Oblivion

Yo yo yo! Times been interesting, a great deal of surrender, a great deal of dreamlike livin’

Driving to a job I saw a license plate that said “Tao 49” so naturally, being a mystical sort, I looked it up, I got three different translations:

J Legge

The sage has no invariable mind of his own; he makes the mind of the people his mind.

To those who are good (to me), I am good; and to those who are not good (to me), I am also good;–and thus (all) get to be good. To those who are sincere (with me), I am sincere; and to those who are not sincere (with me), I am also sincere;–and thus (all) get to be sincere.

The sage has in the world an appearance of indecision, and keeps his mind in a state of indifference to all. The people all keep their eyes and ears directed to him, and he deals with them all as his children.

J H McDonald

The Master has no mind of her own.
She understands the mind of the people.

To those who are good she treats as good.
To those who aren’t good she also treats as good.
This is how she attains true goodness.

She trusts people who are trustworthy.
She also trusts people who aren’t trustworthy.
This is how she gains true trust.

The Master’s mind is shut off from the world.
Only for the sake of the people does she muddle her mind.
They look to her in anticipation.
Yet she treats them all as her children.

Lin Yutang

The Sage has no decided opinions and feelings,
But regards the people’s opinions and feelings as his own.

The good ones I declare good;
The bad ones I also declare good.
That is the goodness of Virtue.
The honest ones I believe;
The liars I also believe;
That is the faith of Virtue.

The Sage dwells in the world peacefully, harmoniously.
The people of the world are brought into a community of heart,
And the Sage regards them all as his own children.

The second one got me “The Master’s mind is shut off from the world. only for the sake of the people does she muddle her mind.”

I was confused about shutting off your mind, why, how, etc. I thought about it in spurts for a few days, and I come to realize it’s all about the ocean. The ocean holds every drop of water and creates every wave and stream. There are so many different perceptions, so many ways of interpreting information, so many personal truths. I feel dumber and dumber everyday and it comes from seeing more and more of how little my perception is any sort of truth. So it began to make sense, that the sage’s mind is cut off from the world, the world of strange dream and substance, where anything looked at closely enough becomes a vibration of light and sound. and only for the sake of others to they come back and play along.

This is a really freeing thing! I feel like with this we can finally shut off this burdensome mind, if we can keep returning to the great expanse anytime we find ourselves wallowing in our own personal puddle.

In practice I allow myself to drift when things get heavy. I maintain the statute of the situation but take myself away from it. There’s a tangible distance between the observer and my mind. In this way I can continue creating space and wrangle that noisy thang. Surrendering to the truth of the matter vs how I think or feel about it.

Oblivion ain’t that bad! I’d feared the concept of it for years, now it’s a place to go, and be at peace.

Vaya con dios

David