Tao Te Ching Chapter 42 Dao De Jing

 Dao De Jing by Laozi, Chapter 42

Transformations of the Tao, Reason's Modifications,  Avoid Violence, Unnatural Death, One Produces Many, Harmony, Creativity  道化 

"The Dao produced One; One produced Two;
Two produced Three; Three produced All things.
All things leave behind them the Obscurity (out of which they have come), and go forward to embrace the Brightness (into which they have emerged), while they are harmonised by the Breath of Vacancy.
What men dislike is to be orphans, to have little virtue, to be as carriages without naves; and yet these are the designations which kings and princes use for themselves.
So it is that some things are increased by being diminished, and others are diminished by being increased.
What other men (thus) teach, I also teach.
The violent and strong do not die their natural death.
I will make this the basis of my teaching."
-   Translated by James Legge, 1891, Chapter 42

"The Way gave birth to unity,
Unity gave birth to duality,
Duality gave birth to trinity,
Trinity gave birth to the myriad creatures.
The myriad creatures bear yin on their backs and embrace yang in their bosoms.
They neutralize these vapors
and thereby achieve harmony.
That which all under heaven hate most
Is to be orphaned, destitute, and hapless.
Yet kings and dukes call themselves thus.
Things may be diminished by being increased, increased by being diminished.
Therefore,
That which people teach,
After deliberation, I also teach people.
Therefore,
"The tyrant does not die a natural death."
I take this as my mentor."
-   Translated by Victor Mair, Chapter 42

"Dao sprouted as one.
One sprouted into two.
Two sprouted into three.
Three sprouted into all the living things in the universe.
All living things suffer through darkness and embrace the light.
In the middle, life's energy finds a way to act from the harmony of both.
A person's stance might be to really hate being "alone, isolated and One Without Grain".
Yet the nobility choose to call themselves by that title.
A living thing may be damaged by increase; or may profit by decrease.
Therefore, if a person realizes that their attitude can teach others,
In the evening they will consider and discuss things, teaching each other.
Therefore those who are aggressive and violent will die incomplete.
I'll take these lessons as though they came from my father."
-   Translated by Nina Correa, 2005, Chapter 42

"Dao engenders one. (Tai-chi)
One engenders two. (Yin and Yang)
Two engenders three. (combinations of Yin and Yang)
Three engenders everything.
Everything carries Yin and embraces Yang.
The mixing of Yin and Yang becomes an entity.
People dislike words like orphaned, widowed and unworthy.
Nevertheless, the lords use these terms as their titles.
An affair may finally turn out well despite a very bad start.
Conversely, it could turn out badly with a good start.
That is what I have learnt: nothing is certain in life.
I will use this to teach others.
However, I will still use
"Those who resort to violence will die by violence" as my principal teaching."
-  Translated by Han Hiong Tan, Chapter 42  

"The way begets the one
The one begets the two
The two beget the three
The three beget the myriad beings
The myriad beings carry the shadow and embrace the light
Mixing the breaths with harmonious action
People have their reasons to truly dislike being
“Orphaned & friendless, without worth”
Yet sovereign & duke take (these) as titles
Since beings may sometimes lose something, and yet benefit
May sometimes gain something, and yet be diminished
What someone else has taught
I too come to teach:
Those who are forceful & hostile
do not meet their (natural) ends
I will regard (this) as a premise of the teaching."
-   Translated by Bradford Hatcher, 2005, Chapter 42  

"The Tao gives birth to the One.
The One gives birth to two.
Two gives birth to three.
And three gives birth to the ten thousand things.
The ten thousand things have their backs in the shadow
while they embrace the light.
Harmony is achieved by blending
the breaths of these two forces.
People dislike the words "alone," "helpless," "worthless,"
yet this is how Princes describe them selves.
So it is that sometimes a thing is increased
by being diminished and
diminished by being increased.
What others teach I also teach:
"A violent person will not die a natural death."
I shall make this the basis of my teaching."
-   Translated by Tolbert McCarroll, 1982, Chapter 42  

