Stillnessinyoga

Yin Yoga Teacher Training

The Way of Tao – 8 week early morning meditation – on Zoom

by

LAO TSU LEAVING CHINA ON A WATER BUFFALO SYMBOLISES HE IS IN CONTROL OF HIS LOWER SELF.

LAO TSU wrote that all our troubles (misconceptions and blindness of the True Reality) arise from the powerful and out of control

Lower self!

THE SIMPLICITY AND CONTENTMENT OF THE WAY OF TAO8 WEEK EARLY MORNING ONLINE SILENT SITTING MEDITATION COURSE WITH ANAND NIGAM
WITH SHORT INTRODUCTORY TALKS AND TAOIST STORIES TO INSPIRE, BASED ON THE WISDOM OF THE TAO TE CHING – LAO TSU  

8 TUESDAY MORNING SESSIONS (EXCEPT FOR ONE MONDAY MORNING 21ST MARCH)

TIME

6.30 am TO 7.45 am

ZOOM LINK

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87162854343?pwd=T0NhQjVrdjN0Z0gvd3dST0ZDS1daQT09

DATES (2022)

ALL TUESDAYS EXCEPT FOR MONDAY MARCH 21ST:

  1. FEB 15
  2. FEB 22
  3. MARCH 8
  4. MARCH 15
  5. MARCH 21 – NOTE – MONDAY
  6. MARCH 29
  7. APRIL 5
  8. APRIL 12
BOOK TO BE USED ON THIS COURSE

TAO TE CHING

TRANSLATED BY STEPHEN MITCHELL

There are hundreds of translations available. i have chosen this one as Stephen Mitchell has much insight through 14 years of Zen Meditation.

Text only with introduction
An illustrated journey.

道德經

TAO TE CHING

INTRODUCTION TO THE TAO TE CHING

道德經

COPY OF A TAO TE CHING MANUSCRIPT, WRITTEN IN INK ON SILK
DATED 2ND CENTURY BC

LAO TZU (also written as Laozi, and Lao-Tze) was a legendary sage who is said to have written the TAO TE CHING about the 4th century BC. Together with the ZHUANGZI the TAO TE CHING form the fundamental sacred texts of TAOISM.

TAO TE CHING has been translated to mean The Sacred book of The Tao, The Sacred text of The Way and its Virtue, Integrity and The Way, The Tao and its Characteristics, The book of Reason and Virtue.

What is the meaning of Tao?

The Tao alludes to so much, it alludes to the eternal. The Tao is alluded to be responsible for creation and supporting the functioning of the Universe and it was also present prior to creation.

In this sense The Way is quite an insufficient translation.

The Tao Te Ching begins with this very problem,

1
The tao that can be told
is not the eternal Tao
The name that can be named
is not the eternal Name.

The unnamable is the eternally real.
Naming is the origin

In other words any description of the Tao is NOT the true Tao.

So I propose we use the word Tao throughout course as the aim of

The Tao Te Ching (as far as I am concerned) is to destroy all one’s concepts and ideas of what one thinks of the Tao, or what it may mean. And in this way when all concepts are destroyed one is left with an experience of Nothingness, of Emptiness, and what will arise is an intuitive understanding of Tao.

For this reason I have designed the course so we can sit in Silence together, leaving all concepts and ideas to evaporate!

ANAND NIGAM