MIng Yi's Dao Seek - Exploring The Surface Meaning ...

Exploring the Surface Meaning Through a Stubborn Ailment - Rhinitis

Lao Tzu says: "One can know the world without going out the door. One can see the Way of Heaven without looking through the window." If we compare the "world" and the "Way of Heaven" to the internal energy landscape of the body, the recurring symptoms of rhinitis – stuffiness, runny nose, sneezing – are signals of ...

Transcript

Welcome to this moment of stillness,

A moment just for you.

As you listen,

Allow your body to settle and your mind to soften.

There is nowhere you need to be,

Nothing you need to do.

Simply breathe and be here.

Today,

We explore an ancient wisdom from the 47th chapter of the Tao Te Ching,

A verse that invites us to find profound knowledge,

Not in distant travels,

But in the quiet space of our own being.

Let these words wash over you.

Without going out your door,

You can know everything under heaven.

Without looking out the window,

You can see the Tao of heaven.

The farther one travels,

The less one knows.

The sage knows without traveling,

Sees without looking,

And accomplishes all without striving.

This is a teaching of inward journey,

And we can explore its profound meaning through a seemingly stubborn physical ailment,

Rhinitis.

The constant stuffiness,

The running nose,

The endless sneezing.

On the surface,

It is a mere irritation.

But if we listen deeply,

It can be a messenger.

Lao Tzu says we can know the world without going out the door.

If we consider the world to be our own internal energy landscape,

Then these recurring symptoms are signals.

They are the weather patterns of a disordered inner world.

What is this traveling far that leads to less knowing?

It is the constant running about,

The frantic search for a new doctor,

A new medicine,

A new miracle cure.

It is the anxiety that pushes us outward,

Seeking salvation anywhere but here.

And the outcome,

As the sage tells us,

Is that we feel more lost,

More controlled by the very thing we seek to escape,

The less one knows.

The true root of many of our discomforts is often not a purely physical problem.

It is an internal,

Silent protest,

A whisper from the soul asking to be heard.

So,

What are the door and window in this context?

They are our portals to the world.

The nose,

It governs our breath.

And breathing is the most fundamental way we exchange energy and establish connection with everything outside of us.

Therefore,

The nose is our primary portal.

Now,

Let us explore the internal world,

The hidden order of Rhinitis.

There can be a deep energy of resistance to authority.

Authority represents an external force,

Something that demands to be accepted,

To be obeyed.

It tries to enter your portal.

When there is a deep-seated resistance,

A repression,

Or even a fear towards a certain authority figure in our lives,

Especially from our early family experiences,

This energy pattern may manifest physically.

It becomes an obstructed breathing passage,

A subtle,

Physical declaration,

I do not want to inhale.

I do not want to accept what you are imposing on me.

There can also be the burden of what some call family karma.

A child,

In their profound love and connection,

May unconsciously carry the fears,

The suppressed anger,

Or the unfulfilled dreams of their parents or ancestors.

These heavy energies can feel suffocating,

And so,

The body speaks this truth through the respiratory system.

It is the weight of personal experiences,

Of carried anger,

And a feeling of powerlessness.

The path to healing,

Then,

Is not about defeating an external force,

Or eliminating a past you cannot change.

The key lies in seeing,

In understanding,

In accepting,

And finally,

In transforming our relationship with these greater forces.

The first step is to trace the route.

This is the inward exploration of knowing the world without going out the door.

It is a gentle,

Compassionate journey back into your own story.

You can begin with simple,

Non-judgmental questions,

Asked in the quiet of your own heart.

Has there been an experience that made your subconscious want to close this portal of communication?

Does your heart still harbor hidden anger,

Or a deep sense of grievance?

Did your family have strong patterns of control and rebellion?

Have you,

Perhaps,

Taken on a parent's pain as your own?

Is there a history of respiratory or skin issues in your family line?

These are the systems of boundaries of acceptance and release.

Simply ask,

And then listen.

Without forcing an answer,

The body remembers what the mind has forgotten.

