6.  TAOISM
The Great Mystery - Texts

The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao.
The name that can be named is not the eternal name.
The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth.
The named is the mother of ten thousand things.
Ever desireless, one can see the mystery.
Ever desiring, one can see the manifestations.
These two spring from the same source but differ in name;
This appears as darkness.
Darkness within darkness.
The gate to all mystery.
(Tao Te Ching 1)

Something mysteriously formed.
Born before heaven and earth.
In the silence and the void,
Standing alone and unchanging,
Ever present and in motion.
Perhaps it is the mother of ten thousand things.
I do not know its name.
Call it Tao for lack of a better word.
I call it great.
Being great, it flows.
It flows far away.
Having gone far, it returns.
(Tao Te Ching 25)

The Great Mystery - Musings

Some-thing - no-thing - mysteriously formed, existing unto itself, nameless and void; standing alone and unchanging, ever present and ever in motion; unborn in the silence, an empty womb, used but never filled like the vast still center of a wheel whose spokes and rim roll on endlessly; mother of the ten thousand things - the ten million, ten billion, ten trillion things - rising and falling, coming and going, forming and reforming, growing and dying, turning and returning, all to the Source.

How indescribable. Darkness within darkness, the gate to all mystery. Tao is most mysterious and most beautiful, most ineffable and most wonderful, most elusive and most familiar.

I can see its traces in morning dewdrops glittering on the blades of grass.

I can see its traces in the trails of clouds and cosmic dust, in the majesty of mountain-water landscapes of China.

I can see its traces in the Rocky Mountains, the Himalayas and the Andes.

I can sense it in the perfect spiral of a nautilus shell and the same spiral dance of a galaxy.

It pervades the busy creative dance of my body's cells, the music produced by stringed instruments, and the wind. Like the almost invisible filaments of a spider's web, its pattern supports all of nature and gives it form. Anything named is it's mere reflection. Words like "Great Mother" or "Dynamic Feminine" come closest to describing its manifestation, but never names TAO.
An unbroken thread beyond description.
It returns to nothingness.
The form of the formless,
The image of the imagelss.
Stand before it and there is no beginning.
Follow it and there is no end…
The Way of the Vital Spirit which fills our whole frames.

SO beautiful, so fascinating, so engrossing.

The World - Texts

The world is sacred.
It cannot be improved.
If you tamper with it, you'll ruin it.
If you treat it like an object, you'll lose it.
There is a time for being ahead,
A time for being behind;
A time for being in motion,
A time for being at rest;
(Tao Te Ching 29)

Do you want to improve the world?
I don't think it can be done.
The world is sacred.
It cannot be improved.
If you tamper with it, you'll ruin it.
If you treat it like an object, you'll lose it.
There is a time for being ahead,
A time for being behind;
A time for being in motion,
A time for being at rest;
A time for being vigorous,
A time for being exhausted;
A time for being safe,
A time for being in danger.
(Tao Te Ching 29)

These things from ancient times arise from one:
The sky is whole and clear.
The earth is whole and firm.
The spirit is whole and strong.
The valley is whole and full.
The ten thousand things are whole and alive.
Kings and lords are whole,
and the country is upright.
All these are in virtue of wholeness.
(Tao Te Ching 39)

The World - Musings

Out of primeval chaos the one was born. It separated into two and gave birth to the ten thousand things.

Nature is natural. It gives constant expression to the teeming world. It is constantly arising, its creatures changing and returning. The world has natural cycles. Light follows dark, cold follows hot, low follows high. Ice melts into streams, mountains rise, valleys form. The seasons proceed. Yin follows yang. They convolute and combine in endless flux. We live. We grow old. We die.

Chinese landscape paintings are called "mountain water paintings." With nothing in hand but black ink on a brush, having walked in nature, meditated on it, been pervaded by it's chi, the artist enlivens an image in a quick series of strokes. The painting is made as if by itself.

The chi of the landscape flows through the painter's body into his brush and onto the silk in a fluid process that is nature itself. By subtly varying the pressure of the brush the world is brought to life.

The mountain-water painting is done with the seeming effortlessness of nature itself.

The world is our model - the natural way.

