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To know Tao

by Loy Ching-Yuen
(1873 - 1960) Timeline

English version by
Thomas Cleary

Original Language
Chinese

Taoist
20th Century

To know Tao
meditate
and still the mind.
Knowledge comes with perseverance.

The Way is neither full nor empty;
a modest and quiet nature understands this.
The empty vessel, the uncarved block;
nothing is more mysterious.

When enlightenment arrives
don't talk too much about it;
just live it in your own way.
With humility and depth, rewards come naturally.

The fragrance of blossoms soon passes;
the ripeness of fruit is gone in a twinkling.
Our time in this world is so short,
better to avoid regret:
Miss no opportunity to savor the ineffable.

Like a golden beacon signaling on a moonless night,
Tao guides our passage through this transitory realm.
In moments of darkness and pain
remember all is cyclical.
Sit quietly behind your wooden door:
Spring will come again.

 

 

-- from The Essential Mystics: Selections from the World's Great Wisdom Traditions, Edited by Andrew Harvey

Amazon.com

 

Themes

  Garden
  Night
  Pain and Wounding
  Silence
  Spring Blossom


Recommended Books


The Book of the Heart: Embracing the Tao, by Loy Ching-Yuen
The Essential Mystics: Selections from the World's Great Wisdom Traditions, Edited by Andrew Harvey
The Supreme Way: Inner Teachings of the Southern Mountain Tao, by Loy Ching-Yuen

 

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Ivan M. Granger's original poetry, stories and commentaries are Copyright © 2002 - 2011 by Ivan M. Granger.
All other material is copyrighted by the respective authors, translators and/or publishers.