A00269 - Book of the Month for the Month of May 2024: Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu: Selected Passages
Without going out-of-doors,
one may know all under heaven;
Without peering through windows,
one may know the Way of heaven.
The farther one goes,
The less one knows.
For this reason,
The sage knows without journeying,
understands without looking,
accomplishes without acting.
{Number 10 (47)}
*****
Sincere words are not beautiful,
Beautiful words are not sincere.
He who knows is not learned,
He who is learned does not know.
He who is good does not have much,
He who has much is not good.
The sage does not hoard.
The more he does for others,
the more he has himself;
The more he gives to others,
the more his own bounty increases.
Therefore,
The Way of heaven benefits but does not harm,
The Way of man acts but does not contend.
{Number 31 (81)}
******
Know masculinity,
Maintain femininity,
and be a ravine for all under heaven.
By being a ravine for all under heaven,
Eternal integrity will never desert you,
If eternal integrity never deserts you,
You will return to the state of infancy.
Know you are innocent,
Remain steadfast when insulted,
and be a valley for all under heaven.
By being a valley for all under heaven,
Eternal integrity will suffice.
If eternal integrity suffices,
You will return to the simplicity of the unhewn fog.
Know whiteness,
Maintain blackness,
and be a model for all under heaven.
By being a model for all under heaven,
Eternal integrity will not err.
If eternal integrity does not err,
You will return to infinity.
When the unhewn log is sawn apart,
it is made into tools;
When the sage is put to use,
he becomes the chief of officials.
For
Great carving does no cutting.
{Number 72 (28)}
*****
Peace,
Everett "Skip" Jenkins
----- Forwarded Message -----
From: skipjen2865@aol.com <skipjen2865@aol.com>
To: Everett Jenkins <skipjen2865@aol.com>
Sent: Monday, May 6, 2024 at 06:02:21 AM PDT
Subject: Book of the Month for April 2024: Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu
May is AAPI Heritage Month
To celebrate the month, I have decided to visit a volume that has long been on my library shelf, but which has not been read. The volume is entitled Tao Te Ching and the author is Lao Tzu, as translated by Victor H. Mair and with an introduction by Huston Smith. The book cover says this about the Tao Te Ching
"The classic collection of spiritual insights and observations called the Tao Te Ching embodies the search for a way to live based not on arbitrary rules of morality but on achieving harmony with all things. Here can be found an understanding of the essential oneness of the universe, that cosmic energy -- ch'i -- flows within and around us without ceasing, and that wisdom consists not in acting upon the world in order to change it, but in finding and following the Way -- the Tao. Taoism explains the world in terms of contemplation, meditation, acceptance, and reconciliation, striking imagery that penetrates the heart."
*****
I am looking forward to reading this Tao Te Ching. I am hoping that it will provide greater insights for the mystical journey that I have been on now for the last fifty-two years. Who knows maybe it will also provide some insights for the mystical journey that you may be on of your own.
Let us see. Let us begin.
Peace,
Everett "Skip" Jenkins
Fairfield, California
May 21, 2024
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