Humanity - Texts

Earth does nothing: its non-doing is its rest.
From the union of these two non-doings all actions proceed, all things are made. How vast, how invisible this coming-to-be!
All things come from nowhere! How vast, how invisible
No way to explain it!
… Where is the man who can attain to this non-doing?
(The Way of Chuang Tzu "Perfect Joy")

He who stands on tiptoe is not steady.
He who strides cannot maintain the pace.
He who makes a show is not enlightened.
He who is self-righteous is not respected.
He who boasts achieves nothing.
He who brags will not endure.
According to followers of the Tao,
These are extra food and unnecessary luggage.
They do not bring happiness.
Therefore followers of the Tao avoid them.
(Tao Te Ching 24)

Humanity - Musings

In a mountain-water painting, one has an impression of grace and grandeur in the natural world. Barely discernable are tiny human figures dwarfed by the enormity of the landscape, yet seeming to fit seamlessly into the whole. This is the Taoist view of human-ness.

We are of nature. The same Tao that gives itself as the expression dynamic interweaving of yin and yang gives itself into us. Its subtle patterns are the same whether inhering in the natural or the moral order. The elements of nature serve as accessible models for us. If we attend to nature and follow its currents, we will be in perfect alignment with Tao.

Water travels the path of least resistance. It never tries to go uphill but seeks the lowest places. It never exerts unnecessary force. It keeps fresh by its natural constant motion. Pooling in any one place for too long leads to stagnation.

It does not resist climate changes. In temperate climes it flows; in extreme cold, it crystallizes; in extreme heat, it boils and turns to vapor. Liquid, solid, or gas, it adapts its way of being to the contours of its place.

Don't "stand on tiptoe" or get on your high horse. Don't show off. Don't boast or brag. Don't try to do anything. Let go of trying, and seek out the natural flow.

Like a surfer perfectly poised it the tube of a great wave, ride the great currents of life. Being ever fresh and strong let life live you.

Teachers - Texts

The ancient masters were subtle,
mysterious, profound, responsive.
The depth of their knowledge is unfathomable.
Because it is unfathomable, all we can do is
describe their appearance.
Watchful, like men crossing a winter stream.
Alert, like men aware of danger.
Courteous, like visiting guests.
Yielding, like ice about to melt.
Simple, like uncarved blocks of wood.
Hollow, like caves.
Opaque, like muddy pools.
Who can wait quietly while the mud settles?
Who can remain still until the moment of action?
Observers of Tao do not seek fulfillment.
Not seeking fulfillment, they are not swayed by desire for change.
(Tao Te Ching 15)

Under heaven nothing is more soft and
yielding than water.
Yet for attacking the solid and strong,
nothing is better. It has no equal.
The weak can overcome the strong;
The supple can overcome the stiff.
Under heaven everyone knows this,
Yet no one puts it into practice.
Therefore the sage says:
He who takes upon himself the
humiliation of the people is fit to rule them.
He who takes upon himself the
country's disasters deserves to be king of the universe.
The truth often sounds paradoxical.
(Tao Te Ching 78)

Teachers - Musings

Like the Fool in tarot cards, the sage is spontaneous and innocent, childlike and uncomplicated. He often appears foolish. Though unassuming and humble, he is the master of the universe. Following the inner currents of nature, he is magical and wise. Leaving no tracks, rejecting the pomp and circumstance of the world, he is in touch with the Source of being. He does not strive. He does not accumulate wealth or learning. He leaves her mind and the world untouched, and by this he rules the world.

She walks softly and seeks the lowest and most hidden of places. She is mysterious yet completely exposed. She does not seek to stand out or to conquer. Ever relaxed and alert, he always knows the way. She is best described by words like watchful, courteous, yielding, simple, hollow, empty, receptive, supple, deep, unfathomable and humble. Her "modus operandus" is wu-wei, not-doing.

The ancient masters were subtle, mysterious profound, responsive. The depth of their knowledge is unfathomable.

It is not by seeking or striving that water flows. It is by flowing.

It is not by trying that the flower blooms. It is by growing.

It is not by focusing that we can use our peripheral vision to see the bigger picture of what is not visible to the disciplined eye. It is by relaxing the gaze and allowing the body to work naturally.

The sage is the one who is unified with that which enervates and propels everything. He walks through the interstices of the fabric of the world, and he is the picture of nature naturing.

