composure
Although they may have to kill
Or suffer themselves to be
killed,
A person of composure remains dispassionate.
Nothing is ever
destroyed,
Nothing is ever
created.
All is infinity.
For most people, killing
is an abhorrence. If they had t kill, they would be horrified and their
emotions would be uncontrollable. Likewise, if they were being
threatened with death, they would be afraid and would struggle to keep
alive.
Both of these situations involve extreme attachment to what we know and
how we wish to remain. Both situations indicate a fundamentally limited
view of the world. We assume that we are truly destroying someone. But
though this body may be slain, the soul cannot be slain. Every soul is
but a part of an infinite, cosmic soul.
You could subtract numerous souls from the world, and the number of
souls would not be diminished. Numerous souls could be born, and the
number of souls would not be augmented. Nothing is truly destroyed, and
nothing is truly born. Only appearances change.
Therefore, people of composure view the transformation of the world
calmly. They do not become alarmed with the different permutations of
phenomena. They know that these are merely outer manifestations of an
indefinable, unlimited, and infinite reality.
composure
365 Tao
daily meditations
Deng Ming-Dao (author)
ISBN 0-06-250223-9
A Stallion,
Late 16th century; Safavid period (1501-1722)
Habib Allah
Iran
Ink, opaque colors and gold on paper;
Page: W. 11 7/8 x H. 8 in. (30.1 x 20.3 cm);
Painting: H. 7 3/4 x W. 5 in. (19.7 x 12.7 cm)
Purchase, Louis E. and Theresa S. Seley Purchase Fund for Islamic Art,
The Edward Joseph Gallagher III Memorial Collection, Edward J.
Gallagher Jr.
Bequest and Richard S. Perkins and Margaret Mushekian Gifts, 1992
(1992.51)
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Description
The brilliant bit of arabesque pattern in gold on the saddlecloth of
this elegant stallion is an example of the "saz" style, which is
distinguished by gracefully curving leaves with feathered edges,
fantastic complex blossoms derived from Chinese prototypes, and
elaborate combinations of vegetal forms, such as curved leaves half
covering blossoms. This style, named for the "saz" (reed) pen employed
in related drawings that were especially popular in Ottoman Turkey,
Iran and the Muslim courts of India, can be traced to
Chinese-influenced Turkmen drawings of the fifteenth century.
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