The Tao Te Ching For Astrologers: Verses 7 & 8

Transcript:

Hey everyone, this is Acyuta-bhava from Nightlight Astrology. And today we are going to return to our study of the Tao Te Ching. And we're going to be looking at the seventh and eighth verses. So if you are new to the series, be sure to go back to the first episode of the series and check it out. We are looking at the Jonathan Star translation from Tarcher Cornerstone additions. So I hope you will pick up a copy of this to follow along. It's a great desk reference to have it's something I read very regularly. And today we are we're always doing two verses at a time. And today we're going to move through the seventh and eighth verses. And I usually read them through twice offering some brief reflections on them the second time through. So here we go. And I put I'm putting a presentation of this on the screen. And I kind of give you some context about the series at the very beginning of the series. So I do recommend going back to that at least that first one any of these could be watched on their own. But if you go back to the first one, you'll hear a little bit about the Tao Te Ching and by we're reading it and so forth. So we're looking at verses seven and eight today. Here's verse seven.

"Heaven is ancient Earth is long lasting. Why is this so? Because they have no claims to life. By having no claims to life, they cannot be claimed by death. The sage puts his own views behind. So he ends up ahead. He stays a witness to life. So he endures. What could he grab for that he does not already have? What could he do for himself that the universe itself has not already done?"

Verse eight. "The best way to live is to be like water, for water benefits all things and goes against none of them. It provides for all people and even cleanses those places a man is love to go. In this way it is just like Tao. Live in accordance with the nature of things, build your house on solid ground, keep your mind still when giving be kind when speaking be truthful. When ruling be just when working the one pointed when acting remember timing is everything. One who lives in accordance with nature does not go against the way of things moves in harmony with the present moment, always knowing the truth of just what to do."

I will read both of those verses so beautiful, and we'll read them again and I'm just going to just offer some reflections as we go. Verse seven, heaven is ancient Earth is long lasting. Why is this so? Because they have no claims to life. By having no claims to life, they cannot be claimed by death. The sage puts his own views behind so ends up ahead, staying a witness to life, the sage and doers? What could the sage grab for that sage does not already have what could they do for themselves that the universe itself has not already done? Take away that he and sort of try to universalize the pronouns a bit. One of the reasons that I love this as an astrologer is there's so many easy tie ins to the philosophy of astrology and why we do astrology. I one time heard a couple of quotes that put things into perspective for me as an astrologer. How could there be rules, repeatable rules in the astrological system when not once in the entire history of the solar system before the sun burns out? Will all celestial objects in the solar system be in exactly the same place twice? That really put things into perspective for me. The other thing is to remember that you know eventually our sun will burn out and life here will be over.

There's a sense that astrology gives me every day of what is permanent and enduring and what is transient or what is impermanent. And it's not by doing so it doesn't make me feel as though the world is fake or false or an illusion. It gives me a feeling that my attachments are small and passing. My triumphs are small and passing and so are my defeats and that these aren't places to build my sense of self health, or joy from not that I have to dismiss or discard them either, but that there's something, there's something more that is always there, despite the coming and going of things. And this is what I feel when I read the Tao Te Ching is what I feel behind why I study the planets every day, the planets put me in touch with the flux, but they place it into the hands of eternity at the exact same time. That's what the planets are always doing. And I love the advice here about being a sagely person. Don't privilege your own views and opinions, all these things that change so much in our minds every day, by allowing ourselves to not passively sit on the sidelines of life, but to develop something of an observational capacity. So I can see that things come and go that things ebb and flow, that in doing so, there's something in me that endures and becomes grounded and wise, I fall into some kind of rhythm with the universe. I'm not grasping for anything. It's not that I'm sitting in a cave somewhere pretending like nothing's happening, but I'm not grasping and remember the name, one of the names of the planets with the grahas the graspers the grabbers. This is what life feels like when we don't have that eternal perspective.

So sometimes, it's actually advantageous to not have an overly developed view on things a judgement on things or an expectation or attachment. Again, we can do so while also playing our lives, walking the path that we're meant to walk. These are not contradictory positions. Verse eight, the best way to live is to be like water for water benefits all things and goes against none of them. It provides for all people and even cleanses those places a man is loath to go. In this way, it is just like doubt. Live in accordance with the nature of things, build your house on solid ground, keep your mind still when giving be kind when speaking be truthful. When ruling be just when working be one pointed. When acting remember timing is everything. One who lives in accordance with nature does not go against the way of things. He moves in harmony with the present moment, always knowing the truth of just what to do.

