Tao Te Ching

The Power of Goodness, the Wisdom Beyond Words
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Rimé Lineage (རིས་མེད་, 利美运) Lineage

In Tibetan, Ris means "one-sided", “bias,” ”partisan" or "sectarian.” Med means “no” or “not”; so combined, Rimé means "no sides", "non-partisan" or "non-sectarian.” It means universal, encyclopedic, impartial, unbounded, unlimited and all-embracing. It did not involve forming a new School or system different from the existing ones but freedom of choice, an appreciation and respect for different traditions while practicing one’s own. People who followed this Rimé way almost invariably followed and practiced one of various traditions and not only Buddhist. Originally in Tibet this involved the Sakya, Kagyu and Nyingma schools as well as many Bon shamans and scholars, It included activities like Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo (1820-1892) and Jamgön Kongtrül (1813-1899) collecting and printing near extinct teachings. It didn’t minimize or ignore differences but clarified and valued them establishing a common ground of diversity that gave students many options rather than having to force themselves into the conceptual prison of just one tradition. In the West, we have the parallel tradition called, “The Perennial Philosophy.” The term wasn’t coined until Leibniz during the 17th century but traces of its realization can be found in stories from primitive cultures in every part of the world.

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People (24)

Aacharya Haribhadra Suri
459 – 529 CE
Apostle of many-sided view

(1 quotes)

Philosopher, Jain leader, and prolific author of over 100 books including some of the most respected texts of the Jain tradition; Haribhadra promoted the ideal of anekāntavāda—epitomized by the parable of the blind men and elephant. He taught that whenever we take a partial, unconditional view of reality and won't accept contrary views, our reality becomes distorted. He respected and studied many traditions, promoted religious pluralism, and included the insights of other religions in his own teachings. He does conclude though that all the other traditions besides Jainism become confused by one-sided views.

Lù Jiǔyuān 陸九淵 (Lu Xiangshan)
1139 – 1192 CE

(8 quotes)

Professor, magistrate, and half of the most famous debate in Chinese history during a time when the influence between Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism was being re-balanced; Lu Hsiang Shan led a simple but profound life. His philosophy of Universal Mind was forgotten for almost 300 years but then—revived by Wang Yangming—became the second most influential school and a major influence on neo-Confucianism. He developed Mencius' concept of the basic goodness of original mind and brought the simplicity and spontaneity of Daoism and the problems with desire from Buddhism into the blend with Confucianism that became neo-Confucianism.

Dölpopa Shérap Gyeltsen དོལ་པོ་པ་ཤེས་རབ་རྒྱལ་མཚན།
1292 – 1361 CE

(1 quotes)

A teen-aged run-away on-the-road spiritual seeker; Dolpopa became one the most influential Tibetan teachers, one of the most original thinkers in all of Tibetan history, one of the greatest experts on the Shambhala Kalacakra teachings, and a figure so controversial he is still inspiring debate 700 years later. It’s said that when followers of the traditional lineages heard these teachings, they “experienced seizures and scrambled brains.” He described a True Self, a Buddha nature, a "Diamond Self,” an unconditioned, living truth and presence within all of us. He agreed with the traditional teaching that absolute and relative are both empty but taught that they are empty in different ways, the relative empty of self-nature; the absolute empty of other but not empty itself (the Zhentong view). His Jonang tradition was violently suppressed by the Tibetan government during the 17th century, banned by Gelug authorities, and attacked in an attempt to wipe it out by the Fifth Dalai Lama. It survived however as a powerful influence on all of Tibetan Buddhism and crucial to the 19th century Rimé (རིས་མེད) movement.

John of the Cross
1542 – 1591 CE

(11 quotes)

Mystic, religious poet, major Counter-Reformation influence, and Roman Catholic saint; John of the Cross became one of the best Spanish writers of all times. While imprisoned and tortured by conservative Carmelites opposed to reform, he wrote one of his most famous poems (Spiritual Canticle) on scraps of paper secretly given to him by his jailer. After a dramatic escape, he became a friend, supporter and confessor of Teresa of Ávila and founded the first monastery of friars following her principles. In the Christian mystical tradition of the Desert Fathers, Plotinus, and Meister Eckhart; he taught a perspective above sectarian in-fighting, rigid dogmatic views, and unthinking allegiance.

