Tao. The opposite of inspiration is expiration. Without the movement of the Tao there is expiration. Life and death are matters of inspiration and expiration.

It’s unfortunate that we so often regard the word “yield” as reflecting a position of weakness when it is so often the only position of strength. Yielding is a source of energy and thus a source of power, because yielding is the basis for accumulating energy, restoring energy, and conserving energy. A combatant who does not know how to yield knows nothing about the martial arts. Yielding is like the return movement in the breath, the return movement of the Tao.

We perceive the world in dualistic terms. In that world all things are compound and have an inherent opposite. In this instance we’re told that there cannot be being unless there is also non-being. As soon as we take hold of the idea of life we must take hold of the idea of death at the same moment. We cannot grasp or recognize one without simultaneously grasping or recognizing the other. Therefore, being is born of non-being, and all things, including us, are born of both.

Happy 32nd Birthday to my oldest son!

Tao Te Ching 39

In harmony with the Tao, the sky is clear and spacious, the earth is solid and full, all creatures flourish together, content with the way they are, endlessly repeating themselves, endlessly renewed.

When man interferes with the Tao, the sky becomes filthy, the earth becomes depleted, the equilibrium crumbles, creatures become extinct.
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The environmental message in this chapter is so obvious that it needs little commentary. When we mess with the natural way of life, we end up crumbling and depleted at best, and often filthy or in danger of extinction.

It’s more intriguing to apply this message to our internal environment – the interior of our body and our mind. Our body can remain solid and our mind can remain clear, and we can be renewed and flourish in contentment, if we remain in harmony with the way life is in the present moment. Remember, life cannot be other than what it is at this moment.

If we would like to improve life as it is this moment, then we’re invited to do so by living in harmony – with ourselves, with each other, and with the natural world around us. If we choose to live other than in harmony, then we must accept what flows naturally from our discord and interference – filth in its many forms, depletion, crumbling, and a sure demise.

Tao Te Ching 38 (Teaching 3)

When the Tao is lost, there is goodness.
When goodness is lost, there is morality.
When morality is lost, there is ritual.
Ritual is the husk of true faith, the beginning of chaos.

Therefore the Master concerns himself with the depths and not the surface, with the fruit and not the flower. He has no will of his own. He dwells in reality, and lets all illusions go.
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Similar to the last teaching, here the Tao Te Ching again notes the descent from the natural way of life through various levels of dualistic or ego-based judgment until finally arriving at the door to chaos. If we paused on this slippery slope at the point of “goodness”, then things wouldn’t be too bad. But, goodness lives next door to morality and it’s only one step from one yard to the other.

But even morality can erode and become nothing more than a ritualistic or habitual commitment to a carefully specified action or inaction. At that point the life inherent in the way, and whatever life may remain in goodness or morality, is gone – leaving only the dry husk of what was once a living faith. Welcome to chaos in the form of blind faith, dead faith, dogmatic faith or some other self-righteous, ego-centered belief system.

The Master is not caught in the illusion of faith, which is little more than a ritual. Rather, s/he resists the descent into chaos and remains as close as possible to the true faith that is embedded in creation. True faith in what, some may ask. The answer is to stop, look, listen, smell, taste, feel, and experience what is omnipresent and omnipotent. Then, you’ll know.

Tao Te Ching 38 (Teaching 2)

The kind man does something, yet something remains undone. The just man does something, and leaves many things to be done.

The moral man does something, and when no one responds he rolls up his sleeves and uses force.
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This teaching makes the cynic in me smile as I think about the descent from kindness to morality. I've become cynical about people and institutions who profess to be acting from a revealed morality, which they want to “share with” (i.e., impose on) anyone who does not share in their revelation.

When people act out of kindness they can accomplish many things, while leaving “something” undone. When people act out of their sense of justice they may accomplish something, but they leave “many things” undone. This suggests that being motivated by kindness is more effective than being motivated by justice, as the former is more likely to stem from love or compassion for others, whereas the latter is more likely to stem from judging others on the basis of some form of ideology.

