Book of Tao 1.

Words and names are not the way They can't define the absolute It's better that you look within Hold your tongue and just be mute Look within and look out too You will not find a separation Out there you see appearance Within you see origination Look within with At emptiness and For wonder names Where nothing is wonder bliss totality amiss

The space within is always there If you can moderate desire A place of utter emptiness And possibility entire Lao Tzu begins the Book of Tao by telling us that the Tao, the absolute, cannot be defined with words. He says we must look for it. He will repeat this theme throughout. This looking or seeing is total seeing - looking out at the world of appearance and looking in at its origin in the spacious emptiness at the very ce nter of our being. This emptiness is truly empty and truly great because it contains all possibility, all potential, and all that appears. It's the source of all that ex ists - and aware of itself as such. What a promise! He even tells us where to look. Look wi thin for origin. Look without for creation. Look and see both ways simultaneously. Or igin and creation are one! Lao Tzu makes another promise. This emptiness that is totality is also bliss and wonder. Bliss is our true identity!

2. Where beautiful and ugly Do not stand in opposition Where life and death or yes and no Do not make a contradiction Can you see the vacant place Where good and bad and sad and merry Disappear forevermore? Where nothing ever is contrary So stay within the emptiness Unless you rise you never fall Accepting that which comes your way You are forever all in all Good and bad, happy and sad, beautiful and ugly, all opposites and all contrarie s, all are appearances or conditions in awareness, in me. They all exist in my vacant c enter. I accept all conditions. I have no choice. I am made for acceptance. I am made o pen. I am all in all. I am all awareness that contains all objects, all events, all tha t is given, all that is presented by awareness. Staying with awareness, emptiness, I am safe, no matter what is happening in the world. I do not overlook this, the source and container of all, this my true ide ntity. 3. If you love accumulation Gain and increase every day Thieves and robbers will be waiting Just to take it all away Best to be so That it seems You will know Though others empty-headed you've lost it all you're on the way say you're at a stall

Do you want all the treasures of the world? Will they bring you happiness and jo y? Are the rich happy? No matter how much you have, there's always more. You don't have the unlimited. But, rich or poor, you can be the unlimited! You can see it. Be empty headed. You can see boundless, unlimited awareness at the center of your being, in the place where you were told you had a head!

4. This nothingness is like a well Always giving, never taking And all claims to origin Neither wanting or forsaking You know it's ever present You find it where you have no face It is a wondrous blessing Original amazing grace The Tao gives but asks no credit, does not lord it over creation. Unlimited, cre ative awareness exists at the center of your being, where you have no face. Look in a mirror. There's your face. But what is looking at the face in the mirror? Is it not pure awareness, the Tao itself, the core and origin of your existence, of all existen ce? This creative nothingness is your true identity. 5. This emptiness is truly void And infinitely capacious It holds whatever comes its way Eternally tenacious Can you take whatever comes? Though judgment calls it bad and good Seeing is acceptance And nothing to be understood Tao, awareness is truly empty and void, open and capacious. It has to be. Its na ture is to contain the world. It welcomes all and rejects nothing. Seeing accepts all things, all things agreeable and disagreeable. Don't try to understand this acceptance. Just see that it is so. See that you are open to eve rything.

6. Complete and full awareness Is like an open valley Of endless generation That doesn't reach finale It is a simple presence It's a nothing you can see You'll find it right at center Wherever you may be You are Tao. You are total awareness. You are the valley of the world. You conta in the never ending succession of life, all that comes and goes. You are the valley-lik e openness, the still openness at the center of existence. Can you see this openne ss? See it as a void, an absence. Be it as a presence, a presence that generates and hol ds and nourishes all that appears from moment to moment. 7. This presence is unlimited Because it wasn't ever born And it will not be perishing Will never give you cause to mourn It truly wants for nothing It has no wishes of its own It is the one and only Eternally alone It holds itself in vacancy With no desire to advance Remaining in simplicity It merely witnesses the dance The seer will remain behind And never yearns for leaving home Just living in the here and now Prefers to stay unknown Tao, awareness, nothingness has no limits, no boundaries in space, no boundaries in time. It has no beginning, no end. It has no divisions, no distinctions, no part s. It is forever one and forever alone. It cannot be divided between you and me. I am all of it. You are all of it. I am the one. You are the one. We are not separate, not two. Can you stay with your true identity? Can you see it every day, each moment of e very day? See it whenever it occurs to you to look. That's all you need to do. Become

accustomed to seeing everyday. See your inner simplicity, and witness the dance of life. Look both ways! Look in at the simple awareness and out at the spontaneous rise and fall of events. You will see no separation. These are one, not separate, not two. You are whole and total!

8. The seer flows like water Lying low along the way Nourishing whatever comes To be held on display The seer keeps to simple ways And therefore is content When joy or sorrow manifests To give complete assent If you can clearly be yourself And never rise to interfere Everyone will cherish you And always hold you dear Water symbolizes the Tao in many ways. Here Lao Tzu refers to its nourishing qualities. All life depends on water. It has supreme power over all living thing s, yet it makes no claim on what it creates. It does not seek preeminence. Water seeks the lowest places, and, in so doing, nourishes all it comes across. Can you see that you do the same? It is your nature to give life to all things. You give by giving aware ness, consciousness to all things. It is your very nature to give. Can you see yoursel f giving life to all around you? Can you be this simple and clear presence? 9. Don't fill a bowl Till it's more than full Or sharpen a blade Till it must go dull Don't pile up treasure That comes at great cost Approval and riches Are easily lost Can you only do What's really needed Then stop and withdraw When your task is completed? Enough is enough! Do you want to spend your life protecting your fame and possessions? Lao Tzu's natural way is to do only what is called for by the prese nt moment. Do you want to give your life away to the pursuit of wealth? Do those who have m ore really have more? Or do they have less? They have to devote time and life to get

ting and protecting. Do they have time to let go, to see the truth? Living simply mea ns enough is enough. Be satisfied with having just enough, doing just enough. If yo u take just enough, everything else is left!

10. Can you see as a child sees And keep the simple vision? See the inner oneness With absolute precision Hold all things in your embrace The entire world is in your care Let things be just as they are Extend acceptance everywhere Let go all need to comprehend The truth is here where all behold Their infinite capacity To welcome and enfold Children do not imagine a head on their shoulders. They see that they are empty, room for the colorful world. They are space for their friends. They are nothing but awareness. Can you see as a child sees? Can you see that in the place you learned you had a head and a face, you really have a void? You really are a void. But what a void! It e mbraces the world. It welcomes everything. Of course, to others, you have a head, a face . But others are not in a position to see what you see, to see that you are empty to c ontain all things. Can you see it? Can you look? Will you look? The Tao Te Ching was written in ancient China over 2500 years ago. Legend has it that its author, Lao Tzu, left China when he was very old. A gatekeeper at a mou ntain pass sensed that Lao Tzu had more than ordinary knowledge. He persuaded him to record his vision and philosophy before leaving. Lao Tzu stayed two days and wrote the Books of Tao and Te - much of it in verse. The message is addressed to the One in all of us, the only One, the Seer. May his cl assic of 5000 words inspire you the way it has millions of others since those far off day s, the way it has inspired me.

11. The empty hub at center Allows a wheel to roll The vacancy within defines The function of a bowl The openness within a house Provides location to reside The open space that is my heart Is where ten thousand things abide A wheel can roll because of the empty hub. A bowl can be filled because it is ho llow. A house can be occupied because the rooms are spacious. The manifest world exist s because of the emptiness at your center, in your heart. You are space, room, cap acity for the ten thousand things. You are room for all things, events, thoughts, feel ings. All things have a home in you. 12. Too Too Can And much sound can make you deaf many colors leave you blind you let desire die down not leave emptiness behind?

Wanting things can drive you mad And acquisition makes you poor See that you are everything And leave off wanting more Too much indulgence can make you deaf to the silence, blind to the void. Living solely for excitement means overlooking the quiet root of existence. Living for acquisition leads you to embrace and value aggression, makes you a slave to gett ing and keeping. Can you slow down enough to see that you already are everything? Value living from the truth and enjoying the world as it's given.

13. Fame and shame are equal And so are gain and loss It isn't very difficult To get this point across Having fame you know that you Are terrified to lose it Making gain you always fear That others will abuse it Can you see that you're not like Your image or reflection? Just see you are totality By looking in your own direction The one who is not limited Accepts whatever comes or goes And cares for everything around On opening and close There is no security in fame or in gain. These are just parts of the ever changi ng functioning or manifestation of objects and events, qualities and opinions. Fame and gain don't last. They don't even last a lifetime, which is only a flash in etern ity. And if you should acquire wealth and fame, you will be the subject of the envy of other s. You will have to defend them, fight to keep them. What a way to live! Lao Tzu prefers another way, the way of doing nothing, nothing but seeing your t rue nature. You are not like your image in the mirror. You are pure awareness. You originate and accept all creation, including the image in your mirror. You are m ade to accept and receive and care for all things. Seeing this is bound to make a diffe rence in your life. My interpretation of the Tao Te Ching is based on the vision of headlessness discovered and tirelessly shared by Douglas E Harding. Don't miss the chance to read his classic work On Having No Head. You can also find extensive information about his vision on The Headless Way website. There you will find many experiments in seeing. Douglas would certainly say that the experiments are the heart of the matter. He would agree with Lao Tzu that words alone are not enough. Seeing is required.