Leibniz (Gottfried Wilhelm (von) Leibniz)
1646 – 1716 CE

(11 quotes)

Polymath, philosopher, mathematician, scientist, engineer, lawyer, university president and “best-of-all-possible-worlds man”; Leibniz developed calculus, invented components that became the first calculator, and refined the binary number system that became the foundation for digital computers. His writings on law and politics and call for a European confederation inaugurated the European Union. One of the first major European intellectuals to study Chinese culture and philosophy, he read Confucius, studied the I Ching, and integrated Chinese wisdom into both his philosophy and physics. It led to his “law of continuity” that linked the nature of everyone—plants, humans, animals, both the organic and inorganic worlds—, created a theoretical foundation for evolution, and envisioned a non-dual calculus of understanding reality.

​Zhang Xuecheng 章学诚 章学诚 (Chang Hsüeh-ch'eng)
1738 – 1801 CE

(5 quotes)

A famous historian, philosopher, and writer who was mainly unknown during his lifetime dying in poverty with few friends; Zhang Xuecheng's fame only began almost 100 years after he died. A revolutionary thinker, he crossed the status quo view that Confucianism is based on timeless principles and described it as an evolving set of realizations deepening as it faced and explained contemporary changes. He condemned self-serving partisanship, encouraged diversity, and individuation. A true advocate for the words over the sense, he emphasized the need to transcend language rather than becoming a slave to concepts. His focus on China's difficult struggle to blend the strong Taoist, Buddhist, and Confucian traditions into what's called now neo-Confucianism; has a powerful relevance to our own time of intense cultural, political, and religious amalgamation.

Jamgon Kongtrul the Great འཇམ་མགོན་ཀོང་སྤྲུལ་བློ་གྲོས་མཐའ་ཡས། (Jamgön Kongtrül Lodrö Thayé)
1813 – 1899 CE

(13 quotes)

Famous scholar, tertön, physician, diplomat, and co-founder of the Rimé non-sectarian, Tibetan Buddhist movement; Jamgon Kongtrul wrote more than 100 volumes of text and compiled the Five Great Treasuries. To counter the herd instinct tendency of identifying too closely with only one narrow tradition or point of view, along with Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, he compiled the teachings of many different traditions and started the “unbiased” lineage of going to the sense, the root of realization instead of being trapped by the superficial words and identifications with narrow, sectarian, prejudiced religions, political, or cultural points of view.

Swami Vivekananda ʃami bibekanɔnd̪o
1863 – 1902 CE
"The maker of modern India"

(22 quotes)

Patriotic saint and “maker of modern India,” main Ramakrishna disciple, introducer of Vedanta and Yoga into the Western world, important influence on the revival of Hinduism, and force for nationalism in colonial India; Vivekananda taught that all beings are part of a divine self and so serving mankind is the same as serving god. Teaching that all religions and sects within Hinduism are only different paths to the same goal, he saved Hinduism from the irrelevancy of only following antiquated traditions. Gandhi praised him for “cutting down the dead wood of tradition,” Rajaji crediting him for “saving Hinduism,” and Sri Aurobindo said that he “awakened India spiritually.” An inspiration for Aldous Huxley, Nikola Tesla, and Christopher Isherwood; he motivated the establishment of Indian science institutes and universities.

Aldous Huxley
1894 – 1963 CE

(122 quotes)

With deep insight and keen intelligence, Aldous Huxley for decades using almost every form of media to provide a penetrating commentary on contemporary civilization. Described as “the prophet of the 20th century,” he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature 7 times. He brought into spotlight a vivid image of both the unconscious dark and potential brightness of our evolving technology, social, and political forms animating the dangers of consumption, conformity, technology dependence, indulgence, and pleasure-seeking as well as the potential of the perennial philosophy, finding deep meaning, understanding the sense and not just the words, experiencing the sacredness of each moment.

