The Activist's Tao Te Ching: Ancient Advice for a Modern Revolution
128
The Activist's Tao Te Ching: Ancient Advice for a Modern Revolution
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Overview
— Alice Walker, The New York Times Book Review
Change and anger are in the air. Looking for answers to today’s wrenching challenges, William Martin turns to the Tao Te Ching and finds that while Taoism is known for its quiet, enigmatic wisdom, the Tao can also have the cleansing force of a rushing river.
Through his interpretation of this ancient Chinese text, Martin elucidates revolutionary messages condemning power-seeking and greed. He emphasizes that humans have a “natural virtue” that can help them heal the planet; shows how Taoism’s simplicity can be subversive and its flexibility a potent force; and reassures that “when injustice is the rule, justice always lies in wait.”
Provocative and stirring, Martin’s Tao flows within and through those who ride the waves of anger and frustration and gently guides them to true freedom.
“We have learned the secret of transformation: Injustice feeds our determination. Hate increases our love. Wounds bring forth our healing, and fear uncovers our courage and serenity.”
— from The Activist’s Tao Te Ching
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781608683932 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | New World Library |
| Publication date: | 04/15/2016 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 128 |
| File size: | 2 MB |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
The Activist's Tao Te Ching
Ancient Advice for a Modern Revolution
By William Martin
New World Library
Copyright © 2016 William MartinAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-60868-393-2
CHAPTER 1
SPONTANEOUS ACTION
Ideas, concepts, and words
have separated us from life.
Masquerading as friends,
they have made us enemies
of each other.
Free of our own prejudices,
we act with spontaneity.
We move naturally.
We accomplish what is necessary.
Caught in our prejudices,
we act as puppets,
moving in lockstep
to the beat of commerce.
All emerges from the Tao,
all returns to the Tao in time.
Meanwhile darkness deepens,
bringing fear and despair.
Darkness faced, however,
opens into daylight.
There is a transformative movement within the Tao that cannot be stopped, any more than water can be stopped from returning to its ocean home. Dams can be built, but it will seep under, flow over, burst through, or evaporate and rain on the other side. This is the energy we have flowing within and through us.
A QUIET REVOLUTION
Change does not come
from eloquence or persuasion.
When injustice is the rule,
justice always lies in wait.
Where oppression flourishes,
freedom ever lurks.
Where death is the threat,
life springs into being.
The darkness of power,
unknowing, contains the seeds
of a bright new light.
Therefore the people act
but do not force;
they teach without agenda
and let freedom emerge
without conscious effort.
We want justice now! But if we let the Tao flow through us, it alone will break the dam, sweep away the debris of greed, and cleanse our culture's wounds. Our role will be to ride the wave and gently help people find the freedom that it brings.
WE ARE NOT FOOLED
When a nation values wealth and status,
its citizens are easily controlled
by their desires and their fears.
When we learn to value simple things
and are not enticed by power,
we can open the hearts of people
to the joy of ordinary life.
We will not be fooled by clever words
designed to keep us captive,
promising us a better day,
someday.
When we no longer believe
these empty promises,
already better days
are on their way.
We are not seeking justice just so everyone can share the trinkets of a consumer culture. We are seeking the freedom to live without artificially induced desires. When this happens, justice will be natural and flow like a river.
WITHOUT AGENDA
The Tao is empty of agenda,
therefore full of possibilities.
It is not a limited reservoir of energy,
doled out in parcels to supplicants.
It is an infinite field.
We don't know what the future looks like.
Transformation will surprise us with its form.
If we knew what it would look like,
our vision would be limited
and our efforts would be futile.
We act in service to the formless Tao,
not to the forms and functions of our restless minds.
So we let the tension recede,
our bodies relax,
and our minds open
to the future.
Whatever is impelling us is rooted in a mystery. Whatever is happening to us is not the usual dance. Something new is being shaped that began before time itself was formed. We're not causing it to happen. We're letting it happen in us.
NO PREFERENCES
The Tao has no preferences
and will not "take our side."
Oppressors and oppressed alike
are born within
and carried by the Tao.
New forms are always appearing,
for the Tao is always breathing
fresh new life into being
and giving rest to the old.
We will often feel at war with those who cling to prestige and power, but it is the nature of power itself that we are fighting. Oppressor and oppressed will both be free when the desire for power is laid aside and the forms that support that power are dismantled.