The Way - Texts

I have three treasures which I hold and keep.
The first is mercy; the second is economy;
The third is daring not to be ahead of others.
(Tao Te Ching)

Those who know do not talk.
Those who talk do not know.
Keep your mouth closed.
Guard your senses.
Temper your sharpness.
Simplify your problems.
Mask your brightness.
Be at one with the dust of the earth.
This is primal union.
(Tao Te Ching 56)

Know the strength of man, but keep a woman's care! Be the stream of the universe, ever true and unswerving. Become as a little child once more. Know honor, yet keep humility. Be the valley of the universe! Being the valley of the universe, Ever true and resourceful, return to the state of the uncarved block. Fame or self: Which matters most? Self or wealth: Which is more precious? Gain or loss: Which is more painful? He who is attached to things will suffer much. He who saves will suffer heavy loss. A contented man is never disappointed. He who knows when to stop does not find himself in trouble. He will stay forever safe.
(Tao Te Ching 28)

The Way - Musings

Setting out on a spiritual path is like beginning a long journey. Generally one prepares for a journey by getting provisions and building up stamina. But not if the path is the Tao.

The word Tao is sometimes translated as "Way." One English rendition of Tao Te Ching is "The Way and its Power." This way is like a waterway that requires only that we put ourselves in its dynamic stream so that we can effortlessly "go with the flow." Mysterious Tao does the rest, sweeping us along as though on a fresh mountain stream, ever proceeding in natural motion, but with unfathomable depths.

Not striving, we find hidden recesses and return to the Source.

Returning to the state of the infant we are spontaneous and malleable, and are not hurt by a fall. Returning to the state of the uncarved block, we do not show ourselves off, yet we have the potential for innumerable forms. Not interfering the world, we glide through its empty spaces, and we protect it.

Wu-wei, nonaction, does not mean doing nothing. It is doing no-thing so that we do everything.

It is by our intentions, our mercy, our humility, our quietness, our subtleness, our purity of heart, our not blaming, and our non-attachment that we have the buoyancy to travel through the world without interference.

By not doing anything we do everything.

Meditation - Texts

You ask why I live
alone in the mountain forest,
and I smile and am silent
until even my soul grows quiet:
it lives in the other world,
one that no one owns.
The peach trees blossom.
The water continues to flow.
(Taoist Chinese poem, Li Po, 701-762)

Khing, the master carver, made a bell stand of precious wood. When it was finished, all who saw it were astounded. They said it must be the work of spirits. The Prince of Lu said to the master carver: "What is your secret?"
Khing replied: "I am only a workman: I have no secret. There is only this: When I began to think about the work you commanded I guarded my spirit..
I was collected in the single thought of the bell stand.
"Then I went to the forest to see the trees in their own natural state. When the right tree appeared before my eyes, the bell stand also appeared in it, clearly, beyond doubt. All I had to do was to put forth my hand and begin.
"If I had not met this particular tree there would have been no bell stand at all. "What happened?
"My own collected thought encountered the hidden potential in the wood; from this live encounter came the work which you ascribe to the spirits."
(Chuang Tzu xix.10, The Woodcarver)

It is not wise to rush about.
Controlling the breath causes strain.
If too much energy is used, exhaustion follows.
This is not the way of Tao.
Whatever is contrary to Tao will not last long.
(Tao Te Ching 55)

Meditation - Musings

Awake in the world I perceive myself among the ten thousand things. I may move with vigor and leave my "mark" on the world. Or I may travel the path of wu-wei, the effortless way, the "path of least resistance," disturbing nothing and leaving no footprints. Following this way I find the spaces between the joints of the matrix of the world and find the hollows and the caves where mystery lives.

My soul grows quiet and I dance with the trees.

Every morning the billion inhabitants of China rise early to do t'ai ch'i-chuan outdoors in their parks. Those slow, beautiful movements, meditation in motion, truly look like a dance with the trees. Tai chi and qi gung are life exercises that make the body supple and help us lead a long, healthy life. By circulating our chi, the channels of the body remain unblocked and fresh.

