Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

The ultimate discourse on the nature of existence

and a new, 2500 years old, vision for the world

The Tao Te Ching or Dao De Jing is a book of wisdom, written around the 6th century BC by the sage Lao Tzu (or Laozi, "Old Master").

Many Chinese artists, including poets, painters, calligraphers, and even gardeners have used the Tao Te Ching as a source of inspiration. Its influence has also spread widely outside East Asia, aided by hundreds of translations into Western languages.

Because of the difficulty to translate the old Chinese characters into e.g. English, there are many translations, which can differ strongly in their interpretations.

Many consider the Tao Te Ching as the ultimate discourse on the nature of existence. It continues to be a valuable resource of knowledge and inspiration for achieving a way of life that guarantees integrity, joy, peace, creativity, greatness, harmony and balance. 

From the 81 verses of the Tao Te Ching I have chosen the 6^th and the 25^th verse to begin with, because they resonate beautifuly with the energy of this spiritual journeys website.

 (Note: the bold lines will return below)

TAO - The Way

Without fail, she brings us to our own perfection.

The main theme of this website is to connect consciously to the Tao or the Source of all creation by which you become a co-creator and fulfill your destiny.  It is an invitation to live life fully, filled with creativity, vision, passion, enthusiasm, inspiration, kindness, love and abundance. It is a call for greatness, your Ultimate calling!

In the article The Source - the creative intelligence several quotes from the wisdom traditions, already paint a picture of greatness. I want to give one from the Sufi mystic Rumi:

If you are determined to follow this innate call for greatness, the whole Universe will start to help and to guide you in every way. Miracles start happening. It is like living in another dimension.

By walking the Way of the Tao, all the blessings you could ever dream of, will start to appear in your life. But it is very important to act out of the "How may I serve" principle, instead of the "What  is in it for me", as Lao Tzu tells us in the 3rd verse of the Tao Te Ching:

When action is pure and selfless,

everything settles into its own perfect place.

The mysterious female – the mother of the universe

The gateway to the mysterious female is called the root of creation.

Click on the picture to reveal the mystery of creation

According to the Zohar (Kabbalah) the masculine represents the ability to share energy, symbolized by Light. The feminine is the receptive element in Creation. She is the vessel. Light is needed to fill the vessel and the vessel is necessary to manifest the Light. It is the female who brings the Light into the home, manifesting all the energy and putting it in its place, and helping others grow.

As no other, Sri Aurobindo described the mystery of the nature of the Divine Mother. In the following quotes about the Hindu Goddesses Maha Lakshmi and Maha Kali, he expresses both sides of her nature:

Maha Lakshmi throws the spell of the intoxicating sweetness of the Divine: to be close to her is a profound happiness and to feel her within the heart is to make existence a rapture and a marvel; grace and charm and tenderness flow out from her like light from the sun and wherever she fixes her wonderful gaze or lets fall the loveliness of her smile, the soul is seized and made captive and plunged into the depths of an unfathomable bliss.

For it is through love and beauty that she lays on men the yoke of the Divine. Life is turned in her supreme creations into a rich work of celestial art and all existence into a poem of sacred delight; the world's riches are brought together and concerted for a supreme order and even the simplest and commonest things are made wonderful by her intuition of unity and the breath of her spirit.

Admitted to the heart she lifts wisdom to pinnacles of wonder and reveals to it the mystic secrets of the ecstasy that surpasses all knowledge, meets devotion with the passionate attraction of the Divine, teaches to strength and force the rhythm that keeps the might of their acts harmonious and in measure and casts on perfection the charm that makes it endure for ever.

Maha Kali is of another nature. Not wisdom but force and strength are her peculiar power. There is in her an overwhelming intensity, a mighty passion of force to achieve, a divine violence rushing to shatter every limit and obstacle.

For she too is the Mother and her love is as intense as her wrath and she has a deep and passionate kindness.

For her what is done in a day might have taken centuries.

Nothing can satisfy her that falls short of the supreme ecstasies, the highest heights, the noblest aims, the largest vistas. Therefore with her is the victorious force of the Divine and it is by grace of her fire and passion and speed if the great achievement can be done now rather than hereafter.

Without fail, she reveals her presence.

I noticed during my journeys, that in places where the female energy is strong, like in Beijing China and now in Lisbon, there has always been a flourishing society, a blossoming of the arts and a burgeoning of commerce. Also India is a country with a great history, but nowadays India is a great mess, because the repression of female energy and sexuality.

