Verse 62

62.

The Tao is the true nature,

the secret source of everything.

It is the good man’s treasure

and the bad man’s refuge.

If a person seems wicked,

do not cast him away.

Awaken him with your words,

elevate him with your deeds,

repay his injury with kindness.

When a new leader takes office,

do not give him gifts and offerings.

Offer instead to

teach him about the Tao.

Why did the ancient Masters esteem the Tao?

Because, being one with the Tao,

you find without looking and

when you make a mistake, you are forgiven.

It is the source of all good,

and the remedy for all evil.

It is the most noble thing in the world.

There’s absolutely no doubt that in this world we often have to deal with ‘wicked’ people; those that are so misaligned and dysfunctional that they cause untold misery for themselves and all those around them. Relating with such people can be an enormous challenge. Lao Tzu gently advises us to embrace rather than reject them and to shine a light into the darkness around and within them.

In spite of all appearances, the darkness can never harm the light, for it is merely the absence of light. If you walk into a dark room, you deal with the darkness by switching on a light – and it’s gone, just like that. It may not be quite so simple when dealing with people – for many tend to cling to their darkness, having made an identity out of it – but the principle remains the same.

It is worth bearing in mind, however, that we should not try to force others to change, but simply accept and embrace them, and in so doing help them to become all they are capable of being.

Verse 61

61.

A great country is like the lowland,

toward which all streams flow.

It is the reservoir of all under heaven,

the feminine of the world.

The female overcomes the male with stillness.

Her tranquility gives rise to her humility,

The more powerful a country grows,

the greater the need for humility.

If a great country lowers itself before a small one,

it wins friendship and trust.

And if a small country can lower itself before a great one,

it will win over that ‘great’ country.

If a nation is centred in the Tao,

if it nourishes its own people,

if it does not meddle in the affairs of others,

it will be a light to all nations in the world.

Most nations want to achieve ‘greatness’, to be higher, more elevated, prosperous and influential than other nations. Nationalism in all its forms is born of the ego’s desire to create a stronger identity for itself and it does so by trying to be ‘better’ than others. This is not the Tao. Lao Tzu asks us to adopt the very opposite approach and to recognise the value of humility.

Instead of trying to be bigger and better than other nations, we are asked to embrace humility, to become like the lowland toward which all streams flow along their path to the sea. This is the feminine approach, which is one of stillness, equanimity and peace.

There is no place for conflict, war or erroneous notions of ‘more than’ and ‘less than’ when a country is at one with the Tao. We’ve tried it the other way. It didn’t work. Perhaps it’s time for us to approach world affairs and foreign policy with an altogether different approach.

This doesn’t mean that we become the doormats of the world. The Tao is a state of perfect balance, not idle passivity. But it is a state of alignment and a very necessary recalibration after countless centuries of striving to be on top, to subjugate and dominate other nations. True victory is not coming out on top: it is unity, peace and harmony between all nations.

Verse 60

60.

Governing a large country

is like frying a small fish.

You spoil it with too much poking.

Approach the universe with the Tao

and evil will have no power.

Not that it isn’t there,

but you will be able to step out of its way.

Give evil nothing to oppose

and it will disappear by itself.

Lao Tzu begins this verse with a humorous but pertinent metaphor, in which he again stresses that trying too hard to make things turn out right is likely to cause disaster and ruin. So don’t poke your fish too much! We need to relinquish our tendency to force things and to know when less is more.

This verse also speaks of evil. Another word for evil is ‘ignorance’, which is usually at the root of all acts of cruelty and harm and which begets other undesirable states such as hatred, prejudice and self-righteousness.

To be centred in the Tao is to bring a shining light into the darkness. The darkness is then either transformed by the light, or (as often happens with those that are deeply rooted in their ignorance) it is repelled by it. Either way, being centred in the Tao is the ultimate remedy for eradicating and transforming evil. It may not cease to exist, but it loses its power to harm.

Verse 59

59.

There is nothing better than moderation

for governing people and serving nature.