14. When you look, it isn't there Listen and you cannot hear it It seems to be beyond your reach Because you are so near it This single source of everything Appears to be an empty image Though it cannot be understood You can see its naked visage Follow it to nothingness Approach it where you have no face From nowhere to infinity This vacant image leaves no trace From never to eternity This naked face is what you are An empty, vacant, open door Forevermore ajar Tao is awareness, which appears as void or emptiness. Can you see the emptiness in the place where others see your face? This is the emptiness or void that is your noface or no-head. It is wide open for the world, for the ten thousand things of c reation. Your only task is to see this emptiness whenever it occurs to you to look. See y our empty face, the void in its infinity and eternity each moment. You will also see the ten thousand things that occur in time and space. Your own body is one of these ten thousand things that are manifested in you, in your awareness, in the Tao. See the truth of who you are. To yourself, you are not th e body topped off with a head. That is your image to other people.

15. Those of old who knew the way To origin and source within Have seen the place where wholeness And infinity begin Alert as one on a frozen stream Or one who watches for the foe Deferential as a guest And generous as melting snow Plain as an uncarved block of wood Expansive as a vale Transparent just like water Whose clarity will never fail Can you keep yourself so still That muddy water clears? And wait until right action Spontaneously appears? Simple societies have existed until very recent times. People in these societies valued the simple joys of everyday living. They lived easily in friendliness and peace. No one posed a threat to anyone else. The people were alert and plain, polite and generous. They had no need to hurry and rush through life. You can do the same today. Become a seer. Just be aware of yo ur true identity as the Tao, pure awareness, and the Tao will take care of everythi ng else. Here Lao Tzu refers to water again, to another quality of water, to its clarity. Water clears when it is still. If you stay with your still and clear center you will f ind the outside turmoil clearing too. Stay with the unchanging truth of your being. It i s bound to benefit everyone. The image at the left is the Chinese ideograph for Tao. It is composed of two gr aphs, one meaning go, one meaning head. It is usually translated as Way. This combinat ion of meanings is found in English as well. Consider these expressions: headway, he ad off, go away, head out. Douglas Harding points out that the ideograph looks like a head and a chopper. The head is about to be removed! The Tao is the gone-head! Y our head must go. See the emptiness or blankness that exists in the place where you imagined a head. Nothing exists here but bare awareness. The Tao is this simple naked

awareness.

16. See that you are emptiness Always quiet and at peace You're in the place where all begins The space where all things cease All things arise and have their day And then go back to the single source Returning to serenity With no regret and no remorse When you see the source within You only give assent You see you're everlasting And eternally omnificent You are omnificent, all-creating. You create everything because you create your own point of view. All that you see depends on you. Without you, none of it would ex ist in the manner in which it appears in you. All appears in your emptiness, in your awareness. This is not to say that you know how you do it. Creation happens in you, as you, on its own, spontaneously. Return to the Tao, to your serene and peaceful center, and watch the myriad thin gs of the world come and go. You are the host. 17. It's best if you are barely known The lesser state is being praised Worse is being hated Just stay empty and amazed Only do what must be done And see you are the one alone When you finish all will say We did this on our own Lao Tzu is referring to leaders of states and, by extension, to all of us. The m ost effective leaders act by not acting for recognition. The best course is to stay centered and allow events to go their natural way. Do what is needed for the situation an d then stop. Allow others to take the credit. What does personal recognition add to tot ality? Just recognize your open and accepting nature.

18. Goodness and compliance Came when people lost the way Spontaneity declined Hypocrisy was here to stay Goodness and obedience appear when we lose the way. Rebellion comes too. We adopt living to please others and to avoid their disapproval. And do we ever reg ret it! 19. Banish learned discourse And everyone will be content Eliminate propriety Increase astonishment Stay away from fraud and swindle Everyone is bound to gain You really have it all you know There is no basis to complain Can you see your empty core? It isn't missing, gone or hidden Just let go of neediness And it will come unbidden Do you know what is proper for other people? Can you let go of your need to interfere? Allow life to come to you on its own terms. Interfering in the lives of others with your so-called authoritative opinions and directions causes more misery in the world than anything else. And in giving misery, you eventually get it back. We all want approval. We want to merit approval. We are so needy we give our liv es away in an attempt to be seen in a good light by everyone. Is this possible? Is it worth the effort? Can you see your empty core? This is the whole of what you need to do. Relax and let go. Stay empty and amazed. Only when you are empty and open can you be filled. See that you are always empty! Isn't it encouraging to know that this is all there is to it? You can let go of all attempts to control or influence. Allow the world to come to you. See that you are made t o receive and accept whatever is happening.

20. You need not give a yes or no Such distinctions matter little Keep your vision open And be at center noncommittal See that it's ridiculous To seek success and fear to fail To ever want what others want To think you always must prevail Other people look so bright I am dark and void and null Others are so very sharp While I alone am dull Others are so purposeful Only I don't understand Aimless, drifting, weak and dumb Uninteresting and bland I see I'm different from the rest For I take in what's plainly shown And I take my sustenance Only from the great unknown Where is your center? Where do you place your attention? If you are seeing clear ly, your attention is on totality, all that is given in the present moment. You are not driven to appear successful in the eyes of others. You are not driven at all. You are a ware that support and sustenance comes to you on its own from the Tao, the great unknown b ut clearly seen core of your being. Lao Tzu says he is dull, even void. He is seeing the limitless emptiness of the Tao, the absent head. Remember Tao means go-head. His head is gone. What remains is the glorious emptiness and the ten thousand things, thoughts, events and feelings th at fill it with brimming brightness. Of course he looks different from the rest. He is t he source and container of all that appears. He is not a thing among things. He is the original. And of course this vision is sustaining. Not such a dull fellow after all! The dullness he sees is the amazing central void that makes brightness possible. He is total presence.

21. Seeming utter emptiness Quite impossible to trace Yet it contains all images Within its wide embrace Appearing total darkness Yet you see that it is right To stay with its obscurity The only origin of light This ever present openness At center and within Can be seen just anytime So look and look again Your true center is always available. You can see the emptiness that contains al l things whenever you remember to look, and the more you look, the more you remember to look. Be as persistent as you can. Let's be persistent. Let's look again right n ow. As an aid to directing your attention, point your finger to your face, to your gone-he ad. Others will tell you that your are pointing to your face. Do you see it differen tly? Of course you do. You see the truth from the position only you yourself occupy. You see absolute emptiness filled with all the images of the eternal here and now. Most interpreters of Lao Tzu speak of the Master or Sage. I use the word Seer in stead, because Lao Tzu insists we see the Tao, that it's visible as an absence and almo st palpable as a presence. And isn't that good news? We can all see. We are all see rs! We do it all the time. There's nothing to it. Lao Tzu simply tells us where to look , and that's where the head is missing. In place of a head we find the world. Look and see a head? Never. Look and see emptiness here and a universe there! There is no need to become a Sage or a Master. Become a Seer! Become what you already are! Allow it! There's nothing to do but allow! It bears repeating! Lao Tzu repeats the same themes throughout the Tao Te Ching. He knows that we have been brought up to ignore the Tao, the gone-head. We imagine a head on our shoulders so we can be like everyone else. But we are not like anyon e else. We are unique. We are the headless One, the absolute center of existence. So Lao Tzu repeatedly reminds us that we must look in order to see how the world is set up, how it is presented with emptiness here and fullness there. If we look repeatedl

y and see the arrangement, there comes a day when the seeing is natural, and the head is gone forever.

22. Overcome by giving up See that you are really nil Look into your emptiness If you want to have your fill Be satisfied with little Just content with what you need If you are always wanting more You surely are consumed by greed Abide in your simplicity Though you are not on display See all things are shining bright In marvelous array If you do not boast or brag Everyone will hold you high If you do not argue You will prevail thereby Only see you are complete And all things have come to you Overcome by giving up All except your inner view The Tao is your original state. The farther you drift from it, the you are, the more you want in compensation for what you lost. Lao Tzu tells can consume us and that we really need very little to be satisfied. He that this is true because we already have the most marvelous gift of all. We less content us that greed also tells us have the bare

awareness that holds all things. Only this naked simplicity truly satisfies. We need so little to be happy, to have all that can be had. Can you stay with this vision of totality, of already having everything? If you can, you will not need to boast or brag or promote yourself in any way. You can't be prom oted beyond totality. Others will quietly appreciate your presence, you who are in competition with no one. You are complete and whole. You have no need to prove yourself worthy, to gain back any missing parts or lost love. You have the whole bright world before you. You are not in need of anything that does not already b elong to you.