I want to start with a slideshow, showing this female energy in Lisbon and its surroundings. This slideshow starts with the mysterious female aspect in nature. The woman gives birth to all life; therefore it is easy to feel her nourishing and relaxing quality in nature. In Lisbon the female looks to be a focal point as I noticed during the 100 years celebration of their republic. In art I noticed also many expressions of the female energy.

In real life it is easy to see her kindness and beauty, which is the real female power,

But it also great to see the Goddess Kali aspect of her passionate creative energy in the photos of the band.

Strong and wise men have always loved this energy, but the ignorant and weak have always tried to repress this female energy  and the sexual energy, because they are afraid of it.

During my stay in Lisbon, I experienced many of the attributes of Aurobindo's Divine Mother and Tao's Mother of the Universe, being surrounded by an abundance of creativity, vision, passion and greatness. Not only in the past, but also in recent times.

Discovering and exploring the world. Journeys into the unknown!

The strongest I felt this vision and passion in Belem, close to Lisbon. Here you can find the discoveries monument and the Belem tower, from where the ships sailed. And more signs of greatness are captured in several monuments.

The discoveries monument shows the visionary people, like Vasco da Gama, who in small primitive sailing boats discovered and explored large parts of the world.

On 8 July 1497 Vasco da Gama led a fleet of four ships with a crew of 170 men from Lisbon. The distance his voyage around Africa to India and back again was greater than a journey around the equator. Many more voyages followed.

One of the many signs I got: Google's own web site showed a similar picture.

Previously, I visited some of the locations the Portuguese have settled in the past, such as Goa, Cochin in India and Malacca in Malaysia. These places are even nowadays different from their surrounding countries. I recognized the same creative and exploring spirit in these places, which I also experienced in Lisbon.

These inspired people wanted to express their vision of the Source (Tao, God, the Light, Divine Intelligence, etc). If only we could see that these are all various names for the same, how different this world would be. They built magnificent monuments everywhere.

Sitting close to the discoveries monument I could still feel this amazing energy, which always calls us to greatness, to explore and discover. It is this energy who makes us really human and could make it possible  to travel to the stars one day. I saw a discovery science documentary by Stephen Hawking. And although we have not really traveled to the stars we have already discovered an amazing amount of information about our universe. It is really breathtaking and at the same time a spiritual journey in itself. As I watched in awe and wonder this marvelous creation, indeed what an incredible intelligence at work. You can imagine that, when you open yourself to this energy, miracles are normal as this week several friends of mine and I experienced again. I have given many examples on this site and you will find another one at the end of this article.

I love what the Zohar teaches about miracles:

Miracles are not about extraordinary happenings. They are about the connection to the Light that makes the extraordinary possible, and the (seemingly) ordinary as well.

And: When a miracle occurs, a channel is opened and never closed, so that the power of the miracle can easily be called upon forever thereafter.

This last statement is congruent with the power of intention which states that by practicing, this power becomes stronger. This is also my experience.

I also noticed this visionary inspiration in Lisbon in many buildings from the past. Everything was built with such grandeur. What a beautiful city. I hope these pictures will express some of it.

Recent vision

Many countries experienced a golden past and are still dreaming about it. But nowadays their reality is completely different. I see India as a good example of it. To experience that this creative spirit is still present in Lisbon is rather exceptional.

You can see this is in some amazing recent architecture and the fantastic public transport system. My hotel was close to the Metro, a friendly metro employee gave me a chip card and put 9 trips on it. The large Metro net has trains every 4 minutes and also went to train stations with trains every 10 or 15 minutes. A 40 minute journey costs 90 eurocent! Above the ground I saw many trams, so not much air pollution. Broad walking avenues, large cozy squares, and parks everywhere and so on. Really a city I felt immediately at home, which seldom happens .

Visionary Art - Creativity

Listen to her voice, hear it echo through creation.

In Visionary Art the vision and creativity

behind remarkable works of art are explored.

All these examples, clearly show how vision and passion

express themselves as creativity and greatness.

Vision x Passion = Greatness

Or in other words:

Inspiration x Enthusiasm = Perfection

Without fail, she brings us to our own perfection.

Tao's vision for the world and their leaders

What the world needs the most at this crucial moment in time is a new vision. I  just watched a two hour documentary called Doomsday 2210? (no type error!). In this documentary explorers on an almost devastated earth in 2210 start searching which factors have brought our civilization to its downfall and compare that to many other civilizations in the past which disappeared. The conclusion has been clear: only a new vision will do. Short time solutions, even if they look so rational, will not prevent us from our doom. 