Robert Hutchins (Robert Maynard Hutchins)
1899 – 1977 CE

(21 quotes)

An educational philosopher whose time has arrived; Robert Maynard Hutchins was University of Chicago president, Yale Law School dean, Editor In Chief of the Great Books of the Western World, and a leading proponent of secular perennialism—nonspecialized and nonvocational
education based on discovering the “sense” rather than relying on just the words, on principles not just facts. Encouraging deeper understanding, prioritizing thinking for ourselves, and attacking superficial focus on entertainment and the narrow “trade school” approach to education; he eliminated varsity football at the University of Chicago and implemented novel educational programs based on the Great Books and Socratic dialogue. In later life he ran the Ford Foundation and channeled huge sums into programs for adult education, to train teachers, and to spread liberal arts. One of these became PBS.

Gendün Chöphel དགེ་འདུན་ཆོས་འཕེལ།
1903 – 1951 CE

(5 quotes)

Child prodigy, iconoclast, artist, master debater, greatest Tibetan poet of the 20th century, Buddhist monk from an early age, modern Tibet’s first historian, and one of the most influential modern Tibetan intellectuals; Gendun Chopel kept a non-sectarian view throughout his life and challenged cultural, religious, and political dogmas. He lived with Nicholas and Helena Roerich for 2 years helping their son translate the Blue Annals which became a 1275 page book. He abandoned his monastic vows, drank alcohol, practiced and wrote the first Tibetan guide to love and sex. Having traveled and studied widely, he realized the importance of abandoning blind superstition and integrating Tibetan culture into the modern world. Instead of heading his warnings and developing Tibet in this way however, the conservative, status quo establishment had him whipped and imprisoned, ignored his message until the Chinese army arrived in Lhasa.

Joseph Campbell
1904 – 1987 CE
Great translator of ancient myth into modern symbols

(53 quotes)

In his prime, one the fastest half-mile runners in the world, voracious reader, 38-year Sarah Lawrence College professor; Joseph Campbell became a world-expert on mythology and comparative religion. He in part survived the Great Depression by reading 9-12 hours a day. Inspired by Krishnamurti, close friend of John Steinbeck and nutritionist Adelle Davis; he translated and interpreted our ancient and more modern mythologies into language understandable to most people. George Lucas read Campbell’s books and used his ideas in creating the Star Wars and Indiana Jones movies. They were also used in the making of Disney's Lion King, the Matrix, the Batman series, Watership Down, and the Dan Brown books.

Shunryu Suzuki Roshi
1904 – 1971 CE

(71 quotes)

In completely in harmony with Lao Tzu, Suzuki Roshi’s teachings, possibly more than almost anyone else – and without saying so – brought a clear understanding of the Tao Te Ching into our modern world. In Japan, he had to deal with the rigidity and aggressiveness of his war time country. He came to San Francisco in 1959 and flourished during the height of the counter-culture influencing poets, artists, religious leaders (like Alan Watts and Chogyam Trungpa), and founded the first Zen Buddhist monastery in the West.

Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche དིལ་མགོ་མཁྱེན་བརྩེ།
1910 – 1991 CE
"Mind" incarnation of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo

(31 quotes)

Vajrayana master, poet, terton, scholar, and head of the one of Tibet’s main traditions; Khyentse Rinpoche became a major resource and driving force during Tibetan Buddhism’s transition out its 1000 years of isolation into the rest of the world. A descendent of Tibet’s legendary king, Trisong Detsen and a political minister father; he began an intense meditation practice and religious philosophy training when only 7 years old and then spent 13 years in caves and remote hermitages doing solitary retreats. An “archetype of spiritual teacher” and root teacher to hundreds of Tibet’s young lamas and to most of Tibet’s important modern teachers including Chogyam Trungpa, Dzongsqr Khyentse, the Dalai Lama, and Pema Chödrön; Khyentse Rinpoche’s wisdom and compassion continues to spread throughout the world.

Masanobu Fukuoka 福岡 正信
1913 – 2008 CE

(80 quotes)

Farmer and philosopher, giant in the development of organic farming, sustainable development, guerrilla gardening and permaculture; Fukuoka founded “No-Till Natural Farming.” Trained as a microbiologist and agricultural scientist, he challenged Western agricultural practices both on his farms, in worldwide lectures, and in his books applying Taoist approaches like non-intervention and “Do-Nothing farming.” He worked with the UN to combat desertification, helped the Green Gulch Zen Center and Lundberg Family Farms, did projects in Africa, India, the Far East, Europe and South America. A deep observer of nature, he went beyond farming techniques to inspiring the natural food and natural lifestyle movements.

