The ego is a monkey catapulting through the jungle.
Totally fascinated by the realm of the senses,
     it swings from one desire to the next,
     one conflict to the next,
     one self-centered idea to the next.
If you threaten it, it actually fears for its life.

Let the monkey go.
Let the senses go.
Let desire go.
Let conflicts go.
Let ideas go.
Let the fiction of life and death go.
Just remain in the center, watching.

And then forget that you are there.
huahuching number ten
translated by Brian Walker




     postioning




Thelma, sister of Louse turkey, her second thanksgiving without pain




Heron stands in the blue estuary,
Solitary, white, unmoving for hours.
A fish! Quick avian darting:
The prey captured.


People always ask how to follow Tao. It is as easy and natural as the heron standing in the water. The bird moves when it must; it does not move when stillness is appropriate.

The secret f its serenity is a type of vigilance, a contemplative state. The heron is not in mere dumbness or sleep. It knows a lucid stillness. It stands unmoving in the flow of the water. It gazes unperturbed and is aware. When Tao brings it something that it needs, it seizes the opportunity without hesitation or deliberation. Then it goes back to its quiescence without disturbing itself or its surroundings. Unless it found the right position in the water's flow and remained patient, it would not have succeeded.

Action in life can be reduced to two factors: positioning and timing. If we are not in the right place at the right time,e we cannot possibly take advantage of what life has to offer us. Almost anything is appropriate if an action is in accord with the time and the place. But we must be vigilant and prepared. Even if the time and the place are right, we can still miss our chance if we do not notice the moment, if we act inadequately, or if we hamper ourselves with doubts and second thoughts. When life presents an opportunity, we must be ready to seize it without hesitation or inhibition. Position is useless without awareness. If we have both, we make no mistakes.


positioning
Deng Ming-Dao
365 Tao
Daily Meditations
ISBN 0.06.250223.09
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"Thelma on Her Second Safe Thanksgiving Day"
©2006 - 2007 lisbethwest            


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