Photographis

Saturday, January 30, 2010

zen

pencils, black paper

"After a storm at sea

the sailor heads for home and quiet harbor.

Tossed by indecision

we must return our unsettled mind to the center:

Tao is within us all.

With many voices it has but one beautiful song;

many aspects but only one essence.

Though we are not bound,

we are always connected."

~ Loy Ching-Yuen, from The Book Of The Heart: Embracing The Tao

The literal translation of Tao is “way” or “path.”

It is associated with a life of simplicity, quietude and harmony, both in relation to the natural world, as well as in our interactions with social/political institutions.

Being a man or woman “of the Tao” means being attuned to cycles of change; being consciously aware of our place within the web of Life; and acting in the world according to the principles of wu-wei – naturalness, ease and spontaneity.
In terms of Taoist Cosmology, Tao is the realm that is the source of “the 10,000 things,” i.e. all of manifestation, though itself is transcendent of any particular “thing.”

To have experiential access to the Tao, in a stable and continuous way - a feat achieved in large part through the practice of Inner Alchemy - is to be an Immortal, a Buddha, an Awakened One.
What “Tao” points to is similar to what “Buddha” or “Buddha-nature,” or “Dharmakaya,” or “Primordial Wisdom” points to in Buddhism;

what “God” points to in (contemplative forms of) Christianity;

what “Self” or “Pure Consciousness” points to in Advaita Vedanta;

what “Brahman” points to in Hinduism;

what “Allah” points to in Islam and Sufism.

Wei Wu Wei. All Else Is Bondage. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2004.

About.com Guide to Taoism