chapter 37

Tao does not act
yet it is the root of all action.
Tao does not move
yet it is the source of all creation

If princes and kings could hold it
everyone uder them would naturally turn within.
Should a doubt or old desire rise up
The Nameless Simplicity would push it down.
The Nameless Simplicity frees the heart of desire
and reveals its inner silence.

When there is silence
one finds peace.
When there is silence
one finds the anchor of the universe within himself.

Johnathan Star translation

Another way to translate the beginning on this chapter is "Tao is eternally without doing, yet nothing remains undone".

What is this doing that Lao Tze refers to? Are we to believe that practicing the Tao is a kind of nihilism where we become aware that nothing really exists in the universe and so try to cease our own existence through inaction? I do not believe so. I believe that Lao Tze is teaching us a valuable lesson here about the union of the non-existent and the existent. That which is empty within us, and that which is manifest.

Our acquired personalities are obsessed with doing. One of the first questions that one might ask when making another's acquaintence is "what do you do?" We can contrast this with the question that a student may hear when first making the acquaintence of a Zen master "Who are you?" There is a big difference in the direction of these questions. One leads you out, the other leads you within. An even more direct question than "who are you?" might be "are you?". Well, find out right now - are you?

Of course, you can just say that you are very easily, you can tell stories about it for hours, I'd bet - but this isn't really finding out, is it? This is really just more doing. Wouldn't you like to know if there is some being that dwells within that doing?

In order to find out if you are, you must become very quiet, very still. Some teachers call this "consciousness without attributes". Can you find an awareness within you that posesses no attributes but being? This is the Tao living right there inside of you.

If you can maintain awareness of this being, even for a moment, you will feel a great peace and silence. You will be dwelling in I Am-ness, which is your true nature. This is the secret name that God spoke to Moses - Eheye Asher Eheye "I am that I am".

The interesting thing that one finds out next is that one does not have to retire to a cave somewhere in order to practice resting in this being. One can do it in any situation at all. Being, or presence is not a trance you have to go into or some special state - that would be more doing. Being is just the plain and simple reality of this moment. If you find that place within you, sometimes called the "mysterious pass" in Taoism, you will realize that it does not shut out the rest of the world, but invites it in and makes it more numinous and colorful.

When we abide in this state, we are able to respond to Life appropriately. One will notice that when action must be taken, one does not need to leave ones Being in order to carry it out. One can remain present in the moment. In fact, if one is dilligent in the practice of maintaining deep presence, the actions will have a special quality to them - a quality of effortless flow and grace.

This flow is the movement of the universe. The Tao does not strive. The earth does not need to be oiled, she just keeps spinning. The Sun does not need to be recharged, it just keeps shining. The reason for this is that the sun and the earth do not get in their own way. There is no friction in the activity of the universe. There is no constriction or trying. Thus it is said that the Tao does not do, yet all things are accomplished through it.

"If princes and kings could hold it, everyone under them would naturally turn within."
Here Lao Tze points out that if we get our priorites right, everything will fall into place naturally. The King, or the ruler is that silent watcher within. If we can abide AS this presense, there is nothing we need to do or to fix - all our lives slowly come into order. These are all the people under them turning within. There is no pattern of pain or suffering within us that cannot be met with deep presence. There is no pattern of pain or suffering within us that does not transform in the face of deep being. The more we strive to "fix" those aspects of ourselves that are troubling - the further away from Being we get. When we rest in Being, these troubles can finally find what they were looking for in the first place - peace.

This passage also refers to the power of entrainment. What Lao Tze is reminding us is that the power of Being is so strong, that it has massive influence over others. This influence is so pronounced that one who practices becomes like a King or a Queen in this world. When people are in their presence they feel changed in some way. Individuals become more peaceful, more centered, they feel more "on-track" with who they are. The more we practice abiding in non-doing, the greater our influence in the world becomes. This peace spreads out in waves from the yogi and no one can remain unaffected.

"Should a doubt or old desire rise up, the Nameless Simplicity would push it down.
The translation "push it down" is slightly problematic here, because we can take it to mean that these feelings are being repressed. This is not the case at all. The Nameless Simplicity is another name for the Tao abiding within. When we begin to practice, we may notice that all sorts of interesting feelings arise. We may notice doubts about our practice of presence, or old feeligs that we haven't thought about in a long time. These too are asking for our presence. The practice of abiding begins to untie all knots. As these knots release, old feelings can bubble to the surface - sometimes they have lain dormant for lifetimes. The key is to remain stable in the peace of your true nature. All of these stories are just coming to seek the peace of the Tao, and yet the content of the stories may look very interesting or frightening. it may seem as if we should act quickly on these feelings. We may want to start a lot of Doing to soothe the feelings we are experiencing.

This Doing doesn't just mean action on the outside. In fact, you may have to do some actual work to take care of the past influences that come up to your consciousness. It is the striving within that causes us so much pain. The beautiful truth is that we get to choose whether we want to engage in this pain or not. The Nameless Simplicity is always there for us to become aware of. There is no trial one must pass through in order to gain the grace of God. The trial is in this moment and in each moment - will we remember that we can rest open as Being, or will we choose to struggle.

There are many old stories of Taoists or mystics who maintained their meditative practice even while "demons" came to them disguised as seductive members of the opposite sex, or frightening beings, or family memebers begging for aid. The idea here is not to say "go away, I'm meditating". But to stay in our practice of full consciousness of who we Are. We can bring the light of this consciousness to our feelings of love, fear, or duty and watch them transform and evolve.

When we realize that we can choose not to struggle is when the heart is "freed of desire". This doesn't mean that we become mindless automotons - but simply that we stop desiring things to be other than they are. We know that we can rest into peace whenever we choose, and somehow our actions lose their friction. Taking the "desire" out of the picture takes the struggle out of things. We learn to act as the Tao acts - the earth turning, the sun radiating.

It is through this that "one can find the anchor of the universe within him[or her]self." Abiding in being is the center point between past and future, it is the center point of all directions. This being which you are now is the most powerful location in the universe. Recognizing this, you recognize that your vital Qi, your intentions are radiating out and pulling the thread of all existence in each moment. Coming home to the silent center of your being puts you back into the seat of your true power - the power that you are as this present Reality.