But the descent becomes steep when someone professes to be acting from a sense of morality. At that point, judging others as good or bad, or right or wrong, has become the entire point. The motivation is now driven by doctrine or dogma. The result, often, is that “no one responds”. Many people respond to kindness, though not everyone; some people respond to justice, though many do not. But it’s not unusual for no one to respond to someone else’s sense of morality.

When the moral man is ignored, his self-righteousness flares and he resorts to force in some form. That force may be physical, intellectual or emotional; or it may come dressed in some spiritual guise. No matter the form it will attempt to overpower the will and control the actions of the “ignorant”, the “sinner”, the “unsaved”. The result, as we see around the world, is often violent.

We would do well to ascend this ladder and return to being motivated by justice rather than morality, and then by kindness rather than justice.

What would the world be like if everyone declared, as has the Dalai Lama: “My religion is kindness.” Things would remain undone, to be sure. But there would be less force and less violence and less death in the name of morality. That seems like a better world, to me.

Tao Te Ching 38 (Teaching 1)

The Master doesn’t try to be powerful; thus he is truly powerful. The ordinary man keeps reaching for power; thus he never has enough.

The Master does nothing, yet he leaves nothing undone. The ordinary man is always doing things, yet many things are left to be done.
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If we believe that power lies outside of us, then we will be reaching for it day after day. If we realize that power lies inside us, and that it’s already there, then we are truly power-full. Because the Master knows this, s/he has no need to try to be powerful. Power is found through this self-realization, not through trying.

Life isn’t about doing; it’s about being. It’s been said that we are human beings who act like human doings. If we choose to be, which means being fully present here and now no matter what the circumstances may be, then we will find, almost mystically, that nothing is left undone – because we will know that life cannot be other than as it is at that moment. In a very real sense, there is nothing to be done.

Shakespeare nailed it: “To be or not to be; that is the question.”

The ordinary person is rarely satisfied with the present moment. S/he wants to changes things; to make them better; to make the bad stuff go away; to make the good stuff come. No matter how much s/he does, there are always many things left to be done.

Tao Te Ching 37

If powerful men and women could center themselves in the Tao, the whole world would be transformed by itself, in its natural rhythms. People would be content with their simple, everyday lives, in harmony, and free of desire.

When there is no desire, all things are at peace.
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All suffering comes from the desire for life to be other than it is at the moment. That is one of the most essential truths I’ve learned. When we’re suffering we want life to move outside its natural rhythms.

Pain and suffering are not the same. Pain is an objective reality; suffering is our subjective response to reality. We usually don’t choose our pain; we almost always choose our suffering. We may not see it that way; but that’s the way it is.

If we can just be with life as it is right now we will find a measure of contentment and harmony residing there, along with whatever it is that we desire to be other than it is. The harmony naturally embedded in simple, everyday life is always present.

Contentment awaits those who are aware of reality and accept it. Within that underlying stream of contentment and harmony is freedom from desire. “Where there is no desire, all things are at peace.” That is a profound statement; one that can be tested readily in our daily life.

The next time you feel the absence of peace ask yourself, “What do you desire right now?” There will be an answer; something will come quickly to mind. The next time you feel the presence of peace ask the same question. There will be no answer; because in the midst of peace we don’t desire anything else.

Tao Te Ching 36

If you want to shrink something, you must first allow it to expand. If you want to get rid of something, you must first allow it to flourish. If you want to take something, you must first allow it to be given.

This is the subtle perception of the way things are. The soft overcomes the hard. The slow overcomes the fast.
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Some teachings in the Tao Te Ching need to simmer in our pots for a while. This teaching is like that. In some respects it’s counterintuitive; in others it parallels the wisdom of the Beatitudes and Jesus saying in Luke 6:38:

“Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full…. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.”

How many of us want something from life, but because of pride or fear we won’t allow it to be given to us. Learning how to receive a gift is often more difficult than learning how to give a gift.

Allowing something to expand or flourish allows its energy to be dissipated, like when a doctor tells us to just rest and let a viral infection “run its course”. Parents of young children know that on some evenings they simply have to let the little ones run around until they give out.

The martial arts teach the importance of using an opponent’s energy – letting it expand in our direction – as the means to take him down, exhaust him and eventually defeat him.

