The Taoist Path

Introduction. © Jonathan Zap. 2004

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Someone once described stories as "equipment for living." Quality fiction does
fit that definition and, of course, so does the right non fiction. The modern Taoist
quotes presented here are almost the illustration of this definition. They are like
a set of tools, deceptively simple in appearance, but made of an adamantine
metal that grows stronger and sharper with long use.

Someone else said, "Don't read a book unless it is like a ball of light glowing
in your hands." When you find the right book, at the right time, it can be a
sphere of light in your hands. The writings of Deng Ming-Dao (a contemporary
Taoist whom I excerpt here) were, for me, like a large sphere of amethyst with
cooling, calming purple depths. Areas of the sphere had a gem quality
transparency and clarity while others had natural inclusions, areas that were
clouded by carbon and iron oxide. The quotes presented here are the parts that,
for me, had gem quality transparency, that sparkled in my mind's eye like jewels
flashing in the night of time.

If we were to look into an amethyst sphere we would probably all agree on

which parts were clear, and which parts were occluded with inclusions and
impurities. But if the sphere is a matrix of language, rather than a crystal
matrix, the subjectivity of the observer is greatly increased, and the areas of
greatest transparency for one may not be the same for another. What I chose to
excerpt might not be what you would choose and the selections that follow are no
substitute for reading and owning the two books they come from: 365
Tao and Everyday Tao.

365 Tao is set up with a page to contemplate for each day of the year and the
pages have been arranged to correspond to the cycles of the seasons and turning
points in the calendar. There is even a table in the back that reorients this
arrangement for those living in the Southern Hemisphere. I recommend these
books as equipment for living and glowing spheres of light for those who have an
inner commitment to the Taoist path.