21/05/01
V& I know a great story about a Taoist sage. I'm missing the source so here is my retelling - respect is meant for the characters and culture.
{Image courtesy oor https://www.firmani.com/uncategorized/crisis-in-chinese/}
For the past seven years the river had flooded the fields to the point of washing out the dikes between the pattys and washing away some of the tender, young rice shoots. The rice yield fell by a third. Once a prosperous community, the village was now on hard times. Something had to be done.
The headman called a group together & strengthened the dikes. It didn't work. The emperor's tax collectors called in the emperor's engineers. The next year the flooding was even worse. The emperor's advisors proposed solutions but none could be found that calmed the river. Finally, in desparation, one of the younger advisors said he knew of a Taoist magician who might be able to help. He was summoned immediately and brought to the village.
The next morning the village awake to find the magician gone. "Ahh, another charlatan who could not help us", they thot and resigned themselves to their misery. But, no! He was soon found nearby sitting and gazing at the river. " He's on the problem now!" they thot. All day he sat and watched the river. That evening he came in collected a meal, then a bedroll and went to sleep in a peaceful corner of the head man's house. "Well," they thot. "He's tired from his journey yesterday. He needed to rest up."
Next morning they again woke to find him lazing by the river. And again on the third morning. On the forth morning the sage slept until the noon meal, ate, and wandered off until the small hours of the morning. As the days passed the pattern varied but the touted wizard could always be found helping himself to someone's meal, curled asleep in a comfortable corner of someone's house, or lazing by the river.
Grumbling was heard. "We are poor. Why are we wasting our food on this useless old trickster? The monsoon will soon be here. Our crops will be lost again. Our homes will be flooded and our live stock washed away. People may drown. We must appeal to the emperor again."
The very next day the mandarin himself came on born on his litter. They spotted the old man gazing at the river. As the madarin's litter approached the sage ( with some fear as he knew more of the sorceror's reputation than most knew) the old man waved them off. He stood with his staff and waded into the river. Up to his elbows in water he planted his staff with great force just upstream from a small islet. Silt began to accumulate immediately. Steadily the river split into two channels.
The village never flooded again.
This story is a great application of practical chaos theory. A tiny change in additional conditions ( the staff) affected outcomes ( flooding) to such an extent that it improved and even saved peoples lives. The more chaotic the situation, the more opportunity for change. As the article accompanying it describes, the ideogram above also represents the concept of crux - crucial point - cusp. Covid, civil unrest, rapidly changing climate, economies, and social values all point to such a decision cusp for humanity. Mystic teacher G.I. Gurdjieff thot change was only possible at crossroads and (in my interpretation) the " midst of mass madness " was the best time to make a profit. When the branch is tender and puts forth leaves (Matthew 24:32). Rejoice! Great reward awaits for the grasping of this moment! Its the crux of the matter!
