05 October 2005
Having a deep moment - reflect
"When the celestial leads the earthly, the celestial is not overcome by the earthly but rather controls the earthly. Practicing obedience in danger is the way to prepare against misery. The reason people have misery is that they are able to handle favorable situations but not unfavorable situations. If one can deal with unfavorable situations harmoniously, then even unfavorable situations become acceptable, and there is no missery."
"When people are not able to make progress on the path of sages, it is because they are competitive and contentious, emotional and greedy, not knowing how to improve themselves and correct their errors."
"If one is incapable of self-examination, one will not have self-mastery, and will be subject to manipulation; every step, will entail danger and difficulty, will involve injury to life. Only by self-examination can one abondon the false and enter the real; not being deluded by externals, with every step one's feet then tread the real ground and virtue can be culivated."
"When virtue is cultivated, one's nature is stabilized and feelings are forgotten, so that one is unshakable and unwavering as a mountain. Not halted by obstacles, one cannot be injured by difficulties and troubles."
"Using virtue to ward off danger, danger dissolves; using danger to cultivate character, virtuous action grows daily more lofty. So obstacles can not faze one - indeed, it is after being halted by obstacles that one can cultivate character and virtue. If students can recognize the reality of self-examination, there is no need to worry about halting, and no need to worry about inability to develop virtue."
"The human body is like a country, and the mind is like the ruler; the vitality, spirit, nature, feeling, and energy in the body are like the people; benevolence, justice, courtesy, knowledge, and truthfulness in the 'nature' are like the masses. These people, these masses, are the bases of human life, and must be protected and cared for. Therefore the root is stabilized by embracing the people, external afflictions are prevented by nurturing the masses."
"Inward mastery protects one from externals; managing externals affords one inner peace."
"Just as the sun sets and also rises, in the same way people can obscure their good qualities and also can illumine them."
"To illumine means to make manifest; the quality of enlightenment is the spiritual nature of innate knowledge and innate capacity that is fundamental to humankind. This nature is originally truly open, subtly existing, radiantly bright, without obscurity; but once it is mixed with acquired temperment, it goes from clarity to obscurity and loses its basic nature."
"But if unclarity comes from oneself, so also does clarity come from oneself; it is just a matter of whether one illumines this nature by oneself or not."
"The Taoist I Ching" translated by Thomas Cleary
"When people are not able to make progress on the path of sages, it is because they are competitive and contentious, emotional and greedy, not knowing how to improve themselves and correct their errors."
"If one is incapable of self-examination, one will not have self-mastery, and will be subject to manipulation; every step, will entail danger and difficulty, will involve injury to life. Only by self-examination can one abondon the false and enter the real; not being deluded by externals, with every step one's feet then tread the real ground and virtue can be culivated."
"When virtue is cultivated, one's nature is stabilized and feelings are forgotten, so that one is unshakable and unwavering as a mountain. Not halted by obstacles, one cannot be injured by difficulties and troubles."
"Using virtue to ward off danger, danger dissolves; using danger to cultivate character, virtuous action grows daily more lofty. So obstacles can not faze one - indeed, it is after being halted by obstacles that one can cultivate character and virtue. If students can recognize the reality of self-examination, there is no need to worry about halting, and no need to worry about inability to develop virtue."
"The human body is like a country, and the mind is like the ruler; the vitality, spirit, nature, feeling, and energy in the body are like the people; benevolence, justice, courtesy, knowledge, and truthfulness in the 'nature' are like the masses. These people, these masses, are the bases of human life, and must be protected and cared for. Therefore the root is stabilized by embracing the people, external afflictions are prevented by nurturing the masses."
"Inward mastery protects one from externals; managing externals affords one inner peace."
"Just as the sun sets and also rises, in the same way people can obscure their good qualities and also can illumine them."
"To illumine means to make manifest; the quality of enlightenment is the spiritual nature of innate knowledge and innate capacity that is fundamental to humankind. This nature is originally truly open, subtly existing, radiantly bright, without obscurity; but once it is mixed with acquired temperment, it goes from clarity to obscurity and loses its basic nature."
"But if unclarity comes from oneself, so also does clarity come from oneself; it is just a matter of whether one illumines this nature by oneself or not."
"The Taoist I Ching" translated by Thomas Cleary
