~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Joe Tennis
510.847.0160
joetennis@gmail.com
http://www.joetennis.com
Begin forwarded message:
From: Halltennis@aol.com
Subject: useful quotations department
Date: May 31, 1997 at 09:35:39 EDT
To: skt@vista.com, joe@joe10.com, MTennis391@aol.com
A hindu acquaintance, in a hatha yoga class, told me of the use of the
postures in his native “bar mitzvah.” He added that the hindu”Atman,” meaning (in his words)
“everything that is, everything that was, and everything that will be,” made
it unnecessary for India to keep Buddhism or adopt Christianity.I look at the Book of Tao. The translation by Lin Yutang seems specially
sound to the English speaking mind. Also, he capitalizes certain common
words because of the greater significance implied. (To avoid confusion, I
have placed this mark, >, at the end of each line.) He writes as follows:Book 1. The Character of Tao. Verse 1. On the Absolute Tao.
The Tao that can be told of>
Is not the Absolute Tao;>
The Names that can be given>
Are not absolute Names.>The Nameless is the origin of Heaven and Earth;>
The Named is the Mother of All Things.>Therefore:>
Oftentimes, one strips oneself of passion>
In order to see the Secret of Life;>
Oftentimes, one regards life with passion,>
In order to see its manifest forms.>These two (the Secret and its manifestations)>
Are (in their nature) the same;>
They are given different names>
When they become manifest.>They may both be called the Cosmic Mystery*:>
Reaching from the Mystery into the Deeper Mystery>
Is the Gate to the Secret** of All Life.>______________
*Hsuan– This word is the equivalent of “mystic” and “mysticism.” Taoism is
also known as the Hsuanchiao, or “Mystic Religion.”
**Miao may also be translated as “Essence”; it means “the wonderful,” the
“ultimate,” the “logically unknowable,” the “quintessence,” or “esoteric
truth.”5/30/97–ht
