Because nothing is done, no recognition is received.
Because nothing is gained, nothing is lost.
(Lao Tzu)
Because nothing...
The verse ends with a consideration of mutual arising and the realisation
that nothing really occurred.
When events unfold harmoniously, the balance of the situation does not call
for action.
There is no doing as such.
It happened.
You did not make it happen.
If you did, then you were not acting in harmony with the needs of the
situation.
By allowing events to follow their own course, you have done nothing worthy
of praise.
You may have acted or not, but if your behaviour was in accord with reality,
you cannot take credit for how things have turned out.
Think about it...
Any given situation unfolds as a consequence of multiple variables. It is
never just one thing.
Our lives are seldom simplistic.
There is a whole background of considerations informing every given
interaction, and each person acts according to their own subjective
position.
The more people, the greater the number of choices and possibilities.
Our environment, events beyond our control and unforeseen circumstances all
contribute to make every situation we encounter complex and uncertain.
A skilled person flows with the event and makes the best of it. Their
presence is slight and subtle.
A clumsy person attempts to mould reality to suit an idea and suffers when
the image never manages to fit quite right.
It is like entering a self defence situation with a plan in mind.
How can you make a plan? What is the assailant going to do? Are they armed?
Do they have friends?
Have they some skill? Are they crazy? How do you know?
Nothing is gained
Mutual arising sees all events as part of the whole. There is no real
duality.
Our perception is the root of our problems. We see the world as we are, not
as it is.
Gain and loss are simply perspectives.
What seems awful today may seems wonderful in three weeks time.
No one can see the entirety of it all.
Verse 2 & tai chi
Every movement must be a whole movement.
Uniting left and right, front and back, inner and outer, upper body and
lower body, physical and energy, doing and not-doing.
You must balance the body completely.
There must be harmony between all aspects of your physical being and your
mind.
To accomplish this you must possess shen and sung.
Every moment must be a complete event, with no self consciousness
whatsoever.
You do not feel your limbs moving. There is only the movement itself.
In delivery, there is not even the movement. You feel nothing as such. It
happened.
In self defence, the mutual arising is between you and your assailants.
When you take the situation as a whole and do not differentiate between high
and low, near and far, them and me - you become harmonised with the event.
Your actions become more effective and natural. Appropriate. You move with
what is occurring.
Page created 16 May 2000