23. Say your piece and then be still Like nature in a storm That rains and blows and ceases And sees the sun reborn Open to the inward view You are at one with all existence There's nothing blocking up the way Or putting up resistance If you're at home with nothingness And simply trust what comes about You'll find that all is in its place Without a question or a doubt Have your say. Do what you must. But don't insist. You are not in competition wi th anyone. You are made to receive and contain the world, not to confront or face i t down. You have no face to block or resist anything from your awareness, from you r presence. Your nature is pure and open presence. You are made to welcome and accept all creation. Can you trust and welcome? Lao Tzu promises that if you do, you find a ll is as it should be. All is in its place. The ten thousand things that come and go o ut there are contained in your open awareness here. 24. Who Who Who Who stands on tiptoe topples runs ahead soon looses speed goes on show is hidden pushes far gives up the lead

Don't depart from what is given The ever present here and now Don't overreach and don't oppose Invite, admire and allow All ten thousand things have limits. Lao Tzu honors those limits. He gives us th e principle of sudden reversal. If you try to push beyond your limits, you invite disaster. Be content to go as far as you can. Don't try to stand out. Do so and become a t arget. Just stay aware of what is given. What is given is totality. There are no limits to wholeness. There are no targets in totality.

25. Before creation did occur This blessed emptiness was here Alone forever and at peace The source of all that does appear Eternally unchanging Forever lacking limit This void is all potential The everlasting ultimate It flows through all existence And then returns to source It's ever at your center Your only true recourse For here begins the universe The earth and humankind Following this greatest way You can never be defined Here Lao Tzu gives us an outline of his view of existence. What appears to us as a void or an absence or emptiness is truly a mystery. It's the ultimate, the absol ute. It's the source of existence in its infinite potential. It's also a presence, pure and unchanging awareness, the always-so. This presenc e contains all that comes and goes in the here and now moment. It is your true, unchanging and eternal identity. It is beyond time because it contains time. Can you see this Tao first in all things? You are the Tao, the one awareness, th e only awareness. This awareness is very close at hand. It's at your very center, and i t's always available. It's who you really are, and it's always at peace and beyond a ll upset.

26. The naked center doesn't change Its quietude is absolute Yet from it spring all things that move This bare awareness is the root Can you go about all day And never leave your true abode No matter how enticing are The splendors of the road? Don't think that you can run around And act a perfect fool Just see that you are at the eye Of nature's whirlpool Can you stay centered in the Tao, the absolute? The Tao is your central emptines s. It is naked awareness. It appears to you as a void, and it appears in the place where your head is visible to others but not to you. What is visible to you? Everything! Yo u contain all things. You, as the Tao, are the root, the origin, the source of thi s awareness. This is your true abode. Who would abandon this totality for the limited excitements offered by the world ? You are the center of this world, its origin and destiny. 27. Can you walk and leave no tracks? Make no errors when you talk? Count without a tally? Secure a door without a lock? You can abandon no one There's nothing you can leave behind In you there are no limits You are forever unconfined What happens is spontaneous Good and bad are just the same In origin identical Beyond both praise and blame Here Lao Tzu talks about a special kind of action that does not show off or attr act attention, action that leaves no tracks or traces. He calls it wu wei or doing n othing. See that at center, there is no doer - only emptiness. All action is free and ea sy and spontaneous. How foolish it is to assign credit or blame! Wu wei is the natural

way to act for those who see that their true essence is open acceptance of all that occ urs. Good and bad are relative terms. What is good for one is bad for another. Awaren ess accepts whatever the present moment brings. Awareness accepts all and opposes nothing.

28. Know the strong but keep the weak The whole wide world is born in you You'll see just what a child sees A vast and comprehensive view Know the light but keep the dark And watch ten thousand things emerge In you they have their residence Where space and time converge Know the high but keep the low Humility will honor you Attend to your vacuity There's nothing else to do Be like an uncarved block of wood Don't squander your potential Or overlook your vacant core Nothing else is so essential What is Keeping the Weak? Water is weak, but given time and persistence it will wear down the hardest rock. Your true and open essence is weaker than water, weaker e ven than air. You are pure awareness, as transparent as a calm mountain lake, yet yo u have the capacity to reflect and take in all that presents itself to you. You remain constant and immutable while all else has its being in you. Be as persistent as water in seeing this transparency. Keep the weak, the vacuous and transparent. Keep your true na ture. What is Keeping the Low? Stay with Tao, and all things come to you as rivers flo w into the sea. Receive and contain all creation. You are the one who holds totali ty. You are not one of the Ten Thousand Things. Lie low and see that this is true. Invit e the world! What is the Uncarved Block of Wood? This is Lao Tzu's symbol for simplicity and possibility. Before a piece of wood is carved into an object, it is potentially anything. The Tao, the pure awareness right here where we all are, is the ultimate simplic ity that spontaneously manifests as the always changing world, as the ten thousand things . These ten thousand things are never the same. They change like the clouds. They are temporal and temporary. But the Tao, bare awareness, is eternal, out of time. Th e Tao contains time as it contains space. They are only measurements and dimensions of

change.

29. Do you want to change the world? You cannot possibly succeed The given cannot be improved On this the seers are agreed At times you find you're out in front At other times you fall behind Sometimes you're all commotion But afterwards you must unwind When all around is turmoil Just stay with the serene You are the quiet center Of the ever changing scene Can you see things as they are And let them be all on their own? Remain in pure awareness You never need to stray from home Things are just as they are. They arise out of nowhere. What good does it do to reject some events and accept others? It harms no one but yourself. You are not made to reject anything. You are made open and aware. You take in the world. Existence changes constantly. You can't pin it down. Why not trust it? Let the t en thousand things come and go. You need do nothing. Stay with your true identity, pure presence. The scene changes. You remain empty. All that is given is inevitable. Why wish for change? Change will come on its ow n. You are the Tao, the unchanging. Do nothing. Remain content. The turmoil and confusion cannot reach you. You are the immutable Tao, the everlasting simplicit y.

30. There is an ancient way to lead That just allows and does not force For what goes out will come around And violence will lead to wars The one who sees completes a task And stops when it is done Seeing all is on its own And not controlled by anyone The seer sees that all is well And does not need to please Just gives acceptance everywhere Puts everyone at ease The Tao can change the world. The attitude of the Tao is acceptance. The attitud e of so many people and institutions is force. This attitude says that we know what i s right and what is wrong. We know how others should think. They should think as we do. We know how they should behave. They should behave as we do. We should take whatever actions are necessary to force compliance. The Taoist attitude is diffe rent. Allow others to go their own way. Let go of the need to control. The Tao is in c harge and is worthy of its charge. What freedom you give to all you meet with this kin d of acceptance!

31. Weapons lead to violence Which everyone despises Avoid them altogether Allow no compromises If use of weapons has to be When enemies just leave no choice Use them but reluctantly In victory do not rejoice Ascendancy brings sorrow And triumph doesn't carry pleasure It severs you from wholeness And robs you of your real treasure Victory is like a funeral Where loss of life must make you sad For putting other people down Never ought to make you glad Once again we meet the principle of reversal. This time it's the cycle of aggres sion. People naturally resist force. Ascendancy brings sorrow because it make you an object, a person, a limited thin g. It may make you the greatest thing, even the top thing. But being any kind of a thi ng covers up your true and unlimited nature as absolute awareness. This is the grea test loss of all. In addition to this loss of wholeness, you have set yourself up as a thing up ag ainst other things, as a person in the world. You have put yourself in competition for the world's limited resources. Others are bound to oppose you. They want what you ha ve for themselves. Have you been victorious? Can you hold on to this victory?

32. Awareness is not limited It's like an uncarved block of wood With infinite potential Beyond all usefulness for good If leaders could stay centered In awareness pure and plain This world would be as nourishing As nature's gentle rain Everyone would be at peace And always living in the whole Opposition and division Could never take their toll How easily we give up our original nature. We become fascinated by the outward display. We seek our security there, where it is not to be found. Lao Tzu points to another place. He points inward, to our awareness. He points to the awareness of infinite potential and possibility. Seeing our original and open nature, we are centered on truth. As aware simplici ty, we are truth. We absorb all opposites into the one openness we share with all being s. No peace and no support exceeds this. We are whole. We are totality, pure and plain . 33. It may be said that you are wise To see yourself as others do But you are wiser still to see From your own central point of view Then you see you have it all These riches that are always here Belong to you completely Because your vision is so clear What does it mean to see yourself as others see you? Others see you from a dista nce. They see you as an object, as a human being, a thing in the world. But at no dis tance at all, you see yourself as pure openness, total clarity. From this vacant cente r, you see that you contain the ever changing world. You are rich and clear and wise. Would you trade this for being a limited, perishable human being?

34. The empty center's everywhere It flows both left and right It brings to pass ten thousand things And yet it never leaves your sight It welcomes everything around On nothing does it make a claim It's in the heart of each and all This ultimate without a name Some can see that it is great And some will say that it's obscure It is your real identity Simplicity that will endure The Tao brings to pass all things. It welcomes all things. Events happen one way . Yet we often play the game of what-if. What if I had done something differently? Thi s is the game of the impossible, the game of regret. All has happened as the Tao has given it. See and remember that the Tao is your real identity. All has happened as you , in your deepest heart, have desired. Even your rebellion against events was meant t o be. All is always as it should be. All is as the Tao, as you, intended - even your r egret! What freedom and joy there is in watching yourself truly welcome all that comes your way.

