Welcome to dregs of wisdom.
Dear Reader,
If you've found your way here you may have the unfortunate dilemma of being a seeker...
Perhaps you seek something as simple as better health, better sleep, better relationships, more money, or how to meditate? Or perhaps you seek distraction?
What are you really after?
Maybe you are on the quest for something even deeper? Like looking for the truth of the whole universe, spiritual enlightenment, how to live your life and all that jazz?
Here's a little test to find out if you have the seeking disease: How many self-help articles/videos have you recently consumed? If you've become very interested in self-help articles, self mastery, gurus, methods, yoga, coaching, systems, etc... etc... if your library is full of self-help books, then my friend, you are afflicted deeply with the disease of seeking. What a pity.
It is a most mysterious malady.
You see the only difference between an enlightened state of being and a non-enlightened state, is that in the enlightened state you aren't trying to make anything different then it already is... you aren't seeking. You're just being. You're walking your path... your Tao. And yet most of us, (including myself) who talk about enlightenment are always so full of the sickness of seeking! It's quite the quandary.
This is why Lao Tzu says, "The Tao that can be spoken of is not the real Tao."
Because in truth there is nothing really to say... words cannot convey it.
And yet for some strange reason I still feel it's my life's purpose to share my musings on spiritual development, yoga, meditation, happiness, the meaning of life, and all that jazz... It simply can't be helped.
The Taoist master Chaung-Tzu has a little story that cuts to the heart of this teaching and which inspired the name for this blog and I'll share my own version of it here (adapted from multiple translations.) It goes something like this...
During times of peace the self-important Duke Huan, known for his prowess on the battlefield, sharp sword, and quick anger used to come to the main courtyard where the artisans would work. He had a platform with a fancy chair put at one end of the yard and he would sit there reading books of philosophy while the craftsmen went about their work.
One day, the old wheelwright Pian, set his chisel and hammer aside, walked down the end of the hall, climbed the steps of the platform and approached the Duke to say, "May I ask you, my Lord, what is this you are reading?" Surprised at the forwardness of the old Wheelwright, the Duke replied, "The words of the great Sages," as if to say 'why would an aging uneducated bumpkin like you even care what I'm reading?"
Wheelwright Pian, with a thoughtful look in his eye then asked, "Are these sages alive?"
"Master Confucius is long dead of course!" spat the Duke.
"Then," Old Pian persisted, "What you are reading is just the dregs they've left behind."
The Duke's anger erupted as he stood up,"Dregs!?! How dare a simple wheelwright insult the ancient masters!" Grabbing his sword he shouted, "Explain yourself or I'll chop your head off where you stand!"
"Certainly, your Grace," said Old Pian, completely unperturbed by the Duke's threat.
"Here's how I see it. When I chisel a wheel, if I hammer too softly the chisel slides and won't grip, if I hammer too hard it gets stuck in the wood. When the wheel moves smoothly and my strikes are neither too soft nor too hard I know in my hands and respond to it from my heart. There are no words to properly describe this perfect place of balance. No one taught it to me and I cannot teach it to my son. I am 70 years old and have been striking the wheels for most my life and I will never be able to pass this teaching on to my son or anyone with mere words. And so I believe those great sages of old died and took their insight into Tao with them. That's why I said that what you are reading is just the dregs they've left behind."
The story ends there and we never know whether Old Pian meets his maker or not that day...
I hope the various musings of this blog inspire you to simplify your life, to find a practice of yoga or meditation that you can pour your whole self into, and to let go of lamenting the past or trying to control the future. May you be receptive the grace that is within you and all around you. In everyone and everything. May you walk the path of Tao.
-Andrew