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Hymns: Opening;
Grieve not your Heart, #186
Closing; All People that on Earth do Dwell, #370
Readings: If There is to be Peace, #602 and Beyond Words, #603.
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Tao is the way. The way of wisdom, of balance. Both within oneself, and
within the cosmos. It is the gate through which all things move through
the changing cosmos. To move with the tao is to be in what the Christians
call the state of grace.
The Tao te
Ching, the book, by legend written by Lao-Tze, guides the way through
the forces of nature to find personal power, the te. So one can be wise
and act for the good of all. He wrote the Tao te Ching over 26
centuries ago. There are 81 passages in the book, no accident. Numerology
plays an important role in Chinese philosophy and 81 is an important
number, 9 x 9. We will find numbers important in the I Ching as
well.
When Lao-Tze
wrote, China was in turmoil. It was divided up into hundreds of separate
provinces, each with its own government and rulers. There was much tension
and fighting between the many provinces as each tried to gain ascendancy
over the others. It seemed China would self-destruct. Lao-tze decided to
retire from his position of achivist of the Imperial Archives and leave
the affairs of humans. Legend has it that as he began his journey to the
mountains he was stopped at the city gate by the keeper of the gate who
insisted that the scholar write down what he knew for the enlightenment of
those left behind. He therefore wrote the Tao te Ching, addressing
it to those in a position to guide others, princes, politicians,
employers, and teachers.
What Lao-Tze told
the leaders, essentially is:
- Discover who
you are
- Learn to sense
the world around you directly and contemplate your impressions deeply
- Do not rely on
ideologies because to do so will rob your life of meaning and make you
unfit to lead
- Cultivate and
make trustworthy your intuition because a leader who is not intuitive
cannot predict change
- Build up your
personal power, (Te), through the physical laws as they operate both in
the universe and in the minds of others (Tao)
- Use that power
to direct events without resorting to force. How? Use attitude instead
of action, lead others by guiding rather than ruling
- Manage people
by letting them act on you and not the other way around, you will gain
their loyalty and cooperation.
- Learn to
achieve your ends without means, by cultivating a strong vision of the
way things must naturally resolve themselves
- Practice
simplicity
- Continue to
grow
Let me give you a
sample of the original language, the rich, mystical setting of the Tao
te Ching.
[Readings]
The I Ching
was in existence long before Lao-Tze wrote the Tao te Ching. He knew it
well and it deeply influenced his thinking. Like the Bible, it was made up
of many parts put together over hundreds of years. It is one of the most
ancient books still in existence in the world. It was studied by
Confucius, Mencius, and other great thinkers of the time. Confucius added
a section to it. In his studies of it Carl Jung concluded it held great
wisdom for modern humans.
What is
fascinating to me is that the roots of the I Ching come from the
indigenous culture of Siberia. That culture which spawned both Chinese and
Native American cultures. It is because of these shared roots that Howard
Bad Hand, our friend who is a Lakota medicine man, is a teacher of the
I Ching. It is the nearest written document that mirrors the oral
tradition of spiritual wisdom that he was taught. The most striking
similarity is the radical level of connection with and through nature….mitakuye
oyasin.
The principles
that underlie the I Ching include yin and yang, symbolized in the
familiar curving circle of black and white. According to yin/yang theory,
which sounds a lot like theoretical physics theory, the cosmos, desiring
to manifest itself, divided its nature into two opposing forces. From the
oscillation, the tension, between the positive yang and the negative yin,
all of which exists is being produced. The opposite color dots in the
middle of each field represents polar reversal and periodicity. That is,
polar reversal means that in all things we see the seed of its opposite.
For instance, in the newborn is the genetic code for its ultimate
decomposition. Periodicity reflects the cycles and rhythms of life like
the changing seasons, the growth of plants, and the stages of development
of each of our own lives.
What is exciting
and still very remarkable is that, most of all, the I Ching was
created to help interpret daily life and predict trends toward the future.
It does so yet today with uncanny precision. Amanda will provide a brief
explanation of how it works and will then offer a reading to us about our
future as a congregation.
All peoples of the
earth, in every age, have sought to find meaning in life. Meaning in the
daily flow of life, and meaning in the cosmos. All have sought to find
what the face of God, the ultimate truths, were. The indigenous people of
Siberia began this meaning making, the sacred story that has come down to
us through the unlikely first cousins of Native Americans and the Chinese
people. The I Ching and the Tao te Ching carry sacred
insight from antiquity that resonates to us today as if it were written
yesterday.
Simply reminding
us that “there is nothing new under the sun” and mitakuye oyasin.
We are all related, and always have been.
Excerpts
from the Tao te Ching
Love the world as
your own self, then you can truly care for all things
Empty yourself of
everything, let the mind be a peace
A journey of one
thousand miles begins with a single step
Man follows the
earth, Earth follows heaven,
Heaven follows the Tao, Tao follow what is natural
Become as a little
child once more
Good weapons are
instruments of fear, all creatures hate them.
Therefore followers of Tao never use them.
If you rejoice in
victory, then you delight in killing
If you delight in killing, you cannot fulfill yourself.
When many people are being killed, they should be mourned in heartfelt
sorrow. That is why a victory must be observed like a funeral.
Knowing others is
wisdom. Knowing the self is enlightenment
One gains by
losing and loses by gaining
He who is attached
to things will suffer much.
There is not
greater sin than desire, no greater curse than discontent.
Deal with conflict
before it happens. Set things in order before there is confusion.
When the people
lack a sense of awe, there will be disaster.
A man is born
gentle and weak, at his death he is hard and stiff.
Green plants are
tender and filled with sap. At their death they are withered and dry.
Therefore the stiff and unbending is the disciple of death. The gentle and
yielding is the disciple of life.
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