The TAO TE CHING - VERSE 5

Stephen Mitchell's interpretation of the Tao Te Ching: Tao doesn’t take sides; it gives birth to both good and evil. The Master doesn’t take sides; she welcomes both saints and sinners. The Tao is like a bellows: it is empty yet infinitely capable. The more you use it, the more it produces; the more you talk of it, the less you understand. Hold on to the center.

Lao-tsu: 5. 1. Heaven and earth do not act from (the impulse of) any wish to be benevolent; they deal with all things as the dogs of grass are dealt with. The sages do not act from (any wish to be) benevolent; they deal with the people as the dogs of grass are dealt with. 2. May not the space between heaven and earth be compared to a bellows?

Wayne Dyer's interpretation: Heaven and earth are impartial; they see the 10,000 things as straw dogs. The sage is not sentimental; he treats all his people as straw dogs. The sage is like heaven and earth: to him none are especially dear, nor is there anyone he disfavors. He gives and gives, without condition, offering his treasures to everyone. Between heaven and earth is a space like a bellows; empty and inexhaustible, the more it is used, the more it produces. Hold on to the center, Man was made to sit quietly and find the truth within.

Byron Katie's interpretation: The Tao doesn’t take sides; it gives birth to both good and evil.

This week I thought for sure I'd have some serious discussion about judgment and not taking sides, about unconditional love & how important it is to accept everyone as they are. Then I sat down on the airplane today with a very loud man behind me who was getting on my nerves. My internal critics were working overtime as he grew louder and louder. And to make matters worse I couldn't drown him out with music because the flight attendant had just told us to put all electronic devices away. Talk about some serious issue with judgment, I thought. Then I read this passage from Byron Katie's interpretation of the Tao, "The Master can't take sides. She's in love with reality and reality includes everything." All at once I realized this verse of the Tao, for me anyway, really had nothing to do with judging a person or an object or even a situation, it has to do with being present, in the moment, no matter what comes my way.

I get it!

Just letting things be, going with the flow, finding the vibrational match to the moment is about something far greater than letting go of the critic, it’s about finding joy in EVERYTHING…even the loud man behind me. Not because he is pleasant or unpleasant, or because I have to love everyone or everything, or even to show unconditional love, but because every moment in time is a precious gift from the Creator and will never come this way again. So after I read the verse from Byran Katie, I chuckled, looked out the window at the magnificent clouds passing beneath us and relished that specific moment, loud man and all, until I was able to pop my earbuds into my ears and relish Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade.

So my goal for this week is to keep enjoying every moment in time, no matter what is happening in that moment, for there's only one unique moment like this coming our way and it's just too, too precious to intentionally miss. Thank you Source! 

See you next week.

References:

Mitchell, Stephen (2009-10-13). Tao Te Ching (p. 6). Harper Collins, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

The Laozi (2009-10-04). The Tao Teh King, or the Tao and its Characteristics (Kindle Locations 29-30). Public Domain Books. Kindle Edition.

Mitchell, Stephen; Katie, Byron (2007-02-06). A Thousand Names for Joy: Living in Harmony with the Way Things Are (p. 13). Random House, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

Dyer, Wayne Dr. 1 Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life, Audio Version, (Disc 1)