"The principle is not a thing. Call it zero.
The principle in action is the unity of creation. This unity is a single whole. Call it one.
Creation consists of pairs of opposites or polarities. Call these polarities two.
These polarities become creative when they interact. Their interaction is the third element. Call it three.
For example, a man and a woman are two. Their interaction, or intercourse, the third element makes babies. That is creative. That is how all creativity occurs.
The wise leader knows about pairs of opposites and their interactions. The leader knows how to be creative.
In order to lead, the leader learns to follow. In order to prosper, the leader learns to live simply. In both cases, it is the interaction that is creative.
Leading without following is sterile. Trying to become rich by accumulating more and more is a full-time career and not free at all.
Being one-sided always produces unexpected and paradoxical results. Being well-defended will not protect you; it will diminish your life and eventually kill you.
Exceptions to these examples of traditional wisdom are very hard to find."
-   Translated by John Heider, 1985, Chapter 42  



"Tao gives birth to One,
One gives birth to Two,
The Two gives birth to Three,
The Three gives birth to all universal things.
All universal things shoulder the Yin and embrace the Yang.
The Yin and Yang mingle and mix with each other to beget the harmony.
People distain the orphaned, widowed and worthless,
Yet they are the name by which rulers called themselves.
Therefore all things may increase when diminished,
And they may diminish when increased.
What people teach is "get rid of weakness and become strong,"
But what I teach is "get rid of the strong to become weak.
The violent and forceful do not die a natural death,"
I will begin my teaching just from this saying."
-  Translated by He Xuezhi, Chapter 42

"El Tao da origen al uno,
el uno da origen al dos,
el dos da origen al tres,
el tres da origen a los diez mil seres.
Los diez mil seres cargan yin en sus espaldas
y cargan yang en los brazos,
uniendo el aliento vital para alcanzar la armonía.

Lo que la gente detesta es:
ser huérfano, viudo, ímprobo ;
sin embargo los reyes y los príncipes se llaman a sí mismos así.
Por lo tanto las cosas ya decrecen para acrecentar,
ya acrecientan para decrecer.

Lo que la gente enseña
yo lo enseño también:
“Los violentos y salvajes no llegan a una muerte natural”.
Yo sostengo esto como padre de mi enseñanza."
-  Translated by Álex Ferrara, 2003, Capítulo 42 

"When the Principle has emitted its virtue, the latter begins to evolve according to two alternating modalities.
This evolution produces (or condenses) the median air (tenuous matter).
From tenuous matter, under the influence of the two modalities yin and yang, all sentient beings are produced.
Coming out from the yin (from strength) they pass to the yang (to the act), through the influence of the two modalities on matter.
What men dislike is being alone, unique, incapable, (in obscurity and abasement), and yet emperors and princes are designated by these terms, (which imply humility without debasement).
Beings diminish themselves by wanting to augment themselves, and they are augmented through diminishing themselves."
-   Translated by Derek Bryce, 1999, Chapter 42  

  
"Nature first begets one thing.
The one thing begets another.
The two produce a third.
In this way, all things are begotten.
Why? Because all things are impregnated by two alternating tendencies, the tendency towards completion and the tendency towards initiation, which acting together, complement each other.
Most men dislike to be considered of no account, lowly, unworthy.
Yet intelligent leaders call themselves thus.
For people are admired for their humility and despised for their pride.
There are many other ways of illustrating what I am teaching: "Extremists reach untimely ends."
This saying may be taken as a good example."
-   Translated by Archie J. Bahm, Chapter 42   

A typical webpage created by Mike Garofalo for each one of the 81 Chapters (Verses, Sections) of the Tao Te Ching (Daodejing) by Lao Tzu (Laozi) includes over 25 different English language translations or interpolations for that Chapter, 5 Spanish language translations for that Chapter, the Chinese characters for that Chapter, the Wade-Giles and Hanyu Pinyin transliterations (Romanization) of the Mandarin Chinese words for that Chapter, and 2 German and 1 French translation of that Chapter.  Each webpage includes a Google Translate option menu for reading the entire webpage in many other languages.  Each webpage for each one of the 81 Chapters of the Tao Te Ching [246 CE Wang Bi version] includes extensive indexing by key words, phrases, and terms (concordance) for that Chapter in English, Spanish, and the Wade-Giles Romanization.  Each webpage on a Chapter of the Daodejing includes recommended reading in books and websites, a detailed bibliography, some commentary, links, research leads, translator sources, and other resources for that Chapter.  

