Roshi Hogan's Teachings Of The Tao

On and On

2012-02-13T00:36:00.000-05:00

Wind in the valley

Wind on the mountain; one warm

One cold, the same wind

We follow the path of the Tao. No one can say what that may mean or what roads that it might take us down. Our journey is endless as it makes a full circle and then back again. Birth is no more of a beginning, than death is an ending. The wheel turns on and on, the planets orbit the sun, and the universe stretches to infinity.

When Death Arrives

2012-02-12T00:14:00.000-05:00

All the relatives from my past are dead. Parents, grandparents, sister, aunts, uncles; all dead. What is in the past shall remain there. We move forward as others will move forward after my death. A monk asked the master: "How are you when death arrives?" The master replied: "When served tea, I take tea. When served a meal, I take a meal." We do what we can with what we have in front of us. Death knows where to find us. Why try to hide or deny it?

10,000 Miles

2012-02-11T00:40:00.000-05:00

What was important
Is now lost to the pages of-
Ancient history

You do not need not to journey ten thousand miles to see the world. The important things of this world are in your own backyard, your own mind. Statues deteriorate, monuments crumble. Great places become irrelevant. Find true importance. Find what matters to you and treasure it. Seek out your own destinations and travel as one with the Tao to them.

Enter Easy

2012-02-10T00:27:00.000-05:00

Water passing slow
Softly flowing calming sight
Ducks landing gently

The lake is peaceful and clear but if you jump into it and the water splashes, the muck stirs, and the fish scatter. Step lightly into it and all will remain. Remember that you can never enter the river in the same place twice. Have compassion and practice modesty. Be the calm that eases the raging sea. Practice peace in all you do.

Cherry Tree

2012-02-09T00:04:00.000-05:00

The antique shamisen
The thoughts of cherry blossoms
Are recalled fondly

The blossoms of a cherry tree are pleasing to the eyes, but do not fill the stomach. The cover of a book does not tell the story. Sometimes the book itself does not tell the story. If you do nothing, you leave nothing undone. Live simply in the now. Illusions are for the lost. Do not just read between the lines, throw away the lines, throw away the book. Live by your own intuition.

Follow Your Path

2012-02-08T00:12:00.000-05:00

There's some memories

That are easily recalled-

Some long forgotten

The Tao has no agenda. It does not care who it pleases so it does what it pleases. So at the end of the day, everything is done. No plotting, no scheming, no planning. One who follows this course of action in their life is in a peaceful and harmonious home. Without a need for organization, everything is organized. Without a need for approval, one is free to follow their path.

Reflect Upon Reflection

2012-02-07T00:28:00.000-05:00

The night is falling
Reach out my hands to catch it
Slips through my fingers

Knowledge from a book is intelligence. Sipping the tea is wisdom. It has been said that formal education explains what is, and what it means. Real education is the ability to let it be, whatever it is, without explanation. The sky is above the ocean but below the moon. Sit on the bank of the river and watch everything go by. Go back to your mountain cave and meditate. Reflect upon your reflection. What happens happens.

Cross The Sky

2012-02-06T00:04:00.000-05:00

The moon waxes and wanes
Full, empty, and back again
The seen and unseen

Wake up when it is time to wake up. Do your work and then rest. Sleep peacefully by having faith in yourself and leave the rest to the Tao. Build a fire when it is cold and watch the wood turn to ash. All things change under the Tao from one to another, from one to another. Let the moon cross the sky and bask in its beams of light. Let a billion stars be your blanket.

Glide Slowly

2012-02-05T00:38:00.000-05:00

The best way to act
Is to not act, but let go
All done in due time

Life is not fair and never will be. Sometimes the good die young. The most deserving do not always get the prize. To expect fairness is to be deluded. Accidents happen, fate is changed by the movement of a finger, stars burn out. Stop analyzing and start living one with Tao. Be the leaf that shakes free from the tree and glides slowly to earth.

Replenish

2012-02-04T00:17:00.001-05:00

It is the high ground

That provides the best viewpoint-

All things become clear

Accept sunlight and accept the rain. If you do this, you will always be one with the Tao. Flourish in the sunlight and replenish in the darkness. The shark is a deadly hunter because he lurks quietly, causing no attention to himself. Wise hunters do not beat drums when looking for tigers. Flow along silently with the river of Tao and enjoy the quiet harmony of being one with the universe.

Doors

2012-02-03T00:21:00.000-05:00

Wash away the mind

Clean as a mountain river-

Gently flowing by

In order to fulfill our destiny, we must first decide who and what we want to be and then to achieve this we must become one with it. Many doors will open and we must be wise about which ones we enter. Some go nowhere, others go into infinite places that reach to the sun.

Lose And Gain

2012-02-02T00:36:00.000-05:00

Footprints on the sand

Washed away by the water-

And lost forever

Take a walk one day or night with no intent on going anywhere. Accept what taps you on the shoulder. If you lose something, remember you are also gaining something in the process. Everything is something that can be learned from. Seek the other side of the obvious to find the real. Touch the sky but do not try to own the stars. Ride with the clouds that cross the sky effortlessly.

Four Great Powers

2012-02-01T00:09:00.000-05:00

If you do not have

Balance; you can't have balance

Rain can't fall upwards

Lao Tzu said there are four great powers. The Dao, the Universe, the Earth and Man. Which one of these are the least powerful? Which one of these are the most arrogant? Which one of these will be the first to disappear? Man is so far behind the others, he believes himself to be ahead.

