#ching poems on Hello Poetry

Marta Mar 2018

I am sorry Mr Confucius
I have broken the world

It fell apart into ten thousand pieces
of a crystal glass
It dissolved into ten thousand grains
of a dry sand castle
It frayed into ten thousand threads
of a silk cloth

Words became sounds with no meaning
Hugs turned into meaningless sensations
Faces changed into mute colours

The terrifying truth of deep reality
The loneliness of complete unification

The old sages lied
There is no peace in truth

You were right Mr Confucius
The woman's job is to weave

I’m clearly not an original in this sentiment:
“To each his suff'rings: all are men,
         Condemn'd alike to groan,
The tender for another's pain;
         Th' unfeeling for his own.
Yet ah! why should they know their fate?
Since sorrow never comes too late,
         And happiness too swiftly flies.
Thought would destroy their paradise.
No more; where ignorance is bliss,
       'Tis folly to be wise.”
Thomas Gray, 1742

#tao #te #ching

Anubis the Philosomancer Jan 2016

Tao Te Ching - 41

A masterful One hearing of the Tao
immediately begins to embody it.

An average One hearing of the Tao
half believes it and half doubts it.

A foolish One hearing of the Tao
laughs out loud, and yet
should fools not laugh,
it wouldn't be the Tao!

Thus t'is writ:
The path into the light seems dark,
the path forward seems to go back,
the direct path seems long,
true power seems weak,
true purity seems tarnished,
true steadfastness seems changeable,
true clarity seems obscure,
the greatest seem unsophisticated,
the greatest love seems indifferent,
the greatest wisdom seems childish.

The Tao is nowhere to be found,
yet it nourishes and completes all things.

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Reiterated slightly from Stephen Mitchell's iteration.

Implications abound
from ethics to psychology
and onward to quantum physics,
and every quanta betwixt and beyond!

#love #power #path #clarity #wisdom #harmony #tao #ching #te #taoism

Matt Jun 2015

Excerpt From The Tao Te Ching

The sage had no mind of his own
He is aware of the needs of others

The sage is shy and humble

All things arise from Tao
They are nourished by nature

The beginning of the universe
Is the mother of all things

Keep your mouth shut
Guard the senses

Using the outer light
Return to insight

What is firmly established cannot be uprooted
Cultivate virtue in yourself

His bones are soft
His muscles weak
But his grip his strong

It is not wise to rush about

If too much energy is used
Exhaustion follows

Those who know do not talk
Those who talk do not know

#tao #ching #te

Matt May 2015

Excerpts From The Tao Te Ching

He who stays where he is endures

To die but not to perish
Is to be eternally present

The great Tao flows everywhere
It fulfills its purpose silently
And makes no claim

It nourishes the 10,000 things
And yet is not their lord
The 10,000 things return to it
Yet it is not their lord

It does not "show" greatness
And is therefore truly great

All men will come to him
Who keeps to the One

It cannot be seen
It cannot be heard
And yet, it cannot be exhausted

Soft and weak
Overcome hard and strong

Tao abides in non action
Yet nothing is left undone

Without form there is no desire
Without desire
There is tranquility
And in this way
All things will be at peace

The truly good man is not aware of his goodness
And is therefore good

A truly good man does nothing
And leaves nothing undone

When a truly kind man does something
He leaves nothing undone

The sky is whole and clear
The earth is whole and firm
The spirit is whole and strong

The clarity of the sky prevents it's falling
The firmness of the earth prevents its splitting
The strength of the spirit prevents its being used up

Therefore the humble is the root of the noble
The low is the foundation of the high

#tao #ching #te

— The End —