MEDITATIONS: TAO TE CHING CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
the ancient child says
to see the future
put your left hand over your breast bone
and look into your right palm
rotate your fist as if gathering yarn left and right
expand yourself to every quarter
until you feel the orbiting movements of the planets within you
draw an imaginary gossamer bow and shoot an arrow
left and right
the ancient child asks
but what are arrows
arrows are wishes and thought forms
weak at rest
strong in motion
they will find their mark
if the archer is calm, focused and controlled
the ancient child asks
how do you condense your bodymind, spirit, and life force
collect yourself to your core center
by reaching out with your bodymind
in order to go definitely inward
you must definitely reach outward
the ancient child asks
how do you condense your bodymind and spirit and life force
reach out with your bodymind and support the heavens above you
using absolutely no strength at all
keep your five fingers open if you want to grasp silver and gold
the ancient child asks
how can this be
what is the secret
it is a game without a winner
you are both contestants
it is a joyous dance
you are both dancers
it is a puppet show
you are the marionette and the hands manipulating strings
each of us is subtle and hidden away
revealed only by the true breath
out reaching
out shining
both are allowed to happen because
the tao way of life can never be forced
it can only be invited in
the voice of the wonderwork is subtle and hidden away
you must be quiet and still to hear it clearly
the light of the wonderwork is subtle and hidden away
you must move about mysteriously and make tiny adjustments in
you bodymind to see it clearly
the substance of the wonderwork is subtle and hidden away
you must touch and caress it by letting it touch and caress you
the taste of the wonderwork is subtle and hidden away
you must turn your tongue in an empty mouth to savor it
the aroma of the wonderwork is subtle and hidden away
you must rely on afterthoughts, memories, and musings to reveal its smell
silent victory
quietly conquering
this is how you should behave
this is the secret
the ancient child asks
can you not see it clearly
are you a fish stubbornly dying on the dry shore
until you understand it clearly
the ancient child asks
is there anything to be gained by killing yourself
there is nothing to be gained by suicide
the ancient child says
use the natural gifts you have to explore
your inner world
after all
it’s a sin to ignore your talents
do you think that your talents are for showing off
—Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching; An authentic Taoist translation. translated by John Bright-Fey
To see the future—potential yet made manifest—one must look no further than inside the self and at what one already possesses. It is an act of simultaneous opposition, a gathering and expanding at the same time, that brings one in accord with the transcendent universe.
The ancient Greek word for sin is hamartia which roughly translates to “missing the mark.” It is an archery term, and it seems the Chinese were also inspired to archery metaphors when it came to describing moral ambitions. The “gossamer bow” is one strung with something like spider silk—thin, flexible, pliable, and yet it is almost supernaturally strong for all its subtleness. Loosen the metaphor, and it is a bow strung with Tao source of life—the Tao source of life is the energetic, motivating, inspiring force behind the arrows—the arrows being thoughtforms that are only good when put into action. Dreams, perhaps. If so, it can be said that the Tao source of life is the animating force which makes dreams manifest in the world—shot “left and right,” because opposing forces must be brought together if the archer is to find the peace of mind necessary to hit his mark.
Peace is balance; balance is equilibrium by seeking the lowest point; seeking is accepting; accepting is assenting, affirming what is found and finding light within darkness.
This is, in a sense, bringing oneself in accord with the Tao by bringing oneself in accord with oneself. In order to make oneself a unified, “condensed,” entity rather than separate, competing interests and instincts, one must reach out with the body and mind and support that which is highest. This is not something done with “strength” or power, though perhaps strength and power are necessary traits for an able bodymind. However, this process cannot be forced. That which is highest—the most aspirational of values, the symbol of moral aspiration—is something that can only be embodied willingly, with openness, with such acceptance of the unknown consequences that he does not reflexively brace himself in fear of being overwhelmed—a feat which is extremely difficult, even for the brave.
To accomplish this feat, one must be willing to sacrifice victory in favor of playing the game. Life, and all its suffering, must become something one cooperates with as opposed to something which is to be defeated. One’s individual existence must become a dance; the ego and the unconscious selves move together in consort so that is both the puppet and the puppeteer (as opposed to the usual state of being in which the self is seen as only a slave or a master of impulse and desires).
This unity of self bring about balance. It is the aforementioned sacrifice of who one was and who one wanted to be for the potential self that could be. And it is this true, balanced self which is at peace enough to hear and to see and to feel the world in a way previously obscured by fear, prejudice , and desire that the external world conform to ones desires. Shedding these attitudes is to invite the Tao source of life within, and to align oneself with the Tao is to understand what is as what is desirable. This is what Lao-tzu calls a “silent victory” and quiet conquest—“this is the secret.”
If this secret remains obscure, then perhaps it is one’s own clinging, arrogant, and presumptive mind which stubbornly holds on to preconceived ideas. But to believe only what one already assumes to be correct is like a fish flopped onto the shore in denial that he is land. “I am a fish, and I’ve never seen a fish life outside of the water, so therefore I can’t possibly be one the shore!” he says. This is spiritual suicide in keeping with the denial and turning away from the conditions of life. It is the negligence of the ego to the unconscious self, the undevelopment of someone one is responsible for developing. And that includes one’s capacity for self reflection. There is no greater sin than to refuse to use your inborn ability to explore your potential—or did you think your talents were nothing but arbitrary decoration?
Lao-tzu. “Chapter Thirty-Six”. Tao Te Ching; An Authentic Taoist Translation, translated by John Bright-Fey, Sweetwater Press, 2014. pp.73-5