Sitting On The Grass

2012-01-31T00:20:00.000-05:00

Make the crooked straight

Walk before trying to run

Maintain quiet and calm

Try to run too fast and you will fall. Stand on tip-toe and falter. Expect perfection and you might as well expect failure too. To be what you are not is to live a lie to others and yourself. Sit on the grass and look at the lake. Embrace the Tao and you embrace freedom, wisdom. Be content to be what is while on the path to something else.

Walking In The Fields

2012-01-30T00:40:00.000-05:00

If you do not start

You cannot finish anything-

All things take their course

Divide and conquer cannot work against the forces of Tao. The Tao is un-dividable and cannot be conquered. There is no mathematical formula that man can come up with that will work. All the scholars sitting in a crowded room can come up with nothing. All the sages walk in the fields, in the sunshine, learning far more than the scholars ever will.

Be

2012-01-29T00:26:00.000-05:00

Sitting quietly

By the flowing black river

The full moon and I

Be the wind that touches your face. Be the raindrop that falls from the sky. Be the snowflake that lands in the perfect spot on a cold, snowy, winter night. Be the ice that forms at midnight and the ice that melts when it touches the sun in the morning. It is possible to be all these things if you one with the universe.

Stillness

2012-01-28T00:32:00.000-05:00

Try to do nothing

And you are doing something-

Not that it matters

The greatest sound is silence. In movement, there can be stillness. One often accomplishes the most by doing nothing. Do not be enslaved to the modern idea that time spend doing nothing is wasted. There is nothing to do, yet all gets done. Spend the morning just laying in bed. Listen to the raindrops on the roof and the window. They are speaking to you.

The Waters Of The Tao

2012-01-27T00:28:00.000-05:00

Ride the waters of the Tao as the fallen leaf coasts on top of the flowing river. Your journey will take you where your destiny dictates. Enjoy the journey, it will end when it will end whether you worry about it or not. Look up at the clouds in the sky, the trees overhanging the water, listen to the laughter of the water as it splashes.

Renewal

2012-01-26T00:23:00.000-05:00

By looking at our actions before us, we can often tell what lies ahead of us. We look to the leaves on the tree. There are none in winter. In spring, there are buds, a symbol of new life. In summer, the leaves are at their peak. In autumn, the leaves change. They begin to turn a different color, they begin to dry and fall to the ground, where they become part of the soil. In winter, the leaves are gone, there appears to be no life. Yet, in spring, life renews.

Truths

2012-01-25T00:08:00.002-05:00

Great truths are lost and knowledge takes its place corrupting what it touches. When we think we know, we are further away from the answer. Intelligence gets in the way of real truth. When we do not thirst for answers, we are never thirsty. We understand without knowing. It has been said, “If we hold a flower and call it a flower, it is not true. However, if you feel the essence, you are closer to the truth.”

No Leader

2012-01-24T00:29:00.000-05:00

Society wants everyone to be a leader seeking followers, but the true leader seeks to lead no one. The greatest teacher is silent. Do not try to tell others about the Tao, it is useless. Some people find the Tao and sometimes the Tao finds people. The teacher will appear when the student is ready. Walk your own path, do not look ahead for a leader, do not look over your shoulder for a follower. Be content with your own footsteps.

Your Perrogative

2012-01-23T01:14:00.000-05:00

The sun and moon rise each day whether you are happy or miserable. Look around you and see the beauty of nature, the wonder of Tao. How can this not make you smile? Do not let others decide what your emotions are. You have the power within you to be happy, content. We can make our own heaven or hell. It is surprising how many people seem to be bent on making the latter for themselves.

Drink Tea

2012-01-22T00:10:00.000-05:00

A teacup can only hold so much tea. If your cup is full, the tea will overflow on the table and will be wasted. If you have lost your teacup, the Tao itself will provide another. If you want to receive your fill of the teachings of the Tao, you must keep your cup empty, but do not be in a hurry to drink it. When drinking tea, drink tea, when walking, walk. Savor every moment, every drop of Tao.

An Endless Ocean

2012-01-21T00:42:00.001-05:00

If something does not have a beginning, it cannot have an end. If something is too short for one thing, it is too long for another. Moments come and go, destiny is changed in a whisper. Life as we know it changes, crashes through barriers, comes in like a wave onto the beach and then out again once more into an endless ocean. Keep to the simple in life, thought, and work. Joy is found in such things. Wander, work, meditate, seek to understand the teachings that the Tao offers us. Complication is for those who cannot understand the simple or are mistaken that the simple could not possibly be enough.

Dust

2012-01-20T00:50:00.000-05:00

Wipe the dust from the windowsill only to have it return. There is no end, only infinity. The sun rises, sets, and then rises again. The moon crosses the sky. The Tao has unlimited depth. How could we possible hope to know its deepest secrets? It is not the deepest secrets that should matter the most anyway to us, it should be the obvious it shows us which we too often are oblivious to. Everything is Tao. Everything is not Tao. There is reality and there is truth. You are you yet you are not you. This cloud will soon pass leaving us to a sky full of uncertainness. Yet just as nothing truly exists, all things exist in the universe and within Tao. Everything else is illusion, guesswork, and ignorance.