The Tao Te Ching For Astrologers: Verses 13 & 14

Transcript:

Hey everyone, this is Acyuta-bhava from nightlight astrology. And today we are taking another look at two verses from the Tao Te Ching. So if you are new to the series, you can watch any of the episodes as standalone. But if you want to go back to the very first episode in the series and learn more about the Tao Te Ching, why I'm doing this or the intention behind it, you can go back and check out the very first episode, work your way through it sequentially, if you like. But hopefully these verses speak to you today and give you something to think about. As always, I will read through both of the verses. And then after reading through them, we'll return and read through them again, offering some reflections and how the philosophy of the Tao Te Ching in these verses ties into some of the philosophy that ancient astrologers held and why we do Astrology. I'm doing the series again, in part because this is one of the primary texts that I look at for inspiration before writing my content every day. Okay, so let's go ahead and put the verses for the day up, and we'll dive in. Oh, and as always, I'm using the Jonathan star translation of the Tao Te Ching, from Tarcher, Cornerstone editions.

So let's go ahead and put the Tao Te Ching up on the screen. This is verse 13. And we're looking at verse 13. And 14 Today, starts off like this:

Be weary of both honour and disgrace, it's quoted. The next quote is endless affliction is bound to the body. What does it mean be weary of both honour and disgrace? Honour is founded on disgrace and disgrace is rooted in honour. Both should be avoided. Both bind a man to this world. That's why it says Be wary of both honour and disgrace. What does it mean endless affliction is bound to the body. man's true self is eternal, yet he thinks I am this body, I will soon die. This false sense of self is the cause of all his sorrow. When a person does not identify himself with the body, tell me what troubles could touch him. One who sees himself as everything is fit to be the guardian of the world, one who loves himself as everyone is fit to be teacher of the world.

And then verse 14: Eyes look but cannot see it. ears listen, but cannot hear it. Hands grasp, but cannot touch it. Beyond the senses lies the great unity, invisible in audible intangible. What rises up appears bright. What settles down appears dark, yet there is neither darkness nor light, just an unbroken dance of shadows, from nothingness to fullness and back again to nothingness. This formless form this image, this image cannot be grasped by mind or might try to face it, in what place will you stand? Try to follow it to what place will you go? No that which is beyond all beginnings, and you will know everything here and now know everything in this moment and you will know the eternal Tao.

Let's go back to verse 13. And we'll read through it again and then I'll offer some reflections. Be wary of both honour and disgrace, quoted, quote, endless affliction is bound to the body. What does it mean be wary of both honour and disgrace. Honour is founded on disgrace and disgrace rooted in honour. Both should be avoided, both bind demand to this world. That's why it says be weary of both honour and disgrace. What does it mean endless affliction is bound to the body. man's true self is eternal, yet he thinks I am this body, I will soon die. This false sense of self is the cause of all his sorrow. When a person does not identify himself with the body, tell me what troubles could touch him. One who sees himself as everything is fit to be the guardian of the world, one who loves himself as everyone is fit to be teacher of the world. Most common resistance that I see to the wisdom of these, this first verse, the 13th verse is commonly that well, this seems to be suggesting, at least in the second part of the verse that the body is worthless, or that we should think of ourselves as better than or higher than the body, which scenes seems to fundamentally degrade or devalue the body.

That's not at all what this verse is saying. What this verse is saying is, be aware of becoming I identified with the body, which is to say that the Tao Te Ching is telling us that we are something more that as the 13th verse says, man's true self is eternal. What that means is that the there is a spirit soul. This is the way we explain it in the bhakti yoga tradition that is in a body that inhabits a body and that body is a temple. A temple is to be honoured and revered, taken care of. But what is the problem with most religions, most religions become corrupt, and we end up feeling wounded by them when the institution comes before or is placed above the actual teachings. So let's say the teaching of Jesus is love. But the power of the institution gets placed above is more important than the teaching of love. In other words, the institution which is supposed to be a structure that holds and supports the vision of love when that becomes more important than love itself. That's when fanat fanaticism fundamentalism, creeps in money and power and so forth creep in. And so this verse is not at all saying, Oh, that there's something wrong with the body. But it is telling us in what order to in which way to prioritise ourselves, in what way to prioritise things. So the priority is the nature of our true eternal identity as a spirit soul. That does not mean it's black and white thinking to think that that therefore means that you degrade or devalue the body. If you truly understand your nature, and your nature is eternal, spiritual, and fundamentally about love and truth, then there's no conceivable way that you could look down upon judge condemn or treat poorly your body or the forms of this world.

