Hua Hu Ching

Do you imagine the universe is agitated?
Go into the desert at night and took
out at the stars.
This practice should answer the question.
The superior person
settles her mind as the universe settles the stars in the sky.
By connecting her
mind with the subtle origin, she calms it.
Once calmed, it naturally expands,
and ultimately her mind becomes as vast and immeasurable as the night sky.
~ Lao Tzu translated by Brian Walker

Image taken from majorlycool.com

Re: Hua Hu Ching

thank you for posting this Shanti - I have read the Hua Hu Ching (or Hua Hu Jing depending on how it is posted) a number of times over the years, and have always found it to be very accessible and interesting (in spite of the controversy surrounding it). Whether it was in fact Lao Tzu who wrote it, or a small group of his students, there is alot of beautiful wisdom in the chapters. Thank you for reminding me of it - I found my copy again this evening and have started to read it again.

xo
la

Re: Hua Hu Ching

Glad you enjoyed. I came across the Hua Hu Ching when I was about 16. This piece had stuck in my memory and have just reread the whole thing, almost in one sitting.
It touched me in quite a different way not, but this peice is still my favourite! I hadn't known about the controversy till I googled it recently, I agree it is seems fairly good advice regardless of where it comes from.
Love

Re: Hua Hu Ching

Yes, definitely, I agree. Here are some quotes that struck me when I first read the Walker translation and the translation by Hua- Ching Ni:

Chapter 31 (trans. Brian Walker)

To be aware of being with the Universal One is like watching the reflection of the moon on the surface of a still lake.  Actually, the moon is not in the lake, yet people speak of it so.  If, by chance, clouds appear and cover the moon, people say it has departed for the lake, yet it has actually gone nowhere.
~

Chapter 17 (trans. by Hua- Ching Ni)
Study and Practise

The master continued, ” Kind prince, if good men and women study and embrace this scripture, yet are scorned by others, this is the result of the ignorant actions of their past lives that are bearing bad fruit in this life. Through continuing to study and practice the truth contained in this scripture, however, their energy will be cleansed and they will attain the crystal clear awareness of an integral being.
 
” Kind prince, after I received my birth from the Subtle Origin, I dedicated myself through many lifetimes to innumerable religions and their deities, believing that they would act as intermediaries between me and the subtle, integral reality of the universe. I did not neglect or overlook a single one of them.Yet, if someone in the distant future, in the Age of Confusion for instance, were to directly embrace the integral truth contained in this scripture, the virtue he would embody and the merit he would attain would be much, much greater than what  I attained through my long religious dedication.  This is because he would be aware of his own divine nature through direct contact with it, not through the indirect process of worshipping others who have achieved the integral truth.
 
” Those who turn to dieties as intermediaries between themseves and the subtle truth are like beggars who look outside theselves for the very treasure contained within their own nature. It is only after one discovers one's own divine nature that prayer or any form of worshipping the one universal life can be a true and effective spiritual  cultiviation of the wholeness of eternal life.
 
” Kind prince, as I just mentioned, if there are good people in the future who can embrace the truth contained in this scripture and who can study and practice it with great sincerity, the merit and virtue they will attain shall be immeasurable. You see, kind prince, this scripture is the subtle truth of one integral universal life, and the responsive power of the Universal Way neglects no one and can be denied by no one!”
~

Chapter 44 (excerpt) (trans. by Hua- Ching Ni)

..to believe in the reality of images is equal to believing in the unreality of images. Both are mere concepts which separate one from direct intuitional contact with the integral truth. To know the truth is to know nothing, yet when one knows the truth, there is nothing one is not aware of.

To have whole vision is to have no vision of anything in particular, yet there is nothing which can escape one's discernment. People who are unenlightened have not yet reached the integral truth, for they cannot direct their mental energy to flow in the right channel. Instead they adhere to totally false, rigidly formed belief systems that are composed of concepts derived from the limited sensory organs. This distorted information is stored and arranged by the memory and judgement systems. Thus, the more one knows and understands, the more dimness and confusion are created. One is continually bewildered by what one knows and sees. If, by chance, one manages to avoid falling into the pitfall of the content of what one knows and sees, one invariably becomes trapped in the mechanics of how one knows and sees, then one can be fooled by what enables one to see. The mind clings to the false images it creates. All of this conditioning builds up layer upon layer of conceptual filters through which one then looks at the world. Thus, not only is one's perception of the world distorted by the interposition of these false images, but one' s very being becomes distorted. This adds further hindrance to reaching the integral truth.
~

It is a fascinating collection of letters/ books with some sound advice regardless. :-)

Re: Hua Hu Ching

Hmmmmmmm  I hadn't known of the other translation. How fun, another volume of truth to chew through :).

Just curious on the Brian walker translation I have a different chapter 31, is there different editions. What you posted sounds familiar and I guess it is a similar message but my chapter 31 is thus…..

The Tao doesn't come and go. It is always present everywhere, just like the
sky. If your mind is clouded, you won't see it, but that doesn't mean it isn't
there. All misery is created by the activity of the mind. Can you let go of
words and ideas, attitudes and expectations? If so, then the Tao will loom into
view. Can you be still and look inside? If so, then you will see that the truth
is always available, always responsive.

Perhaps there is different editions?

Re: Hua Hu Ching

yes, there are definitely different editions… I have seen 3 at least and there may be more. I know there are a couple of editions translated by Hua Ching Ni. Maybe there are others even, that I have not found yet. :-)

Re: Hua Hu Ching

“A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.”

Lao Tzu

Re: Hua Hu Ching

great point to share ST - very true. :-)

Re: Hua Hu Ching

Besides, no coming, no going, no up, no down, no sideways, no in, and no out - perfect!