Practice the power of silence every day.
There are many individual ways of doing this. For example, meditation is a wonderful tool to help you feel the bliss that accompanies your connection to your inner void, that place where you experience the way of the Tao. Vow to be more aware of the “placeless place” within you, where all of your thoughts flow outward. Find your way to enter the space within you that is clean, pure, and in harmony with love.
The difference between saints and the rest of us isn’t that they have loving, pure beliefs and we don’t; rather, they function solely from their essence, where the way of the Tao flows invisibly through their physical being. This is the primary purpose of learning to meditate, or to be in the silence, inviting your essence to reveal itself and allowing you to live in the void.
Do the Tao Now
Spend at least 15 minutes today living in the void that is you. Ignore your body and your surroundings; let go of your material identifications such as your name, age, ethnicity, job title, and so on; and just be in that space between—that void which is absolutely crucial to your very existence. Look out at your world from “what is not” and appreciate that your very usefulness as a material being is completely dependent upon this void. Work today on befriending this “what is not” part of you.
12th Verse
The five colors blind the eye.
The five tones deafen the ear.
The five flavors dull the taste.
The chase and the hunt craze people’s minds.
Wasting energy to obtain rare objects
only impedes one’s growth.
The master observes the world
but trusts his inner vision.
He allows things to come and go.
He prefers what is within to what is without.
Living with
Inner Conviction
In this passage of the Tao Te Ching, Lao-tzu reminds us that far too much attention is given to the pleasures and experiences of the senses at the expense of our inner vision. Focusing exclusively on sensory data creates a world of appearances, which are ultimately illusions. Since everything comes and goes, the nature of the material world is obviously restricted to transitory status. When our eyes see only the colors before them, they’re destined to become blind to what lies beyond the world of appearances. We cannot know the creator if we’re focused exclusively on what’s been created. In the same way, we lose our own creativity when we’re unaware of what’s behind all acts of creation.
Sight, scent, sound, touch, and taste are the domains of the senses. If you’re locked into a belief that the pursuit of sensory satisfaction is the focus of life, you’ll be consumed by what Lao-tzu calls “the chase.” This quest for adoration, money, and power is a waste of energy because there’s never enough, so striving for more defines your daily regimen. You can’t arrive at a place of peace and inner satisfaction when your entire existence is motivated by not having enough. In fact, Lao-tzu states that the relentless chase is a formula for craziness.
The person who lives according to the way of the Tao is referred to as a sage or a master, an enlightened being observing the world but not identifying exclusively with what’s visible; being in the world, while simultaneously aware of not being of this world. The master goes within, where inner convictions replace the chase. In silence, sustenance is enjoyed beyond the dictates of the palate. From an inner perspective, nothing more is needed. Aware of his or her infinite nature, the sage has the realization that this is a temporary world of physical appearances, which includes the body that he or she arrived in and will leave in. The master sees the folly of appearances and avoids the seductive lure of acquisitions and fame.
I believe that our ancient friend and teacher Lao-tzu wanted to convey these simple truths when he dictated the 12th verse of the Tao Te Ching:
Extend your perspective beyond the sensory level.
Your inner conviction knows that a rose is more than a flower, as it offers a pleasant fragrance and velvety petals. Use that knowing to perceive the creative, invisible force that brings an intricate blooming miracle from nowhere to now here. Experience the essence of the creator who allowed this blossoming masterpiece to emerge from a tiny seed. Note that the seed arrived from what we can only refer to as the world of formless nothingness or spirit. See that spirit animating the colors, scents, and textures; and look at all of life from a transcendent perspective. You’ll be less inclined to join the chase and more inclined to live from the inner conviction that your true essence is not of this world.
Discontinue pressuring yourself to perpetually accumulate more.
Let others be consumed with the chase if they choose to, while you learn to relax. Rather than focusing outward, turn inward. Cultivate awe and appreciation as inner touchstones, rather than an outer determination for more adoration and accumulation. When you see a beautiful sight, hear an enchanting sound, or taste a mouthwatering delicacy, allow yourself to think of the miracle within these sensory pleasures. Be like the master who “prefers what is within to what is without.” Allow things to come and go without 12th Verse any urgency to become attached to this ephemeral world of comings and goings.
Do the Tao Now
Plant a seed and cultivate it, observing its
