poem - Isabelle Philippe

To be in the Tao

You must understand the Tao

You must coexist with the Tao

You must accept others

and you must accept yourself

You must be true to others

and you must be true to yourself 

The Tao is simple

Yet you are complex

Let the Tao reach inside

For you are nothing without it

But with it you are everything

Rijul Agarwal- Tao Poem

The man travels all day, looking for the Tao

Yet the man doesn’t know what he’s searching for

The man travels all day, seeking something past the roots of dissension

Yet the man can’t find anything worth stopping for

The man pauses to take a breath

And closes his eyes for a moment’s while

Let me find it, he pleads the forces of his inner self

How do I embody the way of the Tao?

A vision appears within his closed eyes

More visible than anything the man has ever seen

The man then opens his eyes

His face splitting in a grin

For, what he finds

Is himself

The Master

The Master

By Jared Lee

The Master

He sits in his tree,

Contemplating life.

How can one be at peace?

He has to thrive in the chaos.

How can one be content?

He must try to quench every thirst.

How can one feel love?

He must harness his hate.

To focus your energy,

You must fall to your knees.

Nothing can be forced.

Everything has a time and a place.

Everything is a circle.

Buckets

Many people today

resemble buckets.

They try to catch and hold onto everything within their reach.

Many people today

resemble knifes.

They cut through their enemies and conflicting ideas.

Many people today

resemble walls.

They keep out those they don’t like.

This is not the way of the Tao.

The Tao is in everything, and yet it is shut out by many.

Those who buckets must have holes in the bottom

Those who are knives must have the blades cut off

Those who are walls must have replace it with nothingness.

For the Tao is in everything,

and this is the way of the Tao.

Acceptance

Live your life without worldly goals,

and you will accomplish all you want to.

Receive, don't pour, the water,

And you will be a full cup.

Listen, don't impart all your knowledge,

and you will become a source of wisdom.

Choose not to interfere, let events take their course,

and you will be satisfied with what you've done.

Accepting your failures is the first step to success.

Accepting your mistakes is the first step to rectifying them.

Accept the bad in you and you will find the good.

Accept your dark corners and you will find the light.

In this world, live like a nomad;

Take less with you and you will have less to carry.

Go where you're taken and you will find the beauty.

Underneath the Surface

The great waterfall of the universe

flows throughout the land.

Nourishing the sprouts and seedlings,

unchanging in its path.

The course of the water is undetermined.

Some days it surges forward,

others days it pulls back.

Traveling without a destination,

yet always going somewhere.

Individual droplets unite

creating a powerful swell.

Churning and tumultuous

yet underneath the surface,

there is tranquility and stillness.

Only within the darkness of its depths

can you find the light.

To learn the way of the Tao

To learn the way of the Tao,

 You must not study hard, or practice rituals. 

To learn the way of the Tao, 

You must observe all, and understand the flow of yin and yang

To learn the way of the Tao, 

You must be rooted and flexible as a willow, and flow in the wind

To learn the way of the Tao, 

You must be supple as a river, and let life take you where it takes you

To learn the way of the Tao, 

You must be accepting, that is the way it is

To learn the way of the Tao, 

You must let go of your goals and ambitions, for once you achieve them you will only begin again

To learn the way of the Tao, 

You must learn to let go,

To learn the way of the Tao.