Tag: Buddhism

Tao Te Ching ExplainedLeave a comment

The Primal Virtue

Steve Rowe

Tao Te Ching Part Ten  “Carrying body and soul and embracing the one,Can you avoid separation? Attending fully and becoming supple,Can you be as a newborn babe?Washing and cleansing the primal vision,Can you be without stain?” A new born baby still belongs to the Tao, it doesn’t know yet that it will be indoctrinated into developing a ‘self’ by society, given a name, and becoming the subject of fear, anger, desire and addiction, separating it from the Tao. The skill is to engage in life and embrace the Tao, retaining that child like sense of wonder, this is washing and … Continue reading The Primal Virtue

Tao Te Ching ExplainedLeave a comment

Don’t Fill To The Brim

Steve Rowe

Tao Te Ching Part Nine “Better to stop short than fill to the brim.Oversharpen the blade, and the edge will soon blunt.” A lot of modern stress, anxiety and illness is the result of our modern stressful living. We seem to have lost the art of pacing ourselves, we are constantly pressured to do more, to become more and push ourselves beyond our limits. To not ‘fill to the brim or oversharpen the blade’ is good advice to stop at the point that where we can improve but not go too far. “Amass a store of gold and jade, and … Continue reading Don’t Fill To The Brim

Tao Te Ching ExplainedLeave a comment

The Valley Spirit Never Dies

Steve Rowe

Tao Te Ching Part Six “The valley spirit never dies; It is the woman, primal mother.” ‘Valley spirit’ because it’s the Tao that underlies everything that is the primal mother, giving birth to everything in the universe and receiving it back, this is the same as western pagan thought. Diana the goddess giving birth to Herne the hunter at the beginning of each pagan year and receiving him back at the end, the circle of life. “Her gateway is the root of heaven and Earth. It is like a veil barely seen. Use it; it will never fail.” Seen as … Continue reading The Valley Spirit Never Dies

Tao Te Ching ExplainedLeave a comment

Heaven And Earth Are Impartial

Steve Rowe

Tao Te Ching part 5. “Heaven and Earth are impartial;They see the ten thousand things as straw dogs.The wise are impartial;They see the people as straw dogs.” Heaven and earth are not subject to human justice and morals but the universal laws of nature. Too many people expect karma to adhere to human values and it doesn’t. Learn to harmonise with the way of nature. “The space between heaven and Earth is like a bellows.The shape changes but not the form;The more it moves, the more it yields.More words count less.Hold fast to the center.” The earth has been around … Continue reading Heaven And Earth Are Impartial

Tao Te Ching ExplainedLeave a comment

Emptying Hearts And Stuffing Bellies

Steve Rowe

These can be the hardest verses for Westerners to understand as our entire society is based on the opposite. It’s said that Taoism comes from early Buddhist travellers from India to China. The second of the Buddha’s Four Noble Truths is that all suffering is born from desire. The desire to be gifted, to gain security by collecting wealth and to want or not want is to suffer and cause suffering to others. To empty hearts is to not desire, weakening ambition, stuffing bellies and strengthening bones is filling the dantien/tanden with life energy and circulating it through the body, … Continue reading Emptying Hearts And Stuffing Bellies

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Mudras & Martial Arts

Steve Rowe

Every Tai Chi and Karate body and hand ‘attitude’ and shape can be considered a mudra. Mudras are internal actions, involving the pelvic floor, spine, joints, cavities, diaphragm, throat, eyes, tongue, anus, genitals, abdomen, and other parts of the body and the energy of these actions are then expressed through the hands. In Tai Chi it is said that’s its important to have ‘beautiful hands’. All the hand shapes in Tai Chi are categorised in the Karate kata ‘Tensho’ also known as ‘Rokkisho’, ‘Heavenly Palms’ or ‘Spirit Hands’. The ‘6 Hands’ of Tensho represent the ‘5 Animals’ and are grafted … Continue reading Mudras & Martial Arts

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Freedom!

Steve Rowe

Life is based on desireThe desire to have or not haveWhen we free ourself from desireWe are enlightened from itNo one can control usTemptation is goneAdverts and media pressureHave no effectWe walk a solitary pathBecause others can’t understandWe don’t fear lifeBecause it is as it isWe don’t fear deathBecause we don’t desire lifeThere is no pressureNo anxietyNo fearWe’ve found peaceAnd acceptanceA deeper happiness arisesBecause we weren’t trying. Continue reading Freedom!

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The Power Of Silence And Stillness

Steve Rowe

We have to develop and alchemise silence and stillnessIt’s the only way to give life perspectiveIf we’re always moving, thinking and feelingHow can we give it context without anything to compare it with?The amount of time and focus we give to each is importantWhen we develop silence and stillnessWe can see everything objectivelyWe can develop insight and wisdomThis gives value and insight into our thoughts, feelings and activitiesWhen we mindlessly engage in lifeWe’re asleep at the wheelOur locus of power is externalWhen we add the power of silence and stillnessWe’re awake and our locus of power is internalWe’re no longer … Continue reading The Power Of Silence And Stillness

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Seeing With Clarity

Steve Rowe

The moment you think of a wordYou create it’s oppositeI want to be happy means you’re notI need to be positive means you’re notTo ‘try’ to be anything means you’re not You need to be the word AND it’s oppositeOne only exists because of the otherThen they balance each other outA balanced state is betterThis creates a deeper form of insight and wisdom Like the line between yin and yangIt’s a doorway to enlightenmentA portal to the infiniteWhere everything is balancedAnd the suffering of opposites ceases Cease strugglingCease tryingAllow everything to mergeThen the illusion disappearsAnd you can see with clarity Continue reading Seeing With Clarity

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Knowing Yourself

Steve Rowe

I’ve never been comfortable with titles, grades, certificates and awards. Nothing against them, they’re just not for me. I haven’t turned grades down from people I respect but have upset and subsequently fallen out with people that run awards ceremonies because I wouldn’t associate with them or accept their awards. I know who and what I am so don’t need recognition from others, I know what I’m both good and bad at and that sometimes I’m a twat with an awful sense of humour. I don’t like to put anything between myself and those I teach so I’m not a … Continue reading Knowing Yourself