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Metti ordine nella tua vita: cosa insegnava davvero Laozi sull’abbondanza | Taoismo — Transcript

by Il Sentiero del Tao · 3,072 words · 524 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:01In the twentieth chapter of the Zhuangzi
0:03, Zhuangzi goes to the King of Wei
0:06wearing a rough, patched robe.
0:09His shoes are broken; he has tied them
0:11with string so the soles don't fall off
0:14.
0:16The king sees him and says, in essence:
0:18"Master, how wretched you are!"
0:21And Zhuangzi replies: "I am poor, Your
0:24Majesty, not wretched.
0:27When a man knows the Way but cannot walk
0:30it, then he is wretched.
0:33But a patched robe and broken shoes,
0:35that is poverty, not wretchedness."
0:38And then he tells the king about the
0:40monkey: "In essence, have you ever seen
0:43a monkey?
0:44Among the tall trees, among cedars and
0:46cinnamon trees?
0:48It leaps from branch to branch, free. As
0:51if it were a king, but put it among
0:53brambles and thistles and it moves with
0:55caution.
0:56It looks to the right and left,
0:58trembling.
0:59It is not that its bones and tendons
1:02have become weaker.
1:05It is just in a place where it cannot
1:07express its abilities."
1:09Poor but not wretched.
1:11That is the phrase I want to start this
1:14video with, because the title speaks of
1:16abundance, and before talking about how
1:19to attract it, we should know what
1:21abundance really is.
1:23Today we are talking about how to bring
1:25order to your life.
1:27Things, money, time, and resentment.
1:32And what does Taoism really say about
1:35wealth?
1:36Seven teachings from the Tao Te Ching
1:38and the Zhuangzi.
1:41And before we begin, a request: write in
1:43the comments where you are watching from
1:45, what time it is for you, and what
1:47thing you want to let go of first.
1:50If this video is giving you something,
1:53leave a like and subscribe to the
1:55channel. Let's begin.
1:58First, four clarifications.
2:01First, there is no "law of vacuum" that
2:03attracts abundance.
2:05In the Tao Te Ching, that is a modern
2:08formulation.
2:10Laozi does not promise wealth.
2:12In the 79th chapter, it reads: "The way
2:15of heaven has no kin." What Taoism
2:18teaches is something else.
2:21It is perhaps something more precious:
2:23knowing when it is enough and letting
2:25things flow.
2:27Second, we have already covered the
2:30vacuum in another video with the bellows
2:32and the empty boat.
2:34I will not repeat it; today we are
2:36talking about bringing order in a very
2:37practical way.
2:40Third, what I say about money is not
2:42financial advice, and those who have
2:44debts or struggle to make it to the end
2:46of the month do not need the advice to
2:48be more generous, but support.
2:51I will talk about that at the end.
2:53Fourth, I report the quotes in essence.
2:57The practical tools are my own.
3:00Let's begin.
3:01First teaching.
3:03Poor but not wretched.
3:06Let's stay with Zhuangzi before the king
3:08.
3:09He distinguishes two things that we
3:11almost always confuse.
3:13Poverty is having little.
3:16A patched robe, broken shoes.
3:20Misery is something else.
3:23Misery is not being able to live as you
3:26know you should live, being trapped like
3:28a monkey in the brambles.
3:31And the surprising thing is: you can be
3:34rich and miserable.
3:36A full house, a full account, a full
3:39schedule.
3:40Yet you live like the monkey among the
3:43thistles, cautiously, tense, with no
3:46room to move.
3:48You have much, but you are not free.
3:51And you can be poor and free like
3:54Zhuangzi with string around his shoe.
3:58This is the first lesson on abundance.
4:00It is not the same thing as possession,
4:03it is space.
4:04Space to move, to breathe, to live as
4:07you know you should live.
4:10A limit I owe you.
4:12Real, hard poverty.
4:14For those who don't know how to pay the
4:16rent, a quote from Zhuangzi is useless.
4:20I am not romanticizing lack, but many
4:22people who have enough still feel
4:24miserable, and for them, this
4:26distinction is a liberation; this is my
4:29exercise.
4:31Ask yourself where in my life I am the
4:35monkey among the thistles, not poor but
4:38constricted, a space, a commitment, a
4:41habit in which I cannot move. Write it
4:44down. It is the first place we will tidy
4:47up today.
4:49Second lesson: reveal the simple,
4:52embrace the uncarved.
4:56In the 19th chapter of the Tao Te Ching
4:59, there is a brief direction:
5:01essentially, reveal the simple, embrace
5:04the uncarved, reduce your own, have few
5:07desires.
5:09Four short phrases that describe a life
5:12in order.