     A Top Tier online free resource for English and Spanish readers, researchers, Daoist devotees, scholars, students, fans and fellow travelers on the Way. 

Chapter 42, Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

Chapter and Thematic Index (Concordance) to the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

English Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index

Spanish Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices

Taoism: A Selected Reading List

Process Philosophy

One Old Daoist Druid's Final Journey  

How to Live a Good Life: Advice from Wise Persons

Because all things are impregnated by two alternating tendencies, the tendency towards completion and the tendency towards initiation, which acting together, complement each other.

The ten thousand things have their backs in the shadow while they embrace the light.  Harmony is achieved by blending the breaths of these two forces.

Everything carries Yin and embraces Yang.  The mixing of Yin and Yang becomes an entity.

All living things suffer through darkness and embrace the light.  In the middle, life's energy finds a way to act from the harmony of both.

And abstraction bears all the world;  Each thing in the world bears feeling and doing, And, imbued with mind, harmony with the Way.

For example, a man and a woman are two. Their interaction, or intercourse, the third element makes babies. That is creative. That is how all creativity occurs.

All things are wrapped by yin and contain yang, and their pulsing ch'is marry.

All beings shun the principle of Inertia, They hold to the principle of Life.  They are brought into deep harmony by the Breath of the Deep. 

The ten-thousand things take refuge in yin but harbor yang,  Infusing ch’i in order to act in harmony.

All things leave behind them the Obscurity (out of which they have come), and go forward to embrace the Brightness (into which they have emerged), while they are harmonised by the Breath of Vacancy.

All things pass from Obscurity to Manifestation, inspired harmoniously by
 the Breath of the Void.

Dao De Jing, Laozi, Chapter 28

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu
Chapter 28 

Know the masculine; cleave to the feminine.
Be the valley for the world.
To be the valley for the world,
   do not swerve from your innate nature
   and return to the state of infancy.
Know the bright; keep to the dull.
Be a guide for the world.
To be a guide for for the world,
   follow your innate nature without changing
   and return to the pre-conceptual.
Understand glory; keep to humility.
Be the valley for the world.
Innate nature completed, return to original uniqueness.

When original uniqueness is divided,
It then becomes the instrumentalities.
The Sage employs them,
They then become the officers.
Thus, subtle governance shapes not."
-  Translated by Cheng Man-Ch'ing and Tam Gibbs, 1981, Chapter 28


"One keeps weakness while knowing what strength is,
And serves as the humblest brook for the world.
Being the humblest, one can receive best
Until one returns to be the weakest infant.
One keeps black while knowing what white is,
And serves as a basic model for the world.
Being the basic model, one can receive properly
Until one returns to the oneness without polar opposition.
One keeps disgrace while knowing what glory is,
And serves as the lowest valley for the world.
Being the lowest, one can receive enough
To return to the most original simplicity.
Followed by people, this simplicity can shape the world
The wise use it as the example for the government.
The big system is, therefore, an indivisible simple whole.
-  Translated by Liu Qixuan, Chapter 28 


"Know the male, but keep to the female and be thus a valley to the world.
When one is a valley to the world, the constant virtue will not desert one and one will return to the state of being an infant.
Know the white but keep to the black and be thus a model to the world.
If one is a model to the world, then the constant virtue will not decline and you will return to the limitless.
Know glory but keep to disgrace and so be a valley to the world.
If one is a valley to the world then constant virtue will be sufficient and you will return to the Uncarved Block.
When the Uncarved Block is cut asunder it then becomes utensils.
But should a Sage use such a man, that person would become a senior official.
Truly great fabrication does not involve cutting."
-  Translated by Patrick E. Moran, Chapter 28 


"Know the masculine,
but keep to the feminine:
and become a watershed to the world.
If you embrace the world,
the Tao will never leave you
and you become as a little child.