SURE HOPE
The Tao gave birth
to everything seen and unseen,
to that which came before,
and followed after,
the Big Bang of creation.
The seeds of revolution,
sprouting, blooming, blossoming
within us at this moment,
were scattered in that First Explosion,
gathered in the hearts of stars,
germinated in the oceans of life,
and are born in our hearts today.
Don't give in to frustration and despair. We may not live to see the day when all are free, but that which began before the beginning of beginning-less time cannot be thwarted. It is alive within us and will live on when we are gone.
SUCCESS
How can we succeed
against such terrible power?
Because we do not seek to rule
the people, but to follow them.
Because we do not seek to gain power,
but to remain behind the scenes.
Our fears and desires have become
mere phantoms, ephemeral,
figments that no longer distract.
We have let go of ourselves
and are one with the movement of Tao.
We are without worry about success or failure.
This is how we will succeed.
The desire to change the world is not the energy that will carry the day. That will narrow our focus and divert our power. Without desires of our own, we can cooperate with all the ways the world will heal itself.
TRUE POWER
Controlling power bestows its benefits
only to those who bow before it.
This transformation, however,
flows like a river,
benefiting all in its path,
asking nothing,
withholding from no one.
Therefore we choose to live
in simple dwellings, remaining
close to nature,
and to the earth
that feeds us.
We keep our spirits quiet
and our thoughts without turmoil.
We speak our message clearly
and with compassion.
We manage things without controlling.
We work with mindful concentration.
We compete with no one.
There will be the necessary marches, protests, and organizing. But much of our action will be unnoticed by power. Power will wake one day and discover that people have found their own way, no longer bothered by power's illusions.
NO PRAISE, NO BLAME
If we have something to lose,
we will not succeed.
We will cling to that thing;
an opinion, a possession,
or our reputation.
Clinging,
we will be vulnerable.
Being vulnerable,
we will remain prisoners to power.
The way ahead is to work each day
then lay aside all thought
of praise or blame
or gain or loss,
and sleep in peace.
We will exhaust ourselves trying to please the multitude of voices clamoring for our attention. Assigning praise or blame to everyone we see, we are playing by the rules of our oppressors, who use our fear of loss to keep us quiet, distracted, and arguing among ourselves.
QUALITIES
Here are the qualities
necessary for a true revolution:
a mind and body unified
in focus and flexibility;
a clear and nonjudgmental vision
that sees the ever-present light;
a courageous kindness that acts,
but remains unsung and unknown;
an open life that lets things come
and go, while remaining undisturbed;
a light-hearted acceptance of oneself,
free of pomposity and self-importance.
If we cultivate these qualities,
we will lead without controlling,
act energetically without forcing,
and gain everything while possessing nothing.
The qualities necessary for lasting change are inner qualities. They will manifest, to be sure, in outer acts, but their origin is within each person. If society valued and practiced these qualities, a revolution would not be necessary.
I DON'T KNOW
When we unite in our common cause,
we present a visible force
and are taken seriously.
But it is the invisible spirit within us,
seen by no one,
that will do the work.
We have beliefs and convictions
running through our thinking minds,
but it is the spacious place
within these minds, the fertile emptiness,
that will change the world.
We will create new models
by which we live together,
but it will be the room and space
we give each other
that will bring us life.
It is all too easy for us as activists to become "full of ourselves." A self- righteous halo often faintly glows in rooms where we gather, leaving no room for doubt, self-awareness, humility, and openness to new ideas. We fill the space with our wonderful intentions and have no place in which to utter the important phrase, "I don't know ..."
INFORMATION OR WISDOM?
Media continuously assaults the senses,
then offers us something to buy
to ease the stress.
The voices clamor for our eyes, hands,
ears, hearts, and bodies,
offering trinkets in return
for vital treasures.
Wisdom sees and hears the outer world,
but acts only at the urgings
of the inner world.
A truism asserts that "information is power." Not really. Unless information is digested by a spacious heart instead of a conditioned mind, it is actually disempowering. The conditioned mind molds information into ammunition to hurl at opponents and justify our actions. The spacious heart sifts information carefully, not letting it overwhelm or confuse us, but making sure it carefully guides us along helpful paths.
HOPE AND FEAR
Both hope and fear are hollow companions.
Each will trigger anxious thoughts.
If hope and fear drive us,
our actions will be built on unstable ground.
We will always second-guess our moves,
looking over our shoulder, fearful
even of our friends,
squabbling among ourselves,
blaming and praising in a futile attempt
to control people and events.
