Tag: TAOISM

“Immortality is what nature possesses without effort and without anybody’s assistance, and immortality is what the mortals must therefore try to achieve if they want to live up to the world into which they were born, to live up to the things which surround them and to whose company they are admitted for a short while.” – Hannah Arendt, Between Past and Future.

In the last four posts we saw hat Zhuangzi understands Tao as absolute Truth, the fundamental principle of the universe, the origin of all being, the unending cycle of Nature, and the highest ideal. We also learned that for him participation in Tao entails discovering our hsing or true nature as spiritual beings through meditation, jettisoning abstract ideas, and non-interference in the course of things culminating in total freedom and salvation. Today I wish to fold in Zhuangzi’s thoughts on death and immortality.

We start this subject with his most basic belief: death is a natural part of life – just one of its infinite transformations.¹ The perfectly adjusted individual remains balanced despite the inevitability of death as illustrated by the famous story of his celebration of his wife’s death when he tells his friend Hui Tzu:

“In the midst of the jumble of wonder and mystery a change took place and she had a spirit. Another change and she had a body. Another change and she was born. Now there’s another change and she’s dead. It’s just like the progression of the four seasons…”²

In another such story, he imagines the words of a disciple of Laozi regarding the Master’s death:

“When the Master came, it was because he was due to be born. When he died, it was entirely natural. If you are prepared for this and flow with it, then sorrow and joy cannot touch you…We can point to the wood that has been burned, but when the fire has passed on, we cannot know where it has gone.”³

Zhuangzi is reminding us that  it is useless to set oneself against what is natural or inevitable. Rather one must adopt a different perspective, that is, death is simply another natural transformation.⁴ Fear of death and grieving for the dead assumes a knowledge of death which we do not have.⁵ On the other hand, the enlightened individual understands that one lives as long as one’s essence, the Tao, lives and it is eternal.⁶

Zhuangzi explains the mystical route to immortality: the True Man by ‘fasting” the mind and “contemplating on emptiness” achieves union with the Tao and taps into the mysterious power of Nature…the True Man is ethereal.⁷ In other words, alignment of oneself with the perfect rhythm of the Way results in transcendence of life and death.

Next time we conclude this section with my comments on Zhuangzi’s philosophy.

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¹McGreal, Ian P. (editor) Great Thinkers of the Eastern World. HarperCollinsPublishers, New York, 1995. ISBN 06-270085-5, page 21.

²Ibid., page 24.

³Palmer, Martin (translator), The Book of Chuang Tzu. Penguin Books, New York, 2006, ISBN-13; 978-0-140-45537-3, pages 24.

⁴McGreal, Ian P. (editor) Great Thinkers of the Eastern World. HarperCollinsPublishers, New York, 1995. ISBN 06-270085-5, pages24-25.

⁵Magill, Frank N. and McGreal, Ian P. (editors), Masterpieces of World Philosophy. HarperCollinsPublishers, 1990. ISBN 0-06-270051-0, page 99.

⁶Ibid., page 97.

⁷Ibid., page 99.

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“When is a man in mere understanding? I answer, ’When a man sees one thing separated from another.’  And when is a man above mere understanding? That I can tell you: ‘When a man sees All in all…’ ”  – Meister Eckhart

So far we have examined Zhuangzi’s epistemology and understanding of the nature of reality wherein Tao is both absolute Truth and an ontological entity manifest in four domains: (1) as the fundamental principle of the universe, (2) as non-being from which all being originated, (3) as the unending cycle of Nature and the Cosmos involving all things including humanity, and (4) as the highest ideal symbolized by Heaven. Today we look at human participation in Tao.