35. Totality will be with you If you can see the simple presence Although there's danger all around You give complete acceptance Good music, food and company Are welcome when you're traveling The inner truth seems tasteless Yet it produces everything You look and you see nothing You listen and hear silence Its use is inexhaustible It's ever worthy of reliance What a contrast between those who value the pleasures of the senses above everyt hing and those who value the Tao's simple presence, the source and origin of everythi ng. This presence seems thin and tasteless compared to the pleasures of food and mus ic and congenial company. But those who persist in seeing this presence and source have found everlasting truth. It's the presence that appears as a void, an absence, a s emptiness, as nothing. Danger cannot penetrate this absence. It is safe! Look an d see absence. Look and see refuge. Look and see the presence that manifests and welcomes all that occurs. You are totality. Our big mistake is seeing in part. Our fundamental error is overlooking the fundament, the ground of being. We don't see what's here, only what's there. We miss the obvious. When we aren't aware of the Tao, the gone-head, we imagine a head h ere instead. We live in imagination rather than in truth. If we get this wrong by im agining a head where we should be seeing an absence, all that follows is in error. Yet i t is easy to see this absence and live its truth. We are fortunate indeed if this way appe als to us.

36. You cannot be Unless you've You cannot be Unless you've You cannot be Unless you've Unless you're You cannot be

diminished been inflated defeated been elated belittled been esteemed wholly missing redeemed

The soft and slow can overcome The rigid and the hard and fast Just see your inner emptiness For nothing else is made to last Here again Lao Tzu tells us that the only thing we need to do is see our inner emptiness, see the Tao, see the seer. Nothing endures like nothing! It is so sof t it puts up no resistance. It embraces all. It is so slow it doesn't move. It allows all else to move. Yet it overcomes all things. It witnesses all things first appear and then disappear. Are you inflated, elated and esteemed? If so, you are vulnerable. Giv e it up. Go missing. Be nothing. Now you are lasting and safe. How do you become nothing? Just look and see that you are truly nothing already. Look in that place where o thers find your face and you find the Tao.

37. Only see you're doing nothing Yet not a thing is left undone For all things happen on their own In you who are the all in one If leaders could be centered All ten thousand things would thrive By seeing what is natural All creation comes alive Everyone would be content With living simply every day Desires would be moderate And peace would be the only way Once again, see! See that you are doing nothing. You are the empty center of existence. What could emptiness possibly do? All you can do is see and accept. Everything occurs spontaneously - in you! All you need do is be aware. And if le aders and influential people could be centered this way too, what marvels would occur. Harmony and contentment would prevail. Peace would reign. These people would not continue to interfere and meddle in the affairs of others. They would see no gai n in that. They would see that gain is not possible in a world where totality is give n every moment. What is Lao Tzu's simple vision? It is total seeing, simultaneously seeing the i nner emptiness and the outer fullness, the ten thousand things. Total seeing is seein g both this and that, both near and far. And it is seeing that these are not separate, not two. They are one, and they are all. Looking within we see This, which is pure presence or awareness that appears as absence or void. This is the featureless absolute. Here is the origin and source . Here and now is Tao, at the center of my being, the empty center of my awareness. It is unlimited. It is infinite and eternal. Yet it is not of time, not in space. Rath er it contains time and space. It is featureless simplicity, the one we all are. It al one endures and is always here. By its very nature as emptiness, this embraces that, here includes there, now encompasses all time. This vacancy at our center is not mere ly vacant. It is occupied! This emptiness is brimming. We are nothing and everythin g. The seer and the seen are one. Our simplicity is occupied by a world that appears to us out of itself. The appe

arances are all the things and events, thoughts and feelings that we experience moment b y moment. They are always moving and changing against the background of our inner stillness and sameness. They comprise the world we see when we look outward, awa y from our vacant center. This world contains That world. That world occupies This world, comes and goes spontaneously in our openness. What occurs in That world i s temporal and temporary, perishable. This world in which they occur is more than eternal. It is once and for all! It is the place of origin, the source and subst ance of all that is seen. This inner aware absence is in no way separate from the world of o bjects

out there. You see no division. In here is out there. Out there is in here. Thes e worlds are really one, one in me, one in you, one in all who ever existed. This Tao, th e gonehead, belongs to each. We are not separate either. We are all This! We are One! We are Whole! Book of Te 38. You needn't search for power You already have it all To seek outside your empty core Is looking for a fall The seer doesn't do a thing But sees that all is finished Foolish people run about And leave totality diminished Goodness must be doing And justice never is complete Propriety can't satisfy Obedience is forced defeat When totality is lost Goodness comes to take its place Followed by propriety Bewilderment and end of grace The But And And seer sees periphery also sees the open core thus the seer sees the whole dwells therein forevermore

Lao Tzu begins the Book of Te by showing us what happens when we seek our identity outside our center of pure awareness. If I believe myself to be a human being, I am one among many. I have lost my wholeness. I am limited. I have put aside th e vastness of pure awareness. Others are lost too, and they become my rivals. In s uch a world, order is kept by forced compliance. First come codes of behavior. The cod es tell us what is good and what is proper. And the codes lay out the punishment fo r those who don't comply. Some rebel. Some go along. All live a diminished existen ce. Spontaneity is lost. Lao Tzu tells me that I need not go along with this order. Nor do I need to chal lenge

it. I simply see how the world is really given. I see human beings out there. I see my own reflection in the mirror out there. All of this is on the periphery. At my c ore I see only unlimited openness. Here is my real identity. I am the heart of existence. All is presented in me and as me.

39. If you stay with clear awareness The sky is open, pure and spacious The earth is firm and friendly too Activity is efficacious But depart from clarity The purest sky is torn apart The earth is so divided Felicity must flee your heart The seer knows humility Doesn't argue or cajole Doesn't discard anything Or mutilate the whole The seer doesn't show at all Doesn't sparkle like a jewel The seer's vast immensity Is truly less than minuscule Find your identity at the core. Stay with clear awareness. All existence comes a live. Don't take this on faith. See for yourself. See the world in a different light, the light of wholeness and origin. Ignore this clarity and all is false. Everything is divided into individual, sel f-contained things. No one is content. A thing can't contain itself. Only empty space can co ntain things. You are the empty clarity that contains this space and the ten thousand things. Being like space, you do not show or show off. You are anonymous. You are facele ss. You are humble enough to disappear completely so that all others are able to sho w their faces and their sparkle. You enable this! As clarity you enable the world. 40. All is born of emptiness Manifests and has its day Then yields and surrenders Returns and dies away All things are born and live and die in your clear and empty awareness, in your sight. Only awareness remains forever open and unchanged. You are origin and eternity.

41. When seers see their nothingness They never let it out of sight But others see it now and then And miss out on its true delight Still others only laugh it off And look at it with ridicule It wouldn't be the real truth If it weren't laughed at by the fool The brightest way seems darkness Just going on seems like retreat The simple way seems difficult Capacity seems like defeat Clarity can seem obscure And love seem not to care Totality seems not enough And truth can seem to err Awareness doesn't have a name To all appearances is null Yet it produces everything And so this empty place is full All this talk of nothingness! It all seems so backwards and contrary to common s ense. How few take it seriously! This brightest and most obvious of all spots in the u niverse is just not seen. This empty center of awareness is not noticed. Even if it is n oticed when it is pointed out, most people fail to see its worth. They seldom attend to attention itself. Others don't even give it a chance. They laugh at it without h esitation. Lao Tzu playfully tells us that their laughter proves its truth. The very idea that this openness may be the ultimate seems so empty to some. The y do not look to see that this emptiness is source of all that exists. It is the u nchanging origin of existence. It looks dark, but it is the source of all bright things. Y ou have it all. Just look. Watch all things emerge from and in your naked awareness. See th e always changing complexity taking place in your changeless central simplicity. S ee that this nothing has potential. It's not a mere nothing. It's filled with its o wn creation!

42. Awareness comes from nothingness So all can see it's plainly one Contains all opposition Ten thousand things are now begun All these things embrace the void And face the manifest Achieving thus true harmony They find existence truly blessed No one wants to be considered Empty and alone Yet that's exactly what the seers Say they have been shown And violence is not the way So here I must advise That those who live by violence Prepare their own demise Empty and alone! That is our true condition. That is the reason we all seek our identity elsewhere. We try to find our place in the world. So begins our fall fr om wholeness. We do great violence to our true nature. To seek your identity in the world is to forget that the world is in you, in your awareness. You are the sole consc iousness, empty but ready to receive the manifold world. Empty and alone! Does that mean that others lack consciousness? No. emptiness, nothingness has no attributes, no qualities. It can't be resides at your center, at my center. The void is one. Each is it in totality. re identical at center, identical as pure consciousness. Seers embrace this void the world. Is it a wonder they find creation blessed? The void, divided. It All beings a and welcome

What are the Ten Thousand Things? These are all the objects and events and thoug hts and feelings your awareness creates at every moment. They are always changing, always fresh. They are what's on display. They are your riches. Lao Tzu insists that you always have it all and asks how you could possibly want more. Isn't everythi ng enough?