There are of course many examples of how short time solutions only worsen the problem or how cut downs in reality cost millions. Just one example of today in BBC News: Germany, China, Brazil and South Africa have criticised US plans to pump $600bn (£373bn) into the US economy.
The world has become a global village and any local solution will influence the whole and therefore will not work.
In the US case, the real cause of the problem is that people have lost trust in their own financial security and the government. It is because they saw how the bosses at the top of large banks have enriched themselves at the cost of the common man by not living the Tao. In their ego blindness of MORE, they have ruined the whole system and caused their own downfall. (The Tao: Not being attuned to the Way, its end comes all too soon).
The movie: Capitalism a love story by Michael MOORE is a shocking documentary how we are manipulated and cheated.

This spiritual journey website contains a lot about this new vision and I hope this will contribute to realize it. I immediately got a sign while looking at the recent visitor's keywords of this site, so it looks to be very important. Nr. 1 of 297.00 in Google with spiritual journey to a new vision.

In this quote from Living The Wisdom of The Tao, Dr. Wayne W. Dyer expresses this new vision beautifully:

It's my vision that in this 21st century, our world must recruit future leaders who are steeped in the importance of Lao-tzu's words. Our survival may depend on understanding that the concepts of "enemy" and "war" can cease to exist through living Tao-centered lives. Government will need to retreat from regulating our personal lives, overly taxing our income, and invading our privacy. Yet the lessons and truths of the Tao must be discovered and applied by individuals. In this way, it can bring you to the enormous wonder of your own being—yes, you are the Tao at work.

Living from the Source / Tao or from an ego dominated life?

When you live connected to the Source / Tao, the creative intelligence will guide you. I have experienced this so much during my visit to Lisbon and in what happened after.

On many pages of this web you can find examples. This is living the Way of the Tao. Let this divine intelligence, which can easily create so many natural wonders in this Universe, guide you.

Only from this perspective it is possible to understand what Lao Tzu in the Way of the Tao is trying to convey to you. Osho in one of his brilliant discourses gives an overview of the qualities of the one living from the Tao. In several other discourses Osho has given his enlightened view of the new man and the new world. (Perhaps coming later).

From the ego perspective you are a separate entity and have to strive, fight, dominate, suffer, struggle, and compete to get your piece of cake. And you will never be satisfied with your piece of cake and you will always want more on an earth with finite resources. True happiness could not be farther away from this carving.

The ego really blinds people, otherwise it is impossible to understand why most of humankind is acting in such an ignorant way. A philosopher once said there are two things infinite: human stupidity and God’s love and compassion. And if I interpret the signs well, the ego is fighting a desperate battle to keep hold on people, because more people are seeing the light and are consciously connecting to the Source / Tao. How blind you must be, not to see this simple formula (and all the signs on this planet):

Population growth x Economic growth x EGO = DISASTER

When man interferes with the Tao,
the sky becomes filthy,
the earth becomes depleted,
the equilibrium crumbles,
creatures become extinct.

(The 30^th verse of the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu)

The 2010 edition of the WWF Living Planet Report presents new analyses on the health of our only planet. We are currently using 50% more natural resources than the earth can sustain. We will need 3 globes in 2050 if we go on like this. This is what the formula also predict: disaster.

Lao Tzu expresses this ignorance in 70th verse of the Tao The Ching in the following lines:

My teachings are very easy to understand

and very easy to practice;

yet so few in this world understand,

and so few are able to practice.

In the following verse Lao Tzu warns the leaders of man

against the use of force or weapons.

Not being attuned to the Way, its end comes all too soon.

One who would guide a leader of men in the uses of life will warn him against the use of arms for conquest. Weapons often turn upon the wielder. Where armies settle, nature offers nothing but briars and thorns. After a great battle has been fought, the land is cursed, the crops fail, the earth lies stripped of its Motherhood. After you have attained your purpose, you must not parade your success, you must not boast of your ability, you must not feel proud; you must rather regret that you had not been able to prevent the war. You must never think of conquering others by force. Whatever strains with force will soon decay. It is not attuned to the Way. Not being attuned to the Way, its end comes all too soon.   The 30th verse of the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu.

 

Lao Tzu's amazing and radical vision about

how to bring us back in harmony with the Tao

The following two verses of the Tao Te Ching contain an amazing and radical vision. This vision has been true for 2500 years. It is the only vision which can bring the world we live in, back into harmony with the Tao. Many governments are trying more and more to control everything and are invading privacy and fundamental rights on a large scale. If you have a clear understanding it is so obvious that this leads only to more chaos and destruction.