Know the white,
yet keep to the black:
be a model for the world.
If you are a model for the world,
the Tao inside you will strengthen
and you will return whole to your eternal beginning.

Know the honorable,
but do not shun the disgraced:
embracing the world as it is.
If you embrace the world with compassion,
then your virtue will return you to the uncarved block.

The block of wood is carved into utensils
by carving void into the wood.
The Master uses the utensils, yet prefers to keep to the block
because of its limitless possibilities.
Great works do not involve discarding substance."
-  Translated by John H. McDonald, 1996, Chapter 28


知其雄, 守其雌, 為天下谿.
為天下谿, 常德不離, 復歸於嬰兒.
知其白守其黑, 為天下式.
為天下式, 常德不忒, 復歸於無極. 
知其榮, 守其辱, 為天下谷. 
為天下谷, 常德乃足, 復歸於樸. 
樸散則為器.
聖人用之, 則為官長.
故大制不割.
-  Chinese characters, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 28 

zhi qi xiong, shou qi ci, wei tian xia xi.
wei tian xia xi, chang de bu li, fu gui yu ying er.
zhi qi bai shou qi hei, wei tian xia shi.
wei tian xia shi, chang de bu te, fu gui yu wu ji.
zhi qi rong, shou qi ru, wei tian xia gu.
wei tian xia gu, chang de nai zu, fu gui yu pu.
pu san ze wei qi.
sheng ren yong zhi, ze wei guan zhang.
gu da zhi bu ko. 

- Pinyin Romanization, Daodejing, Chapter 28 


"Know masculinity,
Maintain femininity,
and be a ravine for all under heaven.
By being a ravine for all under heaven,
Eternal integrity will never desert you.
If eternal integrity never deserts you,
You will return to the state of infancy.
Know you are innocent,
Remain steadfast when insulted,
and be a valley for all under heaven.
By being a valley for all under heaven,
Eternal integrity will suffice.
If eternal integrity suffices,
You will return to the simplicity of the unhewn log.
Know whiteness,
Maintain blackness,
and be a model for all under heaven.
By being a model for all under heaven,
Eternal integrity will not err.
If eternal integrity does not err,
You will return to infinity.
When the unhewn log is sawn apart,
it is made into tools;
When the sage is put to use,
he becomes the chief of officials.
For great carving does no cutting."
-  Translated by Victor H. Mair, 1990, Chapter 28

"He who knows the masculine, and yet retains the feminine,

Will be the whole world's channel, being so,

Eternal virtue will with him remain forevermore,

And infant innocency to him go.

He who knows the spotless white, yet keeps the darkness of the night,

Will be the whole world's model, and the sage

Will hold eternal virtue in his hands forevermore,

And go home again to greet the golden age.

He who knows how glory shines, yet degradation never declines,

Will be the whole world' s valley, him alone

Will the spirit of eternal virtue fill forevermore,

And simplicity will claim him as her own.

This unwrought simplicity, when scattered comes to be

The universal vessels, and the sage

May use them as the rulers of the realm forevermore,

And every hurt and injury assuage."

-  Translated by Isaac Winter Heysinger, 1903, Chapter 28 


"Conociendo lo masculino, y convirtiendose en lo femenino,
Se llega a ser la vía a través de la cual se mueve el Mundo,
Estar unido a la virtud,
Y renacer de nuevo.

Conociendo la luz y convirtiendose en la oscuridad,
Uno se convierte en el Mundo,
Llegando a ser la virtud,
Y volviendo al Tao.

Conociendo el honor y siendo humilde,
Uno se convierte en el valle del Mundo,
Llenandose de la virtud,
Y siendo como un tronco no cortado.

