SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS – 165

WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF SIMPLICITY

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Those who are known

As Real People

Are united in essence

With the Way,

So they have endowments yet

Appear to have none;

They are full yet

Appear to be empty.

They govern the inside,

Not the outside.

Clear and pure, utterly plain,

They do not contrive

Artificialities but return

To simplicity.

- Lao Tzu

Simplicity, patience, compassion.

These three are your greatest treasures.

Simple in actions and thoughts, you return to the source of being.

Patient with both friends and enemies,

you accord with the way things are.

Compassionate toward yourself,

you reconcile all beings in the world.

― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

Those who know do not speak. Those who speak do not know.

― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

+ What is real anyway?  Are you real?  Of course you are but there are, most likely, aspects of your life which are unreal.  Discovering our real self and the reality of our existence is a life long journey into the unknown and mysterious.  It is quite an adventure.  Lao Tzu, and other ancient teachers of the Tao, or The Way, offer us plenty of wisdom on this quest but perhaps the most important thing he ever said was that those who know do not speak.  Reality is elusive and mysterious and always surprising us and changing us.

Clearly this practice of Simplicity has its foundation in the Journey of the Mind practices of Stillness, Detachment and Humility which we explored in posts 1 through 64. The Tao Te Ching of Lao Tsu has stood the test of time and is universally revered, particularly by Zen Buddhists, for its clarity regarding these essential practices.

+ You can see many more Lao Tsu quotes at https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/2622245.Lao_Tzu

    

+ Simplicity is not one of the 37 Spirituality & Practice practices BUT put Simplicity in their Search Engine and you come up with 314 items including 117 quotes, 156 books, 11 practices, 9 teachers, 1 arts link, 11 e-courses, 7 films and 1 blog as of 6/4/16.  Go to http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/search/?q=Simplicity

+ I would love it if you offered a guest post on this practice or any practice.  And, I have work to do on my Simplicity Page.   Maybe you can help.  Send an email with the subject “Simplicity” or “Guest Post” to John@abundancetrek.com.

+ You can always find a link to any of the Spiritual Explorations posts by going to http://abundancetrek.com/sepostsaccess.html