43. Overcome by yielding The weak can overcome the strong For only absence can provide The place where everything belongs And The Yet The thus it is that I can see worthiness of not contending few will ever comprehend potency of bending

Is it possible to overcome limitations by yielding? Yield your limited identity as a someone. See that you are nothing now. You are an absence. Accept your unlimited ability as capacity to receive the world. Yield all contention and opposition. Y ou are not a somebody up against others. Others live in you. So few people see and appreciate their unlimited capacity to host the world. 44. Which of these means more to you Integrity or reputation? Are gain and loss not equally Responsible for limitation? Everything that you possess Is surely transitory Just be pleased with emptiness And witness inner bliss and glory You know that your are always safe If only you can be contented With awareness as capacity And with all that is presented Is happiness based on gain and getting? Whatever you gain is temporary and limit ed. Gain and fame are traps. They can be lost and must be protected. You are not you r possessions. Which means more to you, what you have or what you are? As capacity , you possess all that comes into your awareness. You are free, open and safe, in the place of lasting bliss. You are the never changing total potential to which the ever changing ten thousand things are presented You are the open awareness that accep ts and possesses whatever comes into view. You are the emptiness that contains everything.

45. Wholeness seems like imperfection Yet its usefulness is sure Fullness seems quite empty But it is certain to endure True straightness can seem twisted True wisdom does not seem to know Great eloquence seems halting Great darkness seems to be aglow Can you see that emptiness Contains all oppositions? Like hot and cold and fast and slow? All differences and all conditions? So-called common sense has it wrong. Things are not as they appear. Above all, I am not as I appear - to you, to your camera, or to my mirror. How do I appear from here? to myself? to my own uncommon sense? If I appear at all, I appear to myself righ t here as emptiness, as an absence. This absence is the Tao, the absent head. To see that all this is so, all you need to do is look - and keep looking. You a re the absence that contains all that exists, the sameness that contains all difference s. You are unlimited capacity for all limited things. 46. When the absolute is cherished Horses graze on the open green When the absolute is lost Only steeds of war are seen No calamity exceeds desire And always wanting more Can you not see you have enough And live in plenitude galore? Cherish the Tao, the absolute. How do we cherish it? Lao Tzu tells us again and again that all we need to do is look. Look where the head is gone. Look any time it co mes to mind. If we see our emptiness, our amplitude, we see that we have everything in our embrace. Spread your arms, and see that you embrace and include the world. Amplitude is plentitude! And excessive desire is calamity.

47. No need to go outside a door To see totality Or look out of a window For seeing what will always be Going out you go astray At home and center all is one The seer doesn't have to do To see that everything is done Look within to see the source and container of all things. Can you see that this is your true identity? If you see this, you see all there is to see. You see pure awaren ess, perfect simplicity. You are home. You can look within anytime. You always find t he Tao here at the still and quiet center of your being. And the Tao is worthy of y our trust. It brings all things to you. It brings what you need each moment. 48. In going after learning Something's added every day For resting in the ultimate Everything must drop away Day by day do less and less Until nothingness is seen All occurs quite on its own A doer need not intervene Allow all things to run their course If you want to be proficient Make a fuss and bother And existence will be insufficient Can you learn to rely on the Tao? Nothing else will serve you so well, for nothi ng else is so true. Nothing else is absolute, ultimate and final. Can you begin to let g o of the identity you have built up over so many years? The efforts of your personal self to order your life have not brought satisfaction. The more you see your empty and creative core, the more your preoccupation with personal concerns drops away - o n its own. Your true identity is pure awareness, centered in the place where others se e your head, where you see only absence. Claim your true and unchanging nature. All you need to do is look within!

49. The seer doesn't own a thought For thoughts do not reside within Thoughts concern ten thousand things And that's the way it's always been The seer doesn't rush to judge And treats all people well Considers no one bad or good Attracts but never does repel The seer trusts things as they are And takes all people at their word Giving trust to everyone Knows faithfulness will be returned The seer turns your view around So you can never be beguiled And gives you back all that you lost The vision of a little child When your view is total and singular, you are seeing as a child sees. You are se eing an undivided world, a world in which the seer and the seen are one. It is all you a nd all yours. Even those you call others are you! Seen in this light, the light of orig in, all is seen in all its vividness, as if for the first time. The seer treats all people with acceptance according to the open and welcoming nature of awareness. This may be startling to some, especially to those who reac t according to a moral code of proper behavior. The seer sees that these codes are artificial systems of thought imposed from the outside. The seer prefers the nat ural values of simple and spontaneous acceptance. What advantage does this provide? When you treat people with acceptance and trust, you are trusted and welcome everywhere. Give trust, and trust is given in return. Turn yor view toward the Tao. See the gone-head. See your eternal and infinite capacity to receive all that occurs, all things and all events. This is the simp le vision of the small child who still sees totality and still knows joy.

50. Between the time when they are born And the time that they will die Three in ten will follow life Three others only will deny Three others are so casual They live as though they're passing through But one remains who clearly sees There's not a single thing to do Can you be like the one who sees The world emerging on its own? What's needed for each moment Arises from the great unknown This one doesn't have a fear Of weaponry or wild beast These enemies can't harm the one Whose separate self is long deceased This vast awareness is everyone's true identity, but not everyone will appreciat e it. Some will go along with tradition and the mores of their time, including the com mon view that they are a thing much like the image they see in the mirror. They will ignore awareness. Others will deny and despise existence. They will rebel against the w ays of their neighbors and peers. They too ignore awareness. Still others will live only for the day, and they will reap the passing of days. They do not see eternity in the ir midst. But one remains, perhaps only one in ten, who sees what is given. This one is th e seer. The seer sees the world arising moment by moment from the aware emptiness that i s seen where the head is gone. This is the Tao. This is awareness. And the seer kn ows that this Tao is invulnerable. All things are vulnerable. This alone is not a th ing. This alone is nothing.

51. Everything arises From this total emptiness Is nourished and completed And finds creation blessed All things arise from nothingness Are cared for by existence Which freely gives what is required For bountiful subsistence Existence does not make a claim On what it has created It nourishes and serves and leads Is honored and appreciated Are you a thing? Or are you nothing, not a thing, no thing? You can settle this question for yourself just by looking. Look within, at your central emptiness, a t your missing head. Only you can do this looking. No one else is in a position to see it where you see it. Others see your head. You see nothing. But from this nothing emerges all existence. It's not merely nothing. It's the mysterious source of ex istence, and it's filled with its own creation. Please look to see that this is true for you. It's never otherwise for the seer. The beauty and bounty of existence comes from this most humble and most potent of all places, the great within. Everything arises from nothing - on its own. What does that leave for us to do? Nothing! Do nothing. If you see that creation is arising moment by moment out of your central emptiness, that is all there is to it. That is the doing, which is really a non-doing. What to do? Trust that being aware of the Tao, seeing the gone-head, will occur more and more often. You can neither force it nor prevent it. If you see i t, it's easy. It comes on its own. Just trust that it will always do so. If you are impr essed with the magnificence and glory of this vision, it will continue to come. If you see that you are seeing the timeless, the eternal, it will continue to come, because you have seen it for all time! If you see that you are bare awareness, you will see that you are not the doer. You are the awareness that allows all doings to occur.

52. All things emerge from nullity The only derivation Of everything that manifests The source of all creation Stay in touch with origin There's nothing that you need deny Seeing your totality You will not fear to die Do not be in haste to speak And always guard the senses You will find your heart at peace And in the place where all commences See the subtle and the clear It is the empty source of light There is no danger in this place That is forever in plain sight Lao Tzu wants us to see the subtle and clear core of being right here where the head is gone. It's the place of total peace. And it's the place of origin of all ten tho usand things. Watch these things emerge and subside in the Tao, in your clear awarenes s. We can see this any time we care to look. Lao Tzu tells us why we should care. See that as awareness you are totality. You are the clear origin and only of dynamic existence. You are both. As the unchanging, undying source of all , you are at peace and out of danger. As the possessor of creation, you are ce even amidst turmoil if you see that you are the source of the turmoil. Stay in with origin! It's never out of sight. It's the light that shines on the world, ght of pure awareness. owner things at pea touch the li

53. This way is wide and easy Yet people love to stray They love to take the sidetracks And wander from the way When the few are rich and wealthy Living way above their needs The granaries are empty And the fields are full of weeds When rulers spend on weapons And implements of war It's a never ending circle Of ever wanting more When the rich have all abundance What remains must surely dwindle Having more than you can use Is thievery and fraud and swindle What does it mean to get sidetracked? Pursue the interests of the false self to get ahead - to get a head. Why not prefer the wide and easy way of seeing how existe nce is truly given? to see the gone-head? the simple truth? Lao Tzu calls it thievery when the few capture the bulk of a country's worth. Th is is no basis for a decent life. Even those in power would be better off if they didn 't have to defend their position and their possessions. This kind of power does not last . It has always led to rebellion and to the overthrow of those who hold the power. True power lies in seeing your true nature as unlimited potential to originate a nd sustain the world. This is real wealth and abundance, and it's yours by nature. Claim it by seeing it! Wu wei, doing nothing, is spontaneous action. Everything occurs on its own - in emptiness. When Lao Tzu says to do nothing, he wants us to see our emptiness, to see that there is no one here to do anything. Even thoughts occur on their own, one following another. These thoughts can lead to a special kind of thought called a decision. Decisions too ? Do nothing. You are not ng. See that you are simply that all activity takes place in occur on their own, spontaneously. So what should you do any kind of thing that could do anything. You are no-thi nothing, the nothing that beholds all activity. And see you.

