Twenty One Inside of Us
21
formless yet within all forms
subtle and intangible
what the fuck is it?
Lesson # 21
At first, trying to understand
seems impossible.
The Tao is as slippery as an eel,
formless, but in everything,
timeless, but immediate.
When I am very quiet
I can barely perceive its presence.
How do I know
that it is there at all?
Look around.
From: 81 Lessons from the Tao Te Ching
Number 21: Inside of us
The best we can do is look inside
It won’t be easy
At first this presence
is as slippery as an eel
It doesn’t have form but it is within all forms
It isn’t a substance but it gives life to all substances
Subtle and obscure it is the essence of all essences
Intangible and barely perceptual
it is older than time and older than all Creation that arose from it
How do I know all this
Because I have contacted that which is immortal in me
How can I be sure
Look around
By this
NUMBER TWENTY ONE
The complete manifestation of things visible proceeds only from Life.
In its nature Life is always coming into activity,
yet in itself it eludes our sight and tough.
Eluding sight! eluding touch!
Within it are hid the plane of created things.
Eluding touch! eluding sight!
Within it are hid all created beings.
It is profound! It is obscure!
Within it is hid pure Spirit.
It is pure Spirit, enfolding Truth!
Within it is hid an infallible witness.
Free of Old until Now
Its Name remains unchanged.
Through its Doorway comes the Universe into existence.
How do I know that the Universe is coming to full perfection through Life?
The witness is in Life itself.
Isabella Mears, The Tao Teh King, A Tentative Translation from the Chinese, William McLellan, Glascow, 1916.
Number 21 (commentary) How do we know any of the spiritual junk is real?
Can’t see it. Can’t touch it. Pathless path. Let go of everything. Older than time and space. Bigger than the universe. Smaller than an atom.
Come on! Sounds like the worst riddle ever!
Not easy, I know. Makes no sense. But something calls us to it.
Don’t try to figure it out. Go back to basics.
Follow your breath. Still your thoughts. Softly, calm your emotion and, almost accidentally, you might just find a dark radiance that is your aliveness and connects you with everything.
Tangent and Tool #21, Stop trying to figure it out: (Reflective exercise) Our verbal, concept-generating mind is a wonderful tool to use, but in most of us it has become a tyrannical dictator dominating our attention and hijacking our sense of presence. We talk to ourselves or others during most of our waking hours and inner monologues can rob us of our sleep. The Ongoing Always Conversation has convinced us that it needs to comment on all aspects of our experience. When Lao Tsu is speaking about awareness of the Tao, he is speaking of a state of mind that is luminously present but no longer needs words.