Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Tyger Tyger

Tyger, Tyger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare seize the fire?
And what shoulder, & what art,
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand? & what dread feet?
What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?
When the stars threw down their spears
And water'd heaven with their tears,
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?
Tyger, Tyger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?



And so...

She who is centred in the Tao
can go where she wishes, without danger.
She perceives the universal harmony,
even amid great pain,
because she has found peace in her heart.
Music or the smell of good cooking
may make people stop and enjoy.
But words that point to the Tao
seem monotonous and without flavour.
When you look for it,
there is nothing to see.
When you listen for it,
there is nothing to hear.
When you use it, it is inexhaustible.

Posted by Patrick at 8:59 PM | | Comments

Monday, January 29, 2007

R'n'R

Granny just had ten days in respite. I picked her up earlier and brought her home, she was happy to see me, happy to leave and tells me she had a happy time. Unpacking her stuff I found the following letter, to me, entitled 'What is going on?'

'How dare you manipulate me - sending me off as you have done so. I am utterly furious treating me as if I am a bloody imbecile. Why? All expenses incurred by my stay away will be paid by you. Don't you, for one moment, think that I have gone gugga - what have you been doing in my house whilst I have been away? I don't think I want you living with me any more.
You must have a conscience, otherwise you would have consulted me.
Never in my life have I had to experience the state of mind that I am in at the moment.
G'

Always nice to be appreciated.
The great Tao flows everywhere.
All things are born from it,
yet it doesn't create them.
It pours itself into its work,
yet it makes no claim.
It nourishes infinite worlds,
yet it doesn't hold on to them.
Since it is merged with all things
and hidden in their hearts,
it can be called humble.
Since all things vanish into it
and it alone endures,
it can be called great.
It isn't aware of its greatness;
thus it is truly great.

Posted by Patrick at 4:51 PM | | Comments

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Pillars of Existence

Kindness or cruelty...

I hear Granny as she's travelling the stairs, 'you've taken my cat away and I don't know why', she's crying. I took the cat back to the cat's protection league, where she came from last month. It came in this morning, it hadn't been here since sunday.

Granny was getting used to it not being around. She looked out of the window on getting up and said, 'well, she'll have to go back, she's not a loving cat.' I was downstairs opening the front door to let it in. Granny saw her as she headed up the stairs, 'hello darling, aren't you a beautiful puss-cat.' And promptly forgot all that had gone before, all the anguish, the worried phonecalls, the visits to the neighbours and the visits of the neighbours.

She knows now that it has gone. She's not sure where, and she has no clue why. I'm cruel because I have taken away her favourite, most loved possession. She wanted to give it another week to see how it went, 'oh darling, what nonsense, look how happy she is, she wouldn't just go off like that, she never has before.'


Knowing others is intelligence;
knowing yourself is true wisdom.
Mastering others is strength;
mastering yourself is true power.
If you realize that you have enough,
you are truly rich.
If you stay in the centre
and embrace death with your whole heart,
you will endure forever.

Posted by Patrick at 1:31 PM | | Comments

Near Wild Heaven

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure dome decree
Where Alph the sacred river ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea





It's tough not knowing where you are when the world changes. The world has changed in having to try to understand the change in behaviour of her cat. It is still ongoing. She doesn't know where it is, what it is doing, when it will come back. All she has is the vaguest notion of the last time she saw it confused with the possibilities of what may happen to her in the near future, or whether it already has. It's a whirlwind of possibles with a lack of definites, a strange sensation for anyone. Try to work it out with no memory of your memories, no comprehension of time.

Old people are old because they are tough. They're tough because they've dealt with everything before. They dealt with everything before because they had to. These days the body often lives longer than the full function of the brain that controls it, and vice versa. They don't need to be felt sorry for or patronised. They need to be helped.



The Tao can't be perceived.
Smaller than an electron,
it contains uncountable galaxies.
If powerful men and women
could remain centred in the Tao,
all things would be in harmony.
The world would become a paradise.
All people would be at peace,
and the law would be written in their hearts.
When you have names and forms,
know that they are provisional.
When you have institutions,
know where their functions should end.
Knowing when to stop,
you can avoid any danger.
All things end in the Tao
as rivers flow into the sea.

