Tao Te Ching 67 (Teaching 1)

Some say that my teaching is nonsense. Others call it lofty but impractical. But to those who have looked inside themselves, the nonsense makes perfect sense. And to those who put it into practice, this loftiness has roots that go deep.
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If you think the teaching in the Tao Te Ching is impractical, then suspend judgment for a while and try it; put it into practice and see if its practicality becomes apparent. If you think it’s nonsense, then look inside your mind and heart and listen for the still, small voice that may whisper the sense of it.

One thing that keeps us from living real and authentic lives is our use of filters in the form of judgments and opinions about life and the views of others. These filters prevent the new and the different from making any contact with us other than in a superficial and momentary way. We dismiss the lofty, the impractical, the so-called nonsense, lest we have to deal with the possibility that they are anything but lofty, impractical or nonsense. We don’t want anything to disrupt our accepted view of the world around us and the lives we lead.

Generally speaking, if tens of millions of people find something of value in a teaching, we should employ enough curiosity to inquire about it. If that number swells to hundreds of millions, inquiry should become a deeper investigation. Exceptions to any such generalization are appropriate, of course – but with some critical thinking involved, rather than merely dismissing the teachings as a matter of course.

I invite you to inquire into the impractical nonsense in the Tao Te Ching. Just for fun if nothing else.