Number Thirty Two Unnamable
32
Earth holds us to it
hands of force around our feet
pulling us closer
Lesson # 32
Infinitesimally small,
essentially gentle,
the Tao connects everything
like gravity.
It holds us all,
calls us forth to our destiny,
and gathers everything,
living and dead, into its name.
Rest now, and let it
carry you home to the sea.
From: 81 Lessons from the Tao Te Ching
Number 32 Unnamable
The Tao is imperceptivity small
It is the substance out of which
space time matter and energy arise
It is universal
If our leaders could touch in
with their deepest nature
as a part of this whole cosmic organism that we call life
they would act for peace
Natures wounds would heal
We could have abundance without violence
Instead we name
We discriminate
We judge
We draw imaginary borders and fight over them
We create doctrines and die attempting to force them on others
We explore nature and then dominate, exploit and destroy the natural world
There are enough names
enough separating ourselves from others
enough pretending we are not a part of nature
Surrender
Let go
Seek to dissolve your separateness
and let the Tao carry you home to the ocean
NUMBER THIRTY TWO
The Name of Inner Life is Everlasting Tao.
If only he is pure, though he may be small,
The Servant of Tao dares to stand against the world.
Tao is able to maintain the unity of prince and people;
It subdues and binds all beings with each other;
It united Heaven and Earth harmoniously to produce sweet dew;
It gathers the people in the bonds of time and individuality.
The Name produces, divides, and brings to life;
Things produced ever return into the name.
The Master also shall know how to rest in it.
Knowing how to rest in it means that he never will decay.
On the earth everywhere Tao exists,
As the waters are collected in the valleys
And return into the rivers and the seas.
Isabella Mears, The Tao Teh King, A Tentative Translation from the Chinese, William McLellan, Glascow, 1916.
Number 32 (commentary) Why do we all feel so lonely?
We are so busy; defining ourselves, defending ourselves, judging ourselves and everyone else, drawing this boundary or that one, so that we can feel special.
We cut ourselves off from that flowing river of energy that is life itself.
It has no name. It is aliveness, presence, consciousness.
Taste it once and it is hell to go back to all that separateness.
The drop of water, crashing against the walls of its narrow stream, longs to reunite with the ocean.
Tangent and Tool #32, Life: A question and a reflection, “Why can’t we all just wake up?” I just want to shake you! There is so much beauty and love and joy and pleasure and compassion and it is all around you and welling up from a place deep inside of you. Can’t you see it? Instead, you crawl back into your cramped cage to complain about your quarters. The poet e e cummings wrote,
“–listen: there’s a hell of a good universe next door; let’s go.”
Only it is not next door, it is right here, in front of you. Stop naming things, categorizing them and deciding how much you like or dislike them. Open your eyes and wake up! Let yourself love it all.