At the same time, if you get identified with your body, then you have problems. One of the reasons that we study astrology is so that as we're going through life, we can recognise in the patterns of the planets unfolding, that show up as the karmic encounters and fated events of our life, that we can represent. That we can show up in those moments as a spirit soul, it specifically to help us so that we do not become identified with the cycles of karma and the seasons of karma, but they are temples, just like our body is a temple experience itself is holy, is sacred is to be revered. But the experience of the world, the forms of the world, including our body, and all of the experiences that the planets represent, are not who we are, fundamentally, they're something we are in relation to and experiencing. And this is why at the end, the last part of the verse as in 13, says, One who sees himself as everything is fit to be guardian of the world. If you see the same indwelling Spirit soul in all forms and events and everything in the world, then you will be the one who has the real ability to protect or understand its value. One who loves themselves as they love everything in teaching that Jesus also gave his fit to be a teacher of other people. So these are really beautiful teachings. There's no difference in terms of why we're looking at planets every day in our life. We look at planets as a practice, so that we can see the divine in everything and in every one not mistaking.

However, the indwelling Spirit soul behind all things for the literal coming and going of forms in the world which if you get identified with will become the source of suffering from the Buddha to Jesus to the yogi's, the same teaching. The planets are the representative of the coming and going of forms in the world. And yet it is specifically because the comings and doings are represented by gods that we can come to see the comings and goings as divine just as we can treat our body like a temple. Let's read verse 14.

Eyes look but cannot see it. ears listen, but cannot hear it. Let me put this back up on the screen though. Sorry guys. eyes look but cannot hear see it. ears listen but cannot hear it, hands grasp but cannot touch it. Beyond the senses lies the great unity, invisible in audible intangible, what rises up appears bright, what settles down appears dark, yet there is neither darkness nor light, just an unbroken dance of shadows, from nothingness to fullness and back again to nothingness. This formless form this image, this image cannot be grasped by mind or might try to face it, in what place will you stand, tried to follow it to what place will you go know that which is beyond all beginnings, and you will know everything here and now know everything in this moment, and you will know the eternal Tao.

I think there's something that happens. That I see repeated in the life of my clients as an astrologer. And it goes like this. Someone walks in, and they say, I'm not happy with my job, or my marriage, or my finances, or there's some issue with their kids or something. And they'll say, when do you see it getting better. And also, I'll look for a transit and I'll find a transit that genuinely looks like a transit that may suggest things are improving. People are always happy to hear that. But inevitably, in the clients that I have seen many times over the course of years, that client will come back. And at a future date, when now, finances or career or money or spouse or relationships or kids are going better, there will be a new problem. I'm similarly reminded of the trouble in making sure everyone is comfortable on a road trip. When we take our minivan to Michigan, to see my family, we drive from Minnesota to Michigan, it's about a day trip. And you know, as we go along, what generally happens is, how's the temperature for everyone, I'm hot, we turn on the air, then I get too cold, right? And I'm like, I'm freezing. So I put a sweatshirt on, you know, and then and so then I'm warm, you know. And then all of a sudden, everyone's like, Oh, I'm cold, you know, I now I need it warm. And so I'm taking my sweatshirt off and back and forth like this. It's like a little undulating river of discomfort, trying to get situated and comfortable being followed by getting uncomfortable again. And I noticed this because my guru actually brought it up one time in a talk. And then I was on this road trip. And I was like, This is so true. This is exactly what's happening. You get little patches of comfort for a little bit, everyone's good. And then something starts happening again. That is the condition in this world for all of us, when we are not aware of the fact that you can't find what you're looking for in things that are always changing. You just can't. It's not that there's no value in the things in this world that the things that are always changing. But you have to be really careful in what you expect from it. eyes look, but you can't see it. ears listen, but you can't hear it, you grasp for it, but you can't touch it. This is the thing that is behind what we're really looking for.