It begins with recognition of one’s hsing or true nature as distinct from one’s second nature corrupted by the influences of society.¹ The former is steeped in simplicity, deep contemplation, and intuitive power² while the latter embraces flawed beliefs such as righteousness and institutions such as the state. Like other great mystics, Zhuangzi wants us to abandon our artificial or engineered nature in order to become a fully-realized person.³

We learn that the Perfect Man (some translate this as the Transcendental Man, still others as the True Man) “is a spiritual being…death and life have no dominion over him…”⁴ This person retains the unspoiled simplicity of a child and avoids political action allowing the Tao to take its course.⁵ Zhuangzi offers the example of a butterfly which follows the breeze yet arrives at the flower. Likewise, the sage sits “in the world” at the center.⁶ and acts without calculation or plans, having no regrets, and expecting no praise.⁷ Theirs is the way of Peace⁸ maintaining a perfect spiritual rhythm in the Way.⁹ Tao is impartial, so is the Sage.¹⁰

“The wise man keeps his mouth shut blends everything into the All, rejecting the confusion of the manifold. The manifold pursues its course in front of him.”¹¹

How does one attain this state? As in most mystical traditions, it comes from physical discipline: breath control, sitting in meditation, shedding abstract ideas, listening with one’s spirit (ch’i), non-interference, and abstention from altruism.¹² In return one discovers true freedom – first intellectual liberation (freedom of the mind) by accepting things as they are, doing what nature dictates, ignoring the puzzles of other people, and emptying the mind of prejudices so as to see the similarity of all things with which to become one; and second  emotional liberation i.e. freedom from anxiety and sorrow. These combine to produce total freedom.¹³

What are its features? They are purity of heart, calmed emotions, simplicity, detachment, and leisureliness.¹⁴ They coalesce in salvation which comes from knowledge of the self and acquiescence to one’s place in the world.¹⁵ For Zhuangzi, the only way to salvation is to identify oneself with the orderly process of all being, the Tao.¹⁶

At last the undifferentiated state of man approximates and identifies with the undifferentiated One, the Great Whole. Yen (‘human relatedness’) and yi (“righteousness’) are not rejected, but transcended; both paths outside and inside the world are really one and the same.¹⁷

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¹Palmer, Martin (translator), The Book of Chuang Tzu. Penguin Books, New York, 2006, ISBN-13; 978-0-140-45537-3, pages xxi.

²Beck, L. Adams, The Story of Oriental Philosophy. The New Home Library, New York, 1942. Page 361.

³McGreal, Ian P. (editor) Great Thinkers of the Eastern World. HarperCollinsPublishers, New York, 1995. ISBN 06-270085-5, page 25.

⁴Beck, L. Adams, The Story of Oriental Philosophy. The New Home Library, New York, 1942. Page 364-5.

⁵Magill, Frank N. and McGreal, Ian P. (editors), Masterpieces of World Philosophy. HarperCollinsPublishers, 1990. ISBN 0-06-270051-0, page 97.

⁶McGreal, Ian P. (editor) Great Thinkers of the Eastern World. HarperCollinsPublishers, New York, 1995. ISBN 06-270085-5, page 25.

⁷Beck, L. Adams, The Story of Oriental Philosophy. The New Home Library, New York, 1942. Page 370.

⁸Ibid.

⁹Ibid., page 386.

¹⁰Yutang, Lin, The Wisdom of Laotse. The Modern Library, New York, NY, 1976. Page 75.

¹¹Beck, L. Adams, The Story of Oriental Philosophy. The New Home Library, New York, 1942. Page 365.

¹²Magill, Frank N. and McGreal, Ian P. (editors), Masterpieces of World Philosophy. HarperCollinsPublishers, 1990. ISBN 0-06-270051-0, page 100.

¹³Ibid., page 99.

¹³Ibid., page 100.

¹⁵Palmer, Martin (translator), The Book of Chuang Tzu. Penguin Books, New York, 2006, ISBN-13; 978-0-140-45537-3, pages xxix.

¹⁶Magill, Frank N. and McGreal, Ian P. (editors), Masterpieces of World Philosophy. HarperCollinsPublishers, 1990. ISBN 0-06-270051-0, page 97.

¹⁷Ibid., page 103.

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“How could things have been as they are, were not there an original, inherent principle of order somewhere, in thought or in matter?…Every thing is surely governed by steady, inviolable laws. ”  – David Hume, Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion.

In the last part we saw how Zhuangzi deconstructs human reasoning, inexact knowledge, and dogma and promotes one ultimate Truth, the Tao. Today we will look at his understanding of the Tao as the original source and underlying functioning of existence. He discovers it not through reason, but from his experience of reality – be it external, internal, or mystical.

