Quotes

 
Tao: means path, or it can mean to speak, it is also a symbol for the mysterious nature of the Cosmos itself, of reality.

"Since the wonder of life is an experience rather than a concept, it is necessarily available only in the present moment."

" There are only two questions that  must be answered in order to have a fulfilled life. Each question has only one right answer. The questions are: " Where are you?" and "What time is it?" The only correct answers are,  "Here!" and "Now!"

" Living in the present moment and directly experiencing life is not something we are trained to do. By the time we are adults, our experience is mediated through a host of mental filters that provide a constant commentary about one's life, but tend to ignore the thing itself. This process is so deeply conditioned that we don't even notice it. We wander through the day with our minds caught in a constant stream of thoughts, judgements, hopes, fantasies, critiques, and plans, all mixed with a babble of advertising jingles and fragments of movies. The wonderful indescribable experience of life itself is slipping by and we don't notice it."

"The Taoist path is not one of concepts and propositions. It is the direct experience of "what is" in each moment."


"Sitting still allows us to notice the subtle stirrings of the mind." The Tao Te Ching


"Talking about a path is not walking the path. Thinking about life is not living." The Tao Te Ching

"One who talks, does not know. One who knows, does not talk." The Tao Te Ching


" The only distinguishing element that Lao-tzu would apply would be that there are those whose path helps them experience a sense of compassionate and spacious awareness of being- mindful  attention to the power flowing through them every moment.  The more we are able to allow this awareness and attention to develop within, the less we isolate ourselves from the energy of life. Meditation is our primary tool for this awareness."

"The purpose of meditative practice is to cultivate the ability to be present in a quiet yet alert state wherever we are, whatever we are doing."

"Simply pay attention to the way the breath enters and leaves the body. We allow the mind to start down whatever rabbit trail it chooses, and we gently return attention to the breath and stop following the mind down these trails. The purpose is to return the mind to an unaltered state. The purpose is not to still the mind, though certain stillness can accompany meditation. We meditate to watch and to understand the way the mind works. We gradually begin to see the ways in which it has been conditioned to resist, distract, fantasize, worry, plan, and in general keep us from actually living our lives. As we see this activity, we are able to compassionately return our attention to the breath, to the present moment."

"We meditate to learn how to return our attention from its distractions and let it rest in a broad awareness of the reality of our lives.  We practice meditation so that we might bring this meditative mind to every moment."

"Free of our conditioned thinking, we experience our true nature. Caught in conditioned thinking, we experience only who we think we are." Tao Te Ching

"The normal function of the brain is to form categories based on our experiences. By the time we are a few years old, it has formed a category called "self"-- an idea of who we are based on external input and the natural sorting of the brain to help us understand the world. The problem arises when we mistake this conditioned idea of who we are for our true nature."

" The Taoist path suggests that our conditioned nature is a necessary stage of development, but a stage that must be transcended in order to experience the fullness that life has to offer."

" Our true nature stands outside of our ego structures, fears, and needs. It is not something we have to create or manufacture. It is always present. It is always one with the Tao; indeed it is the Tao itself experiencing what it is like to be "me". It is the only true answer to the question. "Who am I?" It is always capable of seeing the changing seasons of life without an overlay of anxiety and resistance."

"As we walk along this path, we become gradually more acquainted with this truth of our nature. We are compassionately discovering what we already are."

"Our true nature is always available when we turn our attention to it."

"It is the single small step that begins the journey of a thousand miles." Tao Te Ching


"No matter how complicated and confusing life seems to be, no matter how overwhelmed we feel at any given time, no matter how long the distance between where we are and where we sense we are headed seems to be, the only thing we ever need to do is take the single small step that lies directly in front of us in the moment."

“We are conditioned to believe that we must hold tight to our images of a better, happier, but distant future in order to bring the future into being. A Taoist approach to the future allows for hopes and plans, images and dreams of what might one day come to pass. But it also cautions that such images can narrow the possibilities and short- circuit the creative potential within us. The path of the Tao is a winding one, adapting itself to the ever changing circumstances, flexible like a bamboo shoot dancing in the strong wind. We may be on a thousand mile journey, but the only possible step we can take is the one in front of us in the moment.”

“Life just keeps presenting us with the present moment in all of its richness and melancholy marvel. We just keep stepping along. The only requirement the Taoist would suggest is that we enjoy every step!”