|
Living The Great Way
by Wayne Dyer
The 34h
Verse
The Great Way is universal;
it can apply to the left or the right.
All beings depend on it for life;
even so, it does not take possession of them.
It accomplishes its purpose,
but makes no claim for itself.
It covers all creatures like the sky,
but does not dominate them.
All things return to it as to their home,
but it does not lord it over them;
thus, it maybe called "great."
The sage imitates this conduct:
By not claiming greatness,
the sage achieves greatness.
In this verse, Lao-tzu
asks you to reevaluate your perception of greatness. Typical definitions
tend to center around the amount of fame and fortune that an individual
accumulates in his or her lifetime. As the previous verse emphasized,
the power to dominate and control others can also be used as a benchmark
of this quality: Commanders of huge armies and heads of state who
attract worldwide attention are considered great. Yet great men or women
are often thought of as having been instrumental in affecting the course
of human events in a positive way, making the world a better place on
either a local or global level. Greatness, then, is a claim made by or
for individuals who stand out from the crowd.
Verse 34 of the Tao Te
Ching describes greatness in an entirely different manner: Such a
quality is the Tao, which is so all-encompassing that every plant,
creature and human originates and lives because of it, yet it doesn't
seek to dominate anyone or anything. The Tao doesn't ask for recognition
of any kind, for it has no interest in fame or being thanked for all
that it provides. It is this indifference toward notoriety that makes
true greatness.
When you change the way
you think about this quality, you'll see your world in an entirely new
way: You'll no longer be gauging appearances and accumulations and you
won't notice how much power you or anyone else uses to exact dominance
or control over others. Rather, your new way of thinking will allow you
to look for the unfolding of the Tao in everyone you see. Perhaps for
the very first time, you'll notice greatness in others, as well as
yourself, in terms of the Tao that includes all. You'll be able to look
at the sky and see its grandness, which demands absolutely nothing in
return.
As you change your
enculturated view of greatness, you'll begin seeing a different world.
You'll see the importance of everyone, including those individuals
you've previously identified as difficult or unreasonable. You'll begin
to see that the holiness that ferments the galaxies is working in you,
in me and in everyone. You'll begin to trust that greatness is every
person's heritage. The Tao is everywhere; therefore, this quality will
be visible in all things and people.
Here are my suggestions
for applying the 34th verse of the Tao Te Ching to your everyday life:
Discontinue deciding what
anyone else should or shouldn't be doing. Avoid thoughts and activities
that involve telling people who are perfectly capable of making their
own choices what to do. In your family, remember that you do not own
anyone. The poet Kahlil Gibran reminds you:
Your
children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters
of Life's longing for itself
They come through you but not from you.
This is always true. In
fact, disregard any inclination to dominate in all of your
relationships. Listen rather than expound. Pay attention to yourself
when you're having judgmental opinions and see where self-attention
takes you. When you replace an ownership mentality with one of allowing,
you'll begin to see the true unfolding of the Tao in yourself and other
people. From that moment on, you'll be free of frustration with those
who don't behave according to your ego-dominated expectations.
Discover a new definition of
greatness.
Offer yourself a
definition that doesn't use any standards of appearance or traditional
external measures of success. Notice those who give much, boast little,
nurture others and decline recognition or credit and put them in your
greatness file. Encourage yourself to practice these same kinds of
behaviors. Begin noticing how the Tao is always flowing in an
all-providing, nonboasting, nondemanding, nonpossessing manner. Can you
see how great that truly is? There are many people in your daily life
doing just that. Seek them out and acknowledge them, while quietly
emulating what they do. Remember that a great sage never claims
ownership of greatness, so when you change your definition, you'll see
that quality cropping up everywhere, especially within yourself.
Do the Tao Now
Make a decision to spend a
day seeking out several people who fit the model of this verse of the
Tao Te Ching. Silently convey to them that you sense their greatness as
an unfolding of the Tao. Then notice how your interactions with them
differ when you're not making judgments based on their age, sex, title,
conduct, manner of dress, height, weight, skin color, religious
affiliation, or political beliefs.
Excerpted from “Change
Your Thoughts – Change Your Life: Living the Wisdom of the Tao.”
|
