Tuesday, 24. March 2009, 01:19:24
Knowing Fish
One day Chuang Tzu and a friend were walking by a river.
"Look at the fish swimming about," said Chuang Tzu, "They are really enjoying themselves."
"You are not a fish," replied the friend, "So you can't truly know that they are enjoying themselves."
"You are not me," said Chuang Tzu. "So how do you know that I do not know that the fish are enjoying themselves?"even chuang tzu had a thing about personal presumptions ...
Odd though but every domestic abuse susrvivor i've spoken with has said that one thing that triggers problems for them is when people make negative persoanl presumptions, the other is when they feel unseen, or only seen from one side and not the full and diverse folks they are. Tends to make them internalise the above and when they don't they feel hurt and often unwelcome. (1 in 3/4 women and 1 in 6/7 men go through hetrosexual spousal abuse in the UK and US, thats one form of abuse, factor in the others thats alot of people, factor in many folks find daoism through therapy thats another load of folks)
How hard is it i wonder to walk a mile in other peoples moccasins and realise that our words we think are so unhurtful and 'mindful' create a wealth of problems we may never know because we're too busy resenting, shouting at and shooting the messenger.
We all do it, even the best and most sincere of intentions backfire from time to time often spectacularly and often in such a massive way folks forget the good we've done and acheived almost instantly.
over the last day or two i've kinda had a crisis of confidence, even basic confidence in basic choices and instincts -- still having it truth be told although writign this blog entry has helped somewhat .... thing is i was begining to seriously doubt my and others perspectives on personal presumptions and their negative impact, i was reading zen blogs for a bit of peace and contemplation, and came across the above from chuang tzu, and you know what, negative personal presumptions are an impertinance at best and deeply wounding at worst any dao cultivator worth their salt would avoid them like the plague where possible, they do no-one any justice at all.
much the same can be said for taking people only on one facet of their knowledge, i've been told it feels like objectification for many; does it hurt us to be more mindful of how we deal with others? God knows i need to work on that as much as anyone else, but what is it ttc 71 says about fault? Chapter 71
To know that you do not know is highest
To not know but think you know is flawed
Only when one recognizes the fault as a fault
can one be without fault
The sages are without fault
Because they recognize the fault as a fault
That is why they are without faultin recognising a fault this is how sages are without fault -- this is not saying sages make no mistakes, but that the very ability to recognise faults and try to learn from them makes what the yi jing calls 'no fault' coupled of course with sincerity of action.
Not sure precicly what has happened but in writing this blog a few thigns have clicked into place, things i've allowed others to dislodge ... go to love this wonderful safe haven 
even if i don't update it as much as i probably aught.
Thanks for bearing with the waffle
peace to you
beccaxx
Wednesday, 28. January 2009, 17:04:05
A short post only, to explore some concepts that possibly are easily misunderstoodChapter 67
Everyone in the world calls my Tao great
As if it is beyond compare
It is only because of its greatness
That it seems beyond compare
If it can be compared
It would already be insignificant long ago!
I have three treasures
I hold on to them and protect them
The first is called compassion
The second is called conservation
The third is called not daring to be ahead in the world
Compassionate, thus able to have courage
Conserving, thus able to reach widely
Not daring to be ahead in the world
Thus able to assume leadership
Now if one has courage but discards compassion
Reaches widely but discards conservation
Goes ahead but discards being behind
Then death!
If one fights with compassion, then victory
With defense, then security
Heaven shall save them
And with compassion guard themI think we all can get this view of compassion as somehow 'fluffy' and 'gentle' and indeed it is and can be, but i think sometimes we make the mistake of shying away from reflecting some home truths out of a misplaced sense of 'gentle' when perhaps the most compassionate thing in the long term is to show someone the true ramifications of their actiosn and behaviours?
This is i think particularly pertinant in cases where multiple innocent people get hurt by the behaviour or one or two people whom no-one has wanted to be 100% honest with regarding the negativity of their own behaviours.
