Do you have the patience to wait till your mud settles and the water is clear? Can you remain unmoving till the right action arises by itself? - Tao Te Ching
When life doesn’t go our way, we often launch into a chain reaction of obsessive thinking, blaming and unpleasant emotions. This talk explores how we can use meditative practices to step out of reactive patterns and respond to life’s challenges from our naturally wise heart.
From Taosim expert Ming-Dao Deng comes The Lunar Tao: Meditations in Harmony with the Seasons, bringing to life the Chinese Lunar Calendar via the prism of Taoism.
In The Lunar Tao, each day of the Lunar year is represented with a reading meditation, beautiful Chinese illustrations, and interesting facts about the festivals and traditions, providing readers with the context that gives Taoism such depth and resonance.
Ming-Dao Deng
Book Description
We all live our lives by the Sun and the Moon
The lunar calendar is a main pillar of Chinese tradition and culture, encompassing many festivals and stories. Though most explorations of Taoism take place within the realm of scripture, exercises, and formal lectures, Deng Ming-Dao looks to the lunar calendar and highlights where these festivals and stories coincide with Taoism, giving readers a renewed and original way into this ancient philosophy. Each day of the lunar year is represented with a reading meditation, original translations, illustrations, and illuminating facts about festivals and traditions, providing readers with the context that gives Taoism such depth and resonance.
The book is a wealth of information:
Chinese festivals
Observations of the lunar calendar, including the birthdays and memorial days to the major Taoist gods and Buddhist figures.
Original translations of some of China’s most famous poems, and discussions showing how they relate to a spiritual path.
Passages showing how Taoism is intertwined with Confucianism and Buddhism.
A Taoist meditation for each day of the year.
Incorporation of the Twenty-Four Solar Terms, the traditional division of the lunar calendar, and the qigong (breath training) exercises created for each term.
Unlike any other book, and beautifully illustrated with more than 400 photo-graphs and drawings, The Lunar Tao offers a new way to explore Taoism and shows readers how to include the tenets of Taoism in daily life.
Tao Te Ching by Deng Ming-Dao
Change Your Thoughts Change Your Life,
Living the Wisdom of the Tao
by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
This video is the updated revised version on the full length commentary on Lao Tze’s Tao Te Ching by Eckhart Tolle
For more literary commentaries by other authors, please scroll down to the right hand side bar – Resource Center / Tag and click on Tao Te Ching.
Nirvana is immediate. Not hidden. Not distant. Not in the future but right in front of your face. Right now.
“The Tao of Now” helps readers experience the power of enlightenment moment by moment. In this book of daily meditations, Josh Baran shows readers that nirvana is staring them in the face–regardless of whether things get better, or whether true love happens, or whether the stock market goes back up, or whether they lose ten pounds. Nirvana happens when ordinary, everyday experience is freed from perpetual seeking or wishing for conditions to improve.
“The Tao of Now” contains some of the greatest ancient and modern teachings on the immediate experience of enlightenment from such notables as:
* Eckhart Tolle
* Rumi
* Stephen Batchelor
* Ram Dass
* the Buddha
* Jack Kornfield
* Byron Katie
* Pema Ch dr n
Baran adds his own inspirational commentary on experiencing immediate nirvana to that of these teachers.
“The Tao of Now” is a wonderful companion for any tired seeker who wants only to know the power and peace of true, immediate enlightenment.
Josh Baran is a former Zen priest and a well-known strategic communications consultant. Over the last 25 years, he has worked with many organizations and companies including Amnesty International, Rock the Vote, Natural Resources Defense Council, Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Universal Pictures, Warner Records, Oracle and Microsoft.
In the last few years, he has focused on environmental communications. He worked closely with Paramount Pictures and Al Gore in support of the release of “An Inconvenient Truth.” In addition, he provides public relations for new green technologies and industries. For many years, he has managed media relations for some of the major visits of the Dalai Lama to the Eastern United States including the two huge events in Central Park. He lives in New York City.
Josh Baran
From “365 Nirvana Here and Now” by Josh Baran. Copyright c 2003 by Josh Baran. Used with permission from Thorsons/Element.
My friend spent years in an Indian ashram and seemed to get a lot out of it. I keep thinking that I should go there.
Josh: Our minds frequently think about other people, places, and times. It can be very useful to take note of this. At this moment, what does your friend’s life have to do with your’s? When you picture him in India, what images arise in your mind?
[laughing] Well, I visualize him meditating in an exotic garden, surrounded by peacocks, and receiving secret teachings from an enlightened guru who glows in the dark.
Josh: That’s a great image. Would you agree that these images are taking place entirely in your mind? You are the writer-director and you’ve cast your friend as the star of this fictional movie you’ve created. And it’s not a documentary. When you watch this movie, what are your thoughts?
