The Way and the Power of Virtue

  Its heights are unbounded – light cannot shine down upon it,  and yet its depths are undarkened.   Coiling and coiling as an endless length of rope, it cannot be labeled. Coming and going, back and forth, over and over again,  it is a homecoming to the myriad things. This is called the form of formlessness, the image of no-thing –  This is called a flash of perspective. The Way is unlimited.   Its heights are so high that light cannot shine down upon it; yet even it’s deepest depths are undimmed by the darkness.   No matter how far down, we may find ourselves, there is no hole too deep, no abyss too dark that it is out of reach.   There is ALWAYS a Way – a Way forward, a Way upward, a Way out, a Way through, from wherever we find ourselves to wherever we want to go! The Way coils and coils, like an endless rope – sometimes seemingly twisted and tangled like an indistinct mass – no limiting labels can constrain or contain it.   The...

  What you look for but cannot see is called obscured; what you listen for but cannot hear is called muffled; what you reach for but cannot grab hold of is called minute. These three cannot be exhaustively articulated, thus they are combined as aspects of Unity. There is always a Way – a Way forward, a Way upward, a Way out, a Way through, or a Way around – from wherever we are right now, to wherever we want to go.  The Way is always there, but we don’t always see it in the midst of our struggles and challenges – particularly in our fast-paced, info-saturated society of endless diversions and distractions.  So often we look for a Way but don’t see it; we strain to hear our inner voice, an intuitive voice that is being drowned out by the shrill cries of self-doubt and criticism.  We try to listen for a voice of inspiration over the cacophony of culture and the screams of society but there is just too much noise, too much static, too much interference.  W...

  Hard to come by objects make people do obstructive things – This is why the sage acts from the core and not the eyes.   As such he discards all of that and lays hold of this. As with the experience of thrill seeking, the same principle also applies to rampant consumerism – particularly when it is coupled with the belief that the things we own somehow make us more valuable or worthwhile.   There is nothing inherently wrong with purchasing or accumulating nice things.   The problem is when we place our identity or affix our worth to those external commodities or when we feel like we have to show off or showcase ourselves or what we own to enhance our worth .   When we do so, we can become so desperate to seek validation through those things that we can do regrettable, unethical, and even harmful things – things that obstruct our true selves and that get in the way of others.   As entrepreneur and lifestyle guru Tim Ferris has aptly taught, “Money doe...

  The highest good is like water.    Water is good because it excels in benefitting all life and doesn’t contend.    It goes places the masses despise.   Thus it is nigh unto the Way.   The greatest good, the highest excellence is like water.  Water goes where it is drawn.  It doesn’t contend or compete to go somewhere “better” and doesn’t avoid going places where it is needed – regardless of what the masses think.  It is immune to public opinion.  It is free of the cultural constructs, relative reality, and the constant comparisons  of people.  It doesn't participate in the despicable and ugly social stereotypes of what is "best" and who is "worthy."  Water is impartial and doesn’t feel superior.  It doesn't compete or contend .  Like heaven and earth, water is selfless , having no personal agendas or its own self-interest.  It benefits all living things.  Nothing is beneath it.  Wherever...

  Heaven and earth are not partial, regarding everything as “straw dogs;” Wise people are not partial, regarding all people as “straw dogs.” Few passages of The Way and the Power of Virtue have resulted in more confusion than this one.  In ancient China, the ideal of 仁 ( r é n ) “benevolence” or “humaneness” was a cardinal Confucian virtue .  It represented the ideal way for two people to treat each other.  In Confucianism, “benevolence” was determined by relative relationships.  Thus, how one treated someone else in ideal terms was dependent upon one’s relationship with them and therefore partial, as preferential treatment was given to those with whom one had the closest interpersonal relationships.  As such, the Confucian concept of "benevolence" was a cultural construct.  In contrast, The Way and the Power of Virtue draws upon observations in the natural world to advocate for an alternative – complete impartiality, totally devoid of and dist...

  When everyone in the world thinks it knows what to regard as beautiful,  there is ugliness – and that is ugly in and of itself.   When everyone thinks it knows what is best – that might not be the best. All social standards are subjective and create stereotypes. When a subjective social standard of what is beautiful is widely accepted and acknowledged by everyone, it automatically creates its opposite "ugliness" for all those who do not “fit” and that is despicable and ugly.  Every day we are bombarded with subjective stereotypes of "beauty."  Airbrushed images, doctored photos, and fake, fanciful facades  are all around us.  Every advertisement, every magazine at the grocery store checkout aisle, social media posts, TV shows, films -- they all perpetuate (willingly or unwittingly) a subjective social stereotype that is unrealistic, inauthentic, and disingenuine.  The truth is EVERYONE IS BEATIFUL   and amazing, unique and talented in ...