The Lotus Flower is a symbol of compassion opening in the heart like the bloom of the flower from the swamp in which it grows
The desireless one sees the essence; (the soul)
While the desiring one sees only its manifestation. (the superficial)
Desirelessness is a matter of respectfulness.
Contemplate these statements, ponder them, meditate on them, and if you could have only one desire, make this be your goal:
Overcome your desires and show love to others.
What gift would you offer God? What does the creator of all things need with desires? Tao creates endlessly, it gives away everything it creates and wants for nothing. Is this not love? Wants, desires, expectations, wishful thinking, willfulness, these are all contrivances of ego. True love comes from a place of no desire.
Have you ever heard the expression he or she is “in love with love”? Ah yes, here is a nugget of truth for me. True love is not desire for a person or thing; it is given in the spirit of the thing itself. Wanting nothing for self, only the best for others is love. When two people are “in love with love” there is no desire per se’, there is a spirit of letting nature take its course. When you feel “in love” the love is in you! If that involves another person or thing, then it is desireless towards that thing. When two spirits find each other, that love is beyond desire, that is a Taoist’s view of divine love.
Only when you feel no desire for something, can you truly love it. When the love for all things fills you, it is like a flower blooming inside your heart. As your energy rises up from the earth it opens your heart, it expands outward, filling the whole universe. Your compassion for all things will grow, your love will know no limits; you’ll prosper in all your ways.
The desireless one can discern the true, (soul) essence of things, not limited to only seeing and desiring that which essence has made manifest (superficially) in the material world.
You will learn the true meaning of love, you will gain respect for all things, you will move forward into an understanding of how everything is connected. This is love and fulfillment, this is infinite compassion, this is true understanding…
This is Tao
Taiji on Maui 
I very much enjoyed this.
Thank you for your comment, I enjoy your writing very much too… It is oh so nice to meet people that “get it.” Warm aloha to you on this new year!
Cory
What would you offer God? My 1st response is, the window to my soul. But like the lotus bloom it is open to interpretation. What the viewer or God in this case sees or feels can open the passage into a free reflecting space. If the viewer is carrying desires there are conditions attached. This open space can even allow reflection back to the viewer like a mirror providing a view from both sides which includes myself. Is the window open or closed? If you don’t like what you see you may not like it based on your conditions. If you feel freedom, love, Tao, beauty it may be that it is based unconditionally looking beyond the good, bad or otherwise. To nourish love is to reciprocate. To reciprocate love is to nourish it so as to not fall into withdrawal. This post reminds me of the possibilities that desires can build up from suppressing the essence of love which is nourishment. The Hawaiians say “open the gate so the fish can get in.”
excellent comment Windy… yes, Tao is the path of absolute non-resistance.
You never lose by loving, You always lose by holding back.
What gift can we offer God….? to be God-like in our love for others of course!
Wonderful post!
Lovely!!!
Hello Cory, I just stumbled upon your site via another site I just visited. I really appreciate your message of love, and I believe your site meets the guidelines of a new award I recently created. It’s called the Hope Unites Globally HUG Award. You can read more about the award at http://ahopefortoday.com/2012/01/14/hope-unites-globally-hug-award-guidelines/ This is not a “fluff” award; it is a “tough” award, and I hope you will accept the award and pass it along to others you feel also deserve it. I look forward to exploring your site more in the near future. Blessings, Connie
Hello Sir:
My name is Chris Gentry and I am a retired U.S. Army Veteran studying here on Maui for my philosophy degree with the American Military University. I have been given an assignment to write a research paper with two major religions as the focus of the paper. My papers Thesis Statement is:
Nature vs Nirvana: examining the world or discarding the world to find “Truth”. (An examination of ways Buddhism and Daoism seek enlightenment to understand the universe and beyond it).
Part of my paper is to interview a person from each religion, in person, by email, etc.
I was hoping you, or perhaps one of your colleagues, could give me your point of view on the following 4 questions for my research paper:
a. Is the world something to be understood or discarded to find the truth of the universe?
b. Does man have the capability of understanding the universe or truth?
c. What does the role of religion play in finding truth?
d. Is religion a description of the truth, or a method to find the truth, or both?
I appreciate any help you can give me and can be contacted at niantar@hotmail.com. This information will only be used for schoolwork, and not presented or repeated for any other reason, without your permission.
I thank you for your time, attention, reading this letter, and any help you can provide.
Thank you again:
Chris Gentry
SFC (Retired)
US Army
Student at AMC University
808-371-3003
Hello… good questions..
a. Is the world something to be understood or discarded to find the truth of the universe?
my answer is:
The world is a teaching construct that can be discarded once the truth of the universe finds you.
b. Does man have the capability of understanding the universe or truth?
my answer is:
The unknowable can not be grasped, and that is the universal “truth”.
c. What does the role of religion play in finding truth?
my answer is:
Truth will find those who move beyond religion.
d. Is religion a description of the truth, or a method to find the truth, or both?
my answer is:
Religions are “opinions”, Truth is the absence of opinions.
Hope that helps..
If we can cancel all our desires…
Everything in life is a true gift.
~~~niantar~~~