Sometimes in nature we see gentle days, gentle rains and sometimes hard rains whilst causing seeming devestation in the short term allow for positive change and growth in the long term.
Just somethign to consider and in no way is this advising us all to go off half-cocked and laying it on the line for everyone we know, just as nature uses harsh weather at the opportune moments so too must we consider carefully before taking any step that amy cause harm short or long term. Just saying sometimes true compassion is about more than giving someone a cup of tea and a hug.
peace to you
beccaxx
Saturday, 17. January 2009, 12:34:04
Compassion, conflict, Dao
This post is not intended to take a political stance merely a dao cultivation and humanitarian one.
Chapter 67
Everyone in the world calls my Tao great
As if it is beyond compare
It is only because of its greatness
That it seems beyond compare
If it can be compared
It would already be insignificant long ago!
I have three treasures
I hold on to them and protect them
The first is called compassion
The second is called conservation
The third is called not daring to be ahead in the world
Compassionate, thus able to have courage
Conserving, thus able to reach widely
Not daring to be ahead in the world
Thus able to assume leadership
Now if one has courage but discards compassion
Reaches widely but discards conservation
Goes ahead but discards being behind
Then death!
If one fights with compassion, then victory
With defense, then security
Heaven shall save them
And with compassion guard themIt seems that the art of fighting with compassion has long since been lost -- not only do we see various 'freedom fighters/insurgents/terrorists' attacking civilians but now we see a nation state putting their destriction to shame by actually herding civilians into homes and city centres 'for their own safety' and then according to reports given to human rights watch shelling said homes and city centre(s). Then we see southern israel gettign hammered with thankfully inaccurate rockets and thankfully face a much lower injury and death toll than the civilians in gaza whose child death toll is not over 320 and counting.http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/01/16/israel-stop-shelling-crowded-gaza-cityThe death toll from yesterday's military operations remains unknown, but media reports quoted Gaza health officials as saying that 70 people had died (the reports make no distinction between civilian and combatant casualties). As of January 14, 1,013 Palestinians had died, including 322 children and 76 women, according to the Gazan Ministry of Health. An additional 4,560 Palestinians reportedly have been wounded, including 1,600 children and 678 women.
The attacks on Gaza City occurred after the Israel Defense Force (IDF) had warned Gaza's residents to flee to city centers. According to the Israeli government, on January 3, the IDF began broadcasting warnings that told people, among other things, that "For your own safety, you are required to leave your homes immediately and move to the city centers." Despite these warnings, the IDF has launched attacks against the Gaza city center, causing civilian casualties.
"Israel warned civilians to go to city centers and later shelled the center of Gaza City with a weapon that should never be used in densely populated areas," Garlasco said. When will we realise that Ghandi was right - "an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind" -- it is true that in daoism and dao cultivation self defense is not frowned upon, but i can't help but feel that the way we are going there will be so much self defense going on that the cycles of hatred, anger and killing of innocents has no hope of ending.
I have no answers but i hope we can all feel empathy for ALL the victims of these conflicts.
Chapter 43
The softest things of the world
Override the hardest things of the world
That which has no substance
Enters into that which has no openings
From this I know the benefits of unattached actions
The teaching without words
The benefits of actions without attachment
Are rarely matched in the worldpeace to you
beccaxx
Monday, 15. September 2008, 14:21:37
One step of dao cultivation that i have found to be invaluble; indeed the root/foundation from which all other lessons have grown from, is to know oneself.
What does it take to know oneself?
It is an on going process but some key elements i have found in knowling myself and growing internally are: -
To accept that if this life is it, it is our one shot when we die we go into the ground and get eaten by worms, decompose into the soil etc .... once one can 100% accept that with no fear (and often it takes some time to accept and unattach from our attachment to living as long as possible come what may) then one has learnt a great deal about oneself, learning how to begin letting go of fear and attchment along the way.
