Tao Te Ching Chapter 40 Dao De Jing

Daodejing, Laozi
Chapter 40

"The movement of the Tao
By contraries proceeds;
And weakness marks the course
Of Tao's mighty deeds.
All things under heaven sprang from It as existing and named.
That existence sprang from It as non-existent and not named."
-  Translated by James Legge, 1891, Chapter 40    

"Reversion is the action of Tao.
   Gentleness is the function of Tao.
The things of this world come from Being,
   And Being (comes) from Non-being."
-  Translated by Lin Yutang, 1955, Chapter 40    

"In Tao the only motion is returning;
The only useful quality, weakness.
For though all creatures under heaven are the products of Being,
Being itself is the product of Not-being."
-  Translated by Arthur Waley, 1934, Chapter 40  


"Reversion is the action of the Dao.
 Softness is the function of the Dao.
 The myriad things under Heaven achieve life in existence.
 Existence arises from nothingness."
 -  Translation Richard Lynn, Chapter 40  



反者道之動.
弱者道之用. 
天下萬物生於有.
有生於無.
-  Chinese Characters, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 40  


fan zhe dao zhi dong, 
ruo zhe dao zhi yong. 
tian xia wan wu sheng yu you.   
you sheng yu wu.
-  Pinyin Romanization, Daodejing, Chapter 40   



"The movement of Tao in the course of time is to return to Simplicity;
 The working of Tao is so subtle that is ostensible effect may not be immediately noticeable.
 Myriad things and creatures on Earth were originated from something;
 This something describable by us was launched ultimately from nothing which is beyond our description."
 -  Translated by Lee Sun Chen Org, Chapter 40   



"Interaction of the opposites is the sphere of Tao activity.
The Highest Subtlety is one of the most important qualities of Tao.
It is opposed by coarse qualities of evil people. 
All the development of incarnate beings goes on in interaction of these opposites.
Yet, the very world of matter originated from the Subtlest Source."
-  Translated by Mikhail Nilolenko, Chapter 40    


"El movimiento del Tao es retornar;
El uso del Tao es aceptar;
Todas las cosas derivan del Tao,
El Tao no deriva de ninguna."
-  Translated by Antonio Rivas Gonzálvez, 1998, Capitulo 40

"The movement of the Tao is a returning,

And weakness marks its course, to our discerning,

But heaven and earth and everything from its existence came,

And existence, from the non-existent spurning."
-  Translated by Isaac Winter Heysinger, 1903, Chapter 40  

"Tao moves in cycles;
Tao functions through softness.
All is born of nothing.
Something is born of nothing."
-  Translated by Tam C. Gibbs, 1981, Chapter 40   

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 40, 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  

How to Live a Good Life: Advice from Wise Persons

 

Forms are Full, Fullness begets Forms

Waves of Reflections at the Bandon Jetty

By Michael P. Garofalo
January 2023

The immense Oceans are undrinkable, and
in some ways unthinkable.  
No fresh water begets death, and 
Water is Life.

Words from the Heart Scripture went unsaid, and
the Bodhi Tree flourished in Life's Garden.  

Something evolves from Something Else, and
nothing evolves from nothing.

Beings emerge from Beings, and
emptiness disappears into emptiness.

"Nothing" is not a noun-thing, and
"Somethings" are dependent relationships.

Forms are Full, and
Fullness begets Forms.

Somethings created my body-mind, and
my body-mind created somethings.  

The Dao marries Yin-Yang, and
some of their step-children are Black Holes. 

Chaos is not emptiness, and
the Void provides Space for Somethings.

Somethings are transitory, ephemeral, and
They are Not empty illusions or unreal. 

Time is the crux of the matter, and
Somethings come and go, appear and disappear.  

"Nothing" is the absence of Something
we desire, and
not the presence of something.  

Somethings are Appearances, and
Appearances are Somethings.

Is or is not, true or false, real or unreal,
something or nothing, be Careful, and
sometimes choose the Middle Way of Maybe So.

Pointing to Nothing, and 
slogging through a muddy muddle of Mu.

