Drops of Water

How often do we come across those with old or imagined hurts who nurse their personal wounds even while proclaiming to be over things and free of the past?

I often feel that these or the people; to follow on a little from the previous post, who normally are the loudest in proclaiming their knowledge of the Tao, or how open and honest they are in comparison to others.

I am sure the irony of their attacking nature, doesn't even occur to them. I have also seen that sometimes they are not above decpetion to get their impressions and poison into the ears of others, to try for some reason to undermine the words and deeds of those with whom they have issue.

Now understand this is no-one specific it is simply an observation after being a member of several online Taoist communities over the last few years.

Someone on the Path of Tao, is often less quick to judge others, less likely to batter them with how much they know. They are happy to read, post occasionally and if peopel disagree then they have let go of the idea so it is not part of them, if a person attacks their idea they are more likely to shrug and say fair enough with a smile than they are to attack back defending their view. They may have a reasosned discussion, but emotions rarely get seriosuly ruffeled, and personal attacks or malicious lies never occur in a true cultivator of Tao.

4.
THE Tao is like an empty bowl,
Which in being used can never be filled up.
Fathomless, it seems to be the origin of all things.
It blunts all sharp edges,
It unties all tangles,
It harmonizes all lights,
It unites the world into one whole.
Hidden in the deeps,
Yet it seems to exist for ever.
I do not know whose child it is;
It seems to be the common ancestor of all, the father
of things.

With a true cultivator of Tao even at the start of their cultivation they make an effort not to be needlessly cruel to others, look to themselves for fault if invovled in a dispute. do not throw blame to others for their own actions or words.

Chapter 4 of the Tao Te Ching (online resource used for the above is the Dr J Wu version from terebess TTC chpter 4, Dr J Wu terebess )
Provides us with excellent grounds for cultivating a calmer more accepting of others interior. By which i mean we can cultivate useing only chapter 4 as a guide a less harsh accusing aggresive internal self.

With that the true self or inner self, becomes the self, so true self takes over our self, and we become who we have always had the capacity to be; or we start to become, do we ever reach that? who knows, all we can do is walk the path of Tao become the path of Tao, after that who knows for sure?