The Tao te Ching - What is it

Summarized from Wikipedia;  Tao te Ching was written and compiled in the 6th century BC by one of the record keepers of the Zhou Dynasty.  Some of the earliest recorded texts date back to the 4th century BC, which proves they had the same problems with human nature we do today.  It is considered to be the fundamental text of the Tao religion. The Tao religion and the Tao te Ching are not the same.  Tao te Ching is not a religion.  It is a way of virtue in your life.

Tao te Ching is generally translated to mean the Classic Book of the Virtuous Way and is written very simply to allow it to be memorized.  It is believed that much of the later text was added as an aid to rote memorization.

Legend says that Lao Tse was an Old Master who had lived for 996 years with 3 previous incarnations and gained much wisdom.  He was a contemporary of Confucius and was a chief Historian and an Astrologer to the dynasty leader Xian.  He is said to have compiled the knowledge of the Tao te Ching.  Most likely is was added to over a period of 250 years and codified as such.

There is real evidence of texts that exist from those very early days in China's history.  So there is no doubt that this is real.  It is a philosophy of life, so beautiful that if you, your friends and neighbors were to embrace it, the world would be so very peaceful.  But instead we have religions who seek to destroy everyone else's religion.

There is much study of the various verses and sayings.  And much is written of its meaning.  It is a beautiful script and I find it to be most calming and to the point of our lives today.   We all need calmness, for sure.

If you have stuck with me this far, and not shut your mind because you think this is a religion that will attempt to replace your own, then join me on an introspective journey relating these texts to my life as a Quilter.

You will most likely recognize yourself as well!

Comparison is a slippery slope to envy and for the most part, envy wastes energy that could be put towards getting what you want or optimizing what you have.   Danielle Laporte said that yesterday.  

To the world actually, but I got it in my email.  So I guess she included me.

Just the day before she told me....Be your own guru.

And that was profound.  Why look elsewhere when you are your own best counsel.  you know what is right, you know what is wrong.  Why do you need someone else to tell you?

That was the insight for the day, maybe the week.  I guess I need to do my Tao Te Ching again.  I love intrepreting it in today's language.  That Lao Tsu was like Danielle.  Or maybe the other way around, she was like him.  Or if you believe in the rebirth of souls, then they could be the same!

This is the fabric for the week........I am hoping to get the call soon saying my elephants are ready from the most amazing quilter of all time!  

glen

Duality of Quilting and some background

Stick with me, this is ultimately about quilting.  But see the beauty in the words.  You can equate it to Christian religions if you wish, or you can just feel the peace in the words.

Lao-Tse, born in 604 BC.  Tao is a peaceful quiet belief that may be likened to a religion but it is not truly a religion.  It is more a state of mind.  I have studied it off and on since childhood. 

Lao-Tse is considered the first philosopher of the Taoist school. The Te-Tao Ching, attributed to Lao-Tse, is one of the most sacred texts of Taoism. His writings teach the philosophy of the Tao, or the Way, which is reality that naturally exists prior to and gives rise to all other things such as the physical universe and all things in it. Te, which means virtue, is the life energy in things and a sense of morality which constitutes the Way. The Tao can be found by experiencing the oneness in all things - fulfilling life as one with nature and as one with the inner self. The speaking of Lao-Tse's wisdom is what attracts people to follow him and make him the teacher of Taoism.


The 2nd verse of the Tao Te Ching talks of the duality of the world.  It states:  Under the heavens all can see beauty as beauty because there is ugliness .  We can know good because there is evil.


In the Tao Te Ching, Lao-tse writes that there are paradoxes in the universe. Short and tall, ugly and pretty, high and low. And that one must live openly with both in order to be able to see both.

"Being and non-being produce each other. The difficult is born in the easy. Long is defined by short, the high by the low. Before and after go along with each other.

So the sage lives openly with apparent duality and paradoxical unity. The sage can act without effort and teach without words. Nurturing things without possessing them, he works, not for the rewards; he competes but not for results."

If we follow this thought through to quilting, we can see that our quilting room is both "stocked and full" and "cluttered and never the right material". If we contemplate that duality of our own small universe, we see that we can be happy either way we look at it. Either we can feel happy to pull a piece of fabric from our shelves and use it in the quilt, or we can be comfortable heading out to the quilt shop to purchase a new piece of fabric for the quilt.

We can be either happy or unhappy with our stash. If we look at our stash with new eyes of wonderment and excitement we can see many happy possibilities in what we have. Consciously choose how you look at your stash, see the wonderment in colors, textures and potential.

If we choose the duality of that thought, we may just need to clean up our room and organize our stash, then head out to the fabric shop!

glen