The Cause of Suffering is Desire (Chapter Three – The Tao te Ching)

On the surface, the Tao is impractical, illogical

Painting: Taoist Mountain Hermit

The unwanting soul
sees what’s hidden
and there finds peace.
While the ever-wanting soul
sees only what it desires.

The river reaches the sea
by yielding to rock and mountain,
and yet carves mighty canyons.
Inner peace is like water,
like day, like night.
Effortless being.

The thousand hidden things
speak in silence
The true nature of things
offers itself in quiet.
On the other side of desire
Treasures are revealed
That striving cannot dream.

Not forcing, not resisting, not refusing -—
the gentle rain that nourishes
roots of mighty trees
asks for nothing back.
There is no winning, no losing,
when action emerges naturally
from the quiet within.

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In the ancient Tao te Ching, which was written before the advent of Buddhism and that later merged with Buddhism to form Zen Buddhism, we see the early roots of the First and Second Noble Truths, namely that “life is suffering, and the cause of suffering is desire.

A quality life, a relationship with inner worlds, depends in part on self-control.

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To order the original of this painting, a canvas mounted print or a poster printed on archival art paper that includes the poem visit here.

There is also information at that link on the upcoming Tao te Ching journal, to be published in the next month or so.

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