Before and After ~ Stephen Mitchell’s Second Book of the Dao

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The Second Book of the Tao ~ Stephen Mitchell

The Second Book of the Tao
Stephen Mitchell

I was digging into Stephen Mitchell‘s The Second Book of the Dao one day back in January (over a lovely Red Snapper Soup @ Granville Island) when a passage in the second chapter inspired the following poem.

Before and After

Before sorrow, longing
Before longing, anger
Before anger, pain
Before pain, injury
Before injury, fear
 
In all these there is no suffering
Suffering comes only when there is no after
 
Before after, forgiving
Before forgiving, love
Before love, courage
Before courage, self
Before self, surrender


2 Responses to “Before and After ~ Stephen Mitchell’s Second Book of the Dao”

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  1. lecia says:
    August 31, 2010 at 9:22 pm

    and before surrender….acceptance

    Reply
    • Peter says:
      September 19, 2010 at 3:01 pm

      I was going to write, “surrender is acceptance” but I think you’re wiser than that. We can accept a fate without surrendering to it.

      Reply

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