Posted by Patrick at 12:23 AM | | Comments

Friday, January 12, 2007

Motion

Health and Safety
barriers added since this sign was posted
--------
People simply can't be trusted not to throw themselves off a moving ferry, Hollywood style. Surely not?
the poet wrote...
Weapons are the tools of violence;
all decent men detest them.
Weapons are the tools of fear;
a decent man will avoid them
except in the direst necessity
and, if compelled,
will use them
only with the utmost restraint.
Peace is his highest value.
If the peace has been shattered,
how can he be content?
His enemies are not demons,
but human beings like himself.
He doesn't wish them personal harm.
Nor does he rejoice in victory.
How could he rejoice in victory
and delight in the slaughter of men?
He enters a battle gravely,
with sorrow
and with great compassion,
as if he were attending a funeral.

Posted by Patrick at 12:35 AM | | Comments

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

El Gatto

'She must be shut in somewhere'.
'No Granny, she's a young cat, she prefers to be out.'
'Well why hasn't she done this before?'

[repeat on loop until midnight or the cat returns, whichever is sooner, inserting variation according to preference or immediate circumstance]

Whoever relies on the Tao in governing men
doesn't try to force issues
or defeat enemies by force of arms.
For every force there is a counterforce.
Violence, even well intentioned,
always rebounds upon oneself.

The Master does his job and then stops.
He understands that the universe is forever out of control,
and that trying to dominate events
goes against the current of the Tao.
Because he believes in himself,
he doesn't try to convince others.
Because he is content with himself,
he doesn't need others' approval.
Because he accepts himself,
the whole world accepts him.

Posted by Patrick at 8:32 PM | | Comments

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

Circle of Life

as the sun setssomewhere else it is rising
'She's never done this before.' The cat is out again and has been for a little while. All I can do is wait, distract her, and when she puts her face in her hands just explain again that she'll be back in soon, that she isn't a helpless creature and that she'll be in soon.
'I don't like her being out in the night time, I can't just sit here like this.' She goes upstairs to get her coat - she wants to go to all the neighbours, 'she must be shut in somewhere'. I calm her down again, change her mind about going out.
She goes into the kitchen, I can hear her muttering and suppressed crying, 'oh dear, where are you darling,' and those short out-breaths she does when upset. There's no comforting her beyond the instant, ten seconds and and the thoughts return. It was the same last night, but Granny doesn't remember. Within five seconds of seeing the cat she won't remember that it was out all that time, and it won't have been very long anyway.
Have I written this before? 'I don't remember ever doing that'.
chapter 29 ('the days pass very quickly, I have my pusscat, we love our animals')...

Do you want to improve the world?
I don't think it can be done.
The world is sacred.
It can't be improved.
If you tamper with it, you'll ruin it.
If you treat it like an object, you'll lose it.
There is a time for being ahead,
a time for being behind;
a time for being in motion,
a time for being at rest;
a time for being vigorous,
a time for being exhausted;
a time for being safe,
a time for being in danger.
The Master sees things as they are,
without trying to control them.
She lets them go their own way,
and resides at the centre of the circle.

Posted by Patrick at 8:39 PM | | Comments

Monday, January 08, 2007

Interested in the interest


He rings up to ensure his legacy
Not caring for the source
Wanting to 'help', no
Because his mistrust is all he knows
It's not who she is, it is what she'll leave behind.
Take away the pea and capitalise
Yet who am I to judge?

Know the male, yet keep to the female:
receive the world in your arms.
If you receive the world,
the Tao will never leave you
and you will be like a little child.
Know the white, yet keep to the black:
be a pattern for the world.
If you are a pattern for the world,
the Tao will be strong inside you
and there will be nothing you can't do.

Know the personal,
yet keep to the impersonal:
accept the world as it is.
If you accept the world,
the Tao will be luminous inside you
and you will return to your primal self.

The world is formed from the void,
like utensils from a block of wood.
The Master knows the utensils,
yet keeps to the the block:
thus she can use all things.

Posted by Patrick at 7:43 PM | | Comments