balance
        

Summer withered grass to flaxen yellow,
Scorched leaves to brittle paper,
Dried lakes to cracked clay.
Chill autumn brought little relief—
Only frosted the devastation.
     But with the early gentle rains,
     The earth’s fissures softened
     And dessicated plants began to dissolve.
Slowly, balance comes once again.

Many cultures describe old people as having seen many winters. Those elders have seen many cycles come and go, and their wisdom comes from long observation of life’s rising and falling.

If we have a long-range view, then we realize that equilibrium comes in the course of nature’s progression. Nature does not achieve balance by keeping to one level. Rather, elements and seasons alternate with one another in succession. Balance, as defined by Tao, is not stasis but a dynamic process of many overlapping alternations; even if some phases seem wildly excessive, they are balanced by others.

Everything has its place. Everything has its season. As events turn, balance is to know what is here, what is coming, and how to be in perfect harmony with it. Then one attains a state of sublimity that cannot be challenged.

balance
365 Tao
daily meditations
Deng Ming-Dao (author)
ISBN 0-06-250223-9

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  FU BAO SHI

                  
WIN OR LOSE JUST A MOMENT FROM TODAY TO ANCIENT TIME
 (this is the artist’s title of the work)

see FU BAO SHI for a complete biography of this artist and his work
http://www.chinafinearts.com/ 

**Suggested reading of daoist texts ancient poetry and contemporary Chinese literature is available at the site.

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