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To: alt.philosophy.taoism From: sterczyk@unixg.ubc.ca (Spring) Subject: Re: Fishing in the Mysterious Valley Date: Sat, 31 May 1997 21:54:04 -0700 >D9<-----Playing in the sandbox of immanent expression. : ) >Z >-----*Ship-wrecked* in the sandbox of immanent expression : ( hi hi --------------------------------- _Gold from Sand_ The "divine golden medicine" is the most important metaphor for the process of spiritual cultivation in the ancient tradition of integral spiritual development. Are you aware of how much gold can be gathered from tons of sand? In an ordinary life being, there may also be "gold"-- the essence of life. Through the process of spiritual cultivation, one refines oneself, disposing of the sand and retaining the gold. Having obtained the gold, one then has the necessary material for refining the "divine immortal medicine." Spiritual cultivation involves removing the coarse and keeping what is truly precious. This process involves a great deal of work. Many teachings emphasize throwing away what is coarse, but too often they throw away the essence at the same time. Some teachings even use that essence in exchange for what is false. These kinds of teachings are very popular in today's world. True cultivation requires much time and daily practice, whereas conceptual achievement can be immediate. - Hua-Ching Ni, from _Entering the Tao_ ------------------------------------ and from the same source, for those of you who are Chaung Tzu fans out there, especially z and george henry... a tribute to past days... _Way to Go_ For worldly problems and complications there is only one way to go. I will tell you a story which is a Taoist treasure that can be applied to all the troubles of modern life. Cook Ting was cutting an ox after a sacrifice to be used as food for Lord Wen of Hui. At every touch of the hand, every heave of the shoulder, every move of the feet, every bend of the knee, he slipped the knife along effortlessly and all was in perfect rhythm as though he were performing the dance of the mulberry grove to the flow of the melody of Yao's music. "Ah, this is marvelous," said Lord Wen of Hui. "Imagine skill reaching such heights!" Cook Ting laid down his knife and replied, "What I care about is the natural path which goes beyond skill. When I first began cutting oxen, all I could see was the ox itself. After three years I no longer saw the whole ox. Now I go at it through intuition. Perception and understanding have come to a stop and intuition moves where it wants. I go along with the natural construction, strike in the big hollow places, guide the knife through large openings, and follow things as they are. So I never touch the smallest ligament or tendon, much less the main joints. "A good cook changes knives once a year, because he cuts. A mediocre cook changes his once a month, because he hacks. I've had this knife of mine for nineteen years and I've cut thousands of oxen with it, yet the blade is a good as new." "There are spaces between the joints, and the blade of the knife is just as if it had no thickness really. If you insert what has no thickness into such spaces, then there's plenty of room, more than enough for the blade to play about. And after nineteen years, the blade of my knife is still as good as when it first came from the grindstone. "However, whenever I come to a complicated spot, I size up the difficulties, tell myself to watch out and be careful, keep my eyes on what I as doing, work very slowly and move the knife with the greatest subtlety until the whole thing comes apart like a clod of earth flopping to the ground. I stand there holding the knife and look all around me, my mind completely full with the satisfaction of accomplishing a perfect job, and then I wipe the knife and put it away. "Excellent," said Lord Wen of Hui. "I have heard the words of Cook Ting and learned how to solve the problems of life!" The metaphor of the ox represents the stubbornness of the external world before it is tamed. A Taoist does not hold a passive attitude toward the world. You have seen the picture of Lao Tzu riding the ox. The ox does not ride him! In all circumstances we must be patient and have a clear vision of how to handle any situation. I hope you can do it in the same way Cook Ting deftly carved his ox. --------------------------------- Spring
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