Tao Te Ching, number 6

January 12, 2011 / barryweber / Leave a comment

She sits in the corner by the window

and speaks

alligators, gila monsters, rattlesnakes, and piranha.

She shifts her gaze toward the sun and sings

butterflies, pelicans, scarab beetles, and bats.

She laughs and mountains rise.

She raises her arms in exultation

and oceans receive the caresses of rivers,

streams, and glaciers.

She sighs and thunder rolls

from the sunrise of her brow

to the sunset of her breast.

She invites us in, “Sit here”

and takes our hands in hers..

Other chapters and responses here; feel to discuss, or add your own: http://taochow.wikispaces.com/Chapter+06

Tao Te Ching, 5

January 10, 2011 / barryweber / 2 Comments

The Tao doesn’t take sides;
it gives birth to both good and evil.
The Master doesn’t take sides;
she welcomes both saints and sinners.

The Tao is like a bellows:
it is empty yet infinitely capable.
The more you use it, the more it produces;
the more you talk of it, the less you understand.

Hold on to the center.

(Stephen Mitchell’s translation)

My response:

I asked the snake, gold/green and sleek,
“Which is better, rain or sunshine?”
The snake struck at my boot and bit,
because I had gotten too close.
My words of enlightened wondering
were felt by the snake
as the warmth of a too-near threat,
and he slipped away,
down the hill like a tiny stream.

There was no good, nor bad in the snake’s bite.

The next time, I will simply stand further away,
and ask again, in a whisper.

Other chapters and responses here; feel to discuss, or add your own: http://taochow.wikispaces.com/Chapter+05

Tao Te Ching, C.4 (my tiny contribution to the endless conversation)

January 8, 2011 / barryweber / Leave a comment

All of life’s questions-

from “What’s for supper?”

to “What does all this really mean?”

can only be answered

completely,

truthfully

by listening to the waters

quietly swirling in earthern jars

being filled with wine..

come and discuss the Tao: http://taochow.wikispaces.com/

Tao Te Ching, Chapter 3

January 6, 2011 / barryweber / 1 Comment

I leaned against a tree-

does the kind matter?-

and I looked up

and up and up

to where the bird songs

were being sung.

While I couldn’t see the birds themselves,

I gave them my hopes and visions

as nesting material,

or as food for their chicks.

They will know better than me

how best to use them, if at all.

I took their acceptance of my intrusion

into their home,

as a kind of gratitude,

for our shared canopy

in the Creation that is

always beginning.

Tao Te Ching, Chapter Two

January 4, 2011January 4, 2011 / barryweber / 1 Comment

The dogs know everything:

where the food is

where the other one is

where they are walking

and that sound, that smell.

Is there more?

When there is no good,

there is no better.

When there is no bad,

there is no very bad.

When there is no beginning,

there is no end.

The dogs know everything

about their moments,

and so teach me about

these moments.

And these.

And now these moments, too.

.The dog, by the way,

does not understand

its name as a name

but as a sound

a blessed sound

and so has no need

nor desire

for that sound to be

perpetuated, honored,

or enshrined,

but only spoken.

@David Weber, 2011

Tao Te Ching, Chapter One (a seedling)

January 2, 2011 / barryweber / Leave a comment

Knowing is the beginning of not-knowing.

Curiosity is the doorknob on infinity,

The acorn’s germ is there, still- unseen and present- in the oak tree,

as the oak tree is there, still- unable to be seen, but present-

from the vantage point of the Sun.

As I am there, still- unseen, unheard, but present and breathing-

in the ocean of humanity.

I know very little; therefore, I am.

If you know the acorn, the oak tree, or me..you’ll understand.

But what you understand will disappear quickly into greater knowledge,

as will the acorn and the tree, and as will I ..

2010 in review

January 2, 2011 / barryweber / Leave a comment

The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:

Healthy blog!

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Wow.

Crunchy numbers

About 3 million people visit the Taj Mahal every year. This blog was viewed about 52,000 times in 2010. If it were the Taj Mahal, it would take about 6 days for that many people to see it.

In 2010, there were 53 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 361 posts. There were 83 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 8mb. That’s about 2 pictures per week.

The busiest day of the year was January 26th with 356 views. The most popular post that day was A Great (and Final) Poem.