Living By Your Inner Light, Verse 27 of the Tao Te Ching

Living By Your Inner Light

Verse 27 of the Tao Te Ching

The perfect traveller leaves no trail to be followed;
The perfect speaker leaves no question to be answered;
The perfect accountant leaves no working to be completed;
The perfect container leaves no lock to be closed;
The perfect knot leaves no end to be ravelled.

So the sage nurtures all menAnd abandons no one.
He accepts everything
And rejects nothing.
He attends to the smallest details.

For the strong must guide the weak;
The weak are raw material to the strong.
If the guide is not respected,
Or the material is not cared for,
Confusion will result, no matter how clever one is.

This is the secret of perfection:
When raw wood is carved, it becomes a tool;
When a man is employed, he becomes a tool;
The perfect carpenter leaves no wood to be carved.

Summary according to Dr Wayne Dyer:

The knower of the truth lives by an inner light. In this verse Lao-tzu is advising you to give without keeping an account or expecting something in return, for this is the nature of the Tao and you are the Tao. Giving is synonymous with receiving when you live by this illumination, the inner light.

This form of giving extends to all beings and is done so with impartiality and without abandonment of none. You and giving are one, you and receiving are one and in such arrangement there is no one who is not you. Thus, a good man is but a bad man’s teacher, and a bad man is but a good man’s job. Understand that you are here to teach yourself and others in some way, and that the work is to raise the collective energy of the entire universe.

As a knower of the truth, Lao-tzu advises traveling without leaving a trace, live spontaneously, that your inner light is the more trustworthy than your guidebook and it will point in the direction that is best for you and everyone you encounter. Trust yourself and others, do not judge yourself or others. Why not be one who chooses to respect yourself and all others as teachers and as students.

Reflection according to Joe:

Yes, I have found the old Buddhist philosophy of in giving I receive to be true. Each day I give to others and I do receive in the form of both monetary compensation and many intrinsic rewards. However, I give because it is ‘my duty’ to serve the world, the communitiy and the people.

I have learned that I am a student and as a student I learn so I can serve as a guide, an instructor or teacher to others on the path of life, this journey we are experiencing in our current state of existence.

As a traveler I have learned through experience to toss the guidebook, textbook, etc. away and just enjoy the moment and that path that was being laid out before me. I have traveled free of reservations, free of plans, free of money (yes my ATM was demagnetized and I had no money for 3 days and hopped a train to get to the biggest city and a bank come Monday). In trusting my instincts without judgement and trusting the path and the others on the path I have experience a life without limits, the limits of the guidebook and the every detail.

I am able to do so because I am conscious, present and aware. I am living in the moment, not concerned or worried about things I have no control over. Instead trusting in the ‘Tao’, the way, the process, the journey, the path. By doing so and living so I am raising the collective energy of the universe. Not because it is a goal, and I do not do so because I know or think or feel good things are going to come to me. I do so because this is my lives practice. My way of being and serving the world, community, and people I feel so fortunate to experience.

Namaste