Moderation begins with giving up one’s own ideas.

For those who follow the Tao,

nothing is impossible.

If nothing is impossible, then there are no limits.

If a man knows no limits, he is fit to lead.

Tolerant like the sky,

all-pervading like the sunlight,

supple like a tree in the wind,

he has no destination in view

and makes use of anything

life happens to bring his way.

This is the way to be deeply rooted and

firmly planted in the Tao;

the secret of long life and lasting vision.

This verse urges us to live in moderation and to let go of all our fixed ideas, notions and concepts, which only serve to limit us.

Instead, we are asked to find and embrace the limitless. Only then can we truly be in tune with the Tao; breathing, living and radiating the very rhythm of life.

This is the only real prerequisite for being a great leader, for we are no longer guided by the limited ego and a set of mentally-constructed ideas and concepts, but are instead like an empty flute, through which the breath of life can flow and create the most beautiful, harmonious music. This is the music the world most needs to hear.

Verse 58

58.

If a country is governed with tolerance,

the people are comfortable and honest.

If a country is governed with repression,

the people are restless and disturbed.

Try to make people happy,

and you lay the groundwork for misery.

Try to make people moral,

and you lay the groundwork for vice.

Bad fortune is what good fortune leans on;

good fortune is what bad fortune hides in.

Good things seem to change into bad,

and bad things often turn out for good.

These things have always been hard

to comprehend.

Thus the Master is content

to serve as an example

and not to impose his will.

He is pointed but does not pierce;

he straightens, but does not disrupt;

he illuminates, but does not dazzle.

Lao Tzu’s lessons on leadership are not necessarily easily for the mind to grasp. The key is to lead by allowing, to nurture without imposing and to trust that people will manifest their own innate virtue if they are allowed to do so. The most common objections to this come from our fears that without adequate control and laws, bedlam would ensue and people would go about stealing, pillaging and killing. Is this true however?

All but the most dysfunctional have an innate sense of rightness that runs far deeper than any outwardly-imposed codes of morality and conduct. Imposing such sanctions only indicates our deeply-held misconception that our true nature is something grotesque and dangerous, that we are at core ‘wretched sinners’ as some religions purport.

This notion runs counter to the Tao. The more we try to impose what we think others ought to do, how they should be happy and what ways they should behave in terms of ‘morality’ (which is entirely a mind-made concept and which clearly is context and culture-dependent), the more we stifle them and cement over their true nature as expressions of the Tao.

Allow people to know what is best for them, what is right for them. Maybe they will initially make mistakes, for we have been driven by our mind and outer senses for too long, while being ignorant of our true inner connection and power. But it is from our mistakes that we learn.

‘Good fortune’ and ‘bad fortune’ are again but concepts in the mind and Lao Tzu reminds us that the two are indefinable and inseparable. Good fortune often comes from disaster and misfortune, while often the most seemingly fortuitous things contain the seeds of misfortune within them. Don’t be led by the mind and its notions of what constitutes ‘good’ and ‘bad’. Be led instead by a deeper understanding of the Tao, in which you see all threads interconnecting to create the perfect tapestry that we call ‘life’.

The final lines tell us that the best way to govern is by example and not by imposing our will. This encapsulates the essence of the Tao Te Ching’s teaching on leadership, which, as noted before, is relevant to anyone in any position of power or authority, from those in government to CEOs, school teachers and parents. Lead gently, but pointedly, don’t impose unnecessarily and illuminate but do not dazzle. This is to lead in accord with the Tao.

Verse 57

57.

If you want to be a great leader,

you must first learn to follow the Tao.

Stop trying to control.

Let go of fixed plans and concepts,

and the world will govern itself.

How do I know this is so?

Because in this world,

the greater the prohibitions,

the less virtuous people will be.

The more advanced the weapons of state,

the less secure people will be.

The more laws are posted,

the more thieves appear.

Therefore the Master says:

I let go of the law,

and people become honest.

I let go of economics,

and people become prosperous.

I let go of religion,

and people become serene.

