Gain and loss
Nobody likes loss; everyone wants to gain, be it money, property, fame, accademic learning, knowledge, or even religious faith. Yet the Taoists say in order to realize freedom, one has to lose. Lao Tze says in Tao Te Ching, 'Academic learning consists of daily addition, yet to practice Tao requires daily substracting. Substracting and yet substracting until one reaches inactivity'.
We might find it hard, if not impossible to voluntariy suffer loss, to substract in our life time. But let's not forget the at the time of death, we have to forego everything that's been accumulated throughout our life - our body, money, house, all material belongings, knowledge, even our indiosyncracies. That's the nature's way of saying,'Nothing belongs to you, not even your own body'.
Our fear of loss doesn't merely concern material things. I think our biggest fear is the loss of our ego, our identity. In other words, we all want to be 'someone'; nobody wants to be 'nobody'. But in order to transcend the self and everything related to it including the sufferings and afflictions, one has to learn to be 'nobody'. In the world of duality, one simply cannot have one and not the other. Aldous Huxley in his Perenial Philosophy made this observation, ''man's obsessive consciousness of, and insistence on being a separate self is the final and most formidable obstacle to the unitive knowlege of God''. If you don't like the term God you may replace it with 'cessation', 'liberation', 'end of suffering', 'ultimate Reality', 'Atman', or Tao. Anyway, the name is not important. Whatever name you call it, you have to lose the self in order to gain that, just like all the rivers and streams have to lose their individual identity in order to join the ocean.
By staying quiet and still, one gradually enters into the real Tao. Once entered into the real Tao, he is said to have gained the Tao. Though it's termed 'gaining the Tao' [meaning 'gain enlightenment'], there's actually nothing to gain. For the sake of delivering the masses, one has to call it 'gaining the Tao'. He who gains full comprehension of this has the capacity to be taught the sacred Tao.
_____ The Clare and Quiet Sutra of the Supreme Lord Lao Tze [translated by the author]
In deep meditation over sustained period, the five skandhas that's made up the mind and body reveal themselves as nothing but emptiness, free of all afflictions and suffering. ...All phenomena are empty forms, neither born nor dying, neither defiled nor pure, neither increasing nor decresing.... There is no wisdom, and also no attainment. Since there is nothing to attain, the bodhisattva who accords with the perfection of wisdom has no impediments in their heart. Because there are no impediments, there is nothing to fear. It is this departure from all illusions that leads to ultimate Nirvana.
Empty yourself, and I will fill you up.
We might find it hard, if not impossible to voluntariy suffer loss, to substract in our life time. But let's not forget the at the time of death, we have to forego everything that's been accumulated throughout our life - our body, money, house, all material belongings, knowledge, even our indiosyncracies. That's the nature's way of saying,'Nothing belongs to you, not even your own body'.
Our fear of loss doesn't merely concern material things. I think our biggest fear is the loss of our ego, our identity. In other words, we all want to be 'someone'; nobody wants to be 'nobody'. But in order to transcend the self and everything related to it including the sufferings and afflictions, one has to learn to be 'nobody'. In the world of duality, one simply cannot have one and not the other. Aldous Huxley in his Perenial Philosophy made this observation, ''man's obsessive consciousness of, and insistence on being a separate self is the final and most formidable obstacle to the unitive knowlege of God''. If you don't like the term God you may replace it with 'cessation', 'liberation', 'end of suffering', 'ultimate Reality', 'Atman', or Tao. Anyway, the name is not important. Whatever name you call it, you have to lose the self in order to gain that, just like all the rivers and streams have to lose their individual identity in order to join the ocean.By staying quiet and still, one gradually enters into the real Tao. Once entered into the real Tao, he is said to have gained the Tao. Though it's termed 'gaining the Tao' [meaning 'gain enlightenment'], there's actually nothing to gain. For the sake of delivering the masses, one has to call it 'gaining the Tao'. He who gains full comprehension of this has the capacity to be taught the sacred Tao.
_____ The Clare and Quiet Sutra of the Supreme Lord Lao Tze [translated by the author]
In deep meditation over sustained period, the five skandhas that's made up the mind and body reveal themselves as nothing but emptiness, free of all afflictions and suffering. ...All phenomena are empty forms, neither born nor dying, neither defiled nor pure, neither increasing nor decresing.... There is no wisdom, and also no attainment. Since there is nothing to attain, the bodhisattva who accords with the perfection of wisdom has no impediments in their heart. Because there are no impediments, there is nothing to fear. It is this departure from all illusions that leads to ultimate Nirvana._____ The Heart Sutra of the Lord Buddha [translated by the author]
_____ Lord Jesus
Isn't it evident from the teachings of the sages that there's absolutely nothing to gain for the self in the state of spiritual Enlightenment?
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