dao sanctity

Every soul is inviolable, Any thought can be private. The deepest goal is to Find sanctity’s source. The body may be ravaged and hacked to pieces, but the mind may never be invaded. It is only when we permit others to influence us that our minds may be entered. Evil may thrive on enslaving us physically, emotionally, or mentally, but it can do so only by deception. That is why we must remember the sanctity of our own souls. Our thoughts are private. As long as we are determined, evil cannot sway us. People think that others can read minds or that the gods watch our every movement. No master, no psychic, no god can enter our inner gate if we choose not to let them in. By withdrawing into the sanctity of our souls, we can also know ourselves. This effort cannot be carried forth by others. It can only be accomplished through the self-effort of living and engaging in ongoing contemplation. Only we can enter the most sacred core of our beings and find the secrets of life. sanctity 365 Tao daily meditations Deng Ming-Dao (author) ISBN 0-06-250223-9 Red sun ink & watercolor on Kyro 70 x 50 cm, signed lower right. Inscribed on the back: Paris Septembre 1967. Collection: Musée National des Arts Asiatiques-Guimet T'ang practices the kind of "self-renunciation" that Michel Serres, a Christian philosopher, identifies in the adult age: a withdrawal from strong attachments and material possessions, but within the consciousness of a vast universe reaching beyond any dogmatic dimension and that conceptualizes man as the meeting point of its energies. Man is a privileged observer of nature and can express Tao through the silent poems of painting. The attitude of T'ang is not one of severe asceticism - on the contrary, it cultivates the art of living in the present while avoiding the traps of reason. His distance, that could pass as arrogance for a westerner, allows the existence of divergence and contradictions. Two large paintings dating from 1964, Men and Birds, are produced according to this very principle: a chaos, or rather a nucleus of energy, unifies the composition of sprayed ink and color. In both works, men are represented as in ancient scripts. The void of bare paper occasionally covered by a transparent wash, strengthens the composition and eliminates all concerns of perspective. In Red Sun the hatching and alternated brushstrokes tighten the space on the paper towards the horizon and progressively cover its bareness, creating an eminently Chinese perspective. Lines, stains and splatters cause the subject to vibrate. In Calligraphy a head is topping what looks like a figure, thus inducing a literal meaning. What catches our attention, however, is the apparent improbability of the moving figure in a lunar atmosphere that implies stillness. In Calligraphy (28) T'ang places the character for man, rén, above the one for enter, rù. The character for man stylises the erected position of a human being, the one for enter originates from the drawing of a tree that stretches its roots through the ground. The universe balances itself between heaven and earth; between a visible, real world, where the tree is the lasting proof of life and a symbolic world with existential properties. (continued tomorrow) T A O t e C H I N G f o r t y - f i v e When the Tao is present in the universe, The horses haul manure. When the Tao is absent from the universe, War horses are bred outside the city. There is no greater sin than desire, No greater curse than discontent, No greater misfortune than wanting something for oneself. Therefore he who knows that enough is enough will always have enough. — translation by GIA-FU FENG When a country is in harmony with the Tao, the factories make trucks and tractors. When a country goes counter to the Tao, warheads are stockpiled outside the cities. There is no greater illusion than fear, no greater wrong than preparing to defend yourself, no greater misfortune than having an enemy. Whoever can see through all fear will always be safe. — translation by STEVEN MITCHELL When the way of nature is observed, all things serve their function; horses drawing carts, and pulling at the plough. But when the natural way is not observed, horses are bred for battle and for war. Desire and wanting cause discontent, whilst he who knows sufficiency more easily has what he requires. — translation by STAN ROSENTHAL a reading list of books and interpretations of the Daodejing is available at http://wwww.duckdaotsu.org/dao_books.html for a meditation sent to your email address each day, please write ’subscribe tao’ in the subject line and send to lisbeth at duckdaotsu