Come Closer, Come Closer, and
Open the Door to Wonderous Beings.

Come Closer, Come Closer, and
Embrace Body-Mind-Spirit.
Cast off emptiness and the void.  

Gate Gate Parasamgate Bodhi Svaha, and
some Lotus plants died in a drought.  Oh No!

Words from the Heart went unsaid, and
the Bodhi Tree flourished in Life's Garden.  (5) 

Waves of Reflections at the Bandon Jetty
By Michael P. Garofalo
January 2023

 The Heart Sutra and The Threefold Lotus Sutra.  

Emptiness and Forms

Experiences of "emptiness" are often a case of not finding something we desire in the complex world of Somethings.  Something desired seems or is missing.  We want a drink of water and the glass is empty.  We wanted wheat, and a drought destroyed the wheat crop and brought nothing we wanted.

Emptiness is "A" Form

 

The Fireplace Records, Chapter 29

Emptiness is "A" Form

The short Heart Sutra is recited frequently in Zen Buddhist Temples and Churches.  It is a fundamental scripture of great importance to Buddhist philosophy and beliefs.

Emptiness, the Void, Nothing, Nothingness, Not Here, Not Present,
the Fecund Voidness of the Dao, etc. .... have kept Taoists and Zen Buddhists and Existentialists busy thinking for a long time. 

Sartre examined "Being and Nothingness" as did Heidegger.  Taoists reflected on how Emptiness Gives Birth to Everything.  The Empty Circle is an artistic rendering of the importance of the Void found on Zen altars and walls everywhere. 

Conditions of emptiness or the non-presence of Something or Other are obvious from the visual and tactile clues in our daily lives.  We know (see and feel) when the kitchen larder is empty, when a loved one disappears upon their death, when a classroom is empty of students, in the pitch black moonless night, when the music stops, when the cup is empty, when some words are insincere and empty of honesty, when a Nazi criminal is empty of empathy, when we empty our bowels, when our lives seem empty of achievements, or when viewing the vast empty sky from a mountain peak, etc.  As a child, we learn how to talk about empty candy jars, the absence of siblings or mothers and crying about being left alone, being scared of the dark, the loss of toys, the realization that Santa Claus is a fiction.  The Void is familiar to us, and, we must deal with it's conditions; but multiplicity, fullness, and the ten-thousand-things occupy most of our attention and concerns.   

ALL Forms (shapes, things, ideas, concepts, perceptions, etc.) are NOT emptiness or void. Situations and circumstances and times may change and some forms do disappear, but they are or were Present, Real, tangible, concrete, existents...  The transitoriness of things and events does not imply that they are empty or void in essence.  Just because circumstances/beings are not eternal, does not imply that they are empty, void of meaning, or unreal.

So, in my opinion, emptiness/void/nothing is indeed part of reality; but just one aspect of our experiences.  Emptiness is one form, "a" Form; not the source, nature, or reality of All Forms - as the Heart Sutra touts.

Some seem to speak of "emptiness" as a mode of perception--- seeing things as they are without conceptions or presuppositions.  Similar to phenomenological "bracketing" or epoche.  A kind of purified perception.  I doubt this can be accomplished--- we are "impure" and caught within a mental and perceptual web of previous experience and future intentionality. Even Zen Masters say that only a few, out of thousands, can achieve this level or dimension of awareness and awakening, i.e., being in a state of non-dual consciousness.

Yes, all objects/events/things exist now because of the existence of Everything Else, our environment, Webs, Inter-Dependence, the Inter-Being of interrelated causes and effects.  However, this does not imply that the Reality of Now is empty or grounded in Voidness; on the contrary, it is grounded in Plentitude, in Richness.

Even "empty space" outside the Air of Our Earth is Not Empty.  Particles/waves of energy flow through space from the Sun, and cosmic microwave background radiation is everywhere. Don't consider what we cannot see with our eyes as the only criterion of emptiness.  Even an empty barrel is full of air. 

