Umi: In this verse of the Tao Te Ching, imbibe what it says, and then life will become very simple and very easy. Everything in your society teaches you not to accept this.

Lao Tzu says, \"Accept disgrace willingly. Accept misfortune as the human condition.\"

Umi: Everything you are taught is not to accept disgrace willingly. To be ashamed, to avoid, to have revenge, to counter, to correct, to find a way above, to find a way out, but Lao Tzu goes on to say, What do you mean by, \" accept disgrace willingly?\"

And Lao Tzu says, \"Accept being unimportant\".

Umi: Be ordinary. Be the gardener.\" This is the truth about Awakening, about Enlightenment---it is so ordinary. It is so ordinary, that the mind cannot grasp it. When it happens, the mind will try desperately to take this experience and put it into understanding. This is why Umi says when the opening occurs, when the Satori blossoms ask \"For whom is this experience?\" Keep the mind busy with this question.  When the mind is occupied it cannot take the experience away, it'll be searching for the answer to \"For whom is this experience?\" It will be searching for the 'I' and won't be able to own and take away the awareness. The mind has an appetite to always pursue and search for an answer to any question. So when you ask the mind a question, the mind gets busy. If you ask a question at night, the mind will work all night on the question. Sometimes it'll wake you in the night with the answer, or it'll give it to you first thing in the morning.

Lao Tzu says, \"Do not be concerned with loss or gain.\"

Umi: He also says, not to be concerned with gain as well as loss. It is OK to be wealthy and it is OK to be poor. The essence is to accept. To accept what ever is happening. This is called accepting disgrace willingly. It's such a gift to be able to accept totally, and have no concern whether it is loss or gain. When there is total acceptance there is only Bliss, there is only Freedom and your True Self, Love, shines forth.

Love Umi