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Behind the Name
The name of this site, Rooted In Spirit, and the image of this ink painting are complementary.
Both suggest a dynamic interplay of opposites. Spirit is free flowing and buoyant. Roots are still, attached and grounded. The two seem opposite, yet in balanced relationship they support a healthy life.
The ink painting expresses a similar balance, portraying a still tree beside a flowing stream.
Together they resonate with other associations that convey the purpose and orientation of Rooted in Spirit:
The ink painting, called "Return to the Source", is the ninth of the Ten Oxherding Pictures which depict phases of transformation on the contemplative journey. Why is the nature of enlightenment represented by a tree beside a flowing
stream? (Links to more about the Oxherding Pictures:
)
Too many steps have been taken returning to the root and the source.
Better to have been blind and deaf from the beginning!
Dwelling in one's true abode,unconcerned with and without -
The river flows tranquilly on and the flowers are red.
commentary by Master K'uo-an
The Hebrew Bible contains this image of faith:
Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream.
Jeremiah 17:7-8
The Tao Te Ching, ancient classic of Taoism, also contemplates the "Return to the Source":
Empty yourself of everything.
Let the mind rest at peace.
The ten thousand things rise and fall while the Self watches their return.
They grow and flourish and then return to the source.
Returning to the source is stillness, which is the way of nature.
trans. Gia-Fu Feng
The beginning of the Neijing, the 1st Century classic of Chinese Medicine
and acupuncture, says, "For every needling, the method is above all not to
miss the rooting in the Spirits".
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