The core Taoist teaching, especially as it's found in The Tao Te Ching (alt.: The Daodejing), can be reduced to five tenets.
In this reading, which is, above all, a meditation, I select five seminal chapters from TTC (the Hinton translation) to illustrate the first tenet. They are Chapters 1, 11, 16, 25, and 34.
In the spirit of Chan and Zen, I allow for a spontaneous question to emerge at the end of each chapter. The poem (co-written with Daniel Doyon) below juxtaposes the grace of the Taoist teaching with the brittle sternness of the modern picture.
Reading The Tao Te Ching: The Tao Is Mystery
Reading The Tao Te Ching: The Tao Is Mystery
Reading The Tao Te Ching: The Tao Is Mystery
The Core Taoist Teaching
The core Taoist teaching, especially as it's found in The Tao Te Ching (alt.: The Daodejing), can be reduced to five tenets.
In this reading, which is, above all, a meditation, I select five seminal chapters from TTC (the Hinton translation) to illustrate the first tenet. They are Chapters 1, 11, 16, 25, and 34.
In the spirit of Chan and Zen, I allow for a spontaneous question to emerge at the end of each chapter. The poem (co-written with Daniel Doyon) below juxtaposes the grace of the Taoist teaching with the brittle sternness of the modern picture.
Tenet #1: Stillness
//Tao:
Completely empty, completely still,
Tao is great mystery.
Therefore, I meditate.
Meditating on great mystery is nobody
*
//Modern:
Life is great, endless conquest.
Therefore, I strive.
Striving to conquer is Somebody.