The Tao Te Ching invites us to remember that things are not always as they seem; in fact, things are often the opposite of what they seem. In a world that is trapped in dualistic thinking that should come as no surprise. There can be no shrinking unless there is expansion; there can be no floundering unless there is flourishing; there can be no giving unless there is receiving. Good cannot exist without bad; right cannot exist without wrong; vice only has meaning in the presence of virtue.

Tao Te Ching 35 (Teaching 2)

Music or the smell of good cooking may make people stop and enjoy. But words that point to the Tao seem monotonous and without flavor.

When you look for it, there is nothing to see. When you listen for it, there is nothing to hear. When you use it, it is inexhaustible.
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Learning to enjoy the mundane things in life – those things that seem monotonous and without flavor – is essential to happiness, because most of life, ours and everyone else’s, is found in the mundane.

Synonyms for mundane include ordinary, routine, everyday, commonplace. Those words pretty much describe life. If our happiness is dependent on a steady rush of the extraordinary, the unusual, the occasional and the exceptional, then we’re going to come up a short of the mark.

We can see and hear the mundane, but we don’t, because we believe there’s nothing to see or hear. We’re wrong. It’s there, waiting for our awareness and our attention. Try it; look at it; listen to it; smell it; taste it; touch it; think about it.

Life is filled with the mundane – it’s everywhere and in everything; it’s the “stuff” of life. And, the best thing about the mundane – it’s inexhaustible. We can use it every moment of the day without concern for using it up.

Enjoy it.

Tao Te Ching 35 (Teaching 1)

She who is centered in the Tao can go where she wishes, without danger.

She perceives the universal harmony, even amid great pain, because she has found peace in her heart.
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Staying centered in the way of life is the only safe place to live and the only way to find peace. Life cannot be other than it is this moment. We cannot change what has been and thus we cannot change what is. We should live in the center of life as it is right now; for it is only there that we are free of the fear that perceives danger. In that freedom, we may go where we wish.

Staying centered in the way of life is the only place from which we’re able to see the interconnectedness of all creation. Becoming aware of this inherent harmony is the path to a peaceful heart.

Tao Te Ching 34

The great Tao pours itself into its work, yet it makes no claim. It nourishes infinite worlds, yet it doesn’t hold on to them.

Since it is merged with all things and hidden in their heart, it can be called humble. It isn’t aware of its greatness; thus it is truly great.
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Humility is hard to develop. But the Tao Te Ching invites us to find humility by following some basic advice:

§ We should pour ourselves into our work, but make no claim about it.
§ We should nourish the people around us, but make no attempt to hold on to or control them.
§ We should remain unaware of any greatness that may be in us; awareness of our greatness will diminish our greatness.

Referring to this as basic advice doesn’t mean that it’s easy to follow. It’s difficult – but it’s the only path to humility and thus to greatness.

Tao Te Ching 33

Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom.
Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power.

If you realize that you have enough, you are truly rich.
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True wisdom, true power and true wealth are rarely what they seem to be. They are often the opposite of what they seem to be. Those who seek wisdom, power or wealth must first look inside. They should not look outside until they know themselves and have mastered themselves. That work should keep them busy for a while.

As for wealth – being rich – it’s a state of mind. When you think you have enough, then you have all that you need or want. Those of us who have adequate shelter, enough food to eat, clean clothes to wear, and access to healthcare are thereby able to declare ourselves to be rich at any point in time. We only need to become aware that we have enough, that in the grand scheme of events and circumstances we have our share of the world’s resources.

It may be fair to say that anyone who can access and read these words has enough and is truly rich, whether they know it or not.

Tao Te Ching 32

When you have names and forms, know that they are provisional. When you have institutions, know where their functions should end.

Knowing when to stop, you can avoid any danger.
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Remember when mom or dad would tell us, “You went too far. You need to learn when to stop.” We’ve probably said the same thing to our children.

Eastern philosophy invites us to stop putting names and labels on people, places and things or at least to realize that any label is conventional and provisional, at best. But, our need to label is strong because it’s the only thing that makes us right and others wrong; that makes us good and others bad. After all, if others aren’t wrong and bad, then how are we to know that we’re right and good? Without our goodness, what separate us from the bad guys? Being right feels good to us. It feeds our ever-hungry ego.