Within qi gung there is a practice called the Inner Smile. Turn your gaze inward and imagine that you are smiling. Direct the warmth of your inner smile to all your internal organs, one at a time, your lungs, your liver, your kidneys, your heart, your spleen. Shed its warmth on your bones and your blood. Shed it on your muscles and ligaments. Shed it on your connective tissue, your nerves and your brain. Direct it even to your skin and your fingertips. Thank all the members of your body for their mysterious cooperation and circulate the chi through them. Basking in glow of the Inner Smile, you sense your inner being to be at one with Tao.

Evil and Suffering - Texts

There is no greater sin than desire,
No greater curse than discontent,
No greater misfortune than wanting
Something for oneself.
Therefore he who knows that enough is enough
Will always have enough.
(Tao Te Ching 46)

"Miserable!" said Lao.
"All blocked up!
Tied in knots! Try to get untied!
If your obstructions are on the outside,
Do not attempt to grasp them one by one
And thrust the away.
Impossible! Learn to ignore them.
If they are within yourself,
You cannot destroy them piecemeal,
But you can refuse to let them take effect.
If they are both inside and outside,
Do not try to hold on to Tao -
Just hope that Tao
Will keep hold of you!
(The Way of Chuang Tzu, Keng's Disciple)

"When I fail to do good I hurt others.
When I do good, I hurt myself.
If I avoid my duty, I am remiss.
But if I do it, I am ruined.
How can I get out of these contradictions?
That is what I came to ask you."
Lao Tzu replied…
You are trying to sound the middle of the ocean with a six-foot pole.
You have got lost, and are trying to find your way back to your own true self.
(Tao Te Ching 46)

Evil and Suffering - Musings

Lao Tzu and Confucius lived during the violent period of the Warring States. Each was heartbroken and disgusted at the state of their world.

The causes of destruction were the usual ones: people seeking power by any and all means; people raping the land and its people to gain wealth; interfering with the world; greed; arrogance; and selfishness. These are what cause suffering. As such these actions are evil. They make people Miserable.

"Miserable!" said Lao.
"All blocked up!
Tied in knots! Try to get untied!
If your obstructions are on the outside,
Do not attempt to grasp them one by one
And thrust the away.
Impossible! Learn to ignore them.
If they are within yourself,
You cannot destroy them piecemeal,
But you can refuse to let them take effect.
If they are both inside and outside,
Do not try to hold on to Tao -
Just hope that Tao
Will keep hold of you!

No Struggle -Texts

The softest thing in the universe
Overcomes the hardest thing in the universe.
That without substance can enter where there is no room.
Hence I know the value of non-action
Practice non-action.
Work without doing.
Taste the tasteless.
Magnify the small, increase the few.
Reward bitterness with care.
(Tao Te Ching 43)

Yield and overcome;
Bend and be straight;
Empty and be full;
Wear out and be new;
Have little and gain;
Have much and be confused.
(Tao Te Ching 2)2

If you persist in trying to attain what is never attained (It is Tao's gift!)
If you persist in making effort
To obtain what effort cannot get;
If you persist in reasoning about what cannot be understood,
You will be destroyed by the very thing you seek.
To know when to stop,
To know when you can get no further by your own action.
This is the right Beginning.
(The Way of Chuang Tzu, Keng's Disciple)

No Struggle -Musings

Non-action, wu-wei does not mean being passive or indolent. It is a soft attitude grounded in alertness. Like a cat curled, completely relaxed, yet completely alert to the tiniest disturbance in its environment, we are always in our element, always in our own center that is the center of the Universe. We do not have to struggle or to make unnecessary movements.

If you watch an encounter between a western boxer and a martial arts expert - a practitioner of judo, karate, jiu jitsu or tai chi, you will notice that the boxer uses brute strength to try to knock out his opponent. He uses constant quick motions with a kind of extroverted energy, and continually dehydrates and exhausts himself in pursuit of victory.

The martial arts master, on the other hand, uses a minimum of action, waits patiently while concentrated quietly and alertly in the center of his being, and moves repeatedly out of the way of the blows.

The boxer's force is gathered in disciplined nervous energy, and his body is muscular.

The martial arts practitioner's force is gathered in his belly, and his body is supple. He moves only in response. He has trained his alertness so acutely that he can sense a movement almost before it happens, reading the intent of his opponent by his disciplined receptivity. Preferring to redirect his opponents' energy so it glances off harmlessly, he refrains from attacking until his opponent is exhausted, and waits for a small opening to subdue him.

