Tag: meditation

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Why I’m Explaining The Tao Te Ching

Steve Rowe

I think only a small group of interested people read my explanations of the Tao Te Ching each day and I have been asked why I bother to do them and post them on here. For me the book was literally life changing and I still refer to it on a daily basis more than 50 years later. Every passage I analyse gives me added insights and understandings as I evolve, I’m amazed at depths that I’ve missed again and again. I often thought that the writer or writers were repeating themselves or maybe the translators weren’t seeing the hidden … Continue reading Why I’m Explaining The Tao Te Ching

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Those Who Know Do Not Talk

Steve Rowe

Explanation Of The Tao Te Ching Part Fifty Six  “Those who know do not talk. Those who talk do not know.  Keep your mouth closed. Guard your senses. Temper your sharpness. Simplify your problems. Mask your brightness. Be at one with the dust of the Earth. This is primal union.  He who has achieved this state Is unconcerned with friends and enemies, With good and harm, with honor and disgrace. This therefore is the highest state of man.” If we have internalised the Tao, there’s no point trying to explain to others unless we’re asked, the best thing to do is to continue working on ourselves. The best way to … Continue reading Those Who Know Do Not Talk

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Perfect Harmony…

Steve Rowe

Explanation Of The Tao Te Ching Part Fifty Five  “He who is filled with Virtue is like a newborn child. Wasps and serpents will not sting him; Wild beasts will not pounce upon him; He will not be attacked by birds of prey. His bones are soft, his muscles weak, But his grip is firm. He has not experienced the union of man and woman, but is whole. His manhood is strong. He screams all day without becoming hoarse. This is perfect harmony.  Knowing harmony is constancy. Knowing constancy is enlightenment.  It is not wise to rush about. Controlling the breath causes strain. If too much energy is used, exhaustion follows. This is … Continue reading Perfect Harmony…

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Cultivate Virtue In Yourself

Steve Rowe

Explanation Of The Tao Te Ching Part Fifty Four “What is firmly established cannot be uprooted.What is firmly grasped cannot slip away.It will be honored from generation to generation.  Cultivate Virtue in your self,And Virtue will be real.Cultivate it in the family,And Virtue will abound.Cultivate it in the village,And Virtue will grow.Cultivate it in the nation,And Virtue will be abundant.Cultivate it in the universe,And Virtue will be everywhere.  Therefore look at the body as body;Look at the family as family;Look at the village as village;Look at the nation as nation;Look at the universe as universe.  How do I know the … Continue reading Cultivate Virtue In Yourself

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The Fields Are Full Of Weeds

Steve Rowe

Explanation Of The Tao Te Ching Part Fifty Three  “If I have even just a little sense,I will walk on the main road and my only fearwill be of straying from it.Keeping to the main road is easy,But people love to be sidetracked.  When the court is arrayed in splendor,The fields are full of weeds,And the granaries are bare.Some wear gorgeous clothes,Carry sharp swords,And indulge themselves with food and drink;They have more possessions than they can use.They are robber barons.This is certainly not the way of Tao.” It’s good sense to understand and harmonise with nature, it’s essentially an easy, … Continue reading The Fields Are Full Of Weeds

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The Beginning Of The Universe

Steve Rowe

Explanation Of The Tao Te Ching Part Fifty Two  “The beginning of the universeIs the mother of all things.Knowing the mother, one also knows the sons.Knowing the sons, yet remaining in touch with the mother,Brings freedom from the fear of death.  Keep your mouth shut,Guard the senses,And life is ever full.Open your mouth,Always be busy,And life is beyond hope.  Seeing the small is insight;Yielding to force is strength.Using the outer light, return to insight,And in this way be saved from harm.This is learning constancy.” Sometimes you think why is the author saying the same thing again and again, or is … Continue reading The Beginning Of The Universe

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All Things Arise From Tao

Steve Rowe

Explanation Of The Tao Te Ching Part Fifty One  “All things arise from Tao.They are nourished by Virtue.They are formed from matter.They are shaped by environment.Thus the ten thousand things all respect Tao and honor Virtue.Respect of Tao and honor of Virtue are not demanded,But they are in the nature of things.  Therefore all things arise from Tao.By Virtue they are nourished,Developed, cared for,Sheltered, comforted,Grown, and protected.Creating without claiming,Doing without taking credit,Guiding without interfering,This is Primal Virtue.” This is telling us that everything arises from source and if it remains well connected and in harmony with it   will live … Continue reading All Things Arise From Tao

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Having No Place For Death To Enter

Steve Rowe

Explanation Of the Tao Te Ching Part Fifty “Between birth and death,Three in ten are followers of life,Three in ten are followers of death,And men just passing from birth to death also number three in ten.Why is this so?Because they live their lives on the gross level.  He who knows how to live can walk abroadWithout fear of rhinoceros or tiger.He will not be wounded in battle.For in him rhinoceroses can find no place to thrust their horn,Tigers no place to use their claws,And weapons no place to pierce.Why is this so?Because he has no place for death to enter.” … Continue reading Having No Place For Death To Enter

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The Sage Has No Mind Of His Own

Steve Rowe

Explanation Of The Tao Te Ching Part Forty Nine  “The sage has no mind of his own.He is aware of the needs of others.  I am good to people who are good.I am also good to people who are not good.Because Virtue is goodness.I have faith in people who are faithful.I also have faith in people who are not faithful.Because Virtue is faithfulness.  The sage is shy and humble – to the world he seems confusing.Others look to him and listen.He behaves like a little child.” This part is explaining how the ‘self’ is illusory and is the software (thoughts … Continue reading The Sage Has No Mind Of His Own

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Less And Less Is Done

Steve Rowe

Explanation Of The Tao Te Ching Part Forty Eight “In the pursuit of learning, every day something is acquired.In the pursuit of Tao, every day something is dropped.  Less and less is doneUntil non-action is achieved.When nothing is done, nothing is left undone.  The world is ruled by letting things take their course.It cannot be ruled by interfering.” The profound teaching of the Tao and often the hardest for westerners to grasp.  Less is more. The continuous process of letting go mentally of extraneous thoughts, any excess tension physically, and the ability to prioritise in life to the extent that … Continue reading Less And Less Is Done