Those who wish to embody the Tao should embrace all things.
To embrace all things means first that one holds no
     anger or resistance toward any idea or thing,
     living or dead,
     formed or formless.
Acceptance is the very essence of the Tao.

To embrace all things means also that one rids oneself
     of any concepts of separation: male and female, self
     and others, life and death.
Division is contrary to the nature of the Tao.

Foregoing antagonism and separation, one enters into
     the harmonious oneness of all things.
huahuching #3
translated by Brian Walker




    sound


winter day, placid, snowcovered pines



Wind in the cave:
Movement in stillness.
Power in silence.



In a cave, all outer sounds are smothered by rock and earth, but this makes the sounds of one's own heartbeat and breath audible. In the same way, contemplative stillness turns us away from everyday clamor but allows us to hear the subtle in our own lives.

When listening not with the ear but with the  spirit, one can perceive the subtle sound. By entering into that sound, we enter into supreme purity. That is why so many religious traditions pray, sing, or chant as a prelude to silence. They understand that the repetition and absorption of sound leads to sacredness itself.

The deepest sound is silence. This may seem paradoxical only if we regard silence as an absence of life and vibration. But for a meditator, silence is  sound unified with all of its opposites. It is both sound and soundlessness, and it is this confluence that the power of meditation emerges.


sound
Deng Ming-Dao
365 Tao
Daily Meditations
ISBN 0.06.250223.9
SAME SHOT, DIFFERENT DAY (BLIZZARD 12-20-06
Same shot - different day.
Blizzard 12-20-2006

Winter Silence 
© 2007 lisbethwest

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