5:13Reveal the simple.
5:15The original word indicates undyed silk
5:18, fabric without patterns.
5:21The simple that does not have to pretend
5:23anything.
5:25Embrace the uncarved, a piece of wood
5:28that has no shape yet, undecorated, not
5:31overloaded.
5:33Few desires; not none, just few.
5:37And now look around your home.
5:40How many things do you own that you do
5:41not use?
5:43The box in the basement, the clothes
5:45that haven't fit you in years, the
5:47broken device you keep meaning to fix
5:49sooner or later, and behind almost every
5:51one of these things is the same phrase:
5:53"You never know."
5:56Listen closely to this phrase; it means
5:59"I am afraid that tomorrow there won't
6:01be enough."
6:03Every thing kept for this reason is a
6:06small voice of scarcity, and a house
6:08full of these voices is not a rich house
6:10.
6:12It is a fearful house; this is my
6:15exercise.
6:17Pick up something you haven't used in a
6:19long time and ask yourself: if I lost it
6:22today, would I buy it again?
6:24If the answer is no, and if it could be
6:27useful to someone else, pass it on.
6:29If not, thank it and let it go.
6:34Start with one thing, tomorrow the next
6:36, and notice how you breathe in that
6:38room.
6:40A brief pause before the third teaching
6:44. Do one thing for 30 seconds.
6:47Look at your hands.
6:49They are closed, a bit tense.
6:51Open them slowly, palms facing up, and
6:56exhale once slowly, longer than usual.
7:01For new air to enter, the old must first
7:04come out.
7:06Third teaching, how to draw a bow.
7:10In the 77th chapter of the Tao Te Ching
7:12, Laozi compares the way of heaven to
7:15drawing a bow.
7:17In essence, is the way of heaven not
7:21like drawing a bow?
7:23That which is high is lowered, that
7:26which is low is raised.
7:28Where there is too much, it is taken;
7:30where there is too little, it is given.
7:32The way of heaven takes from the
7:34superfluous and fills the lack.
7:37The way of humans is different; it takes
7:39from the lack and gives to the
7:41superfluous.
7:43It is an image of movement.
7:45A bow only works if something moves.
7:49When you draw it, the center bends and
7:52the ends come together.
7:54A bow that remains rigid will not shoot
7:56.
7:57And Laozi says: "Such is nature." Water
8:01flows where it is missing, heat flows
8:03where it is cold.
8:06Nothing in nature accumulates forever.
8:09And this is exactly what a fearful
8:11person does with money: they hold onto
8:14it, they allow themselves nothing, they
8:16give nothing—not out of wisdom, but out
8:18of fear.
8:21And their life sounds like a bow that is
8:23never drawn, a limit that I must
8:25explicitly point out to you.
8:28Laozi does not say give away your money
8:31, and in the image of the bow, those who
8:34have too little are among those who
8:36should receive, not those who must give
8:39.
8:41Saving for difficult times is wise, not
8:43fearful.
8:45The difference is the attitude. Do you
8:47pay your bills with gratitude or with
8:49anger?
8:50Do you sometimes allow yourself
8:52something small?
8:53Is every expense a defeat?
8:55Every now and then, give something—even
8:58a little—without keeping score.
9:00The exercise.
9:03This week, make a small move with money
9:05that comes from abundance, not fear.
9:10Buy someone a coffee, donate something,
9:12even a little, or treat yourself to
9:15something small you've denied yourself
9:17for months—a movement, so that the bow
9:20may be drawn.
9:23If this video is giving you something so
9:26far, leave a like and write in the
9:28comments what you want to let go of
9:30first.
9:32Just one word is enough.
9:33Fourth teaching, it is enough for me.
9:37In the 28th chapter of the Zhuangzi,
9:39Confucius asks his favorite disciple,
9:42Yan Hui.
9:43In essence here: your family is poor and
9:46you live in need, why don't you accept
9:49an official post?
9:52And Yan Hui replies: "I do not want an
9:54official post; I have 50 meters of land
9:57outside the walls, enough for millet
10:00porridge."
10:01Inside the walls I have 10, enough for
10:04hemp and silk.
10:06I play the lute, it’s enough for my joy
10:08.
10:09And what I learn from you is enough for
10:11my happiness.
10:13I don’t want a position.
10:15And Confucius, moved, basically says.
10:19Who knows what is enough.
10:21He doesn’t let himself get entangled by
10:23profit.
10:24We aren’t talking about things here, we
10:26are talking about time.
10:29Janhui could have accepted a position,
10:32more money, more prestige, and less time
10:36, less study, less of what made him glad
10:40, and he says: "I have enough for food,
10:44for clothes, for joy, for happiness.