I think that if I don’t go to India, I will miss out.
Notice the underlying feeling of “missing out.” Most people can relate to this theme: it is an old story. Are there other times in your life when you feel you are missing something, yearning to be elsewhere, or doing something different or better?
Yes. I probably have these thoughts many times per day.
Josh: I think of these recurring stories — “I’m missing out,” “I’m not good enough,” and “This shouldn’t be happening” — as the natural Zen koans of daily life. These koans pop up many times a day in a variety of costumes. You don’t need to find a Zen Master to give them to you.
Looking at my stories doesn’t seem very spiritual. Shouldn’t I be having some kind of mystical experience?
Josh: Actually, this is as spiritual as it gets. Reality as it is — in this moment, all right here. We don’t need to seek something else, something more, some other experience, world, or reality. This is the great, open secret. It can be revolutionary to welcome life with open arms in each instant.
Are you suggesting that there’s a “sudden” or “shortcut” approach to enlightenment, as opposed to a slow gradual process?
Josh: Sudden or gradual — these concepts are based on the illusion of achievement. Wakefulness is beyond these notions. When we rest openly, we are in eternity — mysterious, timeless, beyond all thoughts and concepts. This truth is closer than our eyes. We don’t need to be an advanced meditator to actualize this.
So, it doesn’t take years of practice to be able to realize this?
Josh: Seeking takes time but seeing doesn’t. Yes, you can seek for decades or you can see in this instant. Why wait?
So all I need to do is lead my regular life, content and happy just being myself, without meditating or practicing anything?
Josh: We don’t need some holy or special life other than the one we are living. Our everyday life is perfect and sufficient. This moment now is sufficient. You mentioned simply being yourself. Here are some interesting questions to chew on: “Who are you?” “What is this ‘self’ that you are?”
Are you against spiritual practice?
Josh: No. The distinction I’m making is in the way in which spiritual practices are carried out. If a certain method assists you in seeing clearly, this is wonderful! However, certain underlying or unquestioned assumptions you might have while engaging in spiritual practices can make it virtually impossible to be simply present. My own experience is that truth is not found in any particular practice or tradition as if it were some thing. Great teachings and teachers only point to our own essence, independent of any practice you might decide to take up.
I can’t imagine not planning for the future.
We can only ever live in this moment. On a practical level, of course, we all make plans for days, months, and years ahead. That is reasonable, but what happens is that our minds can get locked into a constant state of future focus. The reality is that we can’t know or control the future. When we are attentive to the present moment, our life becomes rich and full and we do not worry about tomorrow, any more than do the lilies in the field. What I am addressing here is the way mind operates, so you can see for yourself how to be free and at home in your life.
I want to improve the world for my children and change my life for the better. If I live fully in the present, won’t I become passive?
Josh: Not at all. Let’s imagine that suddenly there was a fire in this building. Instantly, you spontaneously leap up, move quickly, help people get away from the flames, maybe even do something courageous. Your body-mind reacts in thousands of way that don’t require thinking. In fact, it has an intelligence that is beyond what you can consciously know. Becoming consumed with thoughts like “This shouldn’t be happening” or “Why me?” can significantly impair your response.
When you are present to life as it is showing up now, you are intimately engaged with the people and world around you. There is no gap. This is the opposite of passivity. You are available and actively contributing in ways you may not even realize yet.
So, I’d like to ask again: Is there anything I can do to practice this?
Josh: There’s nothing to practice or achieve and nowhere you need to go. This is all about awareness in this moment. It’s really that simple. No philosophy, religion, or conceptualization required. Direct recognition is the key. Then each and every moment becomes meditation: unadorned wakefulness. Nirvana here and now.
Read more: http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Buddhism/2004/01/No-Philosophy-Required.aspx?p=2#ixzz24C9E9IYe
OPRAH RADIO
The Tao of Now
Oprah talks with author Josh Baran about his book The Tao of Now and his passion for sharing the wisdom of the world’s greatest thinkers.
What are you seeking – love, happiness, peace, abundance? We are all seeking a better life for ourselves. However, all outward seeking is a reflection of something far more important – the inner seeking of our soul.
Our soul has an inner purpose that is common to every human being on the planet. This purpose has been given several names – the shift, spiritual change, awakening, enlightenment, unity consciousness and ascension. Knowingly or unknowingly, our inner spirit is on an expedition towards reconnecting with the universal consciousness or God-consciousness through awakening to the truth of its inner nature. When we consciously participate in this shift, we expedite this re-connection.