A careful reading of Zhuangzi’s written record suggests his concept of Tao manifests four key features:

1. Tao is the universal way of things, the all-pervading principle of all that exists and the virtue and power of individuals.¹ Tao then is immanent and pervasive throughout the world. While it is indescribable, it is not hidden, but revealed in everything as Te (virtue or power).
2. Tao is the beginning of all being – hence may be understood as non-being. “In the very beginning, there was non-being, and non-being has no name.” In other words Tao is wu or non-being from which originated all creation (the cosmos, earth, individual things), that is, yu or being.²
3. Tao is responsible for Nature’s quintessential feature: ceaseless, spontaneous and unstoppable change which inculcates all existing things.³ In contrast change due to human interference creates conflict in the natural order, but in the end Tao will prevail.⁴ Tao then is the immutable law. Zhaungzi offers the following metaphorical story:

“A disciple said to Lu Chu: ‘Master I have got hold of the Way. I can heat the tripod under my furnace  in the winter. I can make ice in summer.’ Lu Chu said: ‘That is using only the negative and positive principles in nature. That is not what I call the Way, I shall demonstrate it to you.’ He tuned two lutes and placed one in the hall and one in the adjoining room. And when he strung the kung note on one, the kung note on the other responded. When he strung the chio note on one, the chio note on the other sounded. But if he changed the interval of one string, all the strings jangled. The sound was there. The influence of the key-note as gone.”⁵

Because of Tao, everything is involved in a universal cyclic motion, but in one sense, humans are unique: by identifying with Tao they can attain the axis of the wheel from which to observe the perpetual disturbance in the universe with transcendental calm. ⁶

4. Tao, for Zhuangzi, is also the highest ideal for all things or “Heaven” (tian) as compared to ren, the lower ideal prescribed by cultural institutions and philosophers. Ren includes abstract ideas as shelfei “right” and “wrong”⁷ which Zhuangzi discredits as relative, artificial, ultimately interchangeable. The Tao or “The Way” is the unchanging ideal of Heaven both for the world and for people who live in it.⁸ In Zhuangzi’s words:

  “It is Heaven’s Tao to journey and gather no moss, thus all forms of life are brought to perfection.”⁹

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¹Magill, Frank N. and McGreal, Ian P. (editors), Masterpieces of World Philosophy. HarperCollinsPublishers, 1990. ISBN 0-06-270051-0, page 97.

²Ibid., page 102.

³Ibid., page 98.

⁴Ibid., page 102.

⁵Beck, L. Adams, The Story of Oriental Philosophy. The New Home Library, New York, 1942. Page 369.

⁶Magill, Frank N. and McGreal, Ian P. (editors), Masterpieces of World Philosophy. HarperCollinsPublishers, 1990. ISBN 0-06-270051-0, page 98.

⁷Ivanhoe, Philip J. and Van Norder, Bryan W. (editors), Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy. Hackett Publishing Company, Inc., Indianapolis/Cambridge, 2001. ISBN-13: 978-0-87220-780-6, pages 207-208.

⁸Ibid., page 208.

⁹Palmer, Martin (translator), The Book of Chuang Tzu. Penguin Books, New York, 2006, ISBN-13; 978-0-140-45537-3, pages 106.

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We continue now with Zhuangzi’s epistemology already having discussed his thoughts on perspectivism, the limits of language, the inadequacy of human logic, and the folly of philosophical debate.

Instead of the conclusions of dialectic and logic, Zhuangzi offers a single path to truth – knowledge of the Tao.¹⁵ Having demonstrated that cultivation of the mind brings about artificial distinctions without real meaning he teaches that one must suppress thinking and reason.¹⁶ In their place he teaches the use of inward sight which cannot err.¹⁷ From the highest point all is One.¹⁸ In other words, from subjectivity emerges objective knowledge.¹⁹ The point of correspondence of subjectivity and objectivity is “the very pivot of the Law (the Way).”²⁰ L. Adams Beck cites Zhaungzi

“Separation leads to completion, from construction ensues destruction. Yet all things in spite of their construction and destruction may again be perceived in their identity. Only the wise understand this, and they can place themselves in subjective relation with the ordinary way of looking at things. Wherefore, the truly wise man while regarding contraries as identical adapts himself to the laws of Heaven and follows the two courses at once.”²¹

Zhuangzi’s counsel is clear enough; be wary of adopting fixed, dogmatic, or cultural judgments as they lead to conflict and error.²² This reverberates in a kind of deconstruction and rejection of cultural norms reflected in his frequent refutations of Confucius and his repudiation of words like “proper” and “desirable”²³ Zhuangzi, we discover, like Nietzche though for different reasons, resists any human institution or system which enslaves or controls the human spirit.

