Shamsi Tabriz, Chuang-tse, Bhagavad Gita, Ibn Arabi and Saichi: On Inexhaustibility of the Creator
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Photo: Shaolin monks in training by Tomasz Gudzowaty; www.gudzowaty.com
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Do not think of the water as failing; for this water is without end.
(Divani Shamsi Tabriz, XII)
Unfathomable as the sea, wondrously ending only to begin again, informing all creation without being exhausted, the Tao of the perfect man is spontaneous in its operation.
(Chuang-tse, ch. XXII)
There is no existence for the unreal and the real can never be non-existent. The Seers of Truth know the nature and final ends of both. Know That to be indestructible by which all this is pervaded. No one is ever able to destroy that Immutable. These bodies are perishable; but the dwellers in these bodies are eternal, indestructible and impenetrable. Therefore fight, O descendant of Bharata.
He who considers this Self as a slayer or he who thinks that this Self is slain, neither of these knows the Truth. For It does not slay, nor is It slain. This Self is not born, nor does It die, nor after once having seen, does It go into non-being. This Self is unborn, eternal, changeless, ancient. It is never destroyed even when the body is destroyed.
(Bhagavad Gita, II.16-20)
To be poured into without becoming full, and pour out without becoming empty, without knowing how this is brought about, - this is the art of 'Concealing the Light'.
(Chuang-tse, ch. II)
Who is Nature and Who is all that is manifested from her? We did not see her diminished by that which was manifested from her, or increased by the not-being of aught manifested that was other than she.
(Ibn Arabi)
The Principle is an infinity which nothing can augment or diminish.
(Chuang-tse, ch. XXII)
The Namu-amida-butsu inexhaustible,
However much one recited it, it is inexhaustible.
(Saichi)
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Recommended Reading:
'The Book of Chuang Tzu'
by Martin Palmer (Translator, Introduction), Elizabeth Breuilly (Translator)
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Description:
A masterpiece of ancient Chinese philosophy, second in influence only to the Tao Te Ching
One of the founders of Taoism, Chuang Tzu was firmly opposed to Confucian values of order, control, and hierarchy, believing the perfect state to be one where primal, innate nature rules. Full of profundity as well as tricks, knaves, sages, jokers, unbelievably named people, and uptight Confucians, The Book of Chuang Tzu perceives the Tao-the Way of Nature- not as a term to be explained but as a path to walk. Radical and subversive, employing wit, humor, and shock tactics, The Book of Chuang Tzu offers an intriguing look deep into Chinese culture.
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
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