Only when we see ourselves and the world
as "One Thing Happening"
will our fears and hopes subside.
We act upon the world,
but are not separate from it.
We are not healing the world from afar.
We are part of the world,
healing itself.
We don't have to hope for freedom and justice in our world, nor fear for their lack. The Taoist knows that the Tao will unfailingly bring balance to the world, but we do not know the how or the when of that process, nor what the next form will be. We are simply doing, in perfect freedom, that which is ours to do.
FORMLESS FLOW
The change that is coming
did not start in some particular place
nor at a particular time.
It began when the Tao
Big-Banged itself into form,
and it has been carried in the stardust
that now makes up our bodies.
Don't look for beginnings or endings,
but find the seamless, formless Flow
that is returning always to the center
where peace and justice wait.
We don't have to make it happen.
It is happening as I write
and as you read.
When we both look up,
there it will be,
waiting for us
to simply do what's next.
This is the paradox of true activism. We don't force, push, or strain, for these are actions of the separate ego. Still, the power that moves us cannot be stopped. We don't push, but neither do we turn aside and pretend that our actions are not necessary. They are necessary, but they are truly helpful only when they arise from a deeper level than our egocentric mind.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from The Activist's Tao Te Ching by William Martin. Copyright © 2016 William Martin. Excerpted by permission of New World Library.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Contents
Introduction,[ 1 ] Spontaneous Action,
[ 2 ] A Quiet Revolution,
[ 3 ] We Are Not Fooled,
[ 4 ] Without Agenda,
[ 5 ] No Preferences,
[ 6 ] Sure Hope,
[ 7 ] Success,
[ 8 ] True Power,
[ 9 ] No Praise, No Blame,
[ 10 ] Qualities,
[ 11 ] I Don't Know,
[ 12 ] Information or Wisdom?,
[ 13 ] Hope and Fear,
[ 14 ] Formless Flow,
[ 15 ] Unlikely Rebels,
[ 16 ] Return to Source,
[ 17 ] All by Ourselves,
[ 18 ] Structures,
[ 19 ] Decrease,
[ 20 ] Bread and Circuses,
[ 21 ] A Light Within,
[ 22 ] The Acceptance Paradox,
[ 23 ] Perspective,
[ 24 ] Be Completely Who We Are,
[ 25 ] The Womb of Tao,
[ 26 ] Distraction,
[ 27 ] The Secret,
[ 28 ] Embracing Everything,
[ 29 ] No Objectives,
[ 30 ] Subversion,
[ 31 ] Weapons,
[ 32 ] One Thing,
[ 33 ] Within Ourselves,
[ 34 ] Hidden Power,
[ 35 ] Engrossed but Exhausted,
[ 36 ] New Foundations,
[ 37 ] Silence,
[ 38 ] No Rules,
[ 39 ] Leaders,
[ 40 ] No Us,
[ 41 ] Paradox Abounds,
[ 42 ] Balance,
[ 43 ] Stillness,
[ 44 ] Siren Songs,
[ 45 ] The Common Man,
[ 46 ] Contentment,
[ 47 ] The World Inside,
[ 48 ] Laid Aside,
[ 49 ] Ideals,
[ 50 ] Life and Death,
[ 51 ] Not Alone,
[ 52 ] Shut the Gates,
[ 53 ] Mind Training,
[ 54 ] Wellspring,
[ 55 ] The Nature of Things,
[ 56 ] Those Who Talk Don't Know,
[ 57 ] Anarchy,
[ 58 ] A Certain Courage,
[ 59 ] Connected,
[ 60 ] No Force Necessary,
[ 61 ] No Argument,
[ 62 ] Disagreement,
[ 63 ] Without Ado,
[ 64 ] A Small Step,
[ 65 ] Is That True?,
[ 66 ] Lead with Humility,
[ 67 ] Our Weapons,
[ 68 ] Anger,
[ 69 ] No Enemy,
[ 70 ] Understanding Origins,
[ 71 ] Healing,
[ 72 ] Trust Ourselves,
[ 73 ] A Hidden Path,
[ 74 ] The Price,
[ 75 ] Controlled by Wanting,
[ 76 ] Like Bamboo,
[ 77 ] Balance,
[ 78 ] Fluid Power,
[ 79 ] No Blame,
[ 80 ] After the Revolution,
[ 81 ] Truth?,
Afterword,
Acknowledgments,
About the Author,