Of course, the Heart Sutra says "There is No Wisdom, and There is No Attainment Whatsoever." But, if there is "No Wisdom" then the Sutra itself stumbles and trips on its own unwise feet and leaves us with fallen ideas, obvious doubts, and gives little support for standing beliefs. 

It could just be a matter of my action-method-somatic preferences.  I don't find useful or beneficial the dulling quiet stillness and pretending-empty- mind of long hours of Zazen. I prefer the joys of gardening, reading, walking, dancing, and enjoying the Fullness, Plentitude, Richness, Complexity, and Substantial Nature of our and my Reality and Experiences. [However, I need to be cautious about having a "sour grapes" attitude. Just because I cannot physically or psychologically tolerate sitting in zazen many days in a Zen Buddhist Sesshin Retreat, I should be careful of not scorning those who do so, or pooh-poohing the benefits derived thereof.]

"Oh, I love to climb a mountain
And to reach the highest peak;
But it doesn't thrill me half as much
As dancing cheek to cheek."

Comments, Sources, Observations:

Emptiness is the subject of over 50 Zen Koans.

Inter-Dependence, Webs, Inter-Being

Meetings with Master Chang San-Feng

Emptiness (Sunyata, Void, Nothingness, Inter-Dependent Arising)

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 by Mike Garofalo

Chinese Chan Buddhist and Taoist Stories and Koans

The Fireplace Records  By Michael P. Garofalo

Or

 The Heart Sutra

"When the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara
Was Discoursing in the Deep Prajna Paramita,
He Perceived That All Five Skandhas Are Empty.
Thus He Overcame All Ills and Suffering.
Oh, Sariputra, Form Does not Differ From the Void,
And the Void Does Not Differ From Form.
Form is Void and Void is Form;
The Same is True For Feelings,
Perceptions, Volitions and Consciousness.
Sariputra, the Characteristics of the
Voidness of All Dharmas
Are Non-Arising, Non-Ceasing, Non-Defiled,
Non-Pure, Non-Increasing, Non-Decreasing.
Therefore, in the Void There Are No Forms,
No Feelings, Perceptions, Volitions or Consciousness.
No Eye, Ear, Nose, Tongue, Body or Mind;
No Form, Sound, Smell, Taste, Touch or Mind Object;
No Realm of the Eye,
Until We Come to No realm of Consciousness.
No ignorance and Also No Ending of Ignorance,
Until We Come to No Old Age and Death and
No Ending of Old Age and Death.
Also, There is No Truth of Suffering,
Of the Cause of Suffering,
Of the Cessation of Suffering, Nor of the Path.
There is No Wisdom, and There is No Attainment Whatsoever.
Because There is Nothing to Be Attained,
The Bodhisattva Relying On Prajna Paramita Has
No Obstruction in His Mind.
Because There is No Obstruction, He Has no Fear,
And He passes Far Beyond Confused Imagination.
And Reaches Ultimate Nirvana.
The Buddhas of the Past, Present and Future,
By Relying on Prajna Paramita
Have Attained Supreme Enlightenment.
Therefore, the Prajna Paramita is the Great Magic Spell,
The Spell of Illumination, the Supreme Spell,
Which Can Truly Protect One From All Suffering Without Fail.
Therefore He Uttered the Spell of Prajnaparmita,
Saying 'Gate, Gate, Paragate, Parasamgate, Bodhi Svaha.' "

- The Heart Sutra of Buddhism


The Heart Sutra (PDF Version) 

Green Way Wisdom - Zen Buddhist Poems and Scriptures

Emptiness (Sunyata, Void, Nothingness,Inter-Dependent Arising)

Assumptions Guide the Way

                       The Fireplace Records, Chapter 26

Assumptions Guide the Way

Frank and Mary were discussing metaphysical doctrines one bright summer afternoon. They sipped ice tea as they pondered issues related to idealism and realism.

Frank supported the idealist view, wherein the Conscious Presence of his current experiences is the main criterion for judging phenomena. The real or what exists depends on his direct and immediate consciousness of same. His body and external objects are in some way figments of his imagination, and many common-sense beliefs are the delusions of dualistic thinking.