I love this verse as well. Best way to live is to be like water, for water benefits all things and goes against none of them. It provides for all people and even cleanses those places a man is loath to go in this way, it is just like Tao. One thing I've noticed over many years of reading charts for people is that, you know, fortune is like rain, it falls on everyone. You know it doesn't. There's a way in which we think we always think that inside my chart somewhere, there's an imperative, something that I must do, something that I must accomplish, or something I have to change or a message or an instruction or something like that, but actually no. The way that ancient astrologers looked at it, our chart is more like a garden. And it's just showing us the nature of things that are coming to pass in our lives according to karma. And the goal is not karma. So there's nothing in the chart that will set us free from more karma. If we want to be free from misery and suffering, the prescription is sort of the same no matter what your chart is, the answer is never really in your chart. The answer to improving any karma in your chart whatsoever is not really found in your chart. The simplest answer is be merciful, be patient, be kind, be compassionate, find joy and laughter, be reflective, be curious, stay interested. Ask good questions. Remain engaged, pray.

These are the things that change karma. These are the goals of of life, regardless of what birth chart you have, because these are the things that place us in the central like the inner sanctuary of the soul. And when we're there, all things are present, all joy is there, all peace is there. All excitement is there. Live in accordance with the nature of things, this verse says, Keep your mind still when giving, be kind, when speaking, be truthful, when ruling be just, it's just saying be innovative, I would boil it down to just say just be virtuous, try to be virtuous.

And in astrology so often we think, Oh, I'm getting into astrology because by understanding my birth chart, I'll understand what I'm supposed to do. No. Not really, that's not really the traditional perspective philosophically, the birth chart just tells you the ecology of karma that you're born into. And that if you want to improve your karma, be a virtuous person, be develop a spiritual centre. And what happens is, you're living then in accordance with the nature of things because all spiritual teachings really have to do with how we also stay very, very present. And from presence, the intelligence to know what to do emerges and when you know what to do, gradually your karma improves. You'll notice in the in verse seven that the sage puts his own views behind so ends up ahead stays a witness to life so endures. Well as soon as we start treating astrology, like a set of instructions, oh, here I gotta do astrology is telling me I've got to go do this, and then I'll get a better result. And then we're just spinning our wheels. But if we use astrology to understand, okay, this season of life, these topics, these themes happening around these times, we use it like a map. Then when we walk through those experiences, we can maintain equanimity we can stay home in the spiritual virtues that we're trying so diligently to cultivate which is the place from which all better karma arrives. And also something beyond karma itself, good or bad starts to present itself.

So the Tao Te Ching is constant teaching and stay present and develop virtue. And to me astrology, ancient astrologers were really no different. They looked at the sky and the patterns of the sky and said, Well, what keeps us from being virtuous? What keeps us from being present? Oh, well, it's the ever turning Wheel of Karma. It's the ever turning wheel of fortune that I get so identified with so lost in for the good and the bad. And then I go around thinking, well, it's somewhere in that wheel that my purpose lies. It's somewhere in that wheel that I have to fix something or improve something or get a different result or avoid a certain kind of result. No, we watch the wheel specifically so that we can we can walk through our lives, home in virtue, home in soulfulness, present where all joy intelligence, peace, excitement, all the real things are actually residing. And we stay home in that and pay attention to what where, where the Wheel of Fortune is turning specifically so that we don't get identified and lost in it. We already have to go through it. Why get lost in it. So the Tao Te Ching, advice for enduring in eternity in the Tao in in being identified with the Tao rather than in transient things, stay present and be a good person. It's pretty simple advice, hard to execute. At any rate, I hope you guys enjoy this and just gives you some good food for thought. These are the kinds of things that I read every morning before I write my programming for the day, whatever it might be. So I thought in sharing it with you, you might come to understand what inspires me what motivates me as an astrologer. And hopefully, these are some good things that you can take into your own life and practice as well. Alright, that's what I've got for today. We'll see you guys again tomorrow. Bye.