51
The Way begets them
Virtue keeps them
matter shapes them
usage completes them
Thus do all things honour the Way
and glorify Virtue
The honour of the Way
the glory of Virtue
and not conferred but always so
The Way begets and keeps them
cultivates and trains them
steadies and adjusts them
nurtures and protects them
But begets without possessing
acts without presuming
and cultivates without controlling
This is called Dark Virtue
— RED PINE
51
Tao gives life to all beings.
Nature nourishes them.
Fellow creatures shape them.
Circumstances complete them.
Everything in existence
respects Tao and honours nature
not by decree, but spontaneously.
Tao gives life to all beings.
Nature watches over them,
develops them, shelters them,
nurses them, grows them,
ripens them, completes them,
buries them, and returns them.
Giving birth, nourishing life,
shaping things without possessing them,
serving without expectation of reward,
leading without dominating:
These are the profound virtues of nature,
and of nature's best beings.
— BRIAN BROWNE WALKER
51
Every being in the universe
is an expression of the Tao.
It springs into existence,
unconscious, perfect, free,
takes on a physical body,
lets circumstances complete it.
That is why every being
spontaneously honors the Tao.
The Tao gives birth to all beings,
nourishes them, maintains them,
cares for them, comforts them,
protects them,
takes them back to itself,
creating without possessing,
acting without expecting,
guiding without interfering.
That is why love of the Tao
is in the very nature of things.
— STEPHEN MITCHELL
--
Those who consider their path superior are condescending.
A parrot who speaks of the totality of the self is absurd.
Many paths lead to the summit,
But it takes a whole body to get there.
Once I met a woman who was a lifelong Christian. She had two sons who practiced yoga. She thought that was wonderful, but they arrogantly considered their beliefs to be superior to hers and told her that she was not doing enough for her spiritual salvation.
No one has a right to condemn another person's spiritual beliefs. No spiritual system is superior to another. Each one of us should have the philosophy and practices that work for us. We should be happy once we find it, we should help those who are interested in the spirituality we represent, but none of us should behave condescendingly toward others' spirituality.
We are all trying to get to the summit of spiritual realization, and there are many valid paths leading to the top. Of course, the view and terrain on one side of a mountain will differ from the other, but the summit is identical no matter what your approach.
Whatever your path, all that matters is that you commit yourself totally to following it. Others will do the same. As long as we all climb, each from our own direction, and reach the summit of human spirituality, we can achieve complete totality in our lives. Then all the fracturing discussions of sects and different religions become unnecessary.
totality
365 Tao
Daily Meditations
Deng Ming-Dao (author)
ISBN 0-06-250223-9
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