The second step is the practice of knowing without going,

Seeing without looking.

This is the work of inner insight and reconciliation.

After acknowledging the old wounds,

You can begin to turn towards a greater authority.

A vaster,

More compassionate power.

This is how you see the way of heaven without looking through the window.

You can connect with the sky.

Step outside,

Or simply imagine yourself under the vast,

Open sky.

Feel its expansiveness.

It never commands,

It simply is.

It accepts all weather without judgment.

Open your breath to the sky,

Inhale its boundless freedom,

And as you exhale,

Release your own inner limitations and resistance.

You can connect with the earth.

Feel your feet on the ground,

Whether you are walking on grass,

Or simply imagining the firm support beneath you.

The earth accepts everything,

And transforms everything.

In your mind's eye,

You can confide your heaviness to the earth,

Symbolically returning any burdens you carry,

Trusting that she knows how to transform them.

You can connect with the Tao,

With the universe,

With God,

Or whatever name you give to that ultimate source of love and wisdom.

In silence,

Let go of all petitions,

All requests.

Simply become the breath itself.

Allow yourself to be a conduit for this great,

Healing power to flow through you.

The third step is to guard your spirit,

To build your own inner sanctuary.

The ancient texts tell us that grief,

Sorrow,

And anxiety disturb the heart,

And when the heart is disturbed,

The entire body is shaken.

So,

We must be mindful of the dissipation of our own spirit,

Constantly focusing on the discomfort,

Anxiously searching for cures.

This is itself a form of traveling far.

It depletes your precious energy.

Instead,

We can learn to rest,

To trust,

To allow,

To allow.

Healing,

At its deepest level,

Is a profound spiritual growth.

It is a movement from being a prisoner of your symptoms to becoming a collaborator with life itself.

You learn to see the pattern,

Instead of blindly resisting it.

You move with humility and respect,

Letting go of the small self-surrogates.

You connect to the Source,

Anchoring yourself in the eternal stability of the Tao.

And then,

Naturally,

The energy begins to flow.

When internal resistance is replaced by a gentle acceptance,

When entanglements soften into flowing love,

Your breath becomes deep,

Long,

And smooth.

The body,

In its own innate wisdom,

Knows how to restore balance.

The sage accomplishes without striving,

And healing happens without force.

You are no longer a passive bearer of your history,

But an active transformer of your present.

You are no longer a resistor of life,

But a creator,

Collaborating with the great forces of the universe.

Let us now,

For the final few moments,

Practice a simple breath meditation.

A sanctuary for the heart and mind.

Please,

Sit comfortably if you are not already.

Spine straight,

But not rigid.

Hands resting gently.

Close your eyes.

Gently,

Place your full attention at the tip of your nose.

Like a quiet guardian,

Simply observe the breath coming in and going out.

There is no need to change it.

Just feel the sensation.

The cool air entering,

The slightly warmer air leaving.

If there is any obstruction,

Any sensation of swelling,

Simply observe it.

Accept it without judgment.

You are knowing your own inner world,

Without going anywhere.

Now,

Let your awareness expand,

To feel the complete flow of the breath.

Feel how the inhalation nourishes and soothes the inner passages.

How the exhalation releases stagnation and heat.

If thoughts arise,

Gently,

Oh so gently,

Guide your attention back to the flow of the breath.

Let the mind settle into the rhythm of the body.

And now,

Imagine your whole body is breathing.

Every pore is a tiny nose,

Inhaling clarity and light,

Exhaling any remaining heaviness or discomfort.

You are one with the breath.

One with the void.

In this stillness,

There is no problem to solve.

Only a presence to be.

The body's own sacred intelligence is at work,

Accomplishing,

Without any striving from you.

Rest here,

In this effortless being,

For as long as you wish.

Gently,

Bring your awareness back.

Back to the room.

Back to the sounds around you.

Moving your fingers and toes,

Carrying this sense of peace and clarity with you.

Whenever you are ready,

Slowly,

Gently,

Open your eyes.

Thank you for sharing this time of stillness.

This is Mingyis Dao Sik.