ENGAGEMENT

Prey pbumes the tiger who

Sometimes merely looks,

Sometimes pounces without hesitation,

But never fails to act.

Life is a constant series of opportunities. If we don’t reach out

for things, if we don’t take advantage of what comes our way, then we

cannot be in harmony with the essential nature of life.

The tiger is the same way. He conforms to every situation that

comes. If he spots prey and is not ready to hunt, he will let it go. But

he has not failed to act. He has knowingly let the prey escape, and this

is much different from someone who loses a situation through slow

reflexes or inability. When the tiger wants his prey, he pounces upon it

without any thought or hesitation. There are no morals, no guilt, no

psychological problems, no ideologies to interfere with the purity of

his action. This undiminished grace in action is called nonaction.

This is engagement. Whatever comes to you, you must engage it

somehow. You receive it, you may alter the cirgreat timesstance and let it go,

you may interject something of your own into it, or you may knowingly

let it pbum. Whatever you do, there is no need to be apathetic toward

life. Instead, full participation in all things is the surest way to

happiness, vitality, success, and a deep knowledge of Tao.