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365 Tao - Daily Meditations (Deng Ming-Dao, 1992 ed.)SpiderMind in the center Radiates to eight legs, Creating a supreme web To sift Tao. A spider is a perfect creature of Tao. Its body is an elegant expression of its mind: It spins beautiful threads, and its legs are exactly suited to create and walk its web. From its center, a spider radiates its world out with a spare economy. A spider's posture in regard to Tao is to set up a pattern. Its mind determines this pattern. It realizes the flow of Tao and does nothing to interfere with it. It simply creates its pattern and waits for Tao to bring it sustenance. That which comes to it, it accepts. That which does not come to it is not its concern. Once its web is established, a spider does not think of expanding unnaturally. It does not make war upon its neighbors, it does not go for adventures in other countries, it does not try to fly to the moon, it does not build factories, it does not try to enslave others, it does not try to be intellectual. It is simply who it is and is content with that. http://youtu.be/CwwUb978l_c
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They're not fat, they're just big-brained: Tiny spiders have such huge brains for their body sizes that the organs can spill into the animals' body cavities, a new study shows. http://news.nationalgeographic.com
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Ruby, thank you for your poem and interpretation of the Tao...and for the song. I'm still smiling. Alleluia!
Almost a free bird: Your added information was very interesting too.:)
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You're welcome, Marissa. The meditation is from page 234 of 365 Tao. My book is worn thin from years of reading over and over again.... I incorporated the meditations in an unusual college course I designed & taught called The Total Biological Experience. The Tao is The Path - If you stand with both arms out-stretched in a straight diagonal, that is The Path... one hand points to the earth, the other to the heaven... 365 meditations over and over again on this Path. You own nothing on this Path; You own everything on this Path. It is a labor of Love: http://youtu.be/0ZcEen00QxY
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Thank you very much Ruby. The Tao is one of the great truths of life. I loved the song about Charlotte's web on your link.
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Talking about spiders and imagine a human being carrying so many babies. How would this look like?
Give a man a fish you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish you feed him for a lifetime - Chinese proverb
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There was a nature series on TV a few nights ago. As I was [again] reading a good book it took something special to divert my attention. What I saw was amazing as it contained so many facets outside of normal animal behaviour. What I saw was a spider which selected a sea shell to fit it as an abode. The spider then went to a tree nearby, connected a thread which was then run to the sea shell and attached. This was repeated many times, each time the thread was shorter and the spider used the previous thread to hold the shell while it manipulated the shell[rolled] before attaching the shorter thread. Eventually the spider had the shell at the base of the tree, and, then, unbelievably, repeated these action to lift shell vertically up to a high branch where it was secured. The spider, work completed, slipped inside it's perfectly safe new home. I cannot begin to describe the actions needed to complete this task, but, there was more than an elementary understanding of physics very similar to using a crude form of pulleys. Spiders are 'intelligent'? 
RULES ARE FOR THE OBEYENCE OF FOOLS AND FOR THE GUIDENCE OF WISE MEN
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Hi Ruby, one can not help but be impressed with the mentality of Tao, it is one of beauty, elegance, and peace, and an excellent example of the classic, historical difference between the mentalities of eastern, and western thought. In general the eastern philosophies of life emphasize cooperation with natural phenomenon, power through harmony, whereas in the west the mentality has been more, command and control. I find it interesting that intellectually I can appreciate, even admire the quoted passage; however, viscerally I have a strong tendency to reject it, probably due to my entirely northern tribes heritage. Acknowledging that, and trying to be objective about the matter, I still find a level of disagreement with the last portion... Quote:Once its web is established, a spider does not think of expanding unnaturally... it does not go for adventures in other countries, it does not try to fly to the moon,
it does not build factories, ... it does not try to be intellectual. I think the analogy here is pushed too far in support, of what in the end, is actually an unnatural ideal. First of all the spider is a solitary creature, not a social one, nor even a familial one, so of course it does none of the listed behaviors, (as well as not having the brains for them.) There seems to be an urging for personal emulation in the quotation, and if so, I think for humans this would be, not only unnatural, but dangerous. It is a long, long way from arachnid to human, exponential degrees of increased behavioral complexity, and selective pressures, have led us to the complex and the admittedly, largely confused state that humans find themselves in; however, me must be what we are. Both intelligence and curiosity are inherent characteristics of humans, it seems to me that the use, and development of these things is totally in harmony with our current construct. So it seems to me that in the quoted illustration the Tao is actually being un-Tao-like. Having said that, I want to emphasize that a strictly western mentality approach is obviously catastrophic and that I would be immensely pleased to have seen a blending of the two mentalities, I believe we would be far better off today.
Question authority, before it questions you. How do you know, that you know, what you know?
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I read this with interest RubyMoon and it appears to me to be a simple message. I am not an authority on Taoism but here goes.