Death - Texts

"God cuts the thread." We have seen a fire of sticks burn out.
The fire now burns in some other place. Where? Who knows?
These brands are burnt out.
(Chuang Tzu iii.4. "Lao Tzu's Wake")

Green plants are tender and filled with sap.
At their death they are withered and dry.
Therefore the stiff and unbending is
the disciple of death.
The gentle and yielding is the disciple of life.
Thus an army without flexibility never wins a battle.
A man is born gentle and weak.
At his death he is hard and stiff.
A tree that is unbending is easily broken.
The hard and strong will fall.
The soft and weak will overcome.
(Tao Te Ching 76)

When Chuang Tzu was about to die, his disciples began planning a splendid funeral.
But he said: I shall have heaven and earth for my coffin; the sun and moon will be the jade symbols hanging by my side; planets and constellations will shine as jewels all around me, and all beings will be present as mourners at the wake.
What more is needed? Everything is amply taken care of!
But they said: We fear that crows and kites will eat our Master.
Well, said Chuang Tzu, above ground I shall be eaten by crows and kites, below it by ants and worms. In either case I shall be eaten. Why are you so partial to birds?
(Chuang Tzu xxxii:14 Chuang Tzu's Funeral)

Death - Musintgs

The hilariously ironic Chuang Tzu puts death in its place.

Death will happen - there is not doubt of that. If I'm lucky enough to grow old, I will surely suffer. The same mysteriously mover of the universe that gave me youthful vitality - vital-ity, vita, life, just as mysteriously takes it away. How can I argue? Why should I fret? We all die - so what? That's life!

Things happen. Death happens. I am a Taoist who has found wisdom in yielding, so what choice do I have but to yield to death? It is beyond me. My body dies, but being one with Tao is eternal.

Great is the Maker, said the sick one, Who has made me as I am! I am so doubled up, my guts are over my head; upon my navel I rest my cheek; my shoulders stand out beyond my neck. My crown is an ulcer surveying the sky. My body is chaos but my mind is in order.

There is a time for putting together and another time for taking apart.
He who understands this course of events takes each new state in its proper time with neither sorrow nor joy.
Where is there a reason to be discouraged?

The Master came at his right time into the world. When his time was up, he left it again. He who awaits his time, who submits when his work is done, in his life there is no room for sorrow or for rejoicing. Here is how the ancients said all this in four words:
God cuts the thread. We have seen a fire of sticks burn out. The fire now burns in some other place. Where? Who knows? These brands are burnt out.

The Ultimate - Texts

Empty yourself of everything. Let the mind become still. The ten thousand things rise and fall while the Self watches their return.. They grow and flourish and then return to the source. Returning to the source is stillness, which is the way of nature. With an open mind, you will be openhearted. Being openhearted, you will act royally. Being royal, you will attain the divine. Being divine, you will be at one with the Tao. Being at one with the Tao is eternal. And though the body dies, the Tao will never pass away.
(Tao Te Ching, 16)

First, gain control of the body
And all its organs.
Then control the mind.
Attain one-pointedness.
Then the harmony of heaven will
comedown and dwell in you.
You will be radiant with Life.
You will rest in Tao.
You will have the simple look of a new-born calf. O, lucky you,
You will not even know the cause of your state.
… Pi was satisfied. He wandered away singing:
His body is dry
Like an old leg bone,
His mind is dead
As dead as ashes:
His knowledge is solid,
His wisdom true!
In deep dark night
He wanders free,
Without aim
And without design:
Who can compare
With this toothless man?
(The Way of Chuang Tzu [xxii. 3])

The Ultimate - Musings

By becoming empty, still, alert and present, I return to the Source. It is the way of nature.

Returning to the source is finding true home. It is eminently natural, and is not achieved before a throne of Judgement. In fact, not striving, there is nothing to achieve at all.

Primal Virtue is deep and far.
It leads all things back toward the
Great Oneness.

Fishes are born in water. Man is born in Tao.
If fishes, born in water, seek the deep shadow of pond and pool,
all their needs are satisfied.
If man, born in Tao, sinks into the deep shadow of non-action to forget aggression and concern, he lacks nothing; his life is secure.