Mary supported a realist view, dualisms, existence of objects in the world, and the reality of her and others human bodies. She assumed and supported scientific methods (e.g., logic, inference, precise measurements, mathematics, experimentation, probability, provisional theories, worldwide verification, collaborative work, peer evaluation, and pragmatic considerations, etc.) for discovering truth and using the results in technological applications.  Personal consciousness and personal experiences/gnosis, for her, had a limited value when it came to issues of veracity and knowledge.

Mary said, “You are always talking about how your Conscious Presence or Immediate Awareness reveals to you that Constant Change is the Primary Fact. My conclusions are different. An object like my body or the Douglas Fir trees in my back yard or furniture in my office do not change very much at all from day to day. Trees and furniture stay in the same locations. My height and weight and appearance stay pretty much the same each day at the gross level of everyday dealings. My molecular and atomic bodily interior changes quite a bit each day, however I am not aware of these changes unless facing illness. If things constantly change like you contend, and this is unquestionably revealed in your immediate consciousness/experience, then this would be madness.”

Frank said, “If you don’t have consciousness of something, then you know nothing about It. You are bound in unrealistic and delusive dualistic thinking.  All the great Yogis, Philosophers, and Zen Masters know this to be clear and true.  Read the “Transparency of Things” by Rupert Spira to get correctly informed.”

Mary said, “It is a matter of assumptions. I assume the scientific realists or materialists viewpoints because they are practical, efficient, useful, widely accepted, logically consistent, and in accord with common sense. I once read the “Transparency of Things.” An unconvincing repetition of vague and questionable pronouncements. No index, no bibliography, no notes, no scholarship standards, no inter-subjective verification. There, his Conscious Presence, sounds a lot like a spiritual soul (Atman) freed from his body, mind, and Others and resting in a awesome startling mystical Oneness. He does not even have a Deity (Brahma, God the Father, Allah, etc.) to have a Conscious Presence of the world to keep it in existence (e.g., as for Descartes, Berkeley, Hegel, or Green) while he sleeps in unconsciousness. In my view, just warmed over transparent Advaita Vedanta obscurantism.”

Frank said, “I know what I know directly, immediately, personally.  I don’t need the fanciful presuppositions of science to confirm the Experience of Conscious Presence.  It is beyond petty distinctions of right or wrong, good or bad, this or that, true or untrue. Human experience is God (the Divine, the Awesome, the Profound, the Real) gradually made manifest. Once you abandon your dualistic thinking, and your own imaginative and ungrounded deluded thinking, you might see the Light and experience deep awakening and enlightenment.”

Mary said, “We have different assumptions and thus follow different paths to understanding and knowing, and reach different conclusions. Nevertheless, we can both agree that the day is warm, the iced tea refreshing, and the garden looks to be flourishing. Is this not just awesome for one's soul? 

"Mary!" said Frank, surprised.  "Your soul!?"

Mary slapped Frank on the back.  "You Zen Masters love to quibble."

 

 A Student's Considerations:

Be clear about assumptions and definitions before the discussion.
Learn how to select useful assumptions.
For an illogical person, conclusions don't follow from assumptions.
Don't abandon the quest for reasonable explanations.
The "Mystical One" may be profound, but passes awareness quickly.
Enjoy being in awe, but don't hang on too long. 
Iron Grindstone Liu's Logic can take away our rough edges of stupidity.
Consider Sartre's assumption "Existence Precedes Essence."
Look outside to awaken, look inside to wander in memories.

Related Links, Resources, References

Transparency of Things.  By Rupert Spira.

Awakening the Other Way.  By Marcel Eschauzier.

 
Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life.  By Dach Keltner.  Penguin 2023.  Excellent overview, well researched, practical advice.  FVRL. 

The Psychology of Awe

Koans: BOS 60, BCR 24, OM 13  Iron Grindstone Liu is a famous female Zen Master.

