Weeding negative thoughts: a short Daoist story

There goes a Daoist story, that begins once upon a time in ancient China… 

There was a wise sage who had three disciples travelling with him on the road. One day, they came to a great field, overrun with weeds. The Sage said to his disciples, “This great field is like the mind, and the weeds are negative thoughts. Tell me, what is the best way to get rid of the weeds?”.

The first disciple responded, “Pull them out one by one by hand - this is like confronting each thought, uprooting it one by one. It is therefore like the Dao in its purest essence”.

The second disciple chimed in, “That is not very effective. It’ll take forever! You’ll be exhausted! Best to use a shovel - this is like using tools of cultivation such as meditation or mantras to overcome the negative thoughts. My answer is obviously much closer to the essence of the Dao”.

The third disciple spoke triumphantly, “No. It’s better to clear the field quickly in one go with fire. This is like calling upon all the divine Buddhas and deities to sweep the mind completely clear”.

The sage thanked them for their responses, but provided no further dialogue.

A month later they returned down the same road. The field had been transformed into verdant paddies of emerald green, swaying rice crops. The sage turned to his disciples and spoke softly, “None of you touched upon the true essence of the Dao. You see, the weeds - the negative thoughts - will always return regardless of the method; unless you replace them with something else. Something productive. Once you have cleared the field, you then have to replace the negative thoughts with positive thoughts and actions. Cultivating something of benefit to everyone”.

For me, this rings true as over the years practices like meditation, yoga, and qigong, have uprooted and changed many self destructive and unhelpful mental and physical habits. But we need to be consistent. If practice is simply an occasional tool we use once or twice a month, then we are like the second disciple with the shovel: the weeds will grow back pretty quickly! 

Truly transformative practice, becomes a new way of living, it is a constant commitment. But to me, rather than being the kind of commitment that becomes arduous, or a burden, or empty of fun; I feel like it’s how we have commitment to friends we really care about and love, who really nourish and understand and listen to us. We’re happy to be committed to friends like that! It’s an honour to have those people in our life.

Similarly, I feel these practices should be held with a light and grateful heart, with fun, curiosity and friendship. This way we replace the knotted weeds of an old life, with the abundant joy of a fresh and vibrant new way of living. 

My hope is that something in these practices resonates with you and becomes a regular, integral part of the way you live; and as a result cultivates a life of happiness, health, and connection.