The Middle Path
It is interesting that Co-Star told you today to
Find the middle path.
while it told me that
Muddying the water makes it seem deep.
I take both as clear hints towards Buddhist and Taoist teachings.
The Middle Way is a very central concept in Buddhist teachings, but it also reminds me of the Tao:
In chapter 5 of the Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu states that:
The Tao is like a bellows:
it is empty yet infinitely capable.
The more you use it, the more it produces;
the more you talk of it, the less you understand.
Hold on to the center.
In chapter 11 he finds other metaphors:
We join spokes together in a wheel,
but it is the center hole
that makes the wagon move.
And advises the reader in chapter 19 to:
just stay at the center of the circle
and let all things take their course.
In chapter 29 he describes further:
The Master sees things as they are,
without trying to control them.
She lets them go their own way,
and resides at the center of the circle.
Makes an interesting conjecture in chapter 32:
If powerful men and women
could remain centered in the Tao,
all things would be in harmony.
The world would become a paradise.
Brings death into the picture in chapter 33:
If you stay in the center
and embrace death with your whole heart,
you will endure forever.
Again describes the Master in chapter 35:
She who is centered in the Tao
can go where she wishes, without danger.
She perceives the universal harmony,
even amid great pain,
because she has found peace in her heart.
And finally touches on “The Way” in chapter 53:
The great Way is easy,
yet people prefer the side paths.
Be aware when things are out of balance.
Stay centered within the Tao
In chapter 15, Lao Tzu uses the metaphor of muddy water:
The ancient Masters were profound and subtle.
Their wisdom was unfathomable.
There is no way to describe it;
all we can describe is their appearance.
They were careful
as someone crossing an iced-over stream.
Alert as a warrior in enemy territory.
Courteous as a guest.
Fluid as melting ice.
Shapable as a block of wood.
Receptive as a valley.
Clear as a glass of water.
Do you have the patience to wait
till your mud settles and the water is clear?
Can you remain unmoving
till the right action arises by itself?
Stephen Mitchell goes on to explain this at the end of his book:
till your mud settles:
“Mud” stands for concepts, judgments, desires,expectations—everything that obscures and narrows reality. The Master’s life is pure and placid: predictable like the seasons, obvious like the moon. When our mind/heart becomes transparent, the light of the Tao shinesthrough.
the water is clear: I asked my old teacher, Zen Master Seung Sahn, tocomment on this verse. He said,
Our mind is like a glass of clear water. If we put salt into the water,it becomes salt water; sugar, it becomes sugar water; shit, itbecomes shit water. But originally the water is clear. No thinking,no mind. No mind, no problem.