Each Thing's Way

Ray Grigg
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Trouble is caused by people who think they are smart enough to improve things. First they try. When there is resistance, they push. Then they push harder until their intentions are lost in struggle and discord. Cunning and ingenuity make things worse.

Go softly in the world. Place the smallness of what is known beside the greatness of what is not known. Understand with humility. Honor what is known. Honor even more what is not known. Trust the natural way of things. Ordinary simplicity is infallible.

Let everyone find their own way. Teach reluctantly. The same secret is different for everyone. Tell no one but keep no secrets.

There is a limit to a lifetime but not to the mystery in a lifetime. What foolishness then trying to catch the unlimited in the limited. How presumptuous to understand! Understanding, therefore, should not get in the way of each thing’s way.

From The Tao of Being, a modern rendering of Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching by Ray Grigg

SEED QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: What do you make of the notion that "understanding should not get in each thing's way?" Can you share a personal story of a time when the greatness of what is not known gave you perspective on the smallness of what you knew? How do you reconcile the "foolishness (of) trying to catch the unlimited in the limited" with a piece a few weeks back pointing out that "each passionate being who dares to explore beyond the fragmentary and superficial into the mystery of totality helps all humanity perceive what it is to be fully human?"

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6 Past Reflections

On Aug 21, 2017 Kasturi G wrote :

For people brought in Hindu philosophical background and Saiva Siddhantha teachings / Vaishnava school, they are aware of all that is written in this blog. But, even here in India a large majority of people have totally forgotten all these fundamentals and they are a forlorn lot chasing the Maya of MONEY. So, in the larger context of world community i am sure this piece of writing will make people to sit up, take note of what is said and reflect on them and learn to live in peace with themselves . Written with deep understanding and caring concern for the benefit of fellow traveller's on this Planet Earth.
Thanks
Kasturi G

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On Aug 12, 2017 Jagdish P Dave wrote :

There is nothing wrong in understanding what is knowable by our mind. I want to understand what you mean. I want to understand what is this and how it works. Understanding expands and enriches my knowledge.It is important that we honor and appreciate known what is known. But it is more important to honor and appreciate what is unknown.

What iI know has a limit. What is unknown is limitless like the sky.It is fathomless, boundless and infinite.It is filled with mystery-the unknown and the unknowable by the mind. When I look at the sky, my being is filled with wonderment (!) and not with a question (?). Love is a mystery, life is a mystery, death is a mystery and God is a mystery to me. I let the river of mystery flow. I do not resist it, do not push it and do not make an effort to capture it. When my mind is quiet and when my heart is open, mystery dawns upon and my being is filled with awe and wonderment. Lao Tzu describes it in one word- Tao!

"There is a limit to a life time but not to the mystery in a life time. What foolishness then trying to catch the unlimited in the limited." These words deeply resonate with me.

May we keep our inner eyes open to receive the blessings of the unfolding of mystery!

Namaste.
Jagdish P Dave

Life has two faces-the face of understanding and the face of wondering. Both are necessary. I want to understand what I am reading. I wan to know what I don't know. I use my mind to expand and enrich my knowledge.I have this known world in me. This world is limited. But there is another world- the unknown world- the world of mystery. This world is beyond time and boundary. It is timeless and limitless.It is unknowable and mysterious.

To me, life is a mystery, nature is a mystery, love is a mystery, and God is a mystery. It is like the sky with no limits or boundaries.When my mind is quiet and when my heart is open, mystery dawns upon me and creates a sense of awe and wonderment.It feels like the sparkling of light, blossoming of a flower, smiling of a child, dancing of leaves, caring touch of a mother.

We overly use our face of understanding, wandering on the same familiar and old tracks of life, missing the trails of mystery and wonderment. What a loss? We need to awaken ourselves from our conditioned and habitual ways of living to experience the wonders of living.

" There is a limit to a lifetime but not to the mystery in a lifetime.What foolishness then tying to catch the unlimited in the limited." These words deeply resonate with me.

May we keep our mind and heart open to receive the amazing grace of the mystery of living!

Namste!
Jagdish P Dave

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On Aug 12, 2017 david doane wrote :

Trouble is not necessarily caused by people who think they are smart enough to improve things. Resolution, peace, and happiness are also caused by people who think they are smart enough to improve things. Being smart enough isn't necessarily a problem. The author has a limited definition of people who think they are smart enough and of what they will do. He also says that cunning and ingenuity make things worse -- they may make things better -- you never know. Understanding can be a problem when the need for it dominates the process and gets in the way of being open to see and learn. Realizing that the vast majority of all that is is not known, and most of it is not even knowable, gives me perspective on the smallness of what we know, and I feel awe in reflecting on that. Staying in the box of the fragmentary and superficial is trying to catch the unlimited in the limited, and that is foolishness. Going outside the box of the fragm... [View Full Comment]

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On Aug 11, 2017 Kristin Pedemonti wrote :

This is a deep one! :) Each statement could be its own reading. For me, the greatness of what is not known reminds me of my own smallness in a good way. Yes, I can have significance in changing my corner of the world, at the same time, there is much I do not understand and that is OK. The smallness reminds me of the awe of the world and the universe. The smallness of what I do know also gives perspective that I definitely do not have all the answers, or anywhere close to the answers. It brings humility into the equation or situation. In keeping with the smallness of what I know, I shall end here today, <3