Once we can accept the above we will find it easier in some respects to unattach from people, to learn we can no more hold people or things to us than we can capture the wind; all we can do is get in a mess in the attempt ....
in knowing the above and hence ourselves we can then know how to live life and enjoy each moment, whatever that moment brings.
None of this means we do not love or cherish familiy, friends or lovers - just that we do not grasp onto them - we allow them like the wind to be themselves and walk their own path, sometimes it will be with us sometimes not.
Indeed the above can leads us to the knowledge that as much as we interact with others, and walk alongside them on occasion, we walk similtaneously, alone & as part of the whole - alone and together: -
This is of course just the process explored; the epiphanies we find about ourselves will be in many areas unique to each person. Chapter 33
Those who understand others are intelligent
Those who understand themselves are enlightened
Those who overcome others have strength
Those who overcome themselves are powerful
Those who know contentment are wealthy
Those who proceed vigorously have willpower
Those who do not lose their base endure
Those who die but do not perish have longevitypeace to you
beccaxx
Tuesday, 26. August 2008, 00:53:23
How often do we consciously or sub-consciously allow our fears, issues, insecurities dictate what we do or don't do, do or don't experience?
To just release those fears, inhibitions and feel, experience is one of the central themes to this zen story. One day, while walking through the wilderness, a man encountered a vicious tiger. He ran for his life, and the tiger gave chase.
The man came to the edge of a cliff, and the tiger was almost upon him. Having no choice, he held on to a vine with both hands and climbed down.
Halfway down the cliff, the man looked up and saw the tiger at the top, baring its fangs. He looked down and saw another tiger at the bottom, waiting for his arrival and roaring at him. He was caught between the two.
Two rats, one white and one black, showed up on the vine above him. As if he didn't have enough to worry about, they started gnawing on the vine.
He knew that as the rats kept gnawing, they would reach a point when the vine would no longer be able to support his weight. It would break and he would fall. He tried to shoo the rats away, but they kept coming back.
At that moment, he noticed a strawberry growing on the face of the cliff, not far away from him. It looked plump and ripe. Holding onto the vine with one hand and reaching out with the other, he plucked it.
With a tiger above, another below, and two rats continuing to gnaw on his vine, the man tasted the strawberry and found it absolutely delicious.Of course letting go of living through our fears does not mean being uncautious in life, or to ignore instincts telling us to be careful ... the message is very much about harmony, living without fear whilst bearing in mind, mindfull action, moderation, humility, compassion, awareness of self and so on.
TTC 63 points us to ways we can deal with letting go, baby steps, break things up into bite sized peices and even the most difficult tasks will be easier.
This is also a lesson i think all of us learns and re-learns throughout our cultivation and life; it is certainly one i keep learning and re-learning as i walk this crazy path of dao cultivation and life experiences.
peace to you
beccaxx
Zen story source and full article can be found http://www.taoism.net/living/2003/200301.htm
Wednesday, 4. June 2008, 17:06:24
hi,
Some of you have perhaps been wondering why i haven't been about so often; we have adopted an ex-racing greyhound, who had reached 4 stopped doing well, has scars all over her and was abandoned. She is very nervous and it took along time to get her to come to me in the kennel let alone outside the kennel into the scary world beyond.
but in taking that time to get her trust enough to follow me outside and come meet Jessica (my border collie) and Thom my brother we set foundations, solid foundations, for her future.
By essentially learning about her, by being humble in front of her nervousness (looking away, standing/sitting side on, giving off canine calming signals (licking ones lips, yawning, blinking) ) by showing her moderation, (not pushing her to go faster than felt right for her) and by showing her compassion and caring (loving her for who she was there and then and not loving an illusion of whom she might be or who i wanted her to be) i earned her trust and knowledge about her.
She is now living with us, and those same principles applied through the methods of gentle training mean she is coming on in leaps and bounds at her own pace and for her.
This experience taught me how we take forgranted our wish and often need to enforce our view of a situation, our way of doing things onto others (people and animals) ...
And i thought i wonder what wouldhave happened had i not shown humblness before her nervousness, if i had walked in front facing reaching for her with no regard for her other than superficially.