Cuando el tronco es cortado se convierte en herramientas.
Usadas por el sabio, son poderosas;
Así pues, un buen carpintero no desperdicia madera."
-  Translated by Antonio Rivas Gonzálvez, 1998, Capítulo 28 

"Whilst developing creativity, 
also cultivate receptivity. 
Retain the mind like that of a child, 
which flows like running water. 
When considering any thing,
do not lose its opposite.
When thinking of the finite, 
do not forget infinity;
Act with honour, but retain humility. 
By acting according to the way of the Tao,
set others an example.
By retaining the integrity 
of the inner and external worlds,
true selfhood is maintained,
and the inner world made fertile." 

- Translated by Stan Rosenthal, 1984, Chapter 28 


"The Nature of Opposites and Change ...
Be aware of your masculine nature;
But by keeping the feminine way,
You shall be to the world like a canyon,
Where the Virtue eternal abides,
And go back to become as a child.
Be aware of the white all around you;
But remembering the black that is there,
You shall be to the world like a tester,
Whom the Virtue eternal, unerring,
Redirects to the infinite past.
Be aware of your glory and honor;
But in never relinquishing shame,
You shall be to the world like a valley,
Where Virtue eternal, sufficient,
Sends you back to the Virginal Block.
When the Virginal Block is asunder,
And is made into several tools,
To the ends of the Wise Man directed,
They become then his chief officers:
For "The Master himself does not carve."
-  Translated by Raymond Blackney, 1955, Chapter 28



A typical webpage created by Mike Garofalo for each one of the 81 Chapters (Verses, Sections) of the Tao Te Ching (Daodejing) by Lao Tzu (Laozi) includes over 25 different English language translations or interpolations for that Chapter, 5 Spanish language translations for that Chapter, the Chinese characters for that Chapter, the Wade-Giles and Hanyu Pinyin transliterations (Romanization) of the Mandarin Chinese words for that Chapter, and 2 German and 1 French translation of that Chapter.  Each webpage for each one of the 81 Chapters of the Tao Te Ching includes extensive indexing by key words, phrases, and terms for that Chapter in English, Spanish, and the Wade-Giles Romanization.  Each webpage on a Chapter of the Daodejing includes recommended reading in books and websites, a detailed bibliography, some commentary, research leads, translation sources, a Google Translate drop down menu, and other resources for that Chapter.   

Chapter 28, Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

Chapter and Thematic Index (Concordance) to the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

English Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index

Spanish Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices

Taoism: A Selected Reading List

One Old Daoist Druid's Final Journey  

   

Complexity is Closer to the Truth

 

        The Fireplace Records, Chapter 40

Complexity is Closer to the Truth

 

In my experience, life is rightly characterized as diverse, complicated, varied, rich in multiplicity, saturated with the 'ten thousand things.'  Personally, I find little need to seek or to find or to have the "experience of unity."  This state of "unification," when actualized, is in most cases rather fleeting.  It may be profound, but no more so that the beauty of complexity and the fascinating reality of diversity.  I do not find the experience of the multiplicity of things distressing, disturbing, or disheartening.  

Just because all of the eggs today are in one basket does not make the colored basket more real or more interesting or more valuable than the eggs.  

Ignoring the facticity of the complexity of the natural and mental realms seems to me a more serious ignorance, not very sensible, and ultimately unwise.  I long ago gave up on any quest for "enlightenment" (in Hindu or Buddhist terms) and prefer the ordinary state of mind grounded in a world that is not simple, not one, not unified, complex, and rich in details.  To claim that our normal experience of complexity and variety is an "illusion" or "ignorance (avidya) seems to me a form of incorrect judgment.  

No doubt, trying to simplify one's life has its benefits, reducing sensory overload can reduce stress, and not becoming overly infatuated with novelty can be helpful; but, pushing on this strange path towards the "enlightenment" or "realization" of a pure and uncluttered "Unity" can produce its own distressing and disturbing predicaments for a person.  

Many philosophers, ancient and modern, have made a sharp distinction between appearances and Reality, the many and the One, the phenomena and the Noumena, and multiplicity and Unity.  For me, it is muddled thinking to call all of our experiences "just fleeting illusions" and fabricate a true realm of being outside of our personal and social and practical experiences.  Indeed, we can't "see" in any ordinary sense of "see," the cells, molecules, atoms, and the subatomic particles that constitute the objects of our macro-cosmic world; but, this in no way means the multiplicity of objects in our ordinary environment are in any way "illusions."  The meaning of "objects" is much more complicated, varied in linguistic usage, and functional in many practical contexts.  Again, complexity is closer to the truth. 

