Simple, Ancient Wisdom

In high school my brilliant history teacher decided to spend a significant chunk of our unit on Eastern history on Eastern religions, particularly on Taoism. I immediately bought a copy of the Tao Te Ching and The Art of War, obsessed with reading every last gem of advice that the other side of the world had to offer.

 Somehow I missed the idea that you can't absorb wisdom through a page.
I never carried a copy of any scriptures around with me to calm myself with. The week of Miss Utah, I prepared myself with reading the Tao Te Ching. When Finley was on her way, I threw my battered copy of The Art of War in my bag along with my Tao Te Ching, determined to fight my way through labor like a wise warrior.

 "At the center of your being, you have the answer. You know who you are and what you want."

"When spring comes, the grass grows by itself."

"He who does not trust enough will not be trusted."

"One cannot reflect in streaming water. Only those who know internal peace can give it to others."

"To lead people walk behind them."

In the next life, I hope to experience an upbringing in the culture on the other side of the world. I think I would value a whole host of other things--silence, for one thing. Three words instead of six. Nature.

One of my favorite stories is about a group of students who met for their first Zazen session with their teacher. He looked at them, all of them with various hairstyles, bright colored clothing, accessories, and sitting positions. He had them all shave their heads, don the traditional simple robe, and sit plainly in the cross-legged Lotus position. "Ah," he said. "Now I can tell you apart. Now I can see you all individually."