62
the mother knows how
to love all of her children
be that open heart
Lesson # 62
The Tao, reality itself,
exists inside every person and
every thing. For those who honor it,
it is a treasure.
For those who renounce morality
or are weak, or are lost,
the Tao exists as a refuge from
their self-hatred.
Those that share their knowledge
of the Tao can find honor.
Those who act in accordance with
the Tao are a gift to the people.
But the Tao does not
just favor the good. It is just as
present and welcoming to the most
abject sinner.
Let us strive to be like that.
From: 81 Lessons from the Tao Te Ching
Number 62 Unconditional
The Tao exists
inside every person and every thing
For those who honor it
it is a treasure
For those renounce morality
or are weak, or are lost
the Tao exists
as a refuge from their self-hatred
Those that share their knowledge of the Tao can find honor
Those who act in accordance with the Tao are a gift to the people
But the Tao does not favor the good
It is just as present and welcoming to the most abject sinner
Let us strive to be like that
The greatest world leaders at their moment of triumph surrounded by wealth and power
should sit and meditate on the universal generosity of the Tao
The ancients said of the Tao
Those who seek it shall find it
and those who sin shall be set free
This is why the Tao should be valued by the world
NUMBER SIXTY TWO
He who has the Tao is the refuge of all beings.
He is the treasure of the good man,
He is the support of the man who is not good.
Beautiful words through Tao gain power,
Man, by following it gains steadfastness in action,
But, by the evil man, its possession is ignored.
The Son of Heaven sits enthroned,
His three Ministers are appointed.
One carries in his hand a tablet of jade:
Another is followed by a mounted retinue,
But the one who is most values sits quietly, and offers as his gift this Tao.
How was the Tao prized by men of Old?
Daily they sought for it.
They found it, hid within the Self.
It gives a way of escape to the guilty.
Therefore it is prized by all men.
Isabella Mears, The Tao Teh King, A Tentative Translation from the Chinese, William McLellan, Glascow, 1916.
Number 62 (commentary) Why is forgiveness so important?
Jesus said, “Forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.”
Buddha said, “Hate is not conquered by hate. Hate is conquered by love alone. This is law eternal.”
Muhammad said, “If you pardon and overlook and forgive, then indeed Allah is forgiving and merciful.”
The Torah states, “You shall not take vengeance and shall not bear any grudge against a member of your people.”
The Bhagavad Gita states, “One who unconditionally forgives others is happy because the anger of the forgiver is exterminated. Progress in spiritual discipline is impeded if one’s interpersonal relationship is full of hurt and negative feelings, even for a single living entity. Therefore, one must learn to forgive and to ask forgiveness.”
Lao Tsu said, “The Tao is the source of all things. It is the treasure of a good man and the refuge of the bad and those who sin will all be pardoned for offenses.”
In the presence of the source of all things, radiant inside you, self judgement and hatred melts away.
Tangent and Tool #62, The unsentimental universe A question and a reflection: “How can I forgive what is being done to this planet?” Answer: with great difficulty. Do it anyway. But remember, this universe of ours will grow and then die out through the actions of entropy without concern for our moral goodness. Some natural laws are inescapable regardless of your worth, your beliefs or your attitudes. Hold on to a burning match too long, if you doubt me.
Nihilists conclude from that that there is no meaning to life, all values are baseless, hope is ridiculous and that nothing can really be known or communicated fully to another person. Contemporary Taoists see the situation a little differently. They look to the original matrix from which the material universe was born. Existence comes from the Latin word meaning “to arise from” or “to emerge.” Taoists ask, “Emerge from what?”
The Tao, that which everything emerges from, has inherent patterns of unfolding. When we perceive and act in alignment with those patterns, things flow more easily. Work against that flow and you create needless suffering. Work with that flow and everything is easier. Spending a life looking for those patterns and following them is a life well spent.