Ultimately, you know, the temperature might be good for a couple of hours. I'm relatively happy with a lot of things in my life right now. I'm not complaining, but there's always something is it not true that there's always something so the doubt ageing is telling us specifically that that thing we seek is it always eludes our grasp, especially in this world when we are trying to grasp things that can't be owned or possess can't be held are always moving. What rises up appears bright what settles down appears dark, yet there is neither darkness nor light, just an unbroken dance of shadows, from nothingness to fullness and back again to nothingness. This formless form this image this image cannot be grasped by mind, or might. It's not something that you can grab. And yet, what are the planets called? Grahas. Grabbers. See in the way that we try to grasp for things we are grasped, we are being grabbed. And what we're trying to do is come into a space where we understand that what we seek can't be found in the grasping in and we slowly little by little come to realise that and try to face it in what place will you stand? Try to follow it, what place will you go. And then the final teaching, know that which is beyond all beginnings, and you will know everything here and now know everything in this moment. And you will know the eternal Tao. We studied the planets, not because the planets are pointless, but because it's by coming to understand the nature of our grasping, in the way that we get grabbed by our own grasping seized up by our own seizing.

And then we come to know the nature of that over time, that we we come into contact with the fullness and the unchanging nature of what is in the present moment, where do whether it's Thich Naht Hanh, the Dalai Lama, you know, Teresa of Avila, I mean, you look at any mystic from and all the great traditions, they all tell us about the power of presence of just being present and being in touch with that ever present origin, that divine source that you can't circumscribe with your mind. And the only way to really grasp it isn't the right word. But the only way to be in touch with it, is to stop thinking about it as a state to be achieved, or something to be grasped or comprehended or understood. Think about it like this. If I'm out on a date, like let's say, when I was getting to know my wife, and we were, let's say, we're out on a date. And let's say I start acting, maybe it's not overtly, but like unconsciously or sort of manipulatively, I start wanting something from her, let's say it's sexual or physical, or let's say it's hoping for a wife, or let's say, it's that there's some way in which I start objectifying her, she becomes the object of something, you know, that I, well, I want that. In my experience of dating, first of all, my wife would not have had that at all, I think that I actually enjoyed my wife as a person, you know, because I think that's why we ended up getting married is that there wasn't an agenda. It was just, I really liked being around you. I don't know about you guys, but my best friends, my wife, my kids, anytime that I start treating them, like, there's something I need or want or need from you, the intimacy, the spontaneity, the real joy of the relationship just vanishes. So similarly, when we're thinking about life itself, and we can think about it like, is there a goal in a relationship with someone? Not really, I mean, the goal is pretty much intimacy, right? It's about sharing something connecting. And it could be over anything. It's natural to connect.

So if we want to connect with Tao, so to speak, if we want to connect with in what I would in the yogic tradition would call God divinity, of spirit soul, not only in ourselves, but in others and in the world. We have to stop treating it like it's, there's something to get. And for the same reasons, that that tends to hijack, you know, real relationships, it tends to hijack our lives if we treat reality itself as anything other than something to be known and loved. Then we experienced also the reciprocation, of being known and loved. So anyway, those are just my reflections. To me that's what exactly what the planets are always doing. The planets are like a medium through which I come to know and love my life and experiences. Sometimes there's lessons, it feels like I'm moving towards something. Sometimes it feels like I'm so thankful that that is all being taken away, because of humour and curiosity and other states that come in and take away that aggrandized sense that it all has some purpose that I can grasp or obtain. Just has never worked for me in relationships to think about people like that. I don't know why reality itself would be any different. Okay, that's what I've got for today. I hope you guys found the verses for the day interesting. And we'll see you again next time. Take it easy, everyone.