2nd Tier Circle Podcasts

Tao Te Ching - January 31 & February 7, 2016

Chapters 68 & 69

The best athlete
wants his opponent at his best.
The best general
enters the mind of the enemy.
The best businessman
serves the communal good.
The best leader
follows the will of the people.

All of them embody
the virtue of non-competition.
Not that they don't love to compete,
but they do it in the spirit of play.
In this they are like children
and in harmony with the Tao.


The generals have a saying:
"Rather than make the first move
it is better to wait and see.
Rather than advance an inch
it is better to retreat a yard."

This is called
going forward without advancing,
pushing back without using weapons.

There is no greater misfortune
than underestimating your enemy.
Underestimating your enemy
means thinking that he is evil.
Thus you destroy your three treasures
and become an enemy yourself.

When two great forces oppose each other,
the victory will go
to the one that knows how to yield.

Audio of the Meetings

Reference:

The following books were referenced during the talks:

  • A Thousand Names for Joy, by Byron Katie, Three Rivers Press, 2007
  • The Gospel According to Jesus, by Stephen Mitchell, Harper Collins, 1991
 

Tao Te Ching - January 17, 2016

We began with some verses from the Bhagavad Gita and an exerpt from the Gospel of Sri Ramachrishna

Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 12.6

Concentrate every thought
on me alone; with a mind
fully absorbed, one-pointed,
you will live within me forever.

If you find that you are unable
to center your thoughts on me,
strengthen you mind by the steady
practice of concentration.

If this is beyond your powers,
dedicate yourself to me;
performing all actions for my sake,
you will surely achieve success.

If even this is beyond you,
rely on my basic teaching;
act always without attachment,
surrendering your action's fruits.

The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

Aspirant:
"I haven't much faith in rebirth and inherited tendencies. Will that in any way injure my devotion to God?"

Master:
"It is enough to believe that all is possible in God's creation. Never allow the thought to cross your mind that your ideas are the only true ones and that those of others are false. Then God will explain everything.

How much can a man understand of God's activities? The facets of God's creation are infinite. I do not try to understand God's actions at all.

Can one ever understand God's work? He is so near; still it is not possible for us to know Him."

Tao Te Ching, Chapter 67

Some say that my teaching is nonsense.
Others call it lofty but impractical.

But to those who have looked inside themselves
this nonsense makes perfect sense.

And to those who put it into practice,
this loftiness goes deep.

I have three things to teach:
simplicity, patience, compassion.

These three are your greatest treasures.
Simple in actions and in thoughts,
You return to the source of being.
Patient with both friends and enemies,
you accord with the way things are.
Compassionate towards yourself,
you reconcile all beings in the world.

Audio of the Meeting

Reference:

The following books were referenced during the talk:

  • The Bhagavad Gita, a new translation by Stephen Mitchell, Three River Press, 2000
  • The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, abridged edition, translated by Swami Nikhilananda, Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center, 2005
 

Tao Te Ching - January 10, 2016

Chapters 48 & 49

In the pursuit of knowledge,
every day something is added.
In the pursuit of the Tao,
every day something is dropped.
Less and less do you need to force things,
until finally you arrive at non-action.
When nothing is done,
nothing is left undone.

True mastery can be gained
by letting things go their own way.
It can’t be gained by interfering.


The Master has no mind of her own.
She works with the mind of the people.
She is good to people who are good.
She is also good to people who aren't good.
This is true goodness.

She trusts people who are trustworthy.
She also trusts people who aren't trustworthy.
This is true trust.

The Master's mind is like space.
People don't understand her.
They look to her and wait.
She treats them like her own children.

Audio of the Meeting

Reference:

The following book was referenced during the talk: Creative Visualization, by Shakti Gawain, Whatever Publishing, 1982

 

Tao Te Ching - January 3, 2016

Chapters 25 & 51

There was something formless and perfect
before the universe was born.
It is serene. Empty.
Solitary. Unchanging.
Infinite. Eternally present.
It is the mother of the universe.
For lack of a better name,
I call it the Tao.

It flows through all things,
inside and outside, and returns
to the origin of all things.

...

Every being in the universe
is an expression of the Tao.
It springs into existence,
unconscious, perfect, free,
takes on a physical body,
lets circumstances complete it.
That is why every being
spontaneously honors the Tao.

The Tao gives birth to all beings,
nourishes them, maintains them,
cares for them, comforts them, protects them,
takes them back to itself,
creating without possessing,
acting without expecting,
guiding without interfering.
That is why love of the Tao
is in the very nature of things.

Audio of the Meeting

Reference:

The following book was referenced during the talk: Creative Visualization, by Shakti Gawain, Whatever Publishing, 1982

 

Tao Te Ching - December 20, 2015

Chapter 30

Whoever relies on the Tao in governing men
doesn't try to force issues
or defeat enemies by force of arms.
For every force there is a counterforce.
Violence, even well intentioned,
always rebounds

The Master does his job
and then stops.
He understands that the universe
is forever out of control,
and that trying to dominate events
goes against the current of the Tao.
Because he believes in himself,
he doesn't try to convince others.
Because he is content with himself,
he doesn't need other's approval.
Because he accepts himself,
the whole world accepts him.

Audio of the Meeting

Reference:

The following book was referenced during the talk: Blowback, The Costs and Consequences of American Empire, by Chalmers Johnson, Henry Holt & Company, 2000

 

Tao Te Ching - December 13, 2015

Chapter 38

The Master doesn’t try to be powerful,
thus he is truly powerful.
The ordinary man keeps reaching for power;
thus he never has enough

The Master does nothing,
yet he leaves nothing undone.
The ordinary man is always doing things,
yet many more are left to be done.

The kind man does something,
yet something remains undone.
The just man does something,
and leaves many things to be done.
The moral man does something,
and when no one responds
he rolls up his sleeves and uses force.

When the Tao is lost, there is goodness.
When goodness is lost, there is morality,
When morality is lost, there is ritual.
Ritual is the husk of true faith,
the beginning of chaos.

Therefore the Master concerns himself
with the depths and not the surface,
with the fruit and not the flower.
He has no will of his own.
He dwells in reality,
and lets all illusions go.

Audio of the Meeting

 

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updated February 15, 2016