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

The Daodejing by Laozi  

Pulling Onions  Over 1,043 One-line Sayings by Mike Garofalo

Subject Index to 1,001 Zen Buddhist Koans

Chinese Chan Buddhist and Taoist Stories and Koans

Taoism

Buddhism

Fireplaces, Stoves, Campfires, Kitchens, Pots, Firewood

Chinese Art

Tai Chi Chuan and Qigong

Meditation Methods

Zen Koan Books I Use

Koan Database Project

Brief Spiritual Lessons Database Project: Subject Indexes

Sparks: Brief Spiritual Lessons and Stories

Matches to Start a Kindling of Insight
May the Light from Your Inner Fireplace Help All Beings
Taoist, Chan Buddhist, Zen Buddhist, Philosophers
Catching Phrases, Inspiring Verses, Koans, Meditations
Indexing, Bibliography, Quotations, Notes, Resources
Research by Michael P. Garofalo

The Fireplace Records
By Michael P. Garofalo

Subject Index to 1,001 Zen Buddhist Koans

How Could He Make Up His Mind

The Fireplace Records, Chapter 13

The student asked, "One question that keeps cropping up in the Zen Buddhist koan literature is "What is the Buddha?"

I've read that Baso said, "This very mind is the Buddha." (GG 30, Sekida)
Nansen said, "Ordinary mind is the Way." (GG 19)
Baso said, "No mind, no Buddha." (GG 33)
Nansen said, "It is not mind; it is not Buddha; it is not things." (GG 27)
I've read that Nansen said: "Ordinary Mind is Buddha."
Pan Shan said, "There is nothing in the Triple World,
where can mind be found." (BCR 37)
Yun Men said, "Food in the bowl, water in the bucket." (BCR 50)."

"I am impressed by the catchy phrases, uplifted in spirit, but I am still a bit confused."

The teacher replied, "Don't agree with or believe in some of what you read. Don't concern yourself to much with what so and so said so in so. Some confusion can be productive around complex issues and concepts.  Don't make up your mind right away about important Dharma matters. Mind your mind."  

The teacher continued, "The Buddha is explained and expressed and symbolized in our ordinary lives through attentiveness, insight, dedication, compassion, gratitude, wisdom, enlightenment, being down to earth, following a spiritual path and practice, following the Precepts, seeing clearly, supporting others, etc.   So, yes, I do oftentimes hear the Buddha Dharma revealed within our ordinary minds, ordinary deeds, and our ordinary words."

The student smiled.  

The Student's Considerations:

A teacher is not necessarily a Master.
Mind my mind: Observe, Judge, Control-Act.
Don't let the mind get too closed.
Being open minded is sometimes temporary impartiality.
"Mind", mind you, is hard to define, comprehend, explain.
Act, when needed, quickly; otherwise deliberate first.    

Related Links, Resources, References

GG, Hekiganroku: Gateless Gate, Translated by Katsuki Sekida, Cases 19, 27, 30, 33. 
BCR, Blue Cliff Record, Translated by Katsuki Sekida, Cases 37, 50 

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

The Daodejing by Laozi    Best? 

Pulling Onions  Over 1,043 One-line Sayings by Mike Garofalo

Chinese Chan Buddhist and Taoist Stories and Koans

Taoism

Buddhism

Fireplaces, Stoves, Campfires, Kitchens, Pots, Firewood

Chinese Art

Tai Chi Chuan and Qigong

Meditation Methods

Zen Koan Books I Use

Koan Database Project

Sparks: Brief Spiritual Stories, Dialogues, and Encounters
Matches to Start the Kindling of Insight
May the Light from Your Inner Fireplace Help All Beings
Zen Buddhist Koan Collections
Catching Phrases, Inspiring Verses, Hard Questions
Bibliography, Indexing, Quotations, Notes, Resources
Research by Michael P. Garofalo

The Fireplace Records
By Michael P. Garofalo

Try to Build It

"The only sensible goal, then, is to try to build a reality-tunnel for next week that is bigger, funnier, sexier, more optimistic and generally less boring that any previous reality-tunnel.  And once you have built that bigger, funnier, happier universe of thought, build a bigger and better one, for next month."
-  Robert Anton Wilson,  Prometheus Rising,  p. 226, 1983

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