“The Creator has no judgment, no preference:
He treats everything and everyone alike.
Every manifestation attests to the mysteries of his
creation.
So, we, too, embrace everything and everyone with no
judgment, no preference.
His grace, never depleting and forever replenishing,
shows us the Way.
Judgment and preference separate us from his grace,
causing attachment.
Only with his grace do we find renewal and rebirth along
the Way.”
(Lao Tzu,Tao Te Ching, Chaper 5)
The above is taken from Lao Tzu's immortal classic Tao Te Ching, one of the most translated books in world literature. Lao Tzu was an ancient sage from
We all have a physical body, living in a physical world often filled with toxic desires. Do not let the body become toxic too. In the physical world, our bodies with their five senses (seeing, smelling, tasting, hearing, and touching) are constantly exposed to sensual sensations around us that may create desires in our bodies. For example, when we see something that pleases the eye, such as an expensive Rolex gold watch, we become desirous of it. That perception can be voluntarily rejected by the conscious mind, but it may be imprinted involuntarily on the subconscious mind, which, unfortunately, controls and directs the conscious mind. So, if the conscious mind does not even voluntarily reject the perception, it may become a toxic desire. Ideally, the mind should control the body, but if the body controls the mind, that is, letting the toxic desire get out of control, the mind will do just anything and everything—even to the extent of breaking the law—to gratify that desire of the body. That’s how toxic desires in a toxic body come into being.
In addition, we all have both a conscious and subconscious mind that process and interpret our physical sensations, leading to thoughts that may be positive or negative, depending on our mental input. The mind plays a pivotal role in changing negative thoughts into toxic desires in a toxic body.
Our conscious minds
voluntarily control our mental input (that is, what we want to remember and
what we want to forget); but our subconscious minds involuntarily absorb all physical
sensations we are exposed to. The subconscious mind is the master
mind behind all actions that the conscious mind takes; therefore, it is
important to have the wisdom to understand better how the subconscious mind
works in order to have better control of the conscious mind, lest the
subconscious mind create toxic desires in a toxic body.
Remember, the toxic mind is often created by human judgment and preference. Many of us have a tendency to judge others (the Bible says "Thou shalt not judge."); judgment may create a toxic mind. By the same token, many of us tend to pick and choose -- picking what we like, and choosing what we think may bring success, while rejecting what we don't like and avoiding what we think may cause failure. The wisdom is to "embrace" everything that happens in our lives, because we can learn from both the good as well as the bad. Live in the present moment, and stop being judgmental.
Read my book: The
Complete Tao Te Ching in Plain English to learn more about Tao wisdom to let go of all
attachments that may prevent you from living as if
everything is a miracle. This
book also includes the complete text (81 short chapters of Tao Te Ching)
Stephen Lau
Copyright© by Stephen Lau
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