#lieh tzu

[nixieofthenorth]

“The ancients understood that life is only a temporary sojourn in this world, and Death a temporary departure. In our short time here, we should listen to our own voices and follow our own hearts”

— Lieh Tzu

[scififanpl-blog]

"Halo Evolutions: Essential Tales of the Halo Universe: II" by Various Authors

“Halo Evolutions: Essential Tales of the Halo Universe: II” by Various Authors

Halo Evolutions: Essential Tales of the Halo Universe: 2 is a collection of short stories set in the beloved Halo universe. Like the first volume, this book features a diverse array of stories that explore various aspects of the Halo universe, including its characters, settings, and events. One of the standout features of this book is the high quality of the stories it contains. Each story is…

[mountain-sage]

There are two types of people: one who talks about God, he is the theologian; one who talks God, he is the mystic. Lieh Tzu is a mystic.

The man who talks about God has not known God. Otherwise why should he 'talk about'? The 'about' shows his ignorance. When a man talks God he has experienced. Then God is not a theory to be proved, disproved no; then God is his very life: to be lived.

Osho

[libertariantaoist]

https://www.libertariantaoist.com/?p=9336

DAILY SELECTIONS FROM LAO-TZU’S TAO TE CHING — NOVEMBER 23, 2023

“The valley spirit that doesn’t die we call the dark womb the dark womb’s mouth we call the source of Heaven and Earth as elusive as gossamer silk and yet it can’t be exhausted”

-Lao-tzu- (Taoteching, verse 6, translation by Red Pine)

THE SHANHAICHING says, “The Valley Spirit of Morning Light is a black and yellow, eight-footed, eight-tailed, eight-headed animal with a human face” (9). The Shanhaiching’s “valley spirit’ is the moon, which runs ahead of the sun during the last eight days of its thirty-day cycle, lags behind during the first eight days, and faces the sun during its eight days of glory. For the remaining days of the month, it’s too close to the sun to be visible. Like many other cultures, the ancient Chinese viewed the moon as the embodiment of the female element of creation.

WANG PI says, “The valley is what is in the middle, what contains nothing, no form, no shadow, no obstruction. It occupies the lowest point, remains motionless, and does not decay. All things depend on it for their development, but no one sees its shape.”

YEN FU says, “Because it is empty, we call it a ‘valley.’ Because there is no limit to its responsiveness, we call it a ‘spirit.’ Because it is inexhaustible, we say ‘it doesn’t die.’ These three are the virtues of the Tao.”

SU CH’E says, “A valley is empty but has form. A valley spirit is empty but has no form. What is empty and has no form is not alive. So how can it die? ‘Valley spirit’ refers to its virtue. ‘Dark womb’ refers to its capacity. This womb gives birth to the ten thousand things, and we call it ‘dark’ because we see it give birth but not how it gives birth.”

HSUEH HUI says, “The words Lao-tzu chooses are often determined by the demands of rhyme and should not be restricted to their primary meaning. Thus, p’in [female animal] can also be read p’in [womb].”

HO-SHANG KUNG says, “The valley is what nourishes. Those able to nourish their spirit do not die. ‘Spirit means the spirits of the five organs: the gall bladder, the heart, the kidneys, and the spleen. When these five are injured, the five spirits leave. ‘Dark’ refers to Heaven. In a person, this means the nose, which links us with Heaven. ‘Womb’ refers to Earth. In a person, this means the mouth, which links us with Earth. The breath that passes through our nose and mouth should be finer than gossamer silk and barely noticeable, as if it weren’t actually present. It should be relaxed and never strained or exhausted.”

WU CH’ENG says, “The empty valley is where spirits dwell, where breath isn’t exhausted. Who relaxes their breath increases their vitality. Who strains their breath soon expires.”

TE-CH’ING says, “Purposeful action leads to exhaustion. The Tao is empty and acts without purpose. Hence, it can’t be exhausted.”

SUNG CH’ANG-HSING says, “The valley spirit, the dark womb, the source of Heaven and Earth all act without acting. That we don’t see them doesn’t mean they don’t exist.”

LIU CHING says, “It’s like the silk of a silkworm or the web of a spider: hard to distinguish and hard to grab. But then, it isn’t Humankind who uses it. Only the spirit can use it.”

