Something to Ponder, reflections from Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching

By Colin Mallard

"Something to Ponder, reflections from Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching," brings readers the timeless wisdom of the ancient Chinese sage. It is as relevant today as when it was first written twenty five hundred years ago.

The elegant language is simple, at times sparse and is meant to be read aloud. It provides a perfect vehicle for Lao Tzu's profound wisdom. The "Tao Te Ching" is one of the great spiritual classics of all time and, one of the most accessible.

Like the peaceful murmur of a stream, the truth and wisdom found in the verses of "Something to Ponder," cascade effortlessly and gently into the heart, there to remain in the silence of direct understanding.

If you yearn for peace, this is the book to read, perhaps just a page at a time, so as to savor the blessings served verse after verse.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Colin Mallard
• Release date: Feb 22, 2012
• ISBN: 9781466137127

Colin Mallard

Colin Mallard played in bomb craters and bombed out buildings as a child in England during the Second World War. Perhaps this was the origin of his interest in peace. He attended University in Boston and was deeply involved in the Civil Rights and Anti War Movements of the 60s. In fact, the story of the sanctuary at Boston University's Marsh Chapel, described in Stillpoint, was written from personal experience. He worked for a number of years at an inner city church in Providence with the local black population and was harassed, threatened and beaten by the police. Later the church was firebombed and destroyed. (Click on the link below and see some interesting photos from that time. He's the one with the large mustache.) Some of his many jobs have included such esoteric skills as taxi driver, magician's assistant, tree planter, mountain guide and a street counselor on Vancouver's skid-road. Colin laughs, "Jack of all trades and master of none." He spent eleven years as a Unitarian minister. His interest in exploring spiritual matters took him into the ministry and out of it again. For the next 20 years he worked as a psychologist. For some of that time he lived in Hawaii and worked with families in which children had been abused. The State of Hawaii believed the family was the best place to raise children and were prepared to provide the needed help. He taught parents effective communication and parenting kills, and helped them understand the sources of anger and conflict. It was during this time he wrote a first novel, a teaching story for his clients. Behind it all was a consuming interest in the nature of peace and who or what we are as human beings. This led him to a lengthy study of Taoism, and Zen and, latterly, the Advaita Masters, Ramesh Balsekar and Dr. Jean Klein. He has written a number of books on the subject of peace. Something to Ponder, reflections from Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching, and Understanding, draw the reader into a deep exploration of life and how it works. A number of his books have won awards in such categories as Eastern Religion, General Fiction and Interior Design and Layout. His latest novel Stillpoint uses fictional characters to bring to life the events that took place before, during and after the creation of the State of Israel. "If there is no awareness of what took place and what continues to this day, how can there be any real understanding?" Colin asks. ...

Book preview

Something to Ponder

Reflections from Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching

By

Colin D. Mallard, Ph.D.

Something to Ponder

Reflections from Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching

By

Colin D. Mallard, Ph.D.

Advaita Gems Publishing

6505 Rennie Road, Courtenay,

British Columbia, V9J 1V1 Canada

First ebook Smashwords Edition

February 2012

Discover other titles by Colin Mallard at Smashwords.com

Understanding, The Simplicity of Life

http://www.colinmallard.com/books/understanding-the-simplicity-of-life/

http://advaitagemspublishing.com/books/understanding-the-simplicity-of-life/

Cover design,layout and formatting by

Dave Dalton of onedesign,

Courtenay, British Columbia, Canada

[e-mail]

http://wwwcolinmallard.com

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced

without written permission from the publisher, except for brief

quotations used in literary articles or reviews.

Table of Contents

Who was Lao Tzu?

Foreward

Introduction

What is the meaning of the Tao

Mystery wrapped in mystery

The union of opposites

How it works

Used but never emptied

The grand illusion

The valley spirit

How can it die?

Like water

Truth

When the mind no longer wanders

Being and non being

Freedom over bondage

Accept disgrace willingly

Beyond the reach of words

The ancient masters

Can you wait patiently?

Forever present, silent and unmoving

We did it

When the Tao is forgotten

The inner and the outer

Aimless as the restless wind

Consciousness Itself

Bend like a sapling

Life, spontaneous and free

A feast for fools

A law unto Itself

Roots

When the master travels

The ever present silence of I am

What is a good man?

How it is

Not adding anything

You wish to improve the world?

Where armies have passed

To lose one’s way

The ocean of the Tao

Fooling the ignorant

Wealthy beyond words

Dissolved like salt in the sea

He has glimpsed his demise

Never exhausted

The nature of things

When the mystery is understood

The fruit and not the flower

As of old

As rugged and as simple as a stone

Returning

If he didn’t laugh it wouldn’t be the Tao

Harmony prevails

Keep this in mind

Softness

The whole world at one’s feet

Paradox

He who knows he has enough

Much learning gets in the way

Nothing is left undone

True goodness

No place for death to enter

Love of the Tao

Find out what you are not

The heart is filled with infinite peace

Before time ever was

The great way

Rooted in life

Like a newborn child

The highest state

The simplicity of life

Radiant and easy on the eyes

Blessed with eternal life

Frying a fish

A great nation

Valuable beyond comprehension

Give it no name

Seeing things as they are

The easy way

The Oneness from whence we all come

A delight in his presence

Three priceless gems

A great warrior

Yielding

Easy to understand

Sick of sickness

What’s important

Life has its own way

Danger

A formidable enemy

Disciples of life and disciples of death

The way of Tao and the way of men

The softness of water

The key to living in harmony

Content with what is

Requiring nothing

Who was Lao Tzu?

According to legend Lao Tzu lived in China 500 years before Christ. He was a contemporary of the Buddha and the reformer, Confucius. The story goes that Lao Tzu became disenchanted with the rules and regulations promulgated by Confucius and decided to leave China and find a place to live peacefully. He

Reviews for Something to Ponder, reflections from Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching

[valpat7 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book has beautiful simple poetry which reflects the understanding behind the Tao Te Ching.For example Mystery wrapped in mysteryThe great Tao dreamsAnd life takes form