The Tao Teh King for Awakening: A Practical Commentary on Lao Tzu’s Classic Exposition of Taoism by Abbot George Burke (swami Nirmalananda Giri)
Author:Abbot George Burke (swami Nirmalananda Giri) [Burke (Swami Nirmalananda Giri), Abbot George]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Spirituality, Religion, taoism, chinese philosophy, Lao Tzu
Publisher: Light of the Spirit Press
Published: 2019-09-27T18:30:00+00:00
38. Degeneration
The man of superior character is not (conscious of his) character. Hence he has character.
The man of inferior character (is intent on) not losing character. Hence he is devoid of character.
The man of superior character never acts, nor ever (does so) with an ulterior motive.
The man of inferior character acts, and (does so) with an ulterior motive.
The man of superior kindness acts, but (does so) without an ulterior motive.
The man of superior justice acts, and (does so) with an ulterior motive.
(But when) the man of superior li acts and finds no response, he rolls up his sleeves to force it on others.
Therefore:
After Tao is lost, then (arises the doctrine of) humanity.
After humanity is lost, then (arises the doctrine of) justice.
After justice is lost, then (arises the doctrine of) li.
Now li is the thinning out of loyalty and honesty of heart, and the beginning of chaos.
The prophets are the flowering of Tao and the origin of folly.
Therefore the noble man dwells in the heavy (base), and not in the thinning (end).
He dwells in the fruit, and not in the flowering (expression).
Therefore he rejects the one and accepts the other.
(Tao Teh King 38)
The man of superior character is not (conscious of his) character. Hence he has character.
To be in touch with our true Self, our true nature which is the same as that of the Tao, is to be “of superior character.” In Sanskrit there is an important adjective, Sahaja, which means that which is natural, innate, spontaneous and inborn. This and this alone is the Tao. And because it is absolutely natural and spontaneous, those who possess it never think of it and never identify with it because it is not external to them. For example, if you told fish about water they would doubt you. “What and where is this water?” they would object. “We have never seen it!” Why? Because it is the medium in which they exist. Therefore to them it is unperceivable.
So the illumined man does not think of himself as enlightened, but only as I Am.
The man of inferior character (is intent on) not losing character. Hence he is devoid of character.
One of the most pathetic things I ever saw was Alan Watts on television rubbing an ink slab while he gazed into the camera, trying to project the impression that he was enlightened in the midst of his activity. A bishop-friend of mine once remarked about a major Christian denomination: “They are terrified of making a mistake because they are infallible!” As the Upanishad says: “He who says ‘I know,’ does not know.”
I have observed a lot of people pretending to be enlightened masters. Often it is quite funny, especially when they are Indian “gurus.” But J. M. Barrie in the fourteenth chapter of Peter Pan depicts such people in the character of Captain Hook who is obsessed with “good form.”
“Hook was not his true name. To reveal who he really was would even at this date set the country in a blaze; but
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