I let go of all desire for the common good,

and the good becomes common as grass.

In this section of the Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu returns his attention to aspects of leadership and finding a means to govern that is in harmony with the Tao.

It would indeed be advantageous if our leaders paid heed to this ancient wisdom, for most the time our countries are governed with the exact opposite approach.

Leadership that is aligned with the Tao displays the characteristics of non-interference, equanimity, non-grasping and allowing. It’s abundantly clear that the more rigid and authoritarian the state, the more dysfunctional, disharmonious and unsustainable it is.

Nature itself is the greatest governor of all and it is nature that reflects the harmony and perfect balance of the Tao. It leads without effort, without the need to control or unduly shape its constituent parts. There is no clinging to concepts or imposing rules, for when all is allowed to be as it is, all flows in perfect harmony and governs itself.

Verse 56

56.

Those who know do not talk.

Those who talk do not know.

Stop talking,

block off your senses,

meditate in silence,

release your worries,

blunt your sharpness,

untie your knots,

soften your glare,

harmonise your inner light

and settle your dust.

This is the primal union or secret embrace.

One who knows this secret

is not moved by attachment or aversion,

swayed by profit or loss,

nor touched by honour or disgrace.

Such a one is far beyond the cares of men

yet comes to hold the dearest place in their hearts.

This, therefore, is the highest state of man.

This verse begins with one of my favourite lines of the Tao Te Ching: ‘those who know do not talk. Those who talk do not know.’

The loudest and most visible ‘authorities’ are often the most deluded and ignorant. The TV evangelist spouting talk of fire and brimstone is arguably about as close to true understanding of the Tao as the murderer sitting in a jail cell. At least the latter does not claim understanding of something he clearly knows not.

Those that genuinely get it are often the quietest and humblest of people. They have no need to make a show of themselves, for they have moved beyond such cares. They know the virtue and power of silence because, indeed, that’s where their wisdom comes from. It is the only place truth can be found, the only access point to that which remains changeless and is obscured when the senses are engaged only in the outer world of the transient.

Although the Tao is within and sustains all form as its deepest essence, it cannot be seen with the outer senses and is invisible to the eye. Therefore, it is necessary to go inward to get in touch with this essence.

Lao Tzu speaks of ‘primal union’ or ‘the secret embrace’, which can be achieved by sitting quietly in meditation, closing off the outer senses and settling into a peaceful experience of inner union with our source. It’s something we can strive after and seek to acquire as we would in the outer world of form, but more something we can relax into with effortless ease. It melts away our tensions, dissolves our problems and unties all our knots.

This primal union is the gateway to an experience of higher consciousness, which we can then invite into every aspect of our lives; a detachment and transcendence, an overwhelming and unconditional love and acceptance of life and all the beings and circumstances we encounter. This is to fully merge with the Tao and is, as Lao Tzu suggests, the ‘highest state’ available to us.

It is the way to peace and full union with the Tao. Perhaps this is the only worthy goal we can ever have for our lives. The ironic part is that it’s not a future state we can hope to achieve and move toward. We’re already there – we’re already at one with the Tao – we just have to remove the obstructions of mind and habit and realise that we already are that which we seek. It could never be any other way. Accept this invitation to primal union and see where it takes you.

Verse 55

55.

One who is in harmony with the Tao

is like a newborn child.

The infant is protected from insects,

wild beasts and birds of prey.

Bones are soft, muscles are weak

yet its grasp is firm and strong.

Though its mind is innocent,

its body is virile,

so intense is its vital power.

It can cry all day without becoming hoarse.

This is perfect harmony.

The child is one with the Tao,

living within harmony and grace.

This is why the child

finds eternity within a single day.

To know harmony is to know the changeless;

to know the changeless is to have insight.

The Master understands that when something

reaches its prime

it will soon begin to decline.

To unnaturally try to extend life is not the Tao.

And whatever is against the Tao soon ceases to be.

Lao Tzu uses the example of a newborn baby or young child as being one that is in perfect harmony with the Tao. An infant cannot help but be at one with life, for its mind has yet to develop and attempt to take over the show.