TU TAO-CHIEN says, “This verse also appears in Liehtzu: 1.1, where it is attributed to the Yellow Emperor instead of Lao-tzu. Lao-tzu frequently incorporates passages from ancient texts. We see their traces in ‘thus the sage proclaims’ or ‘hence the ancients say.’ Thus Confucius said, ‘I don’t create. I only relate’ [Lunyu: 7.1]”.

LIEH-TZU says, “What creates life is not itself alive” (Liehtzu: 1.1).

[canesenzafissadimora]

Alcune persone pensano di poter trovare soddisfazione nel buon cibo, nei bei vestiti, nella musica vivace e nel piacere sessuale. Tuttavia, quando hanno tutte queste cose, non sono soddisfatte. Si rendono conto che la felicità non è semplicemente saziare i propri bisogni materiali. Pertanto, la società ha istituito un sistema di “ricompense” che vanno oltre i beni materiali.

Queste includono titoli, riconoscimento sociale, status e potere politico, il tutto avvolto in un bel pacchetto chiamato “autorealizzazione”.

Attratti da questi premi e spinti dalla pressione sociale, le persone trascorrono la loro breve esistenza affaticando corpo e mente per inseguire tali obiettivi. Forse questo dà loro la sensazione di aver ottenuto qualcosa nella loro vita, ma in realtà hanno sacrificato molto nella vita.

Non possono più vedere, ascoltare, agire, sentire o pensare col loro cuore. Tutto ciò che fanno è regolato dal fatto che con le loro azioni possano ottenere guadagni sociali oppure no.

Alla fine, hanno passato la loro intera esistenza seguendo le richieste degli altri, senza aver mai vissuto una vita propria.

Quanto è diversa questa vita da quella di uno schiavo o di un prigioniero?

Lieh-tzu

[alittlebitoftruthcan]

The world moves in a wheel. The Sanskrit word for ‘the world’ is SAMSARA. Samsara means the wheel. The wheel is big: one circle is completed in twenty-five centuries. Twenty-five centuries before Pythagoras, Atlantis committed suicide—out of man’s own scientific growth. But without wisdom, scientific growth is dangerous. It is putting a sword in the hands of a child. Now twenty-five centuries have passed since Pythagoras. Again the world is in a chaos. Again the wheel has come to the same point—it always comes to the same point. It takes twenty-five centuries for this moment to happen. After each twenty-five centuries the world comes into a state of great chaos. Man becomes uprooted, starts feeling meaningless. All the values of life disappear. A great darkness surrounds. Sense of direction is lost. One simply feels accidental. There seems to be no purpose, no significance. Life seems to be just a by-product of chance. It seems existence does not care for you. It seems there is no life after death. It seems whatsoever you do is futile, routine, mechanical. All seems to be pointless. These times of chaos, disorder, can either be a great curse, as it happened in Atlantis, or they can prove a quantum leap in human growth. It depends on how we use them. It is only in such great times of chaos that great stars are born. Pythagoras was not alone. In Greece, Pythagoras and Heraclitus were born. In India, Buddha and Mahavira and many others. In China, Lao Tzu, Chuang Tzu, Confucius, Mencius, Lieh Tzu, and many more. In Iran, Zarathustra. In the brahmin tradition, many great Upanishadic seers. In the world of Judaism, Moses… All these people, these great Masters were born at a certain stage in human history—twenty-five centuries ago. Now we are again in a great chaos, and man’s fate will depend on what we do. Either we will destroy ourselves like the civilization that destroyed itself in Atlantis—the whole world will become a Hiroshima; we will be drowned in our own knowledge; in our own science we will commit suicide, a collective suicide. A few, a Noah and a few of his followers, may be saved, or may not be… Or, there is a possibility that we can take a quantum leap. Either man can commit suicide, or man can be reborn. Both doors are open. If such times can create people like Heraclitus and Lao Tzu and Zarathustra and Pythagoras and Buddha and Confucius, why can they not create a great humanity? They can. But we go on missing the opportunity. The ordinary masses live in such unconsciousness that they can’t see even a few steps ahead. They are blind. And they are the majority! The coming twenty-five years, the last part of this century, is going to be of IMMENSE value. If we can create a great momentum in the world for meditation, for the inward journey, for tranquility, for stillness, for love, for God… if we can create a space in these coming twenty-five years for God to happen to many many people, humanity will have a new birth, a resurrection. A new man will be born. And once you miss THESE times, then for twenty-five centuries again you will remain the same. A few people will achieve enlightenment, but it will remain only for a few people. Here and there, once in a while, a person will become alert and aware and divine. But the greater part of humanity goes on lagging behind—in darkness, in utter darkness, in absolute misery. The greater part of humanity goes on living in hell. But these moments when chaos spreads and man loses his roots in the past, becomes unhinged from the past, are great moments. If we can learn something from the past history, if we can learn something from Pythagoras…

