dao beauty

beauty Lavender roses. Incarnate fragrance, Priestly hue of dawn, Spirit unfolding. Even on the road to hell, flowers can make you smile. They are fragile, ephemeral, uncompromising. No one can later their nature. True, you can easily destroy them, but you will not gain anything; you cannot force them to submit to your will. Flowers arouse in us an instinct to protect them, to appreciate them, and to shelter them. This world is too ugly, too violent. There should be something delicate to care about. To do so is to be lifted above the brute and to go toward the refined. When we offer flowers on our altar, we are offering a high gift. Money is too vulgar, food too pedestrian. Only flowers are unsullied. By offering them, we offer purity. The tenderness of flowers arouses mercy, compassion, and understanding. If that beauty is delicate, so much the better. Life itself is fleeting. We should take the time to appreciate beauty in the midst of temporality. beauty 365 Tao daily meditations Deng Ming-Dao (author) ISBN 0-06-250223-9 spring note from Colorado: our first bluebird of the season arrived today! TIBET: TREASURES FROM THE ROOF OF THE WORLD Seal of the Fifth Dalai Lama China, Qing Dynasty 17th Century Tibet Museum Photo Courtesy of Bowers Museum Chinese, Manchu, and Tibetan inscriptions, carved into this official seal, express the international stature and importance of the Fifth Dalai Lama, the Buddha of Great Compassion in the West and Leader of the Buddhist Faith beneath the Sky. The Fifth Dalai Lama, also known as the Great Fifth, built the Potala Palace and served as both the secular ruler and spiritual teacher of Tibet, a dual role held by each subsequent Dalai Lama. T A O t e C H I N G t w e n t y What is the difference between assent and denial? What is the difference between beautiful and ugly? What is the difference between fearsome and afraid? The people are merry as if at a magnificent party Or playing in the park at springtime, But I am tranquil and wandering, Like a newborn before it learns to smile, Alone, with no true home. The people have enough and to spare, Where I have nothing, And my heart is foolish, Muddled and cloudy. The people are bright and certain, Where I am dim and confused; The people are clever and wise, Where I am dull and ignorant; Aimless as a wave drifting over the sea, Attached to nothing. The people are busy with purpose, Where I am impractical and rough; I do not share the peoples' cares But I am fed by the valley mother. 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

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