Confucius Speaks — About Good People

“Good people live wisely and improve customs.” is the meaning that Confucius attributes to the 53rd meaning of the I Ching or Book of Change 

 

 

Picture of the 53rd cast of the I-Ching

The translation of this cast (shown below) comes from a translation by Wilhelm, both in English and French.

On the mountain, a tree: The image of DEVELOPMENT. 
Thus the superior man abides in dignity and virtue, 
In order to improve the mores. 

The tree on the mountain is visible from afar, and its development influences the landscape of the entire region. It does not shoot up like a swamp plant; its growth proceeds gradually. Thus also the work of influencing people can be only gradual. No sudden influence or awakening is of lasting effect. Progress must be quite gradual, and in order to obtain such progress in public opinion and in the mores of the people, it is necessary for the personality to acquire influence and weight. This comes about through careful and constant work on one's own moral development. 

I saw this cast of the I-Ching, and immediately realized that this is actually the journey of our lives. It takes well into our adult hood before we develop the credibility to have others look to us for answers, or for leadership.  The Mayans believed one was not truly a Master or a true teacher until the person reached 52 years of age.

The irony of this, is, that while many of us believe in the wisdom that comes from age, we have created “Masters” programs in our Universities and Business Schools that purport to give a twenty-two to twenty-six year old the same knowledge one has at fifty-two.  Does it work?  In most cases, no!  The other sad fact about this hypocrisy is that the twenty-something wants to earn the same as the fifty something, and feels it is “due” to them because they have the education. 

Blessings,

Judy

I Can Not Meditate - A Buddhist Teaching

This is a story that we had to read about the common problems that come up for people new to meditation, and sometimes for those who have had to break their meditation practice for some reason.  

Perhaps you will find some wisdom that you, too, will be able to use.

  Picture of Elbow Falls in the Elbow Recreation Area - by J Hirst June 2024

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Beginners with meditation often get the feeling that they can't meditate; "I meditate for a week now, and still see no change", "I can't control my mind", "My mind is only getting crazier, I cannot get rid of my problems and thoughts". 
To briefly comment on these in order: 

Meditation requires patience - a few sessions will not undo a lifetime of opposite habits of excitement and confusion. 

None of us can control our mind unless we train ourselves to do it - have you ever seen anyone playing the violin nicely without practice? 

If it seems that our mind is getting worse, it usually means we just see our 'madness' better than before - the first step towards success! 

 

A story by Master Shen-Yen (from Ch'an Newsletter July 1982):

"The purpose of cultivation is not to seek anything, but to discover the faults in our character and behavior. By opening ourselves to self-investigation, we hope to find out where our problems lie, and if, after searching within ourselves, we can see these faults and problems, this in itself is the fruit of the practice. 

A woman on the last retreat said that the more she tries to get away from her faults, the stronger they seem to become. And the more she thinks about it, and wonders why she can't get rid of them, the more she gets disgusted with herself. She said, "Probably I just don't have the ability to practice meditation. A good practitioner is able to throw out their problems while practicing, and I'm not." At that time, I was standing up, and the light above cast a shadow of my body on the wall. I asked: "When I am standing still, is the shadow moving?" She said, "No." Then I walked slowly away, and the shadow followed me along. I walked quickly and the shadow kept pace with me. No matter how I tried, I could not get rid of it. Only if you turn the light out, or make your body disappear, will your shadow go away. 

Just like the shadow, our problems stick to our "self." Wherever there is a self, there must also be problems. But if you were to say, then, "I want to throw away my 'self'," that "I" who wants to get rid of the self indicates that the self is still there. This would amount to the self trying to throw away the self, which is impossible to accomplish. It would be just like trying to get rid of the shadow if your body is still there. If there is a subject, there is definitely an object. This being the case, is cultivation of any use? Of course it is, since we cultivate to discover our problems. Recognizing your problems shows you have made progress. Desiring to rid yourself of these problems may he a good sign, but actually that is not how we should approach it. The method of practice does not consist in throwing them out, but rather in decreasing the sense of self until it becomes so light that the problems will naturally disappear."

Many blessings,

Judy 

Domestic Sheep (Spirit Animals)

We often overlook the value of having animals around us that we are very familiar with.  Sometimes we treat these animals with a certain contempt (familiarity breeds contempt) without realizing that we are doing so.

Picture of Sheep from the Picasa Public sample album – with thanks!

I think that often we treat sheep, cattle, chickens and pigs like that. They are so humbly in service to humans, that we miss the strength and the pride of what they do because of how silently they do support us.

We all know that sheep are used for many products that we also take for granted – wool, mutton, lamb meat, milk/cheese, and hide/leather.  Legends say that Sheep volunteered to be in service to mankind from the beginning of man’s time on Earth.  They did this because they were peaceful, loving, well grounded (close to the Earth) animals. At that time, all the Beings and Angels that looked after the Earth thought that all that loving would rub off on humans.  In many of the pictures of Jesus, one sees him with Sheep or holding Sheep or walking with Sheep.  Again, legends say that Jesus recognized the beauty and service role of Sheep.

Mankind, however, did not acknowledge Sheep as a leader in service.  Instead, man has denigrated Sheep, and has made up all sorts of sayings about them – implying that they are either stupid or boring, or both! 

• Count sheep before you go to sleep.
• Don’t be a sheep and follow
• Black sheep
• Make sheep’s eyes
• Don’t leave the wolf to guard the sheep
• Wolf in sheep’s clothing

Sheep, however, even though known for its peacefulness, was used by our Ancestors as an early alarm  system.  Because sheep are so sensitive to noise and to negative energy, they could determine, by the vibrations in the ground, when large groups of people were approaching a castle or keep.  Their frightened bleats and bunching together for safety, alerted the watchmen that trouble was coming.  

People make fun of the way Sheep move together.  What Sheep is showing is the fascinating ability of herd think, or mind link, something that people simply have not developed.  The herd mind link allows the Sheep to move at a moment’s notice to safety.  They do not stop and say, “Why? Or, why that way? Or, are you sure we really should?”  And, my personal favourite, “What gives you the right to tell me what to do?”

May you be as loved as the Sheep by Great Spirit!

Many blessings,

Judy