54. Hold fast to this awareness Seeing that it is your root It will not ever slip away This ever present absolute It cannot be uprooted It's always held in veneration Discovered very close at hand In every generation Allow its presence in your life Awareness real and profound Allow it in the family Its blessings will abound And if you care to share it With neighbor and with friend Its potency will multiply With benefits that never end You ask me how I know it's true It isn't something I mistook Well nothing is more obvious The only thing I do is look Bare awareness is your root. It is the source and nourishment and support of you r world, the absolute at the center of existence. It has never been otherwise. Thi s awareness is not new. It is eternal. It is what you have always been, unchanged since the day you were born and before. It is also unchanged since olden days. Some people have seen it in all the ages of humanity. This view has been recorded since the invention of writing. The joy in sharing it is overwhelming. And the power of sharing this vision is boundless. T hough it is thoroughly plain, it is the source of all delight. Sharing it with others can only spread the blessings. And sharing makes it easier to keep up the seeing yourself . Why is Lao Tzu so sure of this? He can see it! He sees the Tao, the gone-head, t he naked awareness. Nothing else is so plainly obvious. He looks where his face is absent and sees only openness to take in all delights. It is also unchanged since olden days. Some people have seen it in all the ages of humanity. This view has been recorded since the invention of writing. The joy in

sharing it is overwhelming. And the power of sharing this vision is boundless. T hough it is thoroughly plain, it is the source of all delight. Sharing it with others can only spread the blessings. And sharing makes it easier to keep up the seeing yourself . Why is Lao Tzu so sure of this? He can see it! He sees the Tao, the gone-head, t he naked awareness. Nothing else is so plainly obvious. He looks where his face is absent and sees only openness to take in all delights.

55. One who sees full emptiness Is like a child just born With muscles weak and bones so soft Yet with a grip that's strong The newborn hasn't been fulfilled Its nature is pure vacancy Nullity and nothingness And potent spontaneity It can scream and cry all day And yet it never does get hoarse It only does what naturally Emerges from the inner source To see this inner nature Is seeing in a way that's bold Into the only place there is That cannot possibly grow old Children and seers are similar in not imagining themselves to be an object, a hu man object with a head and a face. Infants and very young children have no concepts about their identity. They simply see what is. They have no thoughts on the subject. B ut they soon learn what others say they are. They see a face in the mirror. That's who t hey are now. Over the years they watch that face growing older. They know they will someday die. They have the knowledge that kills. The seer returns to the pure, simple and total vision of the child, seeing the unchanging and undying vacancy at center, the nullity that is full of the world. Yet there is a difference. Unlike the child, the seer is awake to the Tao, aware of the allcreative nullity that exists in place of the face, instead of the head. What is Te? Te is most often translated as Power, and what a power! It's the inf inite potential of Tao, of This, of the awareness at your center. Te is the unlimited possibility of the Tao to become the ten thousand things. Tao is infinite emptin ess with unlimited potential. And you can see it! You can see this infinite and crea tive emptiness, the Tao that holds the kaleidoscopic world.

56. Those who know don't like to say Those who say don't know Be still and guard the senses And see what doesn't show Untie tangles, dim the glare Dull the sharp and join the dust Abide in primal unity And then do what you must You cannot hold it or let go It can't be blamed or praised In all-embracing oneness Be astonished and amazed Those who know don't like to say. They know that it can't be captured in words. They know that others are likely to take the words themselves for the truth. The trut h is not in words. The truth is in seeing, in seeing the oneness at your center, the onen ess you have in common with all beings. Don't become entangled and identified with the ten thousand things. You are not a thing like your reflection in the mirror. You are not an image. You are the orig inal! How can you fail to be amazed? How can you continue to ask for more? You'll see more than what's on show! You'll see the void or absence at your cent er. It's a void that is plain to all the senses. You'll hear it as the silence that conta ins all sound. Using any of your senses, it is total plainness and purity. This void is pure an d unadorned awareness, simple and absolute presence.

57. To truly lead with fairness You must put aside control Abandon imposition Make spontaneity your goal The more you try to run their lives With rules and prohibition The poorer people's lives become The more they live in opposition The more you deal with others With cunning and with guile The more that other people say Our lives are not worthwhile The The The The more more more more you hoard your treasures you're giving hope to thieves you sharpen weapons the country grieves

Do nothing and see all is done And everyone is true Drop the rules and people owe Prosperity to you Just let go of all desire And people will return To natural and simple ways To life without concern Do nothing and see all is done. Allow spontaneity. Lao Tzu is showing us two way s of doing. The first way is the more familiar. It's the way of opposition and imposi tion, of trying to impose our will on the world. It's the way of calculated action. Of co urse we must all plan and be assertive to some extent. We must do what is needed for liv ing. But if we imagine this assertiveness to be the only mode of action, then we don' t know when to stop. We do not know its limits. We push too far, and the world pus hes back. Lao Tzu prefers a second way of doing. He calls it wu wei, doing nothing. The Ta o does nothing, and all is done. Everything happens on its own, with no help from you or me. Hold still a minute and look. Has anything stopped just because you are d oing nothing? Does action continue? Of course it does. Trust that all is as it should be, and

do what you will. Doing nothing is identical to seeing everything. See that your inner being canno t act. See the setup. Here, where the head is gone, is Tao, which is empty and void. Emptiness cannot act, but it can contain action. All action is out there in the world, happening on its own. And the world out there is happening in you!

58. Let And Let And

your lead be gentle people will be satisfied it be severe and harsh be rejected and defied

Happiness may reign today But who knows what tomorrow holds? Sadness too will have its time As all ten thousand things unfold The seer's sight is sharp and pointed But it does not cut or pierce The seer sees and shows the truth This gentle way is never fierce Who knows what tomorrow holds? No one is certain. Allow events to unfold as they will. Don't interfere in the affairs of others. Lead gently. Knowing that calcul ated action may backfire, are you prepared to take the blame? The seer leads by doing nothing. Do nothing. See everything! Do nothing that is calculated. See totality. See the absence that is the source and substance of al l that exists. Watch actions arise spontaneously. Even what seem like conscious decisio ns arise on their own. Be at your ease, and all will be at ease in your presence. 59. To serve and care for others With restraint and moderation Stay centered in the here and now And free of limitation If you keep returning To this your central root You will possess forever Awareness undilute How can you best serve others? By being sure of yourself, of your own root. Stay centered in the here and now, in your own presence, your own awareness. When you are sure of your own unlimited identity, share it with others. It's our common i dentity after all. Awareness is not a thing that has qualities or parts that could be di vided. It is identical for all of us. It is your nature to share it!

60. It's best to lead a large domain As you would cook a little fish Don't poke and prod or you are bound To spoil the country and the dish Just stay open and aware And evil cannot get a hold Cannot find a home in you Even evil's not that bold At center you harm no one And no one's able to harm you This kind of reciprocity Creates the world anew How do you cook a small fish? By leaving it alone. Put it on the fire, and let i t cook itself. We are back again to Lao Tzu's perennial theme, don't interfere. Lead a country the same way. Provide for the basic needs, then let it run itself. Don't exploit others for your own benefit. All will go smoothly on its own, with no harm to others an d no harm to you. Lao Tzu is also speaking about your true essence as awareness. No one is able to harm you, because, as awareness, you are an absence. The Tao, the absent head, i s invulnerable. It is pure bliss. Many of the chapters in the Book of Te are addressed to the leader of a country. We can learn from these because we all must assume the role of a leader at times. L ao Tzu tells us not to lead by opposing and prohibiting. If it harms no one then give t he people what they want. The Taoist story of Three in the Morning tells of a keepe r of monkeys who had to reduce their ration of nuts because of a shortage that year. He told the monkeys they would have three nuts in the morning and four nuts in the evening. The monkeys raised such a fuss about the situation that the keeper had to reconsider. He came back to the monkeys with a new plan. They would have four nu ts in the morning and three nuts in the evening. Now the monkeys were satisfied. Th e keeper had allowed them to have what they wanted. And it had cost him nothing. I f we really stop to listen to what people want, we will no doubt find that most of their wants amount to no more than four in the morning. An effective leader listens to others and does not insist on three in the morning!

61. A great domain is like the sea Whose power comes from lying low And due to this humility Its greatness has to grow A small domain can lie low too Acknowledging its low location Surrender and humility Give rise to exaltation If you lie low you too arise To uppermost position For everyone's attracted to One who doesn't fear submission Here Lao Tzu speaks of the power of humility and lying low. This is not the humi lity of putting yourself down, exclaiming your unworthiness. This is the true humilit y of seeing that you already occupy the lowest place in the universe. As rivers flow to the sea, all objects flows directly to your awareness. You can see this is so! Look up at the sky (or the ceiling). Now look out at the horizon or the hills (or the wall). Bo w down further, and see your feet. If you continue to lower your gaze, you see your leg s, your waist, your chest, and finally your absence, your gone-head. This is the Tao, accommodation for all things.