Comments, Sources, Observations, Koans, Poems, Quips:

Now is Real, a Unified Instant, but Fleeting.

Time

Complexity and Diversity 

Nature Mysticism:  Resources, Quotes, Notes

Gardening and Mysticism

Riddles (200+ Riddles, with No Ads.)

Refer to my Cloud Hands Blog Posts on the topic of Koans/Stories. 

Subject Index to 1,975 Zen Buddhist Koans

Zen Buddhist Koans: Indexes, Bibliography, Commentary, Information

The Daodejing by Laozi

Pulling Onions  Over 1,043 One-line Sayings, Quips, Maxims, Humor

Chinese Chan Buddhist and Taoist Stories and Koans

The Fireplace Records (Blog Version) By Michael P. Garofalo

Details are the Big Picture

"We cannot seek or attain health, wealth, learning, justice, or kindness in general.  Action is always specific, concrete, individualized, and unique."
-  Benjamin Jowett

"Science and psychoanalysis apart, the most profound development in thought since Nietzsche, as far as we are concerned, is the phenomenological approach to the world.  Mallarmé sought "words without wrinkles," Baudelaire cherished his minutes heureuses and Valéry his "small worlds of order," as we have seen: Checkhov concentrated on the "concrete individual" and preferred "small scale and practical answers," Gide though the "systematizing is denaturing, distorting and impoverishing."  For Oliver Wendell Holmes, "all the pleasure of life is in general ideas, but all the use of life is in specific solutions."  Wallace Stevens considered that we are "better satisfied in particulars."  Thomas Nagel put it in this way: "Particulars things can have a noncompetitive completeness which is transparent to all aspects of the self.  This also helps to explain what the experience of great beauty tends to unify the self: the object engages us immediately and totally in a way that makes distinctions among points of view irrelevant."  Or, as Robert Nozick, who counseled us to make ourselves "vehicles" for beauty, said: "this is what poets and artists bring us―the immense and unsuspected reality of a small thing.  Everything has its own patient entityhood."  George Levine call for "a profound attention to the details of this world."  
-  Peter Watson, "The Age of Atheists: How We Have Sought to Live Since the Death of God," p.536

"The idea of one overbearing truth is exhausted."  
- Thomas Mann, translated by James Wood  

"My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind."
-  Albert Einstein

"To study the self is to forget the self.  To forget the self is to be enlightened by the ten thousand things."
-  Zen Master Dogen

"The more we understand individual things, the more we understand God."
-  Benedict De Spinoza

"God is in the details."
-  Mies Van Der Rohe

"After appreciating and understanding thousands of the details, a common variety God is really superfluous."
-  Mike Garofalo

"Caress the detail, the divine detail." 
-  Vladimir Nabokov

"Details are all there are."
-  Maezumi Roshi

"We think in generalities, but we live in details."
-  W.H. Auden

Gardening and Spirituality

Gardening and Religion

A Philosopher's Notebooks

Regain Childhood Suppleness

Tao Te Ching (Daodejing) by Lao Tzu (Laozi)
Chapter 10


"While you
Cultivate the soul and embrace unity,
can you keep them from separating?
Focus your vital breath until it is supremely soft,
can you be like a baby?
Cleanse the mirror of mysteries,
can you make it free of blemish?"
- Translated by Victor H. Mair, 1990, Chapter 10


"By patience the animal spirits can be disciplined.
By self-control one can unify the character.
By close attention to the will, compelling gentleness,
one can become like a little child.
By purifying the subconscious desires one may be without fault."
- Translated by Dwight Goddard and Henri Borel, 1919, Chapter 10


"When the intelligent and animal souls are held together in one embrace, they can be kept from separating.
When one gives undivided attention to the vital breath, and brings it to the utmost degree of pliancy,
He can become as a tender babe.
When he has cleansed away the most mysterious sights of his imagination,
He can become without a flaw."
- Translated by James Legge, 1891, Chapter 10 

