Tuesday

Tao: colorless

Ruling a great state
is like cooking a small fish
when you govern the world with the Tao
spirits display no powers
their powers do people no harm
not that their powers do people no harm
the sage does people no harm
and neither harms the other
for both rely on Virtue
daodejing #60
translated by Red Pine





Chinese characters for the word "colorless"



snails and whales and riverside tails





What is the difference between erotic and spiritual?
Temples and lovers are equally gaudy.


What's the difference between eroticism and spirituality? Both refer to ecstasy. Both lead to transcendence of the self. Both lead to unification with a larger order. Both are vulnerable to the excesses of perversion, lust, sadism, obsession, and madness. Eroticism and spirituality--the two deepest endeavors of humanity are twins.

Both eroticism and spirituality mean intense involvement in the diversity and color of the world. But there is a higher order, a state where one is holiness itself. Then nothing of the world of color matters to you anymore. The pleasures of the couch will mean nothing. Neither will the glories of the ascetic's efforts mean anything. Only by entering the colorless state of pure, blinding light can there be freedom from the twins.

Meditation changes your consciousness. The type of consciousness that emerges depends on the meditation. You consciousness in turn colors your perceptions of the world around you. There is no such thing as objective reality. You color everything. If you want the highest state of being, aim for consciousness without color.


colorless
Deng Ming-Dao
365 Tao Daily Meditations
isbn 0-06-250223-9
Snail, Whale, Riverspine Tails
© 2006 lisbethwest

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