Dear Wisdom,
Please help us to extract the greatest value from one of the world’s oldest and most treasured books of knowledge, the Tao te Ching:
“The Sage knows himself, but not as himself. He loves himself, but not as himself. He honors himself, but not as himself. Best he discards the view of his own self and chooses the view of the universe.” verse 72
What does it mean? How can we apply this to our lives? Thank You!
Care to comment, Wisdom?
Answer
This verse is focusing on the soul rather than the human being.
The Sage knows beyond the image of the mirrors reflection and knows there is more than just the physical with the ego.
The human will judge life.
*The spirit seeks a closer connection with God.
The human compares self with others.
*The soul knows all are unique and perfect where they are in their evolution.
Humans want others respect.
*The soul doesn’t need this emotion.
*The human is jealous of another’s advantages.
*The soul is happy for another’s growth.
Humans like to hoard.
*The soul wants to share.
The human was taught conditional love.
*The soul knows unconditional love.
*This Sage knows the bigger picture of life.
The human thinks they are the center of the universe.
The soul knows they are the eternal gift from God.
The human knows all who have lived were finite but believes they can live forever.
A wise man knows both beliefs and is comfortable in both worlds.
Thank you so much Wisdom, with love.
You are welcome, our little landscape.
When one is driving, there are “look out views” where one can see the landscape more clearly.
If the person focuses on a tiny plot and never goes beyond the little piece of land, they have no idea how much larger their world actually is, for one needs to have distance to see the bigger picture.
This landscape is found within.
It is not the landscape of the physical world but the landscape of the soul.
Climb higher to get a better view.
