dao morning

morning Upon completion comes fulfillment. With fulfillment comes liberation. Liberation allows you to go on, Even death is not a true ending. Life is infinite continuation. Always finish what you start. That alone is discipline and wisdom enough. If you can follow that rule, then you will be superior to most people. When you come to the end of a cycle, a new one will begin. You might say that completion actually begins somewhere in the middle of a cycle and that new beginnings are engendered our of previous actions. Completing a cycle means fulfillment. It means that you have achieved self-knowledge, discipline, and a new way of understanding yourself and the world around you. You cannot stop there, of course. New horizons are always there. But you can reach out for those new vistas with fresh assurance and wisdom. With each turn of the wheel you go further. With each turn of the wheel you free yourself from the mire of ignorance. With each turn of the wheel comes continuation. Turn the wheel of your life. Make complete revolutions. Celebrate every turning. And persevere with joy. morning 365 Tao daily meditations Deng Ming-Dao (author) ISBN 0-06-250223-9 duckdaotsu.org tao hub Mirror with Animals of the Four Directions and the Zodiac (detail) Sui dynasty, c. 600 Bronze d. 24.8 cm Museum Rietberg, Zurich cat. no. 15 thank you to the Art Institute of Chicago Taoism in Art exhibit and lessons Mirror with Animals of the Four Directions and the Zodiac Mirrors, believed to reflect the true nature of the world, served as symbolic sources of light for the dead on their journey through the underworld. As a result, the backs of mirrors were often decorated with cosmological designs and symbolic maps of the universe. Around the central knob of this mirror are the animal symbols of the four cardinal directions: the green dragon of the east (yang); the vermilion bird of the south (yang); the white tiger of the west (yin); and the "dark warrior" of the north, an entwined tortoise and snake (yin). These animals represent the division of space into four directions and the division of time into four seasons. In a wide band around the edge of the mirror, the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac are arranged clockwise: rat, ox, tiger, hare, dragon, snake, horse, ram, monkey, cock, dog, and boar. Each represents a section of the sky through which Jupiter passes during its 12-year rotation around the sun. These symbols were traditionally used by the Chinese to mark not only the passage of years but also the parts of the day, which was divided into 12 sections. Taken as a whole, the decorations on the back of the mirror represent traditional divisions of time and space, thus serving as a map and a calendar. These concepts were among the most important foundations of Taoist cosmology. instruction: Taoist cosmology was shaped by the way in which the Chinese traditionally understood the world. Taoists believe that when the world began, there was only the Tao, a featureless, empty void pregnant with the potential of all things. At this point, the Tao generated swirling patterns of cloudlike energy, called qi (pronounced "chee"). This energy eventually developed two complementary aspects: yin, which is dark, heavy, and feminine, and yang, which is light, airy, and masculine. Yin energy sank to form the earth, yang energy rose to form the heavens, and both energies harmonized to form human beings. Consequently, the human body holds within it the energies of both the earth and the heavens, making it a microcosm of the world. Both yin and yang split further into subdivisions known as the Five Phases, which can be understood through their associations with the elements, seasons, and directions: greater yang: wood and spring (east) lesser yang: fire and summer (south) greater yin: metal and autumn (west) lesser yin: water and winter (north) the central phase: earth and the solstices The central phase represents a balance of yin and yang. The primary symbols of yin and yang in ancient China were the white tiger and green dragon, also symbols of autumn and spring, respectively. By the Song dynasty, the Taiji diagram, commonly known in the West as "the yin-yang symbol," came to represent yin and yang as well. This diagram illustrates the unity and interdependence of yin and yang within the Tao, with a yin dot in the yang side of the diagram and vice versa. It also represents the idea that yin energy begins to rise from its lowest level when yang is at its height. Likewise yang begins to rise when yin is at its height. This is most evident in the cyclical movements of the seasons: the first signs of spring begin to appear immediately after winter has peaked and begun to subside. receive a full HTML copy of the daily meditation sent directly to your inbox, please send a note with the words "subscribe tao" in the subject line to duckdaotsu