Our collective ego, in forms such as religious denominations and political parties, also demands separation and a “house divided”. We profess the need for such institutions, but we cannot seem to define where their functions start or stop. We declare our cherished institutions to be “true”, but in doing so we strip away the boundaries for their roles in our lives while failing to see that such a declaration is just another label when it’s applied to any group of people, ideology or belief system.

In a self-constructed world of institutions that are right and wrong and good and bad, violent conflict between competing truths is inevitable and fills our world with danger. We keep going too far. We don’t know when to stop.

We owe our moms and dads an apology for not listening. We owe our children an apology for not practicing what we preach. Now would be a good time to stop.

Tao Te Ching 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.

His enemies are not demons, but human beings like himself. He doesn’t wish them personal harm. Nor does he rejoice in victory. How could he rejoice in victory and delight in the slaughter of men?

He enters battle gravely, with sorrow and with great compassion, as if he were attending a funeral.
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Luke 6:27 "But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
28 Bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
29 If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic.
30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.
31Do to others as you would have them do to you.
32 "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them.
33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you?
35 But love your enemies, do good to them.
36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”

- Jesus

Romans 12:18 “If is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
19 Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.”

- Paul of Tarsus

“When I despair, I remember that all through history the ways of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants, and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall. Think of it – always.”

- Mahatma Gandhi

These are not easy words to follow. Following them requires faith in their truthfulness, and requires courage beyond our usual ability to comprehend. Faith is not easy either to attain or retain when someone believes s/he is under attack. At such times, courage gets forcefully shoved into the small context of bravery in violent retaliation.

In the presence of our enemy, the only “f” words that come to mind are fight or flight. Faith is left to be exercised before and after the battles. Jesus, Buddha, the Tao, Paul, Gandhi, and countless other inspired voices of universal wisdom have directed us to turn to non-violent solutions for whatever threatens us – except in the direst of necessity and then only with the utmost restraint - and with sorrow and great compassion. As Jesus said, however, the words of the prophets are only for those with ears to hear them. Do we hear them?

The events of 9/11 created a dire necessity and the armed entry into Afghanistan in pursuit of those who are responsible for that attack was an appropriately restrained response. Invading Iraq was neither a dire necessity nor was it undertaken with utmost restraint. “Shock and awe” are not synonyms for sorrow and compassion.

The invincible always fall. Think of it – always.

A Blog Interrupted

No, I don’t know why I stopped the Tao postings. I went out of town for a work-related leadership meeting on October 7, 2007, and when I came back home I didn’t return to the blog. Several friends and family have asked me about the lapse, but I haven’t found the energy to resume. For the last seven months there has been way too much hair on the soap. I just couldn’t pick it up.

Then, a few days ago my son-in-law posted on comment on the last entry I made in October. His comment began, “Well said”. That comment mattered to me a great deal. First, I wasn’t sure he read HOTS; second, I was surprised that he continued to check it for new postings; and third, the idea that I had written something that evoked a positive response in him seemed to reconnect me to the energy that is needed to make blog entries on a fairly regular basis.

So, I’m going to try to get back in the saddle.

I’d like to complete the series on the Tao Te Ching. Then I will turn my attention to the presidential election, which I regard as the most important election we have faced in several decades.

There has been no lack of political commentary on these pages in the past, but much of that was spent lambasting the Bush administration. As I’ve said here earlier, I got tired of my anger on that subject. Fortunately, January 20, 2009, is drawing close enough that there’s no need to pursue that commentary any longer – except to the extent that any candidate for public office appears to “stay the course” with regard to the foreign or domestic polices set by George Bush. In that case … well, that’s another day.

I don’t really want to comment on the 2008 primary election process for either party. I only want that painful, and at times pitiful, process to end. If there’s a god in heaven, that should coincide fairly well with the completion of the entries on the Tao Te Ching.

Happy Mother’s Day – to my mom; my wife; my daughters and daughters-in-law; my children’s mom; my mother-in-law; my sisters-in-law; and my nieces!