We should not assume an ignorance on the part of the writer. Of course the writer knew that spiders do not have the mental capacity of men and that its horizons were simple. He merely sought to draw attention to those aspects of the spiders ways that man would do well to observe. It seems to me that what we are urged to do is to is to adopt the qualities of the spider in certain aspects, and avoid so-called pseudo intellectualism… human wisdom… war making and domination, being content with the good things we have and seeking the well-being of our fellow man.
Man seems to fight against the good within him. Robbie Burns put it well in his poem 'Man was Made to Mourn' when he referred to 'Man's inhumanity to man'
The spider works within, and in harmony with its natural life patterns, while man fights against the goads, and resists his inner voice... his conscience... and in the process is ruining his environment, and the happiness and welfare of others.
Whenever one seeks to dominate ones fellow man or work against him through commerce or government et cetera, he is working against himself and his own best interests...he is out of harmony. This reminds me of the second greatest commandment...'to love your neighbour as yourself.'
The writer knows that the comparisons between spider and man are limited… he is not a fool… but he seeks to draw attention to those aspects of the spider that would benefit humankind.
This is not a complicated message... it does not need a so-called intellectual appproach to it... truth is seldom complicated.
It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. Aristotle
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Ray41 wrote:There was a nature series on TV a few nights ago. If I am not mistaken, this is the program you were watching, Ray41. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMop0zia68M%23t=m43s31I tried to link directly to the spider sequence. If that doesn't work, it begins at about 43'31" from the beginning, or use this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-n8nbL2ZBBU
"Sometimes I sits and thinks, and sometimes I just sits." - Satchel Paige
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The second link posted http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-n8nbL2ZBBU was the one thank you leon. I said it was a good book that I was reading. The spider was maneuvering a snail shell, not a sea shell as I put,  This did appear to be a cut version compared to the actual show on TV. The way the spider entered the shell, then, rotated it to twist the threads and so form a stronger strand was also 'interesting'. I should have searched and posted the link as I knew the series was 'Madagascar',too much to do and not enough time. 
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Spiders work well as a metaphorical animal to describe any number of things. Just off the top of my head, people have used spiders to describe marriage, government, the Internet, nebulae, cracks in windows and window panes. Spiders are pretty versatile metaphorical creatures it seems.
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I'm not sure it is good to anthropomorphise spiders or any other creature. Their particular evolutionary niche requires some specialised skills but not great intelligence in the human understanding of the word. Their brain size is forever constrained by a rigid exoskeleton for one thing (childhood human skulls by contrast are quite pliable which is why the average human brain size could increase over millenia). I try to look after the spiders that invade my habitat (better than flies) but when there is a dearth of food, they do not have the pioneering spirit to look for pastures new but rather stay put until they starve to death. These are the spindly long legged variety so perhaps I am damning the species too harshly, but Einsteins they 'aint.
"Millions long for immortality who don't know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon" Suzanne Ertz
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Shall we be as spiders?
They weave a web as a tympanum, their ear to the universe.
They weave a web in order to catch and consume weaker entities — "Come into my web", said the spider to the fly.
Spiders are spiders. Persons are persons. That is the way (Tao) it is.
"Sometimes I sits and thinks, and sometimes I just sits." - Satchel Paige
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I'd like to thank the TFD members who posted comments on this Spider Thread... all comments taken as positive; all comments up-lifting and heart-warming. My Tao Teacher was/is my Mother. Her Tao teacher did not exist - my mother was born in The Path but never knew it or thought about it.... Later in life when I began reading Tao literature I realized she "practiced" the Tao so naturally and (almost) completely, well, I was rather mystified.... Anyway, my mother's favourite hobby was tatting - the tatting was done with very fine thread and required a lot of concentration and counting; the patterns created were often circular and web-like. She would say 'Look, I'm making a beautiful spider web so don't talk to me while I count...etc.' Here's one pic (exactly as it is today - in front of me)...  Over and Out
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To Ruby: I am so happy to read your above post because it brings back some very old memories of my grandparents and great grandparents. One of which is sitting on the lap of my great grandfather and playing with his pipes on the table next to his chair. Another is of my aunt crocheting and sitting on her in my great grandparents house as she tried to show me how to crochet. In both of my great great grandparents and grandparents houses I have always loved lace and crocheted and tatted tablecloths and doilies. As a matter of fact I have a doily with the same pattern you have posted. --as well as my aunts-- there were many hand made doilies and such....like toaster covers and potholders.:) I loved all those things...But back to the point of your story, life is like a web that we help to weave. A person's inner soul can be a beautiful doily. I understand what you are saying about your mother naturally living the tao...I think it is the only way that one can live happily.
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Lao Tzu wrote:The valley spirit never dies;
It is the woman, primal mother.
Her gateway is the root of heaven and earth.
It is like a veil barely seen.
Use it; it will never fail. Tao Te Ching, #6 Translated by Gia-Fu Feng, Jane English © 1972 Vintage Books
"Sometimes I sits and thinks, and sometimes I just sits." - Satchel Paige
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"Sometimes I sits and thinks, and sometimes I just sits." - Satchel Paige
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