The infant does nothing, yet nothing is left undone. Its body is soft, flexible and weak, and yet contains tremendous power (sometimes when a baby or toddler grabs your hand it’s amazing how much strength they possess!). The child has a great deal of integrity; there is no holding back, no role-playing, no getting lost in thought and conceptualisation – that will all come later, for better or worse.

The child expresses itself unreservedly, unapologetically, without any hesitation. It can be tremendously enlightening just watching a young child, for they live in a state of freedom and approach life with a great deal of immediacy and freshness. Until the ego develops and the child gets lost in a sense of “I”, “me” and “mine”, it approaches life effortlessly and largely without desire and preconception. Time is meaningless to the infant; the child lives entirely in the present moment, not yet lost in the mind-created concepts of past and future.

Lao Tzu advises us to ‘know the changeless’ as we progress through life and experience the inherently changeful nature of phenomenal existence. In spite of all the immeasurable changes that are forever occurring in and around us, what never changes? It’s worth spending time pondering this question. The answer is only within. Are you aware of the changeless, or the ‘constant’ as some translations call it? Can you be rooted in that? Can you avoid the desire to cling to and unnaturally extend life?

Because the Master is rooted in the changeless, he is unafraid of outward changes. He lets all things come and go as they please, holding on to nothing. He has no expectations, no desires, no need to cling to the temporal. Thus is his spirit immortal and unchanging.

Verse 54

54.

Whoever is planted in the Tao

will not be rooted up.

Whoever embraces the Tao

will not slip away.

She who honours the Tao

will be honoured from generation to generation.

If the Tao is cultivated in your life

you will become genuine.

If the Tao is cultivated in your family

your family will flourish.

If the Tao is cultivated in your country

your country will be an example

to all countries in the world.

If the Tao is cultivated in the world,

then virtue will be with everyone.

How do I know this is true?

By looking inside myself.

To simply read and try to understand the words of the Tao Te Ching is insufficient. Each verse is an invitation to embody and actually live the wisdom of the Tao. This verse again emphasises the virtue of coming into alignment with the Tao; which is not so much something to be striven for, but simply allowed to happen. When we clear the obstructions to our true nature, we can be firmly planted in the Tao and nothing in the world of the 10,000 things will be able to uproot us.

The effects of being at one with our source, with the Tao, will spread outward like ripples across the surface of a pond, for in truth nothing exists in isolation. We can transform the world by first transforming ourselves, by consciously living the Tao.

This allows us to cultivate the way of the Tao in all our actions and interactions: in our family life, our work life, among our friends and gradually the effects will spread outward to encompass our whole country and world. Even if the effects are subtle or seemingly invisible, they are there nonetheless. By changing ourselves and coming into alignment with the truth of our being, we make it easier for others to do so. The elevation of our own consciousness is therefore perhaps the greatest gift we can give the world.

Verse 53

53.

If I have even a little sense,

I should walk in the Great Way,

and my only fear would be straying.

The Great Way is very easy,

yet people prefer the side paths.

That is why there is corruption.

While farmers lose their land,

government officials spend money

on weapons instead of cures

and the upper class is extravagant and irresponsible

while the poor have nowhere to turn.

To wear fancy clothes and ornaments,

stuffing oneself with food and drink,

amassing wealth to the extent of not knowing

what to do with it,

is like being a robber and

is called the crime of excess.

This is not in keeping with the Tao.

Lao Tzu noted the flaws of society around 2,500 years ago and sadly those same flaws are still very much evident today: the crime of excess, of accumulating excessive money, possessions and power while others are penniless and starving. Why should we function like this? To behave in such a way is to be out of alignment with the Tao.

The Great Way of the Tao is the essence of simplicity itself, but it’s not a path that’s particularly attractive or alluring to the majority of people, whose egos and covetous natures are compelled by the accumulation of wealth and power at the expense of others.