62. I'm at the center and the source Of all ten thousand things Where I receive the benefits That pure awareness brings These benefits belong to all To good and bad the same For nature gives you what you need With no regard for praise or blame Words and deeds of excellence May bring you honor and acclaim But nature values each alike And is indifferent to fame When new leaders are installed Don't send gifts or lofty praise Stay centered in the unity Provided by the inward gaze Why should you esteem the void? It does away with imperfection Those who seek are bound to find It disappears on close inspection Nature gives to everyone alike, but humans are not satisfied with this. They wan t to divide and name, grade and rank, own and possess. Who is first? Who is best? Whe re do I fit in? Lao Tzu tells me I don't fit in at all. On the contrary, everything fits in me! How fortunate I am if I can see this. And I can see it if I look inward, in the dire ction of the gone-head. Here is the primal oneness that I am, that we all are, undivided and without a name. And its nature is bliss, the bliss of wholeness. What greater gi ft could I share with anyone? When I see my real nature as the capacity or space that contains everything and everyone, I see that I reject nothing and no one. I accept both good and bad int o my awareness. I have no choice. It is my nature to accept what is given in awarenes s. To reject anything would make me less than whole. But that is not even possible. Wh en I look, when I am seeing, I know that I am pure presence and filled to the brim wi th the ten thousand things! The sea gets its power from lying low. So

too does awareness. All the waters of the earth run to the sea, yet it never overflows. That is because the sea is also the source of the waters that rain down on the land. So too is awareness the source of the myriad things it contains. As the sea is the source and substance of the rain, so is awareness the origin and the substance of all that manifests within it. There could not be a greater power than the ability to create this enchanting world out of sheer nothingness. The Tao as the absent head is the pow er of

infinite possibility. 63. Begin with the easy And do without doing There isn't a thing That you should be pursuing Begin with the simple There's no need attacking Your greatness will lie In all that you're lacking Tackle problems when they're small And still subject to solution The largest problem is resolved By simple deeds of diminution Can you center every day And see all the seers see Empty here and brimming there A marvelous asymmetry? Begin with the easy. Begin with the simple. Begin now! All you need to do is see the asymmetry of the setup or design of existence. See both this and that, the empti ness here and the fullness there. This is total seeing. And it's total being. You are all that you see. You are the void that produces and accommodates the plenum. You are bot h. All abundance lies in the lack at the center of your being, the lack of a head. This is the Tao, the gone-head. This absence of a head is the presence of all else. What is a deed of diminution? It's any letting go of your identity as an object. You are not a person. You are accommodation for the personal. You are awareness and all that it contains. Why settle for the merely personal? See that you are the gone-person as well as the gone-head. Asymmetry is a word that Douglas Harding uses to describe how we relate to one another. We are not in symmetrical relationship. We are not face to face with on e another. We are face to no-face. We are face to space, face to emptiness, face t o Tao. We can look and see that this is true. Let's get up close and look at the face o f a friend. If you prefer, look at the face in your mirror. How many faces do you see? I can 't speak for you, but I see only one face ---- that of my friend or my reflection. If I see only one face, what do I see where my own face is missing? I see not a thing, on

ly absence, void, emptiness, the Tao! Of course I can never be face to face with anyone. The setup is not symmetrical. Here at the center I am not a face. I am bare capacity to contain all faces and all o ther things out there on the periphery. This is my identity. I am the container, and I am the contents as well. These two aspects of my nature are not opposites. They are one . The absence at the center is truly all. It creates, embraces, and holds the forever changing content at the periphery. Awareness is not divided. This absence is also pure pr esence or awareness. It is my gone-face. My face is what I present to you - for better or for worse.

64. To keep the peace is easy Begin before a problem stirs Handle things before they happen And trouble before it occurs Be calm and conquer worries Before they can proceed The very largest tree begins As just a tiny seed It takes a single step to start A journey of a thousand miles And just one brick to start to build The grandest domiciles Let things happen as they will You do not need to interfere See that you do nothing That causes discord to appear "It takes a single step to start a journey of a thousand miles." This is one of the best known and most quoted aphorisms in the Tao Te Ching. Lao Tzu is telling us to ta ke that step now! Now is the opportune time. Now is the only time. And now is out o f time. It's eternal. So see totality now! See that all is in you. Even time is in you. See it now for all time. See it whenever it occurs to you to see. It's a new way of seeing, though what y ou see is that which has always been so. And this new way of seeing brings a new way of being, a new attitude. You no longer have a need to attempt to control the world . You can allow the world to function for itself, to happen on its own. You have no ne ed to oppose or interfere. You do not add to the disunity and disruption that so often prevails.

65. Those of old who found the way Could see their inner core They saw that it was hidden And didn't bring it to the fore When people think they know the truth They want all others to concur But they are happy and content When they remain unsure Don't try to lead with cleverness Prefer instead simplicity It's obvious that truth must lie In nothingness and clarity The absence at my core is hidden from others. They see my head instead of my absence. My head is their truth. My absence is my truth. They can see absence by looking within, just as I do. It's the same absence, the same clarity. Lao Tzu t ells us that the seers of old did not bring this absence to the fore. They did not make it an object, and therefore an object of contention. How then do I share this simplici ty with others? By showing them where to look. They must look where their own heads are missing. The Tao, the gone-head, is the same for each of us. It's the same empti ness. It's the one awareness, the one emptiness.

66. The sea is large and mighty Because it lies below The streams and rivers of the world Thus capturing their flow If you want to have your fill Then you must see that you are hollow If you want to lead the way Then you must be prepared to follow When you lead you are above But no one feels put down And when you must be out in front Know that no one's losing ground When you see that you're not built For facing up or confrontation No one can contend with you Who are the ultimate negation A cup is hollow, therefore it can receive and hold your beverage. You must be ho llow if you are to receive the manifest world as it is, without distortion or opposit ion. You are made hollow. You have no face with which to confront others. You have the others' faces. Your own face is gone, missing, hollow. It's the ultimate and eve rlasting negation that contains all that is presented to it. It's the negation that holds all things positive, the emptiness that is always full. When you take action and lead others, can you do so as the one who is equal to a ll others, not as one who is above others? You are not above others and taking what is not yours. You are below everyone and receiving the fullness of creation. You ar e the hollow and empty center of existence. You are the empty center of everything that appears. The center is right where y ou are now. To find the center, it helps to find the periphery first. So let's find it. Look straight ahead, and you see objects. Above these objects are more objects, and m ore still objects are below and to the left and right. These objects occupy the peri phery. But where is the center? The only place you haven't looked is within. Look in yo ur own direction! Nothing appears here. It is at the center of the field of appeara nces. This is a precise geometry. And it's a cornucopia. Out of the emptiness at the c enter pours the abundance of manifest objects. When you see in all directions, you are

seeing the whole. And the whole includes the hole, the hollow, the nameless emptiness within - at the center. This is your true, unchanging, eternal identit y.

67. On seeing inner nothingness You see it's great beyond compare Though many find it curious That you would even care I have three treasures that I keep The first is friendliness The second is to stay behind The third is wanting less For You And The if you're friendly and you care can dare to do what's needed if you always stay behind lead will surely be conceded

And if you're satisfied with less You have everything to give Keep these treasures in your heart Then you will truly live Here are Lao Tzu's famous Three Treasures. These treasures are values that arise naturally from abiding in your inner nothingness. They certainly aren't the valu es that most people cherish. The first treasure is love, compassion, or friendliness. Being nothing, you are open. You embrace all creation by your very nature. The second treasure is humility, staying behind. Seeing that you are nothing, yo u allow all others to go ahead. You do not struggle for superiority. The third treasure is frugality, wanting less, wanting only the void of awarenes s. Wanting nothing above all else, you can be generous and giving. You do not need to contend. 68. Violence is not the way The greatest warriors know That treachery and anger Will not defeat the foe You only win if you don't strive And gain if you do not oppose This is the certain victory Simplicity bestows Lao Tzu is concerned with the values that arise naturally from abiding in inner

nothingness. He is also concerned about the values that arise from ignoring this inner void. He warns us that we cannot push ourselves on the world. Victory does not m ean opposing and overcoming others. True victory is receiving others into your own simplicity, into the clarity at the center of our being.

69. In conflict just be cautious And always on your guard Rather than advance an inch Instead retreat a yard In this way you go along And make your gain without advancing You deal with the rival As your position is enhancing Remember that it's possible Your rival just may yield So don't advance on such a foe Let differences be healed Notice that, as Tao, you are the source and substance of the world out there. Yo u are in no way separate from the myriad things and events of the world. You contain thes e things and events. They are really not out there at all. They occur within you. You can't ignore them. So you must deal with them. Lao Tzu tells us to go easy and g ently. Be cautious. Don't push and force your way. Allow time for problems to resolve. Wholeness comes in its own time. And the more you see the wholeness of being, th e more quickly it comes to all experience. Seeing wholeness is seeing the clarity that contains all existence. Look within for the Tao. What is the Tao? Who am I? I am pure presence, and I am all that is present in t hat presence. I am pure awareness, and I am all that exists in that awareness. I am nothing and everything. It's all me. Everything is me and exists in my light. Everyone i s me. There are no others. I am the one alone. I am the Seer. I am the Seer, and I am the Seen. And these are not two. I am the vacuity at cen ter, and I am all that occupies this vacuity. And these are not two. Only This is. On ly I am. Nothing exists apart from me, and I am not divided into parts. All exists in me and as me. And This is the Tao of the gone-head.

