On our search for happiness as in all things we must play our part, nothing comes to us just because it has come to our mind, wouldn’t that be wonderful. We must work, we must struggle, we must persevere, not a sunny, happy idea perhaps, but the reality that achievement takes effort. More than that, it takes experience, we need to get out into the world, travel, experience and learn. Today we present a meditation from Deng Ming-Dao on this very idea.
Let us not be confused
With kaleidoscopic reality.
Using wisdom and courage to act,
Let us not add to the confusion
The world is a storm of myriad realities, yet we cannot allow ourselves to be swept into the vortex. To do so is to be lost and to lose the true center where all understanding will come. We must act, but in the right way.
Action must be guided by both intellect and experience. We learn from teachers, elders, and others. But we must also test what we learn in the world. It is not enough to simply meditate, and it is not enough just to have theoretical knowledge. We need both in order to be wise.
Only when wisdom, courage, timing and perseverance are combined can one have a sound basis for initiative. The action must be complete. It must burn clean; it cannot leave any bad ramifications or lingering traces. An act that leaves destruction, resentment, or untidiness in its wake is a poor one. Then initiative is insufficient, and Tao has not been attained.
