Transcript 130406b The Bright Wisdom of Tao (Tim Chiu)x

BRIGHT WISDOM OF TAO
Tim Chiu
English Tao Class
Kuang Ming Saint Tao Temple
April 6th, 2013
SYNOPSIS
"Bright Wisdom is a series of books which contain
the words of wisdom of Saints and Sages that help
us rediscover, manifest, and apply the inherent
wisdom that we all possess but have often forgotten
While simple and succinct, the words are profound
and yet applicable to the challenges that we
encounter in our daily lives. In this talk, we will
share a few excerpts from the books so that we may
be introduced to this hidden treasure which can
help us live an even happier and peaceful life."
ORIGINS OF BRIGHT WISDOM
•
Bright Wisdom – the book series
Published by the Guan Hui Corporation in
conjunction with the Taipei Tao society
– Organized collection of the words of wisdom from the
Saints and Sages
–
•
•
What is Tao, Cultivation of the Heart, Four Topics of
Cultivations, Learning and Practicing Tao
Overcoming Obstacles, Understanding Our Purpose,
Propagating Tao, and Mood Management
Succinct to read in one sitting, practical to apply to
our daily life, and profound to study for a life time
– Great book for new and senior Tao members
– Available in English and Chinese
–
BRIGHT WISDOM OF TAO

Read and follow the wise words of Tao teachings contained
in the books literally


Read to remind us of the inherent kindness and wisdom
that we all possess


Need to take into consideration the context in which it was said
and the translator’s interpretation and understanding
Saving a drowning child
Read the books as a means to rediscover and reconnect with
our True Nature and the bright wisdom that we possess so
that we may follow it at all times
True Nature, or True Self, is the manifestation of Tao in all
human beings;
 Find our centered, the highest virtue in Doctrine of Mean, and be
in peace and harmony

WHAT IS BRIGHT WISDOM
 We
all have the same Tao inside of us,
manifested as our True Self, but it is
usually hidden by our desires

Story of the six pack
 We
all have the same innate wisdom which
is part of our True Nature, but some of us
are more clouded by our desires and
attachments

Desire for eating ice cream, french fries
WHAT IS TAO – INDESCRIBABLE
•
“What is spoken and written is not Tao. Your actions and
behavior is the real Tao”
–
“The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao” - Tao De
Jing
•
•
–
“What does a fish know about the water in which it swims all
its life?” – Albert Einstein
•
•
–
No concept of water, even though it flows through its blood and exists in
its food, body, and environment
Tao to us is like water to the fish – pervasive and essential to life
Love can not be seen or fully described
•
•
–
The infinite Tao can not be fully described by our limited language and
understanding
Like dark matter, we can infer its existence from its effects on visible
matter, but can not detect or see it with telescopes since it neither emits
or absorbs light
From the bottom of my “heart”, but it’s not in the heart
How do we express our intangible love? Actions!
Tao is like Love, we can’t see it, but our actions manifest it
–
Experience it through our actions, similar to how the warmth of the
water in a cup can only be known to the drinker
WHAT IS TAO - ORIGIN
•
“Tao is the head, the source, the origin.
Important like our ‘head’, we must follow it or
else we will never reach the source.”
–
Discovering where we came from, our origin
•
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Tao is the path, or way, to finding our True Self
•
–
Reveals who we are and our relationship to each other
Truest form of Self discovery, and not just our temporal
preferences and possessions (my + X != me)
Our source, our True Self, can help guide us
Chinese character (道)
“To rid our desires, we need to first find the source” –
Great Learning
•
Hot dogs and ramen noodles
–
Find the origin and we know why we shouldn’t eat it
WHAT IS TAO - PERVASIVE
 “Constantly
observe the existence of Tao
and you shall find that Tao exists not only
at the temple. Tao can be applied in all
aspects of Life everywhere you go.”

Tao temple is a great place to learn, but the
actual application and cultivation happens
outside of temple


Everyone is on their best behavior, so no tests to
experience
The real world is where we are truly tested
and the lessons are put into practice

I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I
understand
WHAT IS TAO - NATURAL

“Sleep when we should sleep is Tao. Sleeping
when we shouldn’t sleep is not Tao.”

Tao is very natural
Eat when hungry, rest when tired
 Eating and going to the restroom is Tao

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
What goes in, must come out; go with the flow
As technology advances, there are more distractions and
temptations (E-mail, YouTube, Facebook, SMS, etc)
Worldly Person vs. Cultivating Monk
Eats: he is not eating as he is enslaved by his desires for
better food and fortune.
 Sleeps: he is thinking about having a better house, better
clothes, or better person to accompany him.
 Though the actions are the same, but the heart of a worldy
person and a cultivator is very different

CULTIVATION OF THE HEART – WHY?