Osho (Philosophia Perennis, Vol. 1)

[cashmerequillen]

When two things occur successively we call them cause and effect if we believe one event made the other one happen. If we think one event is the response to the other, we call it a reaction. If we feel that the two incidents are not related, we call it a mere coincidence. If we think someone deserved what happened, we call it retribution or reward, depending on whether the event was negative or positive for the recipient. If we cannot find a reason for the two events' occurring simultaneously or in close proximity, we call it an accident. Therefore, how we explain coincidences depends on how we see the world. Is everything connected, so that events create resonances like ripples across a net? Or do things merely co-occur and we give meaning to these co-occurrences based on our belief system? Lieh-tzu's answer: It's all in how you think. #AsYouWere https://www.instagram.com/p/CpRrWY1gpox/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[valsedelesruines]

Lieh Tzu, picnicking beside the road, saw a hundred-year-old skull. Lifting it from the weeds, he fingered it and said, 'Only you and I know not-yet-being-dead and not-yet-being-alive. Are you really grieving? Am I happy?

Chuang Tzu

[yhadsa]

Some people think they can find satisfaction in good food, fine clothes, lively music, and sexual pleasure. However, when they have all these things, they are not satisfied. They realize happiness is not simply having their material needs met. Thus, society has set up a system of rewards that go beyond material goods. These include titles, social recognition, status, and political power, all wrapped up in a package called self-fulfillment. Attracted by these prizes and goaded on by social pressure, people spend their short lives tiring body and mind to chase after these goals. Perhaps this gives them the feeling that they have achieved something in their lives, but in reality they have sacrificed a lot in life. They can no longer see, hear, act, feel, or think from their hearts. Everything they do is dictated by whether it can get them social gains. In the end, they've spent their lives following other people's demands and never lived a life of their own. How different is this from the life of a slave or a prisoner?

[forbidden-sorcery]

Having once come into life regard it and let it pass; mark its desires and wishes, and so wait death. When death comes, disregard it and let it come. Mark what it brings you, and be drifted away to annihilation.

Yang Chu, in the Lieh-tzu

[realtaoism]

"The very name Tao is only adopted for convenience sake... Tao is beyond material existence... it may be transmitted, but it cannot be received (possessed). It may be attained but cannot be seen. It exists prior to Heaven and Earth, and, indeed, for all eternity it is at the Zenith but is not high; it is beneath the Nadir, but it is not low. It is prior to Heaven and Earth, but is not ancient. It is older than the most ancient, but it is not old." "Tao cannot be heard. Heard it is not Tao. It cannot be seen. Seen it is not Tao." Of it Lieh Tzu wrote, That which engenders all things is itself unengendered; that by which all things are evolved is itself untouched by evolution. Self-engendered, self-evolved, it has in itself the elements of substance, appearance, wisdom, strength, dispersion and cessation. Yet it would be a mistake to call it by any of these names," for "Tao makes things what they are, but it is not itself a thing. Nothing can produce Tao, yet everything has Tao within it." Jean C Cooper https://www.instagram.com/p/CiDRiuQoo7H/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[mountain-sage]

There is a Taoist story:

Duke Huan, seated above in his hall was once reading a book, and the wheelwright Pien was making a wheel below it. Laying aside his hammer and chisel, Pien went up the steps and said 'I venture to ask your Grace what words you are reading?'

The duke said 'The words of the sages.'

'Are those sages alive?' P'ien continued.

'They are dead' was the reply.

'Then' said Pien 'what you, my ruler, are reading are only the dregs and sediments of those old men.'

The duke said 'How should you, a wheelwright, have anything to say about the book I am reading? If you can explain yourself, very well; if you cannot, you will have to die. I will kill you.' He was very angry. This was too much! A wheelwright coming to the prince and saying

'Whatsoever you are reading is nothing but the dregs and sediments of those old dead men!'

