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Arriving at emptiness is reaching an extreme. Guarding what's at neither extreme requires diligence. All living things, side by side, appear suddenly; Resting, as though waiting to return to something. Nature and Dao go round and round, each one reverting to where they began. That is called being quiet and calm. It's correctly described as returning to destiny. Returning to destiny constantly. This knowledge is always obvious. Ignorance of it will always cause recklessness. Recklessness will cause sudden calamities. This knowledge will always allow endurance; Endurance, then equanimity; Equanimity, then sovereignty; Sovereignty, then naturalness; Naturalness, then connection to Dao; Connection to Dao, then the disappearance of the body isn't at jeopardy.   Commentary: 16 ~ Destiny The previous chapter of The Laozi suggested it might be good for us to accept our own ignorance. But now we’re reminded that to see ourselves as being completely empty with no thoughts or opinions whatsoever isn’t some sort of goal. Being completely empty of everything is a pretty drastic extreme. So, let’s check out how we can not go to the extreme of being completely empty - or being filled up with what we think we know. How does destiny play a part in it? -Arriving at emptiness is reaching an extreme. -Guarding what's at neither extreme requires diligence. When confronted with the idea of destiny or fate, it might seem that everything that happens is totally our of our control. We might just want to throw our hands up in the air, empty ourselves of any responsibility and emotions, and become numb observers of life. This kind of attitude is going to an extreme, isn't it? The other extreme that could be taken is to think we have the ability to change anything we want to by denying that destiny or fate exist. Can't there be a happy medium between the two? Being able to recognize the things we can change as opposed to those we can't requires us to take a realistic look at the tools we've been given in life - and learning how to best use them. -All living things, side by side, appear suddenly; -Resting, as though waiting to return to something. We burst forth into this life the same way any other creature does. We each may have different shapes and forms, but essentially we're the same: living creatures who are sustained by our environment. After we're born, all of us humans spend this time together, and seem to spend a lot of time waiting.............for what? For something to happen? -Nature and Dao go round and round, each one reverting to where they began. -That is called being quiet and calm. -It's correctly described as returning to destiny. -Returning to destiny constantly. By observing the natural rotation of the planets and the seasons, we can see that things are always revolving. They usually end up turning full circle and returning repeatedly to where they started. There's a sense of calmness in knowing that without any effort the natural universe progresses. These natural movements can be called Destiny. If a planet went out of orbit, it wouldn't survive. If the seasons didn't change, life wouldn't go on. -This knowledge is always obvious. -Ignorance of it will always cause recklessness. -Recklessness will cause sudden calamities. It doesn't take a nuclear physicist to see that destiny plays a part in all our lives. We may not know WHY something is happening to us, but we usually find a way to adapt. However, if we ignore the hand of cards destiny has dealt us, we can cause all sorts of unnatural calamities to occur. If you try to accomplish something destiny hasn’t given you tools to accomplish, you’ll usually fail - or constantly be waiting for someone to recognize you don’t really know what you’re doing. If you work with the tools destiny has given you, even if you’re not sure how to do something, you’ll always succeed. How can you find out which tools destiny has given you? -This knowledge will always allow endurance; -Endurance, then equanimity; -Equanimity, then sovereignty; -Sovereignty, then naturalness; -Naturalness, then connection to Dao; -Connection to Dao, then the disappearance of the body isn't at jeopardy. SWhen you can endure at a task - feeling like what you’re doing is enjoyable rather than something you feel you have to slog through - you’ve found what destiny has given you. Do you remember back to when you were a child and were completely enjoying yourself - so totally wrapped up in what you were doing that time didn’t seem to exist? You might have been drawing, or taking something apart and putting it back together, or making clothes for your doll, or playing a musical instrument, or going for a hike in the woods..... anything that you felt so involved with that what you did just seemed to come naturally from inside of you. At some point, people like your parents or a teachers might tell you that you have your head in the clouds, and you shouldnt be doing those things because you need to find an occupation that would allow you to get all the things they think are valuable in life. Will you let go of what destiny has provided you with to fulfill someone else’s ideas of what you should do? If you find something you can endure at, without feeling like it’s a chore, then your mind, your body and your spirit have connected with your destiny and everything falls into place. When everything falls into place like that, you’ve gotten the ability to be really good at what you do. When you feel like you’re really good at what you do, it just feels completely natural. When you’re being natural, you’ve found the process of Dao. If you make a connection to the process of Dao, not only will you live out your life to its natural end because you’re not going through unnecessary stress, but you won’t be regretting that you didn’t do what makes you happy. Your destiny. Alternate translation: If you try to turn yourself into a blank sheet of paper, that’s pretty extreme. Trying not to be completely blank or competely filled up can be tough. We’re all in this togther. It seems like we keep waiting for something to happen. Everything moves in cycles - including the seasons and Dao. There’s no stress in their movements.. They just follow their course. They follow it constantly. Realizing that doesn’t take much thinking. If you try to go against it, you’re being ridiculous. When you’re being ridiculous, you bring all kinds of problems to yourself. Being able to keep going on doesn’t take much thinking. If you see that you’ve been able to go on, everything must have actually been working with you. If everything has been working with you, you must have a place here. If you have a place here, then there’s no reason to try to be what you’re not. If you stop trying to be what you’re not, you can more easily connect to the process of Dao. If you can connect to that process, you wouldn’t spend time worrying about how you’ll lose your body. Dao Is Open Site Map | BY: Nina | Guodian Laozi | DDJ Concordance | Comparisons | Who was Laozi | | Return Home | Laozi's Dao De Jing | Your Dao De Jing | Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu) | Links | Meditation | Dao (Tao) is Open Forum | Book List | Other Stuff | |
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