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Who knows what is good and what is bad?
Most of us divide up our life experiences into those we like and those we
don't. But the Taoist masters teach us to look deeper. In the flow of yin and
yang everything is constantly changing into it's opposite. The more we live
with awareness of the inevitable tides of Tao, the more it seems superficial
and misguided to reject some experiences and try to hold onto others. It is
better to accept the wholeness of life.
A traditional Taoist story illustrates these teachings:
When an old farmer's stallion wins a prize at a country show, his neighbor
calls round to congratulate him, but the old farmer says, "Who knows what is
good and what is bad?"
The next day some thieves come and steal his valuable animal. His neighbor
comes to commiserate with him, but the old man replies, "Who knows what is
good and what is bad?"
A few days later the spirited stallion escapes from the thieves and joins a
herd of wild mares, leading them back to the farm. The neighbor calls to share
the farmer's joy, but the farmer says, "Who knows what is good and what is
bad?"
The following day, while trying to break in one of the wild mares, the
farmer's son is thrown and fractures his leg. The neighbor calls to share the
farmer's sorrow, but the old man's attitude remains the same as before.
The following week the army passes by, forcibly conscripting soldiers for a
war, but they do not take the farmer's son because he cannot walk. The
neighbor think to himself, "Who knows what is good and what is bad?" and
realizes that the old farmer must be a Taoist sage.
-From the Tao book and card pack by Timothy Freke
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YOGA & INNER PEACE 3964 Lake Worth Road Lake Worth, FL 33461 (561) 641-8888 YOGA ALLIANCE CERTIFIED 200 HOUR TEACHER TRAINING SCHOOL Yoga & Inner Peace is an affiliated yoga center with the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centers, a non-profit, worldwide network of ashrams and yoga centers founded by Swami Vishnu Devananda to spread the teachings of yoga.
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