This Tao principles can also work well in organizations, especially in a quick changing environment, in parenting and in your personal life.

If you want to be a great leader, you must learn to follow the Tao. Stop trying to control. Let go of fixed plans and concepts, and the world will govern itself.   How do I know this is so? Because in this world, the greater the restrictions and prohibitions, the more people are impoverished; the more advanced the weapons of state, the darker the nation; the more artful and crafty the plan, the stranger the outcome; the more laws are posted, the more thieves appear.   Therefore the wise say, "Do not interfere, and people transform themselves. Love peace, and people do what is right. Do not intervene, and people prosper. Have no desires, and people live simply."   The 57th verse of the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu.

The Way never interferes, yet through it everything is done.   If powerful men could center themselves in it, the whole world would be transformed by itself, in its natural rhythms.   When life is simple, pretenses fall away; our essential natures shine through.   By not wanting, there is calm, and the world will straighten itself. When there is silence, one finds the anchor of the universe within oneself.   The 37th verse of the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

 

So what shall it be?

 

 

The answer is in this quote about the Hindu Goddess Maheshwari from Sri Aurobindo:

 

To the wise she gives a greater and more luminous wisdom;
those that have vision she admits to her counsels;

 

Vision x Passion = Greatness

on the hostile she imposes the consequence of their hostility;
the ignorant and foolish she leads according to their blindness.

 

Population growth x Economic growth x EGO = DISASTER

Also Buddha 2500 years ago (must have been a wonderful time on earth then), has given us the same message as Lao Tzu and the Hindu Goddesses. Eknath Easwaran in his brilliant book about the Dhammapada tells us:

"The universe is hostile," Wernher von Braun once said, "only when you do not know its laws. To those who know and obey, the universe is friendly." When understood, the Buddha's universe too is anything but alien and inhibiting. It is a world full of hope, where everything we need to do can be done and everything that matters is within human reach. It is a world where kindness, unselfishness, nonviolence, and compassion achieve what self-interest and arrogance cannot. It is, simply, a world where any human being can be happy in goodness and the fullness of giving.

A reaffirmation of hope

I got many signs and a clear guidance, during the writing of this article. I understood that it is really important to share about this all. This article became a synthesis of many streams merging into one strong current. (Maha Kali: a mighty passion of force rushing to shatter every limit and obstacle).

After publishing this article on the Internet, I switched the TV on. It happened to be a national channel, from the 120 channels I have, which I seldom watch. Because at that time, it is filled with news and commercials. I was really overwhelmed because the TV program just continued where I had finished this article.

I saw a play about the battle between good (Sathyabhamaand) and evil (Narakaasura). Between the wise and the visionary, and the hostile, ignorant and foolish.

This is a short description of this play: The demon Narakaasura was the evil king of Pragjyotishpur, near Nepal. He ruled with a reign of terror, abducted 16,000 daughters of the gods and stole the earrings of Aditi, mother of the gods.

The gods asked Lord Krishna for help and after a mighty battle his wife Sathyabhama killed the demon, freed the girls and recovered the earrings.

Afterwards there was a beautiful celebration of dancing and singing women. Then a man came and started speaking about Maha Lakshmi: The lamps are lit to help the goddess Lakshmi find her way into people's homes. I experienced this all to be so completely in tune what I had written about the Goddess Maheshwari and Lakshmi. It turned out to be the celebration of Diwali the Hindu festival of Lights.

 

Diwali  the Hindu festival of Lights   The festival celebrates the victory of good over evil, light over darkness and wisdom over ignorance.   What the festival of lights really stands for today is  reaffirmation of hope, a renewed commitment to friendship and goodwill

 

What stronger sign could I get? It felt like a miracle to me. When I mentioned all these great quotes I asked myself: is it possible that this can really happen?  This is indeed a reaffirmation of hope.

 

A last sign: together on the top of the world  Be realistic plan for a miracle. Nr. 2 in Yahoo of 701 million others.

I want to finish and summarize this article

with a part of the 16^th verse of the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu:

 

Returning to the Source (the Tao) is peace;
it is to realize one’s destiny.
To realize one’s destiny is to know the eternal.
To know the eternal is to have a profound insight and vision.
Not to know the eternal
is to act blindly and court disaster.

 

If this make sense to you, I want to invite you to send this Tao email to people who could be interested. In this way you can make a significant contribution in helping to save life on this planet by realizing another way of living and at the same time fulfilling your own potential and greatness.

 

 If you want to contribute more see: share and contribute.

 

Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti

(May there be peace, peace, peace)