The wheelwright said 'Your servant will look at the thing from the point of view of his own art. In making a wheel, if I proceed gently, that is pleasant enough but the workmanship is not strong; if I proceed violently, that is toilsome and the joinings do not fit. If the movements of my hand are neither too gentle nor too violent, the idea in my mind is realised.

But I cannot tell how to do this by word of mouth.'

Neither too violent, nor too gentle - just in the middle, balanced....

And the wheelwright said 'But I cannot tell how to do this by word of mouth, how to attain this absolute midpoint between effort and effortlessness, between doing and non-doing.

I cannot say how to do this by word of mouth; there is a knack to it, but still I cannot say it. I know it, still I cannot say it. I cannot teach the knack to my son even to my son nor can my son learn it from me. There is no way to teach it and there is no way to learn it. Learning and teaching, teaching and learning, can be only of the outer things -- it is an inner feel. Thus it is that I am in my seventieth year, and am still making wheels in my old age. But these ancients, and what it was not possible for them to convey, are dead and gone. So then what you, my ruler, are reading is but their dregs and sediments!'

He is saying 'I am alive, I know the knack of it, still I cannot convey it, I cannot transfer my knowledge. And I am alive and I know, and I love my son and I would like.... And I am so old, in my seventieth year, and still I have to work. If I could teach my son I would retire.

But if while alive I cannot convey it, how can these old sages who are dead convey something that can only be experienced? It cannot be conveyed when the sage is alive, so how can it be conveyed when the sage has been gone for centuries? You are just wasting your time, sir' he said. 'This is all rubbish.'

This old man is a man of Tao. Taoists have beautiful parables like these: an ordinary man, a poor man, a wheelwright nobody knows about him, but he has an insight. The whole approach of Taoism is that only experience can give you the clue. Questions can be asked, questions can be answered, but they are of no ultimate value. You have to eat to know the taste, you have to love to know what love is. There is no way to convey it, that's why, rather than answer, Lieh Tzu said 'BEST BE STILL...'.

Yes, value is not the name for it. Be still. And what does he mean by Be still"? You are continuously wavering, you are never still. Even when you sit like a statue you are wavering.

Your mind is continuously running in all directions, your inner flame is never unwavering. It is continuously going this side, that side; through one desire or another, you are being pulled and pushed. When there is no desire -- not even the desire to achieve God. then one is still.

When all desires are negated, that is the meaning of VIA NEGATIVA. When all desires are negated, suddenly you are still. Nowhere to go, nowhere to move. negated, suddenly you are still. Nowhere to go, nowhere to move. No wind is blowing.

Desire is the wind that goes on blowing inside you and keeps your inner flame wavering, that's why you are not still. Even in your sleep you are not still. Even while you are sitting in meditation, silently, you are not still.

the other day somebody was asking: 'In meditation thoughts don't stop, they continue in fact, they come more. When you are engaged in your ordinary, day-to-day life they don't come so much, you are engaged, involved. But when you are sitting, doing nothing, then your whole energy moves into thoughts. Then a great storm arises in your being: thoughts and thoughts, and sometimes you cannot even believe what type of thoughts!

Memories of the past: thirty years ago something had happened, suddenly it bubbles up. Thoughts cannot be stopped directly - let it be very deeply understood. Let it sink in your being: Thoughts cannot be stopped directly because thoughts are nothing but the servants of desires. When desire is there, you cannot stop thoughts. The master is there the servants are bound to follow.

It is not a question of the thought, it is a question of the desire. Just analyse your thoughts and you will always find that thoughts are the servants, and hidden somewhere is the master, protected by the servants. Kill the master and the servants disappear. Go on killing the servants and nothing will happen -- the master will go on bringing new servants. When the master is alive he will go on bringing new servants; you can go on killing the old, he will supply new ones.

Thoughts never stop on their own. They stop only when the desiring mind disappears.

That is the meaning of BEST BE STILL... That is the Taoist way of saying: Be desireless.

Hence they say: Even the desire to know God, to reach God, is a barrier. Just be still, with no desire, as if nothing has to be done, as if nothing is going to happen. Be absolutely hopeless, because hope is nothing but a new name for desire. Hope is a beautiful name for desire.

