Power for the Peaceful: A Course in Tao

With Tao, there is an underlying rhythm, described as right action at the right time and the right place. Get off this rhythm and one starts having strange ideas that one (one's ego) can actually change reality, or improve this rhythm. Nah. So this verse investigates spiritual rhythm and spiritual arrhythmia. WE touch on past themes like Yin-Yang and Wu-Wei, but in ways that expand our understanding of these teachings. Helping me out today is Dr. Serena McMillan, a Hebrew Bible scholar who offers us a relevant (and popular) Hebrew Bible verse, in her own translation! May your days begin in peace, and become laboratories for attainable, radical Balance. -Marc Mullinax -mmullinax@mhu.edu

Verse 28 does not mention Yin or Yang, but these two concepts have their fingerprints in every line. It's a verse that teaches to combine the unlikely pairs of seemingly opposites, not just in order to integrate one's psyche with Tao, but also to become a grounded, peaceful, and useful Tao practitioner. This week's quote reader and question-asker is Dr. Laurel Reinhardt, "a therapist in recovery", whose work can be found at these two sites: www.innerlandscaping.com; and www.etsy.com/shop/innerlandscaping. May your every day begin in peace, and become that womb or laboratory for the radical hope that those around us (may) need. -Marc mmullinax@mhu.edu

Verse 27 is full of Wu-Wei insights. Rather than thumb-nailing them here, let's let the Verse speak in its myriad ways. Audrey Davis, our artist, returns for another appearance with the quotes, and asks about how Taoism might enable us to face our own deaths (We recorded her words in Asheville's Riverside Cemetery). Mary your days begin in peace, and become wombs for the radical hope growing in you. Marc

What do we allow to disturb our peace, equilibrium, and equanimity? Verse 26 reminds us that we do - already - before we get into touchy or tough situations - that we are already: grounded, peaceful, balanced. So why and how do we get off-balance? How do we re-find our balance? This is the teaching of Verse 26. Along the way in this episode, we'll hear from a family deep in this verse's practice, and we'll hear two Buddhist stories on equanimity and peaceful acceptance. The trailer to my book which my guests shot and produced is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfBhOvSaX6I Their websites are here: Mama God book for children: https://www.dearmamagod.com/ Holy Troublemakers book: https://www.holytroublemakers.com/ Watchfire Media site: https://www.watchfire.org/ May your days begin in peace, and become laboratories and practices for hope! Marc Mullinax

Most scholars consider Verse 25 to contain the most important words in the entire Tao Te Ching, for these words give us our place - or as I say it, our "anthropology" in the universe. And our place is nested in Tao. As this verse concludes: Know your interconnections: Human beings come from Earth, Earth’s patterns entwine with Heaven’s, Heaven roots in Tao, Tao’s blueprint is Nature itself. Please don't rush over the implications of this conclusion! Here is our quiet confidence that we are already interconnected with Tao. This is our "Epic Résumé". Huge thanks to David Wollert for his voice and question on sailing (!!). May your days begin in peace, and be practices for radical hope. -Marc Mullinax (mmullinax@mhu.edu)

Verse 24 starts off with two ludicrous (and unnatural) images: walking on tip-toe and zombie-walking on straddled legs. These introduce four more unnatural, ego-led ways to be in life, like playing to a crowd, crowing one's opinions, elevation of self, and praising the self -- big head, pride, arrogance, boastfulness, egotism. Etc., etc., etc. Lao-Tzu teaches here how all six are basically the same life-approaches; since each and all try to draw attention to one's self, they are as unnatural as they are toxic. Each has this unfortunate side effect: they render a person UNABLE to see and practice everyday Tao. But there is good news! Practice trust in and truth with Tao. It is possible to release ego's hold, turn the UNABLED into ENABLED. Jimmy Knight, a college career advisor, joins me on the episode with great questions and discussions on how this verse applies to students of any age. May your days begin in peace, and practices for hope. Marc Mullinax

What if truth and trust are practices? Practices that take us right into the heart of Tao, and at the same time, the innermost core of who we are. For are not the two the same? This episode explores how Trust and Truth inter-relate, and how when we practice Trust, we practice the Chinese verb T'ung (同), used 6 times in this verse. Which means something! T'ung means to align, identify with. Like a musician or an athlete, the practices of alignment and identification with Tao lead us into the wisdom that we, the Universe, and Tao, are each and all made of the same stuff, and by the same spontaneous practices. Thanks to Susan Carleton for your good work with the quotes and her real-life question! May your days begin in peace, become wombs for radical hope, and rest in the power and practices of trust.

Brian Graves joined me on this podcast, not just as a quote-reader, but as an actual dialog partner during his question about "How does one grade students with a Taoist sensibility?" Verse 22 is our focus this week. No matter what we may feel, or however we may act, there is NOTHING WE CAN DO to separate from Tao. The Tao teaching here SO different from many religions popular today: whatever partial, weaker, or exhausted aspect of life one feels, these are actually our entry points – our passports – to wholeness and unity. The person who models this wholeness is a force of Nature. Audrey Davis drew. Molly Hartwell sang. Fortress Press holds the copyright for any use of my Tao Te Ching translation. And without you, where WOULD we be? Thank you for your attendance in this class on Taoism. May your days begin in peace, and become wombs for radical hope. Marc Mullinax

If you know something to be true, but is hard to express, like a love relationship, or a spiritual conviction, how do you become *confident* that it is the highest thing to which you can dedicate your life? This is the question of Verse 21. Lao Tzu answers his own question with an emphasis on practicing TE, or Highest Virtue. This "TE," by the way is the TE in Tao TE Ching, or the Book about The Way of Virtue. The practice of this Virtue is ever-reinforcing, enabling in one a calm, serene confidence (not certainty) or intuition that there actually is a Tao, and this Tao CAN be cooperated with. The more we cooperate with Tao, the more confidence we have in Tao's paths and ways as we live them out. Thanks to Dale Roberts for his voice in this episode, including a rather comprehensive question.

We pause every 10 verses to enrich and provide more info than one may find in Tao te Ching text itself. More history, more practices, more background. This episode covers the kind of embarrassing dilemma we in the West have: Our 100+ versions of Tao te Ching in English are separated from Taoism as it has been generated and practiced by actual Taoists in Taoism's home: China. Thus, this episode makes a plea for us to become more educated and conversant about an ENTIRE culture, history, and tradition that gave us this one sliver of Taoism - this Tao te Ching text. If you know only Tao te Ching but not Taoism itself as a living culture, this episode introduces Taoism's practices. I make reference in the episode to (1) my "spiritual terrorism" blog, when Japan weaponized a Taoist practice (http://allkoreaconsidered.blogspot.com/2017/07/spiritual-terrorism.html) and (2) and to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/daoism-religion/) May your days begin in peace, and become practices with which you weave radical hope, for you, and your communities. Marc Mullinax - mmullinax@mhu.edu