“Getting ahead” and “getting what you want out of life” is still the general modus operandi of our society. And sadly it is the result of all the corruption we see on individual and collective levels. Governments are corrupt and have dubious priorities, focussing on power, supremacy and strong economies rather than harmony, balance, equality and holistic regard for all. In fact, so many people are curently rooted in their own self-interest that many simply wouldn’t allow a government to operate any way otherwise. Again, this is because most have chosen (whether consciously or unconsciously) the path of excess and greed over the path of the Great Way.

In order to live the Tao, one must let all that go. Clearly not everyone is up to that challenge. But that doesn’t matter, the only question that matters is this: am I up to it? Can I take the road less travelled and choose the Tao over the petty whims and desires of the ego?

It’s a simple choice, although not necessarily an easy one...but it is the choice between deep and lasting peace and a life of perpetual craving, striving and continual frustration and dissatisfaction.

When seen like that, you realise you’d have to be crazy to choose the winding side paths over the Great Way.

Verse 52

52.

In the beginning was the Tao.

All things issue from it;

all things return to it.

This beginning is the Mother of the world.

To find the origin,

trace back the manifestations.

When you recognise the children

and find the Mother,

you will be free of sorrow.

When we know we are the Mother’s child,

we begin to protect the qualities of the Mother in us.

Keep your mouth shut,

guard the senses

and life is ever full.

If you keep your mind from judging

and aren’t led by the senses and desires,

your heart will find peace.

Seeing into darkness is clarity.

Knowing how to yield is strength.

Use your own light

and return to the source of light.

This is called practising eternity.

“Gnothi Seauton” were the words inscribed above the temple at the Oracle at Delphi. It translates as “Know Thyself”, which is perhaps the most powerful piece of advice ever given in the entire history of humankind. The root of all our problems is a deep ignorance of what we are.

This verse of the Tao Te Ching advises us to trace all manifestation back to its source. Everything is this world has a common source – that source being the Tao, or the Mother of the world.

Instead of getting lost in the “world of the 10,000 things” we must always stay aware of and rooted in the origin of all external form. In other words, observe the children (the form) but hold onto the Mother (the formless).

This means finding and real-ising the Tao at the core of our being. That is what is meant by self-realisation. It is the doorway from the transient to the eternal.

Verse 51

51.

Every being in the universe

is an expression of the Tao.

It springs into existence,

unconscious, perfect, free;

takes on a physical body,

lets circumstances complete it.

That is why all beings

spontaneously honour the Tao.

The Tao gives birth to all beings,

nourishes and cultivates them,

cares for them, maintains them,

takes them back to itself.

The Tao creates without possessing,

gives without expectation,

guides without interfering,

fosters growth without ruling.

This is called hidden virtue.

The fifty-first verse is beautiful and poetic insight into the creation and sustaining of the universe. Form arises from the formless – that which we might call the Tao – but is never separate from it, in spite of the illusion of a world of disconnected objects as perceived by our physical senses. The formless that gives birth to the form is ever within and around it, as its innermost core and essence. The connection is never severed; the Tao continues to maintain, nurture and cultivate all it has manifested into the world of form.

The Tao might be seen as the ultimate parent, teacher, artist or ruler, embodying that which is called ‘hidden virtue’. It creates and nourishes and cultivates without any attachment to results or expectation of payback. It never interferes with or makes demands of its ‘children’. This is the true essence of love, a love that is utterly unconditional and ever-present. It is the life-blood of the universe and the force that keeps the planets spinning, the rivers flowing and our hair and fingernails growing. It creates out of love and only love, making no demands and harbouring no expectations.

The entire Tao Te Ching is an invitation to embody the Tao in our daily lives. What can we learn from this most profound example of hidden virtue, and how might we apply it in our lives? Can we realise and embody our essential nature to create, nourish and cultivate with the utmost love and without any expectation, demands or interference?

Verse 50

50.

Between birth and death,

three in ten are followers of life;

three in ten are followers of death.

And men just passing from birth to death

also number three in ten.

What is the reason for this?

Because they fear death

and cling to this passing world.