10:49He doesn’t need any more.
10:50And now look at your calendar.
10:53How many commitments did you not choose
10:54for yourself? How many evenings are
10:56spent on obligations that drain you?
10:59How many people arrive, dump their
11:01complaints on you, and leave feeling
11:03lighter, while you feel heavier.
11:07A full calendar is like a full house
11:10where something new should enter.
11:13The exercise is mine.
11:16This week, say no once.
11:20To a commitment, to an evening, to a
11:23group that only drains you, without long
11:25explanations, with kindness, thank you.
11:30Not this time.
11:32And take 10 minutes of truly empty time
11:35every day, without screens, without
11:38music, without doing anything useful, at
11:42the window like Jan Hui with his fifth
11:45teaching, the voice that filled heaven
11:48and earth.
11:51Also in the 28th chapter of the Zhuangzi
11:53, there is a brief description of Zengzi
11:55, another disciple of Confucius.
11:58He lived in the state of Wei and was
12:01very poor.
12:02Basically, his padded robe no longer had
12:06its outer layer.
12:08His face was swollen from hunger, his
12:10hands and feet were full of calluses.
12:14For three days he hadn’t lit a fire, for
12:1610 years he hadn’t made new clothes.
12:20When he adjusted his hat, the ribbon
12:22would tear; when he tightened his robe,
12:24his elbows would poke through.
12:28Yet in his broken shoes, he sang ancient
12:32hymns, and his voice filled heaven and
12:35earth as if it came from bells and chime
12:39stones.
12:41I don’t read this as a praise of poverty
12:43; I read it as an image of something
12:45that anyone who puts things in order
12:47experiences.
12:49When you start letting go, you don’t
12:51feel better immediately; often, you feel
12:53worse.
12:55A half-empty closet is scary; an evening
12:58without plans is scary.
13:01An empty space, where something used to
13:04be, feels like a loss, and the mind
13:06wants to fill that void immediately with
13:09purchases, with the phone, with new
13:11commitments.
13:14Zengzi shows something else.
13:16Outside there was almost nothing, and
13:18inside there was a voice that filled
13:20heaven and earth.
13:22The emptiness outside is not the same
13:24thing as the emptiness inside.
13:26Those who tidy up create space, and for
13:29a while, that space is simply empty.
13:32But in that empty space, something else
13:35can resonate: a calmness, a clarity, a
13:38voice that was lost in the noise before
13:41. The exercise is mine.
13:44When in letting go you feel that vertigo
13:46, the fear of the void.
13:49Place a hand on your belly, exhale
13:51slowly and in silence.
13:54This space isn't empty; it is waiting.
13:58And don't fill it right away.
14:01Let it wait for a day, then another,
14:03another pause.
14:06We are at five out of seven.
14:08Open your hands again; they closed up
14:10while you were listening.
14:13Exhale slowly and ask yourself in
14:16silence which of the five teachings is
14:18the one that made something inside you
14:21react for an instant.
14:24And if you haven't subscribed to the
14:26channel yet, now is a good time.
14:28Write to me also where you are watching
14:30from.
14:31Sixth teaching, the half of the tablet.
14:36And now, the place where we tidy up the
14:38least and where it matters most:
14:41resentment.
14:44In the 79th chapter of the Tao Te Ching
14:46, it essentially says that when a great
14:49resentment is settled, a residue of
14:51resentment still remains, so how could
14:54it be good?
14:57That is why the sage keeps the left half
14:59of the tablet but demands nothing from
15:02others.
15:04A debt tablet in ancient China was a
15:07receipt, a piece of wood or bamboo on
15:10which the debt was carved and then
15:12broken into two halves.
15:16The creditor kept one half and with it
15:18could demand at any time what was owed
15:21to him.
15:22And Lao Tzu says:" The sage keeps the
15:25half, but does not demand. "It is a very
15:28precise image of resentment.
15:30Whoever holds a grudge against someone
15:32is holding a tablet in their hand.
15:35You owe me an apology, you owe me
15:37recognition, you owe me the years I lost
15:38.
15:40And every night they take it out and
15:42look at it.
15:44Lao Tzu does not say, throw the tablet
15:45away as if nothing happened.
15:49The sage still keeps it, knows what
15:51happened, does not pretend the injustice
15:53wasn't one, but does not demand.
15:56They stop looking at it every night,
15:58they stop counting.
16:01A boundary that I must set: letting go
16:03of resentment does not mean proving the
16:05other person right, it does not mean
16:07reconciling, and certainly not returning
16:09to someone who hurts you.
16:12It just means: I stop counting the debt
16:15every night. The exercise is mine.
