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The Beauty Of The Tao Te Ching Verse 12

Living with the Tao Te Ching in ordinary life.


Verse 12


Colours blind the eye.

Sounds deafen the ear.

Flavours numb the taste.

Thoughts weaken the mind.

Desires wither the heart.


The Master observes the world

but trusts his inner vision.

He allows things to come and go.

His heart is open as the sky.

 

This verse speaks to me about 'being in the world but not of it'. That is, experiencing the fullness of the world via the mind, body and senses but not getting lost in the sensuality of it.


We tend to get seduced by the outer experience because it is so intoxicating and so consuming, that is what it is there to demonstrate. But, a Master is one who can experience the outer world but always uses it as a means to refer himself back to his inner world.


The outside world, in all its complexity, is a world of desire, greed, and grasping. We are always looking for more, better, best. There is always something that appears to be better just over the horizon and we spend an enormous amount of energy chasing after it. When we get what we want we are delighted, but only momentarily. When we don't get what we want we become depressed and angry.


The Master doesn't grasp, he allows the moment to unfold perfectly, just as it is, and by doing so his heart is always open and his mind clear. He has dropped all expectations and desires.

Comments


Essentially I'm a writer and the best advice offered to a writer is to write about what they know. There are lots of things I know little about but only a few things I know a lot about. For over 30 years I have dedicated my life to self-help, personal growth and a spiritual life but up until now I have been focussed on the journey itself and not about writing about it. Now though I want to share my experiences and my love and passion for storytelling. I believe in the power of storytelling to help us understand ourselves and to even help us to heal. Oh and I'm a children's poet too, writing fun rhyme with meaningful values to try and teach children some of the lessons I've learnt along the way. X 

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