But there is one out of ten, they say, so sure of life

that they walk safely among wild animals.

When in dangerous situations, they remain unharmed.

The animals find no place to attack them

and weapons are unable to harm them.

Why is this?

Because they dwell in that place

where death cannot enter.

Realise your essence

and you will witness the end without ending.

Lao Tzu speaks of four ways that people tend to approach life. The first two are by attachment and clinging to life, or by aversion and fear of death (which are, of course, but two sides of the same coin). The cycle of attachment and aversion is what motivates and unconsciously governs the lives of the majority of people. The third way is simply passing through life like a leaf in the wind, helplessly buffeted about, vainly hoping that things will get better while fearing they’ll get worse. At the root of all this is a desperate clinging to life, brought on by a fear of death, which is caused simply by our deep ignorance of what we truly are.

The Master, the rarest of all people, has a different approach to life because he has surrendered to life. He has no fear of death, and equally no fear of life. There is nothing he holds onto, nothing he resists. He is one with life.

It is suggested that the Master, realising his true essence and being rooted in that, is impervious to peril and danger. Whether this is meant to be taken literally or not is a matter of debate. What it perhaps means is that his lack of resistance to life and death allows for a kinder, gentler passage through life.

This doesn’t mean he will never encounter adversity or challenge, for such is the very nature of life. But it does mean that such adversity no longer has the ability to topple him. He no longer fears death or is clinging to a fragile sense of self that can be shattered by the slightest event; such as a hostile encounter with a stranger, an argument or even the mildest of criticisms. The Master transcends outward circumstances and reality. He is at one with everything.

Verse 49

49.

The Master has no fixed mind;

she understands the mind of the people.

She treats those who are good with goodness.

She also treats those who are bad with goodness

because goodness is the nature of her being.

She is kind to the kind.

She is also kind to the unkind

because kindness is the nature of her being.

She trusts people who are trustworthy.

She also trusts people who are not trustworthy.

This is how she gains true trust.

The Master lives in harmony with all below heaven.

Her mind is like space.

People don’t understand her.

They look to her and wait.

She sees everything as her own self;

she loves everyone as her own child.

This verse challenges us to change the way we relate to the world and other people. It’s easy to be nice to people that are nice to us, to repay kindness to people that are kind to us and to trust those we deem worthy of our trust.

But the Master, who lives in complete alignment with the Tao, does not discriminate or differentiate between ‘good’ and ‘bad’. The Master treats all with love, kindness and compassion regardless of who they are and how they conduct themselves. In fact, the people that are most dysfunctional in their behaviour are usually the people that are most in need of our love and kindness.

Shifting to this mindset can pose a real challenge, for it might seem only ‘normal’ to reward kindness with kindness and repay hostility with hostility. The Master, however, shines upon everyone in much the same way as the sun does. The sun shares its light with everyone and never discriminates or judges who it deems to be worthy of receiving sunlight and who it ought to withhold light from. It just shines and shines, never holding back, for that is its nature.

Can we be like that? Some people will gratefully receive our light and will be appreciative and kind, whereas others might react in a less than gracious manner. Is it possible for us simply to love, accept and be good to everyone regardless of how ‘worthy’ or ‘unworthy’ they might appear?

This brings to mind one of my favourite quotes by Hafiz:

“Even after all this time, the sun never says to the Earth “you owe me”. Look what happens with a love like that: it lights up the whole sky.”

Verse 48

48.

One who seeks knowledge

learns something new each day.

One who seeks the Tao

unlearns something new each day.

The practise of the Tao consists of daily diminishing;

less and less do you need to force things,

until finally you arrive at non-action.

When nothing is done,

nothing is left undone.

True mastery is achieved

by letting things take their natural course.

It cannot be gained by interfering.