Huston Smith
1919 – 2016 CE

(59 quotes)

Born in Suzhou, Huston Smith lived there with his Christian missionary parents until 17 when he moved to the USA where he became not only a religious scholar but a practitioner of his Christian tradition as well as Vedanta, Sufism, and Zen Buddhism for more than 10 years each. A close student of Aldous Huxley, he became an integral part of the Harvard Project and the Center for Personality Research working with Timothy Leary and Ram Das. When the Supreme Court ruled against Native Americans using peyote as a religious sacrament, he took up the cause and helped pass the American Indian Religious Freedom Act amendment. In the 1950s, he helped Martin Luther King break the color barrier at a segregated University and later helped the Dalai Lama come to the USA for the first time. Lifelong advocate of religious synergy, social justice and peace; his work blended theology, mythology, and science.

Karmapa XVI ཀརྨ་བཀའ་བརྒྱུད། (Rangjung Rigpe Dorje)
1924 – 1981 CE

(5 quotes)

“Karmapa” means “Activity of All Buddhas” and the Karmapas were both leaders of the Kagyu tradition and traditional teachers to the Chinese Ming Dynasty Emperors. In this life, it meant leading his people in their escape from Tibet into India, across Asia, and into the West. A teacher to the royal families of Sikkim and Bhutan, his rigorous training began when he was 7 years old and though a religious leader not focused on politics, he helped th Dalai Lama during trips to China and unsuccessful negotiations with Mao and the Chinese government. He continued the Black Crown ceremonies begun by the 5th Karmapa and the Chinese Emperor Yung Lo and in the early 1970’s predicted the Chinese invasion as well as the Western world’s openness and acceptance of Buddhism.

Goenka ဂိုအင်ကာ (Satya Narayan)
1924 – 2013 CE
"The Man who Taught the World to Meditate"

(11 quotes)
An Indian businessman who by chance met a spiritual teacher and set out on a spiritual path, Goenka taught meditation techniques previously reserved for monasteries to average people. He established centers all over the world and trained an estimated 1300 teachers. His courses emphasized a scientific, experiential, non-sectarian approach to meditation and over 120,000 people each year attended. Western students who set off on their own and became influential in the West include Jack Kornfield, Ram Dass, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Joseph Goldstein, and Sharon Salzberg.

Shan Dao 山道
1933 CE –

(80 quotes)

Translator, entrepreneur, farmer, engineer, inventor, house-holder, and single father; Shan Dao grew up in a remote but culturally diverse village. Alienated from the materialism and militarism of his environment, he was drawn toward a spiritual path and at 4 years old began experiencing at first a mystical Christianity and later one more in harmony with Doestoevesky and Teilhard de Chardin. He practiced at first Rinzai and later Soto Zen, Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism, and a Rimé Shambhala tradition which led to an immersion in the Tao Te Ching and the deep wisdom streams hidden but flowing in our many different religious cultures.

Dalai Lama XIV Tenzin Gyatso
1935 CE –

(30 quotes)

Born to a remote small farming family on a straw mat in a cowshed, the Dalai Lama became the world’s most popular political leader. He received the Nobel Peace Prize, the highest US honor of Congressional Gold Medal, the Freedom Medal, and is one of only 6 people given Honorary Citizenship by the Canadian government. Traveling the world for decades, he became the most famous voice for the environment, women's rights, non-violence, fair economics, and interfaith dialogue as well as the world’s main influence for the preservation of Tibetan culture. Promoting a Buddhist approach to science, economics, and politics; he has traveled to more than 67 countries and written more than 110 books.

Chögyam Trungpa
1939 – 1987 CE

(224 quotes)

A once-in-a-generation kind of teacher, a mahasiddha for our times, a transducer transforming ancient wisdom into modern idiom. Per Allen Ginsberg, “A Renaissance man of the highest peaks of East, meditation emperor, space awareness Dance-master, witty rude calligrapher whose poetry and flower arrangements unite the Mind with Body… Prime Minister of Imagination… Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ordinary Mind.” Meditation master, scholar, teacher, poet, artist, he was honored as a mahasiddha by teachers like Khyentse Rinpoche and the 16th Karmapa. “The father of Tibetan Buddhism in the US,” his influence was and remains beyond words.

Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche རྫོང་གསར་ འཇམ་དབྱངས་ མཁྱེན་བརྩེ་ རིན་པོ་ཆེ། (Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche)
1961 CE –
"Activity" incarnation of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo

(29 quotes)

Filmmaker, writer, Tibetan lama, and active philanthropist; Dzongsar Rinpoche continues the traditions of the ecumenical Rimé school that began in the 1880s and of Dzongsar Khyentse Chokyi Lodro’s emphasis on bringing Tantric Buddhism to the West. The son of famous lama Thinley Norbu and grandson of Dudjom Rinpoche, he was a close student of Dilgo Khyentse. His philanthropic work began with a focus on the education, health and safety of exploited women and children in India and Cambodia and has spread around the world into a global volunteer network now strong in many countries. His 4 popular and award-winning movies entertain, educate, and spread insight into the timeless wisdom and compassion of realization.

Dzigar Kongtrül Rinpoche ཛི་གར་ཀོང་སྤྲུལ།
1964 CE –

(24 quotes)

Tibetan tulku, buddhist lama, abstract expressionist painter, motorcyclist, and Pema Chödrön’s main teacher; Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche has called creativity “the essence of everything.” He continues a powerful rimé or non-sectarian movement that started in 19th century Tibet and promotes a blending of traditions, an appreciation of diversity, and an opposition to any kind of dogmatic narrow-mindedness or chauvinistic attitudes. Often in solitary meditation retreat but also frequently and widely traveling the world, Rinpoche stands out as one of the main modern influences continuing our tradition of Wisdom Beyond Words.

Karmapa XVII ཨོ་རྒྱན་འཕྲིན་ལས་རྡོ་རྗ (Orgyen Thrinlay Dorje)
1985 CE –

(35 quotes)

Born in a remote part of Tibet to nomadic parents, when he was seven years old, Tai Situpa and the Dalai Lama recognized Ogyen Trinley as the 17th Karmapa. The Chinese government agreed and planned to train him to take over for the Dalai Lama. When he was 14 though, he secretly climbed out a window and escaped to India. Mired in political challenges, he focused his teachings on a practical compassion that protects the environment, saves animals, and engages in sustainable development projects teaching that planting trees is more beneficial than many religious practices.)

Related Sources (1 sources)

Perennial Philosophy by Aldous Huxley

Quotes about the Rimé Lineage Lineage (6 quotes)

“I have learned so much from God that I can no longer call myself a Christian, a Hindu, a Muslim, a Buddhist, a Jew… a man, a woman, an angel, or even pure Soul.”

Hafiz خواجه شمس‌‌الدین محمد حافظ شیرازی 1315 – 1394 CE via Daniel Ladinsky
(Hafez, Shams-ud-Dīn Muḥammad)
Inspiring friend to the true and free human spirit

Themes: Pluralism

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“The religious geniuses of all ages have been distinguished by this kind of cosmic religious feeling which knows no dogma and no God conceived in man's image”

Albert Einstein 1879 – 1955 CE
from The World as I See It, 1934

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“Big mind is something you have, not something to seek for... there is no Hinayana way or Mahayana way. Only because you seek to gain something through rigid formal practice does it become a problem”

Shunryu Suzuki Roshi 1904 – 1971 CE via Trudy Dixon
from Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind

Themes: Pluralism

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“We need myths that identify the individual not with his local group but with the planet”

Joseph Campbell 1904 – 1987 CE
Great translator of ancient myth into modern symbols
from Power of Myth

Themes: Oneness

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“The only option open to us now is to live by the wisdom of Buddha which transcends human intelligence and by the great love of Christ which transcends human love and hate. Never has this been more true that it is today.”

Masanobu Fukuoka 福岡 正信 1913 – 2008 CE via Metreaud
from Road Back to Nature

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“All religions are branches of one big tree. It doesn't matter what you call Him just as long as you call.”

George Harrison 1943 – 2001 CE
Guitar-playing philanthropist

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