The shift is a simple process, if we allow change to flow through us and if we are able to trust our heart. In Shifting to Tao in 8 Months, 81 Verses, 81 Simple Lessons, Losita Bhattacharya recounts her own spiritual journey that created a shift in her thoughts, her consciousness and her view of life.
Losita is a writer and spiritual coach. Over the last few years, she experienced an inner transformation that catapulted her on a spiritual path, taking her away from her previous job in the corporate world to becoming a full time spiritual coach, helping others find their way through their shift in consciousness. Based on her own shift and coaching clients through their spiritual journeys, Losita created the ‘Journey to Spirit’ and ‘Oneness’ workshops that she conducts around the world. She writes regularly on her blog, http://www.ionearth.org and she can be reached through her website, http://www.lositabhattacharya.com.
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The Tao Te Ching—one of the most loved and widely translated books in human history—has appeared in countless English-language versions. But no modern translation has yet captured the essential thrust of Lao Tzu’s work as a practical guide to living an awakened life.
Now William Martin, whose acclaimed previous reinterpretations of the Tao (for parents, couples, and elders) have introduced or reacquainted this classic text to thousands of readers, strikingly translates the Tao’s eighty-one chapters to uniquely address someone on a Tao—or path—with a practice.
Martin frames his new translation with two illuminating, groundbreaking sections: “A Path,” which introduces the Tao’s nonlinear construction and explains how it works its themes; and “A Practice,” which provides practical guidance for readers exploring each of the Tao’s themes in depth. Martin’s genius in this new translation uncovers how directly the Tao speaks to readers on or about to embark on a spiritual journey.
William Martin is a New York Times bestselling author of nine novels. He is best known for his historical fiction, which has chronicled the lives of the great and the anonymous in American history while bringing to life legendary American locations, from Cape Cod to Annapolis. He has also written an award-winning PBS documentary, one of the cheesiest horror movies ever made, magazine articles, and book reviews for The Boston Globe. He was the recipient of the 2005 New England Book Award. He has three grown children and lives near Boston with his wife.
The I Ching originated in China as a divination manual more than three thousand years ago. In 136 BCE the emperor declared it a Confucian classic, and in the centuries that followed, this work had a profound influence on the philosophy, religion, art, literature, politics, science, technology, and medicine of various cultures throughout East Asia. Jesuit missionaries brought knowledge of the I Ching to Europe in the seventeenth century, and the American counterculture embraced it in the 1960s. Here Richard Smith tells the extraordinary story of how this cryptic and once obscure book became one of the most widely read and extensively analyzed texts in all of world literature.
In this concise history, Smith traces the evolution of the I Ching in China and throughout the world, explaining its complex structure, its manifold uses in different cultures, and its enduring appeal. He shows how the indigenous beliefs and customs of Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and Tibet “domesticated” the text, and he reflects on whether this Chinese classic can be compared to religious books such as the Bible or the Qur’an. Smith also looks at how the I Ching came to be published in dozens of languages, providing insight and inspiration to millions worldwide–including ardent admirers in the West such as Leibniz, Carl Jung, Philip K. Dick, Allen Ginsberg, Hermann Hesse, Bob Dylan, Jorge Luis Borges, and I. M. Pei. Smith offers an unparalleled biography of the most revered book in China’s entire cultural tradition, and he shows us how this enigmatic ancient classic has become a truly global phenomenon.
Richard J. Smith is the George and Nancy Rupp Professor of Humanities and professor of history at Rice University. His many books include Fathoming the Cosmos and Ordering the World: The Yijing (I-Ching, or Classic of Changes) and Its Evolution in China.
Terence McKenna Time and IChing Part 1
Terence McKenna Time and IChing Part 2
Terence McKenna Talks About Time And I Ching
Terence McKenna Time and I Ching Part 3
Terence McKenna : Time and the I-Ching
“I have three treasures. Guard and keep them: The first is deep love, the second is frugality, and the third is not to dare to be ahead of the world. Because of deep love, one is courageous. Because of frugality, one is generous. Because of not daring to be ahead of the world, one becomes the leader of the world.”
~ Lao Tzu
Lao Tzu was the most famous philosopher, mystic and alchemist in China. He is the author of the Tao Te Ching, or the Way. He is regarded as one of the foundation stones of Taoism. Originally, the word Tao meant a specific line of action, probably a military one, because the ideograms that compose this word mean “feet” and “leader”. Lao Tzu interpreted the Tao as a way, the essence of the Universe. In a written poem Lao Tzu describe “the Way” as the emptiness that cannot be filled, but from where everything manifests from.
In his most famous image, Lao Tzu is portrayed as riding a buffalo, because the domestication of this animal is associated with the Path of Enlightenment in Zen Buddhist traditions.