Often people talk about the things they’ve learned in life, whether it’s information, knowledge or experience. The Tao Te Ching asks us to consider that perhaps the real key is ‘unlearning’ things. It’s often the case that more we think we know, the less we actually do know. And so rather than continually accumulating more and more knowledge, Lao Tzu is asking us to substitute our practise of daily accumulating for daily diminishing. Instead of continually adding to ourselves and our supposed knowledge of the world, we are actually subtracting from ourselves and letting go of all the things we think we know. Only in this state of complete openness – of not-knowing – can we approach the Tao, in much the same way that only an empty vessel can be filled.

From the moment we’re born, we are conditioned, socialised and indoctrinated into the ‘ways of the world’ or, rather the ways of the particular society we’re born into. As children we’re like sponges, continually soaking in new information and knowledge, a lot of it useful and necessary, but much of it erroneous and harmful. There comes a point in our lives when we have to challenge the conditioning of our formative years, particularly if it is of a dysfunctional nature. This is where it becomes especially helpful to take on the practise of daily diminishing; consciously letting go of old thoughts, beliefs, habits, world-views and conditioned ways of seeing things and responding to life.

The less encumbered we are with the viewpoints, opinions and belief systems instilled in us during childhood and beyond, the freer we are and the easier it is to have a direct experience of reality as it is, without having our view of everything distorted by our various mental filters. The practise of daily diminishing makes it easier to enter the flow of life, to allow all things to be as they are, bestowing life the freedom to be what it is...and to recognise that we are not separate from any aspect of it.

Verse 47

47.

Without opening your door,

you can know the whole world.

Without looking out your window,

you can see the way of heaven.

The further you go,

the less you know.

The more knowledge you seek,

the less you understand.

The Master understands without leaving,

sees clearly without looking,

accomplishes much without doing anything.

The further you travel, the more you strive and the more knowledge you try to accumulate, the further you actually distance yourself from realising the Tao.

Lao Tzu tells us the answers are not to be found ‘out there’, but only within oneself. So, how is it possible to know the whole world and the way of the Tao without venturing outside our door? Why are we always told that the answers are within us?

First of all, it’s important to differentiate between knowledge and truth. Knowledge generally relates to the realm of facts, figures and quantifiable information. Truth – or wisdom – is something entirely different. It goes beyond mere information. When we seek truth, we seek to differentiate between reality and illusion. Only with truth, or Self-knowledge can we hope to understand the nature of our existence.
We can gather as many facts and statistics about the material world as we like (and, yes, we can do it without even leaving our house – by simply logging onto the internet!), but that doesn’t mean we know anything about the true nature of reality, only the realm of appearance. Nisargadatta once warned that “taking appearance to be reality is a grievous sin and the cause of all suffering.”

From within the dream, we can learn everything there is to know about the dream itself – but that doesn’t mean we know that we’re dreaming or are aware of anything beyond the dream. Surface-level knowledge alone is of limited use. Truth, however, points to a greater, deeper reality; that which exists prior to and beyond the dream-state.

Believing only that which can be perceived with our senses and buying into the notion that truth is something that is separate from us, that can be acquired outwardly, is a fundamental error. When we believe such notions, we embark on all kinds of futile quests to find answers outwith our selves; answers that can only be found in the stillness of our own hearts.

So why is the truth only to be found within us? Perhaps it is because we are the microcosm of the macrocosm. We are each miniature universes and contained within us are all the wonders and truths of the larger universe. The two are not separate. There is no ‘us’ and ‘the rest of the universe’. All such notions are but dualistic delusions created by the mind. The secrets of the universe and life are within us because we are the universe and we are life. There is no separation.

Everything that we perceive to be ‘out there’ – the entire vastness of the cosmos itself – is only an appearance in our consciousness. Consciousness is the unifying factor and the totality. Without consciousness, there would be no awareness of self and no universe. Consciousness occurs within, therefore the answers have to be within.

Trace consciousness to its source: know it, understand it, and thus understand life, the world and the universe.


Stop seeking outwardly, for that just takes us deeper into the dream, a dream occuring in consciousness. Lucidity comes from looking inward. As Carl Jung said: “he who looks outside dreams, he who looks inside awakens.”

The answers are already here, now – within.