16:19Write on a small piece of paper a name
16:21or an event you have been carrying
16:23around for years.
16:25Hold the paper in your hand for a moment
16:27and then put it in a drawer and say: I
16:29know what happened.
16:31I no longer demand anything.
16:34And when you want to take it out again,
16:36and you will want to, leave it in the
16:37drawer.
16:39Seventh teaching, finding food sweet.
16:44To finish, the 80th chapter of the Tao
16:47Te Ching: Laozi describes a small,
16:49simple village without ostentation and
16:52says of the people who live there,
16:54essentially, they find their food sweet
16:57, they find their clothes beautiful,
17:00they find their home peaceful, they
17:02rejoice in their customs.
17:06It is the final lesson on abundance and
17:08perhaps the most important.
17:12The people of that village do not have
17:14more than others, they have the same
17:16things, but they find them sweet,
17:18beautiful, peaceful.
17:21And this is what can happen after you
17:22have tidied up.
17:24When the closet no longer overflows, you
17:26see the clothes you truly love.
17:29When your schedule is no longer full,
17:31you taste your food again.
17:33When resentment is kept in a drawer,
17:36your home returns to being a peaceful
17:38place.
17:39Abundance does not just come from the
17:41outside; it also comes from returning to
17:43see what is already there.
17:45The exercise for today: eat a meal in
17:48full awareness.
17:51Without a screen, and with every bite
17:53ask yourself, do I find this sweet?
17:56And then look around your home, in a
17:59place you have tidied up, and ask
18:01yourself.
18:02Is it peaceful here? When tidying up on
18:06your own is not enough, here is the part
18:09I owe you explicitly.
18:13If you realize you cannot let things go
18:15, even if you want to, if your house is
18:17so full that you move with difficulty,
18:19if just the thought of throwing
18:21something away triggers strong anxiety,
18:23it may be a hoarding disorder, a
18:25recognized disorder; it is not laziness
18:27, and it is curable.
18:30Your primary care physician is a good
18:32first step.
18:35If money problems are crushing you, debt
18:37counseling often helps for free.
18:41And if for weeks nothing brings you joy
18:43, or thoughts of not wanting to be here
18:46anymore arise, please talk to someone
18:48today.
18:49In Italy, you can call Telefono Amico at
18:5202232723.
18:56For an emergency, 112.
19:00In other countries, search for local
19:02listening services; it does not
19:04contradict anything I said today, it is
19:07part of it: 7 days, seven spaces.
19:11And here is a small plan for this week.
19:14It is mine, not from textbooks; you
19:16don't have to do it perfectly, just do
19:18it.
19:19Day 1.
19:20The monkey in the briars.
19:22Where am I feeling tight? Write it down
19:25. Day 2.
19:27Would I buy this thing again? If not,
19:30let it go.
19:32Day 3, one drawer, keep only what I use
19:35.
19:37Day 4, drawing the bow.
19:39A movement with money, from abundance,
19:42not from fear.
19:44Day 5, a" no "and 10 minutes of empty
19:48time.
19:49Day 6, the tablet.
19:52A name on a slip of paper in the drawer
19:54.
19:55I demand nothing more.
19:57Day 7.
19:59Do nothing.
20:00Windows open, hands open, and a meal
20:04found to be sweet.
20:06To close, let's summarize.
20:09Zang was poor, but not miserable.
20:13And the monkey among the thistles, weak
20:15, only squeezed.
20:17Laozi says:" Show simplicity, have few
20:20desires, and one never knows.
20:23"It is the voice of scarcity.
20:25The way of heaven is like a taut bow.
20:29What is in excess flows where it is
20:30lacking.
20:32Yan Hui had enough for food, for clothes
20:35, for joy, and he did not want a
20:37position.
20:39Zenzi's voice filled heaven and earth,
20:42even if his robe was torn.
20:45The sage holds the tablet, but does not
20:48demand, and in the small village, the
20:50people found his food sweet.
20:54And again the most important thing,
20:55because I do not want you to leave this
20:58video with the wrong idea:" Getting
20:59organized does not attract wealth like a
21:02magnet, but it makes space.
21:04"Space to breathe, to move, to see what
21:08is already there.
21:10And it is an abundance that no one needs
21:12to promise you because you create it
21:14yourself.
21:15And now, once more, my request. Write in
21:18the comments where you are watching from
21:20, what time it is for you, and if you
21:22will do the 7 days.
21:24If the video gave you something, leave a
21:26like and subscribe to the channel to
21:29continue receiving Tao teachings that
21:31transform from within, without haste and
21:34without breaks.
21:36And open your hands once again.
21:39An empty hand is not a poor hand, it is
21:42a ready hand. M.

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