The Tao Te Ching is a wonderful text. No one is disputing that, but it is not necessary to read the TTC to discover what it is pointing to. Getting attached to the idea that old Zen Masters and old writings are more important that what can be discovered here and now through attentiveness is a spiritual pitfall. No old books, old writings, old Zen Masters, magic, miracles, woo-woo experiences, or special states are necessary for finding the truth. Simply shift attention from thoughts to what is in front of your eyes.
A student once asked a Zen Master, "Master, where is the place to enter (the Absolute)?" The master pointed to a bubbling stream beside them and replied, "There is the place to enter."
A student once asked the Christian mystic Jacob Boehm the same question. Boehm replied, "If thou canst for a moment throw thyself into THAT WHEREIN NO CREATURE DWELLETH, thou wilt hear unspeakable words of God."
The world "wherein no creature dwelleth" is always in front of our eyes. Thoughts, alone, obscure it.
A student once asked a Zen Master, "Master, where is the place to enter (the Absolute)?" The master pointed to a bubbling stream beside them and replied, "There is the place to enter."
A student once asked the Christian mystic Jacob Boehm the same question. Boehm replied, "If thou canst for a moment throw thyself into THAT WHEREIN NO CREATURE DWELLETH, thou wilt hear unspeakable words of God."
The world "wherein no creature dwelleth" is always in front of our eyes. Thoughts, alone, obscure it.
