on lao tzu ch. 15

LEGENDARY TEACHERS

You might see, from time to time,

one of those profound and subtle

teachers striding carefully, as though

crossing an iced-over stream.

You might notice that she is acutely

alert, as though murderers and thieves

had been reported in the neighborhood.

Yet you might marvel at his courtesy

under duress, as though he were a guest

in your home.

These legendary teachers are themselves

fluid, like plunging waterfalls, yet patient

as hewn stones awaiting a sculptor.

She can often seem dark and mysterious,

an immense cavern beneath the earth,

as opaque as muddy water.

Who can wait without complaint for the

mud to settle? Who can be still until

action is necessary?

Legendary teachers, who need not seek

fulfillment in what is transitory, find

a way to live without clinging

to desire.

- don brennan Tao Ch. 15