In summary, Truth, for Zhuangzi, is simply knowledge of the Tao. Only Tao is complete; all other knowledge is incomplete, faulty, and counterproductive.²⁵

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¹⁵Magill, Frank N. and McGreal, Ian P. (editors), Masterpieces of World Philosophy. HarperCollinsPublishers, 1990. ISBN 0-06-270051-0, page 98.

¹⁶Durant, Will, Our Oriental Heritage. Simon and Schuster, New York, 1963. ISBN0-671-54800-X, pages 690-691.

¹⁷Beck, L. Adams, The Story of Oriental Philosophy. The New Home Library, New York, 1942. Page 361.

¹⁸Ibid., page 362.

¹⁹Ibid.

²⁰Ibid., page 363.

²¹Ibid.

²²McGreal, Ian P. (editor) Great Thinkers of the Eastern World. HarperCollinsPublishers, New York, 1995. ISBN 06-270085-5, page 21.

²³Beck, L. Adams, The Story of Oriental Philosophy. The New Home Library, New York, 1942. Page 360.

²⁴Palmer, Martin (translator), The Book of Chuang Tzu. Penguin Books, New York, 2006, ISBN-13; 978-0-140-45537-3, pages xxix. The Western philosopher cannot help being reminded of Nietzsche.

²⁵Magill, Frank N. and McGreal, Ian P. (editors), Masterpieces of World Philosophy. HarperCollinsPublishers, 1990. ISBN 0-06-270051-0, page 98.

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“I declare myself to be of those who from the darkness to the light aspire.”  – Goethe¹

Last time I introduced  and offered some historical context for the second great figure in the development of Taoism, Zhuangzi. Today we will begin our investigation into his teachings with respect to ultimate reality which I think divides nicely into the following categories:

1. Epistemology
2. The nature of ultimate reality
3. Human participation in ultimate reality
4. Immortality

EPISTEMOLOGY

Zhuangzi’s epistemology comes down to three main principles: (1) the limits of language and the importance of perspective in the use of words, (2) the pitfalls of logic and human-developed knowledge, and (3) the absolute truth of Tao.

First Zhuangzi sees language as a tool of limited usefulness. In his view, language functions to convey meaning, but the meanings of words used in language are not constant, but contextual and thus the truth of statements is perspectival and always must be qualified.² Consider the following humorous allegorical comparison:

“A bait is used to catch fish. When you have gotten the fish, you can forget about the bait. A rabbit trap is used to catch rabbits. When the rabbits are caught, you can forget about the trap. Words are used to express meaning, when you understand the meaning, you can forget about the words. Where can I find a man who forgets about words to talk with him?”

Because of this variability of the meanings of words, he doubts the effectiveness of language to transmit profound thoughts and experiences. Therefore he urges us to be sparing of words (although he of course left some 100,000 behind!) and, needless to say, Tao is inexplicable in words.⁴

Second, Zhuangzi is critical of human logic. Logic as “ the explaining of the whole in terms of the part is a gigantic immodesty…the intellect can never avail to understand ultimate things.”⁵ Hu shih, a modern commentator, calls this the ‘logic of no-logic’ where must learn to evaluate only the whole.⁶ Zhuangzi uses the example of our distinction between opposites such as right and wrong or men and things which he tells us are false once the Tao is recognized.⁷ In addition, the relativity of things is not unequalness as all follow the Tao, but since each thing varies as seen by itself and by others, there is no absolute “this” or “that.” In the end Zhuangzi thinks logic is nonsense compared to experience of the Tao.⁹

Consequently philosophical problems are less due to the nature of things than limits of our thought – brains imprisoned relative to immensity of the cosmos.¹⁰ Philosophical disputation stimulates, but is futile.¹¹ Beauty, truth, morality and utility are relative between individuals and to each individual at different times.¹² This is compounded by errors of anthropomorphism;  rather Nature is the highest reality.¹³ The solution  Zhuangzi offers is to seek a mental state of clarity or ming.¹⁴

(continued next post)

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¹Quoted by Julian Marias in his book History of Philosophy, Dover Publications, New York, 1967, page x.

