Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Inspired by Tao Te Ching - Chapter 14

道德經第14章

視之不見名曰夷。聽之不聞名曰希。摶之不得名曰微。此三者不可致詰,故混而為一。其上不皦,其下不昧,繩繩不可名,復歸於無物。是謂無狀之狀,無物之象,是謂惚恍。迎之不見其首,隨之不見其後。執古之道以禦今之有。能知古始,是謂道紀。

My rendition of Chapter 14 of Tao Te Ching:

That cannot be seen is called dissolved
That cannot be heard is called rarified
That cannot be touched is called diminished
All three cannot be found shall consider as one.
Its upper part is not bright
Its bottom part is not dark
Measure it, it’s without length
All of a sudden, it’s gone
That’s why it is called
Form without form
Thing without substance
In short it is called fuzzy
When it comes, its face cannot be seen
When it leaves, there is nothing for one to follow
Practice the ancient Tao of nothingness
can protect our living body of today
The practice was passed down from ancient times
Tao has a long history

Paul's inspiration 1 (from his Animas): A search towards our inner self can be as exciting as a search of the outside world. We cannot use our eyes (though sometimes we "see" light), we cannot use our hearing (though sometimes we "hear" thunder) and we cannot use our sense of touch (though sometimes we can "feel" something is moving). It is one and the same thing, as Laozi taught us.

Yet It cannot be taught like teaching mathematics, it has to be experienced. It cannot be explained, because every experience is unique, unique as to each individual, unique as to each unique moment of each unique individual, unique as to your master can never have your experience, and likewise you never have his.

Those who said I got it might not be telling the truth because there is not a it, but many unique its and they are all different. But don't expect to get 100% Nothingless, because it comes as a mathematical limit, you always approach it but you never get there.

Try a Taoist metaphor: "Give me any length, I cut and throw away half. I will always end up with something on my hand no matter how many times I cut and throw away half."

There lies its beauty: there is always room for improvement. And you can improve it continually. It will deliver, depending on what you're seeking, and your level of humility. And what you're seeking is also unique to you. You don't have to tell anybody.

Don't understand? Me or Laozi?  My finger or his finger? Never mind. You don't need to understand anyone's finger, seek for the Moon where the fingers are pointing (some correctly, some incorrectly; some more efficiently, some less efficiently). If you are determined to go the Moon, you will get there one day, with or without a pointing finger, no matter what.

Paul's inspiration 2 (from his Logos): This is meditative experience par excellence. The practice of meditation for spiritual purpose for Taoism and Buddhism has been age old. And the Sufi dance has been a form of moving meditation for spiritual purpose, for as long as there were Sufis.

During recent years, more Christians take up meditation for their spiritual purpose. The Catholic Church in Hong Kong now offers occasional meditative classes for the community. The teachers are from overseas, and they emphasize, like all meditative teachers, a focus on one's internal feel and breathing mechanism.

Protestant organizations in Hong Kong are more onto using Group Dynamics for spiritual purpose rather than meditation.

Meditation, or a meditative mode of mind, is an important element in all mind-body exercises, like tai chi, yoga and Pilates. Again internal feel and attention to our breathing mechanism are emphasized. Like Sufi dance, tai chi has been called moving meditation by some, though the former is spiritual in nature whereas the latter is considered a mind-body exercise and an art form, in addition to its martial art nature.


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