What if i had not been moderate in taking things a steady pace set by Rhia (her name), had dragged her out of the kennells or tried to instead of being patient enough to earn her trust.
What if instead of loving the nervous dog in front (or to the side of me in this case) i had wanted her to be other than she was and tried to make her express behaviour she was not ready to yet?
Maybe if i did one or all of these things her reaction would be defensive, or perhaps she'd just have slunk away to hide or something else entirly .... and instead of now living with a loving, increasingly curious, slightly playful dog (and she has only been here since sunday morning) things would be very different.
Is this not the same with people though? we have expectations of what a 'taoist' or 'dao cultivator' is or we don't like the labels at all and shy away from labels so much we chastise others who use them ... either way do we not all soemtimes try to force others into our expectations, to go at our pace not theirs, to ignore their feelings ... to in essence ignore some of the most fundemental and central teachings in the TTC.
Perhaps if it works with dogs in this case it might work with people also?
Needless to say the experiences with Rhia are both joyous and humbling, tinged with moderation and lots of mutual compassion and caring. Chapter 67
Everyone in the world calls my Tao great
As if it is beyond compare
It is only because of its greatness
That it seems beyond compare
If it can be compared
It would already be insignificant long ago!
I have three treasures
I hold on to them and protect them
The first is called compassion
The second is called conservation
The third is called not daring to be ahead in the world
Compassionate, thus able to have courage
Conserving, thus able to reach widely
Not daring to be ahead in the world
Thus able to assume leadership
Now if one has courage but discards compassion
Reaches widely but discards conservation
Goes ahead but discards being behind
Then death!
If one fights with compassion, then victory
With defense, then security
Heaven shall save them
And with compassion guard thempeace to you
beccaxx
http://truetao.org/ttc/complete.htm
Photobucket, Rhia's photos
Sunday, 25. May 2008, 22:33:59
In a temple high in the mountians there was sweeper, he was lower than the lowest novice, designated to sweep up the mess the novices and higher monks left behind. Always the sweeper was the butt of jests, and jokes and alwasy he smiled a little smile of amusment at it all. When the sweeper was asked by one quiet novice why he didn;t report them to the higher preists, he asnswered "ahh but with all the abuse i get, they are teaching me My Way as no book or sutra can. So why take offense at the best teachers in the mortal world?"
The young novice, also becomae a sweeper and there like his first true teacher chose to stay, learning the gift of non attachment....
Tuesday, 13. May 2008, 12:39:05
The truly still mind, with which you were born, is the mind that moves freely. Without ignoring anything, it reacts wholeheartedly to everything it encounters, to everything on which it reflects. And yet, for all that, it is the mind that is never seized by anything, but is always ready to react on the spot to whatever it encounters next. The mind that is still is the mind that never forfeits its freedom and is able to constantly keep rolling and rolling and rolling.
- Soko Marinaga Roshi (1925-1995)
3
Charity
has no label,
compassion no religion,
wisdom no dogma,
empathy no rules.
Integrity
needs no laws,
enlightenment no temples.
Living in total harmony
with Tao
is beyond culture,
oneness
with Tao
beyond philosophy.
Emptiness and silence
cannot be defined.
The Way
has no name,
for it is
Tao.
peace to you
beccaxx
ps, my apologies for the month and a half absence i've been caught up in deadlines, assignments and exams.
http://www.dailyzen.com/w_quote.asp?quote_id=0http://truetao.org/theway/wayistao.htm
Sunday, 30. March 2008, 14:57:25
To have sun inside when it is sunny outside is progress,
To have sun in ones being when life is raining;
This is the way of Dao.
Sunday, 30. March 2008, 14:38:55
To practice Zen, you need deep roots.
People with deep roots are rare.
In the past anyone could practice Zen.
But not now.
Zen depends completely on yourself.
It’s much harder, especially now.
- Sheng-hi
Cultivation - daily practice - application - meditation - Daopeace to you
beccaxx
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