"Can you coax your mind from its wandering
and keep to the original oneness?
Can you let your body become
supple as a newborn child's?
Can you cleanse your inner vision
until you see nothing but the light?
Can you love people and lead them
without imposing your will?
Can you deal with the most vital matters
by letting events take their course?
Can you step back from you own mind
and thus understand all things?
Giving birth and nourishing,
having without possessing,
acting with no expectations,
leading and not trying to control:
this is the supreme virtue."
- Translated by Stephen Mitchell, 1988, Chapter 10

Complexity is Closer to the Truth

"For the Eastern mystic, all things and events perceived by the senses are interrelated, connected and are but different aspects or manifestations of the same ultimate reality.  Our tendency to divide the perceived world into individual and separate things and to experience ourselves as isolated egos in this world is seen as an illusion which comes from our measuring and categorizing mentally.  It is called avidya, or ignorance, in Buddhist philosophy and is seen as the sate of a disturbed mind which has to be overcome.

'When the mind is disturbed, the multiplicity of things is produced, but when the mind is quieted, the multiplicity of things disappears.'

Although the various schools of Eastern mysticism differ in many details, they all emphasize the basic unity of the universe which is the central feature of their teachings.  The highest aim for their followers - whether they are Hindus, Buddhists or Taoists - is to become aware of the unity and mutual interdependence of all things, to transcend the notion of an isolated individual self and to identify themselves with the ultimate reality.  The emergence of this awareness - known as 'enlightenment'- is not only an intellectual act but is an experience which involves the whole person and is religious in its ultimate nature.  For this reason, most Eastern philosophies are essentially religious philosophies."

-  Fritjof Capra, The Tao of Physics, 25th Anniversary Edition, p. 24  


   In my experience, life is rightly characterized as diverse, complicated, varied, rich in multiplicity, saturated with the 'ten thousand things.'  Personally, I find little need to seek or to find or to have the "experience of unity."  This state of "unification," when actualized, is in most cases rather fleeting.  It may be profound, but no more so that the beauty of complexity and the fascinating reality of diversity.  I do not find the experience of the multiplicity of things distressing, disturbing, or disheartening.  

Just because all of the eggs today are in one basket does not make the colored basket more real or more interesting or more valuable than the eggs.  

Ignoring the facticity of the complexity of the natural and mental realms seems to me a more serious ignorance, not very sensible, and ultimately unwise.  I long ago gave up on any quest for "enlightenment" (in Hindu or Buddhist terms) and prefer the ordinary state of mind grounded in a world that is not simple, not one, not unified, complex, and rich in details.  To claim that our normal experience of complexity and variety is an "illusion" or "ignorance (avidya) seems to me a form of incorrect judgment.  

No doubt, trying to simplify one's life has its benefits, reducing sensory overload can reduce stress, and not becoming overly infatuated with novelty can be helpful; but, pushing on this strange path towards the "enlightenment" or "realization" of a pure and uncluttered "Unity" can produce its own distressing and disturbing predicaments for a person.  

Many philosophers, ancient and modern, have made a sharp distinction between appearances and Reality, the many and the One, the phenomena and the Noumena, and multiplicity and Unity.  For me, it is muddled thinking to call all of our experiences "just fleeting illusions" and fabricate a true realm of being outside of our personal and social and practical experiences.  Indeed, we can't "see" in any ordinary sense of "see," the cells, molecules, atoms, and the subatomic particles that constitute the objects of our macro-cosmic world; but, this in no way means the multiplicity of objects in our ordinary environment are in any way "illusions."  The meaning of "objects" is much more complicated, varied in linguistic usage, and functional in many practical contexts.  Again, complexity is closer to the truth.  

"I, who make no other profession, find in myself such infinite depth and variety, that what I have learned bears no other fruit than to make me realize how much I still have to learn.  To my weakness, so often perceived, I owe my inclination to coolness in my opinions and any hatred for that aggressiveness and quarrelsome arrogance that believes and trust wholly in itself, a mortal enemy of discipline and truth."
- Michel de Montaigne, "Of Experience," 1588

Our selves are, to Montaigne, "wavelike and varying" - ondoyant et divers. 