70. Embarrassingly obvious And always near at hand It is this nothingness you see But never understand Though truth within is ageless Very few will ever see My face is what I give to you The jewel within is me Lao Tzu's teaching is based on the ageless Tao within each of us, the gone-head. Though this truth is glaringly obvious, few can see it. Few even bother to look, to attend to attention, to be aware of awareness. We imagine a head where there is only awareness. We imagine a face where there is only absence. We imagine a limited thing where there is only the jewel of absolute eternity. Douglas Harding says that headlessness is embarrassingly obvious. I have freely used Douglas's expressions when they coincide with Lao Tzu's meanings. In this verse Lao Tzu is saying that his words are very easy to follow. His words are pointing to the Tao, the jewel, the absolutely obvious absence within. 71. You cannot understand the truth Claim to know and show you're ill Just see that you are missing That truth is bare and nil Unknowing is the final cure When knowledge takes its heavy toll Pure presence is totality And absence makes you whole Tao is not a thing or an object to be known or understood. Tao is naked awarenes s. Let go of knowing. Unknowing is the cure of the disease of understanding. The Tao, t he truth, is not to be understood but to be seen, and to be seen as an absence at t hat. It is our real identity. The absence of a head is the presence of pure awareness. With in this awareness is all that occurs moment by moment. Nothing is missing!

72. When the sense of wonder goes Disaster is not far behind Don't intrude in people's lives And they won't think you are unkind The seer sees both this and that But doesn't ask for praise Finding this immensity With just a simple inward gaze Here is Lao Tzu's principle of reversal one more time. Disaster follows when you interfere in the lives of others. People resent meddling. Your intentions may be unassailable, but your reward is rebellion. You cannot impose your will. It woul d be far better to adopt the seer's stance. See that your own inner immensity is room for the will of totality, for what is actually happening each moment. 73. The way is very easy Its purposes prevail When all is done in silence Intention cannot fail Its net is vast and over all With meshes large and wide Yet it loses nothing Holds everything inside What is the intention of the way, of the whole? Just what is happening right now ! You are made to contain everything, not to pick and choose. Nothing can be lost or rejected or abandoned. Resistance is futile. You are pure open awareness, made f or acceptance. What a relief to realize this. All that happens is meant to happen b y the Tao, by totality, by you in reality. All is as it should be. 74. You truly are what isn't born You need not be afraid to die Just live your life and know that you Will never lose the inner eye You can't control what is to be In using tools you don't command Unlike the master carpenter You're bound to cut your hand You are the one who was never born. You are the witness of what is born and

eventually perishes. Remain the witness. Let things take care of things. Everyth ing happens on its own, spontaneously. Does this mean you are not free to choose and decide? No, it means that even your own decisions occur spontaneously. You can't interfere in the world of things, because that world occurs within your being.

75. The people starve when taxes take The bulk of what they earn When leaders interfere too much They get rebellion in return The people do not fear to die If leaders rob them of their lives But taking no more than you need You see that everybody thrives Very little is needed for a happy and abundant life. No-thing is needed for blis s. Allow others to have what they need. You don't need to accumulate things. You are tota lity, nothing and everything, nothing containing everything. You are the absence that is pure presence. More is not possible. More things and more control over others me ans more trouble! Let go of excess. Accept totality. 76. We're soft and supple when we're born Hard and rigid when we die Living plants are pliable Deadwood is brittle and dry This way life befriends the weak But death draws near the strong The hard and stiff are bound to break The supple bends and goes along Lao Tzu contrasts the softness and receptivity of our true nature as awareness w ith the hardness and severity of our false identity as a name, a person in a world of pe rsons. As a person, we are hard and impenetrable. As awareness, we are open and clear, receptive and flexible. We accept whatever comes to us. We don't resist. Those w ho resist are broken. Those who accept are whole.

77. Nature's way of doing Is like the bending of a bow For pulling on a bow you see The low go high and the high go low Nature takes from those who have And gives to those who lack When nature takes from human beings They fight to get it back But if you see you have it all You're not afraid to give away Expecting nothing in return It all comes back with no delay Here's a revealing statistic for the year 2000. Earth's population is 6,000,000, 000. The 200 richest people in the world have more wealth that the poorest 2,000,000,000 combined. Has anything changed since Lao Tzu's day? Everyone is entitled to life's necessities. Where is your wealth? Do you see tha t you have all that you need and more? You have the Tao, total awareness. Allowing nat ure to have its way, you don't claim more than you can use. You claim your real rich es instead. You see that you are totality, and Tao takes care of the rest. All are equal in this regard. Have you noticed that all of the definitions of the Tao and the Seer are identic al? The Seer is the Tao. The Tao is the Seer. The Tao is the presence of awareness that is seen as the absence of a head. The Seer is the same! You, as the Seer, are in no way separate from the world. You are all that is. An d what a joy it is to see how all is given - here and now and forever. See the Tao. See the Seer. See the Truth.

78. Water is so very soft It overcomes because it yields By wearing down the hardest rock It shows what power weakness wields The weak can overcome the strong The soft can overcome the hard Everybody knows it's true So hold the low in high regard The seer sees serenity Where others see affliction The seer sees the inner truth Where others only see a fiction Water flows as life should flow. It ars them down by its persistence. Water f its own nature. It remains calm and in such a course. Your victory lies in . goes around all obstacles, and, doing so, we does not oppose. Water merely goes the way o serene. Can you do the same? All power lies not distorting your true and original nature

And what is this nature? What is your inner truth? It is the serene and open pre sence at the center of your being. Can you see this? Can you see the creative emptines s where others see your face? 79. There's little good in making peace If resentment lingers You'll never see an end to blame If everyone is pointing fingers It's better to be pointing At the peaceful and creative place Where you see naught but emptiness And others say they see your face Let's point a finger one more time at the empty face, the gone-head. Point here rather than there. Notice the arrangement. See how existence is presented in non-existe nce, how everything appears in nothing. Existence emerges from this no-thing at your center. All peace is here at center. All opposition is out there in the world of heads and faces. Where do you prefer to live?

80. If a land is small and the people few And the rulers recognize what's needed The simple ways of courtesy Are happily and gladly heeded For people need so little To live their lives aright Are food and home and clothing Not enough for pure delight? Though nearby lands are close enough To hear their roosters crow The people will be so content That not a one will want to go If you live in the simplicity at your center, you will not want to go anywhere. You will see that there is nowhere to go and no one here to go anywhere. You are the stil l center of existence. There is nothing at your center to move. Can you see that everything moves in you while you remain absolutely still? Simplicity also means contentment with little. Of course you need the basic necessities of life. But d o you need great wealth or fame? If you are seeing that at your center, as awareness, you are totality, you will have no need to build a self. Nothing can be added to totalit y. You are whole and free to enjoy the delights of living! Can you see this freedom? At center you are free of everything. You are free of sounds, of movement, of colors and shapes, thoughts and feelings. And this freed om is not merely freedom from. It's also freedom for. As the Tao, you are empty and empty-headed, open and free. You are always free - for accepting, for embracing and for loving existence. Why not stay free? Don't try to make a name for yourself. Don't try to get a-head. Don't try to face the world. Just see that all existence is f acing you!

81. Truth need not be eloquent And eloquence may not be true There is no need to argue When truth is shining through Those who see may not be learned The learned may not see To see you merely need to look In pure simplicity The seer doesn't have to hoard And does not fear to lose The more you give, the more you have So why should you refuse? Why For And The not give it all away? emptiness brings benefit as the seers always say more you give, the more you get

Lao Tzu began his text by telling us that the Tao cannot be named. His final wor ds recall that theme. See it. Don't just talk or write or think about it. It's not contained in words or names. See it! Let go of all that keeps you from seeing what really is. See your true identity, this aware nothing that you are, right here where your face is absent and your head is gone. See that all that you let go as identity comes back as co ntent. Nothing is lost. To see that this is true, all you need to do is look. Look again now. No need to point this time. You know where to look by now. Can you see the Tao, the absence of a head that is at the same time the presence of the multifarious world? This is total seeing. Nothing is left out. Only the head, th e name, the false self is missing. Totality remains! And that's the end of the story. There is nothing for you or me to do but contin ue seeing the truth about the world and its origin within each of us. I am grateful to Lao Tzu for sharing his Tao with me. I am also grateful to all of those who have interpreted his writing in English. I have depended on their renderings of the t ext to attempt my own version. Above all, I am grateful to Douglas Harding for showing me what he calls two-way seeing. There is nothing like seeing the truth, nothing mo re rewarding. Again I will recommend that you read any of the books that Douglas ha s written. All of them contain experiments in seeing. Doing the experiments is a s ure

way to make total seeing your accustomed way of seeing the world. You have nothi ng to lose but your head!