Tao Te Ching: Seventh Chapter
Tao te Ching:
Seventh Chapter
The Heaven is eternal and Earth Everlasting.
They are eternal because they do not exist for themselves.
Therefore the sage places himself in the background
but finds himself in the foreground.
He puts himself away,
and yet he always remains.
It is not because he has no personal interests.
It is the reason why his personal interests are fulfilled
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As I understand it:
Tao, the source of Heaven, Earth and the 10,000 things in-between, is everlasting because it does not live for its own sake. This quality supports its stability and resilience.
The sage lives from her Tao center. She does not live from worldly ego center. Non-ego makes her aware of the eternity. She serves the needs of others and puts herself last. She gives in thought, action and speech and asks for nothing in return. In doing so, she feels connected to life and her own needs are fulfilled.
The sage holds back what ego demands of her.
She witnesses, watches silently and lets life come to her.
In losing herself in life, she finds life.
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Suggested Readings:
Lao Tzu, The Way of Lao Tzu, tr. Wing-Tsit Chan, The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc. 1963.
Dyer, Wayne W., Change Your Thoughts – Change Your Life: Living the Wisdom of Tao. Hay House, Inc. 2007.