Desire as a name is a little ugly, desire is a little naked, nude. Hope is dressed desire. Be hopeless. Nothing is going to happen. Nothing ever happens. There is no future, so drop all ambition. Only this moment exists, so don't rush hither and thither; it is pointless, it is neurotic, it is mad. Just relax in this moment, just be. That is the meaning of ‘BEST BE STILL’

And the difference has to be understood. If you go to a Yoga master he will tell you how to be still. He will tell you what posture will help you to be still, how to breathe, in what rhythm stillness will be easier, whether to close the eyes completely or just to look at the tip of your nose. He will give you indications, hints, he will supply you with a map.

Taoists don't have any maps. They say: If you try a particular posture and you look at your nose and you breathe in a certain way, you will impose a certain stillness which is not true. It is cultivated, it is a practised thing, it is false. The true stillness has nothing to do with any practice. The true stillness does not come out of exercise. The true stillness comes out of understanding the understanding that desire is futile.

Osho

[libertariantaoist]

DAILY SELECTIONS FROM LAO-TZU’S TAO TE CHING — DECEMBER 23, 2022

“When people are born they are soft and weak when they perish they are hard and stiff when plants shoot forth they are supple and tender when they die they are withered and dry thus it is said the hard and stiff are followers of death the soft and weak are followers of life when an army becomes stiff it suffers defeat when a plant becomes stiff it snaps the hard and stiff dwell below the soft and weak dwell above” -Lao-tzu- (Taoteching, verse 76, translation by Red Pine) HO-SHANG KUNG says, “When people are born, they contain breath and spirit. This is why they are soft. When they die, their breath ceases and their spirit disappears. This is why they are hard.” WU CH’ENG says, “Seeing that the living are soft and the dead are hard, we can infer that those whose virtue is hard and those whose actions are forceful die before their time, while those who are soft and weak are able to preserve their lives.” LI HSI-CHAI says, “Although the soft and weak aren’t the same as the Tao, they approach its absence of effort. Hence, they aren’t far from the Tao. Although the hard and stiff aren’t outside the Tao, they involve effort. Hence, they lead people away from it.” LIEH-TZU says, “The world has a path of perennial victory and a path of perennial defeat. The path of perennial victory is weakness. The path of perennial defeat is strength. These two are easy to recognize, but people remain oblivious to them” (Liehtzu:2.17). LAO-TZU says, “The weak conquer the strong” (Taoteching: 36). WANG CHEN says, “It isn’t hard for an army to achieve victory. But it is hard to hold on to victory. There is no great army that has not brought on its own defeat through its victories.” HSI T’UNG says, “When a plant becomes stiff, it loses its flexibility and becomes easy to break.” WANG P’ANG says, “In terms of yin and yang, yin comes before and yang comes after. In terms of Heaven and earth, Heaven is exalted and Earth is humble. In terms of Virtue, the soft and weak overcome the hard and stiff. But in terms of material things, the hard and stiff control the soft and weak. The people of this world only see things. They don’t understand Virtue.” SU CH’E says, “As long as it contains empty breath, the body does not suffer from rigidity. As long as they reflect perfect reason, actions are not burdened by severity. According to the unchanging principle of things, the refined rises to the top, while the coarse sinks to the bottom. The refined is soft and weak, while the coarse is hard and stiff.” LI JUNG says, “The living belong above. The dead belong below.” And RED PINE adds, “How different this world would be if our leaders spent as much time in their gardens as they do in their war rooms.”

[gianlucavisconti]

QUANDO RESISTERE E QUANDO CEDERE

«La forza dovrebbe sempre essere accompagnata dalla morbidezza. Se resisti troppo, ti spezzerai.

Così, la persona forte sa quando usare la forza e quando cedere, e la fortuna e il disastro dipendono dal fatto che tu sappia come e quando cedere».

(Lieh-tzu)

via M° Roberto Vallone

[badbuddhism]

The essential nature of the original human being has no perversion or defilement, but after long immersion in things it easily changes, so we forget our roots and conform to a seeming nature. The essential nature of water likes clarity, but gravel pollutes it. The essential nature of humanity likes peace, but habitual desires damage it. Only sages can leave things and return to self. Therefore sages do not use knowledge to exploit things and do not let desires disrupt harmony.

- Lieh-tzu