“Don’t think you can attain total awareness and whole enlightenment without proper discipline and practice. This is egomania. Appropriate rituals channel your emotions and life energy toward the light. Without the discipline to practice them, you will tumble constantly backward into darkness.”
~ Lao Tzu
It is believed that he lived to be 160 years old. In his old age he received the visit of Confucius, who witnessed Lao Tzu reprimanding a young disciple for being too ambitious and prideful. Ancient tales said that Confucius was so impressed by the way of discipline of Lao Tzu that he compared him to a flying Dragon that can reach heavens and winds.
“I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures.”
~Lao Tzu
He is considered by some to be just a mythical figure in the unconventional universe of ancient legends. One of these tales declares that he was born already with an appearance of an aged man, from which he received the name Lao Tzu, which means literally, “old sage”. Others consider this legend to be just a metaphor to describe the antiquity of Taoism and its philosophical concepts which were antecedents of the Tao Te Ching itself.
“The key to growth is the introduction of higher dimensions of consciousness into our awareness.”
~Lao Tzu
Many consider Lao Tzu as a great philosopher and he is often venerated as a saint. He was an expert on the art of living a simple but fully spiritual life. From his teachings we can gather some important precepts that can serve as guides throughout our own life journeys.
On Being Humble
Lao-Tzu-Riding-an-Ox_Humanity-Healing“Great acts are made up of small deeds.”
~ Lao Tzu
The Master explains the concept of humbleness through the analogy with water. Comparing the Human being to the water, he says that the good individual is like water, nurturing and maintaining life but never trying to conquer the elevated positions.
“In the world there is nothing more submissive and weak than water. Yet for attacking that which is hard and strong nothing can surpass it”
~Lao Tzu
The water is content in keep its dominions at the lower levels because it knows that the oceans control the flow of all the currents and rivers because they are in a lower position than they are.
He also explains that there is nothing more flexible than water, but nothing can surpass it when it refers to weakening the hard rock. In other words, the weak can win over the strong and the soft can conquer the rigid, just by being malleable and humble.
“Be Content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you”
~Lao Tzu
If you want to receive, you need to first give, which is the law of the seeds and the wise harvest. This precept conceives a humble attitude before the people in your life and life in general, remembering that we are all in the same path of learning and all deserve respect. In summary, there is no one that deserves hatred and everyone is in the pursuit of happiness.
“When you are content to be simply yourself and don’t compare or compete, everybody will respect you”
~Lao Tzu
On Being Kind and Compassionate
Lao-Tzu_small-steps_kaizen_Humanity-Healing“Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.”
~Lao Tzu
The master Lao Tzu related two big treasures of the soul; compassion and the humble desire of just being the self by disregarding the impulses of the Ego to be always the first in everything. In learning compassion, one develops the genuine interest for the well-being of others, meaning that they will not forget them in their path of development and self-enlightenment.
“Treat those who are good with goodness, and also treat those who are not good with goodness. Thus goodness is attained. Be honest to those who are honest, and be also honest to those who are not honest. Thus honesty is attained.”
~Lao Tzu
Lao Tzu illustrates this concept of being Compassionate and Kind again through the malleable configuration of the water and its relationship as the essential element of life. He says that while a person is alive, their body is flexible and soft; but when they die, the body becomes hard and rigid. The same phenomenon happens to plants; while alive they are vibrant and bendable, but they become dry and breakable when they die.
“Nothing is softer or more flexible than water, yet nothing can resist it”
~Lao Tzu
Consequently, to be inflexible and rigid is to be like one is actually dead. Maintaining yourself docile as the water, open and malleable, prepared to bend and render when it is necessary will lead the soul to the path of success.
On Limiting Desire
Lao-Tzu_Deity_Humanity-Healing“He who is contented is rich”
~ Lao Tzu
The ancient Master Lao Tzu affirms that people that take less will always have more. People with insatiable desires end up becoming obsessed with the object of their “affection” which tends to throw their energies, and their thought processes, out of control. To Lao Tzu, greed without limits constituted the worse of the vices. If you work towards being content with what you have, you would find that you already have enough to be happy. One can easily reach Peace of Spirit when you limit the amount of desires to manifest in your life.
“The sage does not hoard. The more he helps others, the more he benefits himself, the more he gives to others, the more he gets himself. The Way of Heaven does one good but never does one harm. The Way of the Sage is to act but not to compete.”
~Lao Tzu
One Step at a Time
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”
~ Lao Tzu
It is always better to deal with facts and situations while they are small, before they become bigger and more difficult. If one is planning to reach a big goal, one should establish a series of small steps that would guide one safely to the destination. This is essentially the principal of Kaizen: progress through small increments.
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