Complexity and Diversity 

Nature Mysticism:  Resources, Quotes, Notes

Gardening and Mysticism

Green Way Research Subject Index

Awareness of Unity

"For the Eastern mystic, all things and events perceived by the senses are interrelated, connected and are but different aspects or manifestations of the same ultimate reality.  Our tendency to divide the perceived world into individual and separate things and to experience ourselves as isolated egos in this world is seen as an illusion which comes from our measuring and categorizing mentally.  It is called avidya, or ignorance, in Buddhist philosophy and is seen as the sate of a disturbed mind which has to be overcome.

'When the mind is disturbed, the multiplicity of things is produced, but when the mind is quieted, the multiplicity of things disappears.'

Although the various schools of Eastern mysticism differ in many details, they all emphasize the basic unity of the universe which is the central feature of their teachings.  The highest aim for their followers - whether they are Hindus, Buddhists or Taoists - is to become aware of the unity and mutual interdependence of all things, to transcend the notion of an isolated individual self and to identify themselves with the ultimate reality.  The emergence of this awareness - known as 'enlightenment'- is not only an intellectual act but is an experience which involves the whole person and is religious in its ultimate nature.  For this reason, most Eastern philosophies are essentially religious philosophies."

-  Fritjof Capra, The Tao of Physics, 25th Anniversary Edition, p. 24  


   In my experience, life is rightly characterized as diverse, complicated, varied, rich in multiplicity, saturated with the 'ten thousand things.'  Personally, I find little need to seek or to find or to have the "experience of unity."  This state of "unification," when actualized, is in most cases rather fleeting.  It may be profound, but no more so that the beauty of complexity and the fascinating reality of diversity.  I do not find the experience of the multiplicity of things distressing, disturbing, or disheartening.  

Just because all of the eggs today are in one basket does not make the colored basket more real or more interesting or more valuable than the eggs.  

Ignoring the facticity of the complexity of the natural and mental realms seems to me a more serious ignorance, not very sensible, and ultimately unwise.  I long ago gave up on any quest for "enlightenment" (in Hindu or Buddhist terms) and prefer the ordinary state of mind grounded in a world that is not simple, not one, not unified, complex, and rich in details.  To claim that our normal experience of complexity and variety is an "illusion" or "ignorance (avidya) seems to me a form of incorrect judgment.  

No doubt, trying to simplify one's life has its benefits, reducing sensory overload can reduce stress, and not becoming overly infatuated with novelty can be helpful; but, pushing on this strange path towards the "enlightenment" or "realization" of a pure and uncluttered "Unity" can produce its own distressing and disturbing predicaments for a person.  

Many philosophers, ancient and modern, have made a sharp distinction between appearances and Reality, the many and the One, the phenomena and the Noumena, and multiplicity and Unity.  For me, it is muddled thinking to call all of our experiences "just fleeting illusions" and fabricate a true realm of being outside of our personal and social and practical experiences.  Indeed, we can't "see" in any ordinary sense of "see," the cells, molecules, atoms, and the subatomic particles that constitute the objects of our macro-cosmic world; but, this in no way means the multiplicity of objects in our ordinary environment are in any way "illusions."  The meaning of "objects" is much more complicated, varied in linguistic usage, and functional in many practical contexts.  Again, complexity is closer to the truth.  

"I, who make no other profession, find in myself such infinite depth and variety, that what I have learned bears no other fruit than to make me realize how much I still have to learn.  To my weakness, so often perceived, I owe my inclination to coolness in my opinions and any hatred for that aggressiveness and quarrelsome arrogance that believes and trust wholly in itself, a mortal enemy of discipline and truth."
- Michel de Montaigne, "Of Experience," 1588

Our selves are, to Montaigne, "wavelike and varying" - ondoyant et divers. 


Complexity and Diversity 

Nature Mysticism:  Resources, Quotes, Notes

Gardening and Mysticism