“If our heart is not righteous, then even the perfect
words and righteous actions are not in accordance
with the true Tao.”

Why is it the heart and not our words or actions?
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Conduct worldly affair with a holy heart -> Holy

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Caring for family and friends w/o any expectations
Conduct holy affair with a worldly heart -> Worldly


Act of helping someone but with a motive = helping ourselves
 Sincerity
Watch heart -> thoughts -> words -> actions -> habits ->
character -> destiny
Caring for Tao members with an ulterior motive
Holy = Selfless, altruistic
Worldly = Selfish, reciprocation
Our actions do not determine the righteousness of our
heart. It is our heart that determines the righteousness
of our actions
CULTIVATION OF THE HEART - OURSELVES

“The biggest obstacle in cultivation is always
asking others instead of ourselves. See clearly
and ask ourselves before asking others.”

Cultivation is internal reflection and not external
criticism; to manifest and behave according to our True
Nature
See other people’s mistakes clearly but are not able to see
our own faults
 Let others be a mirror and reminder of what we should and
shouldn’t do



Man in the mirror – Michael Jackson
Lead by example, then encourage others to follow

Story of Ghandi and eating candy

Exercising and eating right
CULTIVATION OF THE HEART - INTERNAL
 “Learning
meditation and seeking special
powers are not needed to be a Buddha. With
a natural, merciful, and sincere heart, one
will become a Buddha.”

After receiving Tao, we no longer need to seek
outward and pray to a Buddha
We ourselves are a Buddha, but have simply forgotten
 Hindu story of the gods and human


Story of the Zen Master and Meditating Monk
Grinding a brick to make a mirror is like meditating to
be a Buddha
 Buddhahood is not reached by sitting in a particular
position as it has not specific form nor is its heart
attached to Buddhahood


By using our most sincere heart while fulfilling our
roles, we will become a Buddha naturally
CULTIVATION OF THE HEART - GRATEFUL

“In our daily lives, remember to use a grateful heart to
face everything. No matter how difficult the problem is or
how much you dislike it, always maintain a grateful
heart.”

Why be grateful when things don’t happen the we want it?

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Sine wave of emotions
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8AM meeting -> Breakfast -> traffic -> meeting canceled ->
coworkers with many questions-> lunch -> food coma -> work ->
traffic
Grateful for the opportunity to cultivate and learn new skills while
being paid!
Grateful heart helps us see things in a different perspective

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Grateful for being sick
A civic is not luxurious, but it’s cheap on gas, DMV, insurance, and
fees
Everything happens for the best

Story of the King and his Advisor
CULTIVATION OF THE HEART – INNER PEACE

“If your heart is unbalanced and not at peace, then
you will be angered easily.”

Getting cut-off while driving

Unbalanced/Ego:


Balanced/Peace:
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Grateful it didn’t cause an accident and nobody was hurt
Remind ourselves that we’ve made the same mistake unintentionally
before, and the importance of avoiding these actions in the future
now that we know how it feels
The same events may or may not anger us depending on
the state of our heart
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Angry and upset at the crazy driver for almost getting ME into an
accident! Tell HIM/HER to open his/her eyes.
See things in a different perspective and reflect on own
cultivation -> balance and peaceful heart
See things in your own narrow perspective and dwell onto
others’ lack of cultivation -> unbalanced and angry heart
Be masters of our emotions instead of mastered by our
emotions by cultivating our heart

Not about not having any emotions, but to be aware of them and utilize
them instead of controlled by them and our external stimuli
 Exhibit the emotion of “Anger” to teach children discipline
FOUR CULTIVATION TOPICS – TEMPERAMENT

“When people yell and criticize you, you do not
become angry, you are unmoved. That is good
temperament.”

Anger usually happens due to differences in opinion
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Good temperament is not about holding in the anger and
now showing it, but to rid its existence by understanding
its cause by changing our perspective
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Heart is filled with ego and attachment to one’s own view and
preconceived ideas. Mine is the only “right” view and the others
are “wrong” views.
Holding it in, or “忍”, is like a knife stabbing your heart, which will
ultimately explode someday
Need to use our wisdom to prevent the rise of anger by ridding the
source of our anger – our ego and attachment to own narrow views
“Anger is punishing ourselves for other people’s
mistakes” – E. Roosevelt
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High blood pressure, resentment, poisons -> bad for our health
Apologize for words said which we didn’t mean
Can’t change the past or prevent it in the future
CONCLUSION
Tao is the origin and the truth which is
indescribable and pervasive
 Our True Self, or True Nature is the
manifestation of Tao in us
 Following the natural path of Tao, or cultivation,
is simply behaving according to our True Self at
all times
 Maintain a grateful heart and be open to
different perspectives and you heart will be
balanced and at peace
 By recognizing our ego and our attachments, we
can easily use our wisdom to prevent the rise of
anger
