Therefore, the sage does without doing, and teaches
without teaching.
So when great things are accomplished, credit is neither given nor taken.
When tasks are completed, they are forgotten.
(Lao Tzu)
Therefore, the sage...
If events exist as relative parts of a composite whole, doing becomes
questionable.
It is like the
Help Me Up koan. Action is not always
necessary.
Not-doing can often be as effective as doing. Like rolling with the punch.
Yielding. Allowing.
By choosing a given side or perspective, circumstances are forced.
It is easier and more efficient to allow things to unfold and respond
relative to the harmonious needs of the event.
A strong hard punching arm must be countered by a soft, sticky receiving
arm.
If both arms were hard, there would be resistance and conflict. No flow.
By going with what is happening, you can move to your advantage without
compromising yourself or forcing another to submit to your will.
It is all about appropriateness and sensitivity. Listening rather than
acting. Balancing doing and not-doing. Action and rest.
Teaches without teaching
Students need the opportunity to find things out for themselves and
determine the principles involved.
You can encourage people to investigate by placing them in a situation that
requires inquiry, exploration and initiative.
When somebody feels to have figured it out for themselves, they do not
reject it.
They have accomplished something. The insight is theirs. They worked for it.
A good teacher leads from behind. They nudge, suggest, encourage and
sometimes obstruct.
The teacher is only a vessel.
It is essential that they do not overstep their boundary and become the
focus.
They are just a shadow, a whisper, a hint. Anonymous and quiet. Background.
Nobody.
Students are called upon to be more open, to ask questions, to look deeper.
To wonder.
Teaching and learning exist as part of the same endeavour.
The roles of student and teacher are not separate. They work together on all
things and grow together.
A good teacher learns through the experience of teaching, just as the
student learns through contact with the teacher.
So when great things...
If a student feels to have uncovered something for themselves, they do not
thank the teacher.
After all, the student did the work.
The student could not gain the insights by simply copying, repeating or
emulating the teacher.
The teacher made it possible by creating the situation and by not
interfering.
They do not seek praise because it is not about them. Their role is only to
point the way.
It is the student who must undertake the journey.
Giving and taking of credit is pointless. Both are part of the same event.
The event simply happened. Nobody needs to take credit for it.
Blame/loss/fame/gain are irrelevant.
When tasks are completed
If events unfold in natural harmony, they are a complete moment
in themselves.
Once passed, they no longer matter.
A relationship between two people may have been intense, passionate,
emotional and significant.
But once it is over, it is over.
You must let go and walk away.
Your mind must be like mirror. Consider the reflection...
When you look into the mirror, the reflection fills the mirror, but when you
walk away the mirror does not hold your image.
The moment is everything, and then it passes as you move on.
That time now exists in memory and the immediate moment is where your mind
needs to be.
A relationship is formed and there is interaction.
Then both parties move on and form other relationships.
We do this throughout each day as we encounter different people and diverse
situations.
For the duration of the joining, it was everything.
And then you turn around and interact with someone else and the last moment
vanishes.
We illustrate this in tai chi through the experience of melee.
More...
Page created 16 May 2000