² McGreal, Ian P. (editor) Great Thinkers of the Eastern World. HarperCollinsPublishers, New York, 1995. ISBN 0-06-270085-5, pages 22-24.

³Yutang, Lin, The Wisdom of Laotse. The Modern Library, New York, NY, 1976. Page 313.

⁴Durant, Will, Our Oriental Heritage. Simon and Schuster, New York, 1963. ISBN0-671-54800-X, pages 689-690.

⁵Ibid., page 690.

⁶Magill, Frank N. and McGreal, Ian P. (editors), Masterpieces of World Philosophy. HarperCollinsPublishers, 1990. ISBN 0-06-270051-0, page 101. I am reminded of The Empire Strikes Back when Yoda tells Luke “You must unlearn what you have learned.”

⁷Ibid., page 97.

⁸Ibid., page 98.

⁹ Palmer, Martin (translator), The Book of Chuang Tzu. Penguin Books, New York, 2006, ISBN-13; 978-0-140-45537-3, pages xx-xxi.

¹⁰Durant, Will, Our Oriental Heritage. Simon and Schuster, New York, 1963. ISBN0-671-54800-X, page 690.

¹¹McGreal, Ian P. (editor) Great Thinkers of the Eastern World. HarperCollinsPublishers, New York, 1995. ISBN 0-06-270085-5, page 21.

¹²Ibid., page 23.

¹³Palmer, Martin (translator), The Book of Chuang Tzu. Penguin Books, New York, 2006, ISBN-13; 978-0-140-45537-3, page xxiv.

¹⁴McGreal, Ian P. (editor) Great Thinkers of the Eastern World. HarperCollinsPublishers, New York, 1995. ISBN 0-06-270085-5, page 23.

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“This, too, is Nature’s way.”  – Zhuangzi

In our investigation of the Taoist concept of ultimate reality and its access points, we have already reviewed the I Ching and the Daodejing.  Both use the word Tao for that which underlies  the fundamental processes and order displayed in Nature including the constant of change. Tao is likewise for both that which generates and regulates the universe and its supreme triangle – Cosmos, Nature, and humankind – through Te (power or virtue). Optimal human participation in Tao depends on four factors:  (1) key virtues such as humility and selflessness, (2) conduct informed by philosophical inaction or limited prudent action (wu-wei), (3) synchronization with Nature and the Way, and (4) an internal turning and emptiness that makes room for the One and All. Within this existential edifice, one can locate the summum bonum of Taoism – the ‘sublime’ or the ‘subtle’ – and achieve the status of the Sage and an eternal existence akin to immortality through union with the Tao.

Our next great thinker in this tradition is Zhuangzi (Chuang Chou, Chuang Tzu, etc.) who, like Laozi, may be legendary. His dates are generally given as 370 BCE to about 285 B.C.E. According to Sima Qian, he lived in the Henan (Honan) province of China and was a minor official who resigned from government service and refused higher office thereafter. Some scholars consider him one of many eccentric recluses who challenged Confucian teaching during the Warring States Period.¹

The text itself, known as the Chuang Tzu, consists of 33 chapters of which only the first seven, the “inner chapters”, are thought to be by Zhuangzi’s own hand. The “outer chapters” (8-22) and the “miscellaneous chapters” (23-33) were most likely composed by later followers. Interestingly this expanded number of chapters is a reduction from the earlier 53 chapters through editing by Kuo Hsiang (died 312 C.E.). For the purpose of this blog, we will treat all of the extant text as original to Zhuangzi.

While less aphoristic and more extended than the Daodejing, the Chuang Tzu presents a mix of parables, poetry, imaginary dialogues, and metaphorical stories rather than a methodologic system. Some experts see Zhuangzi’s work as an exploration and interpretation of the Daodejing, while others feel it is more original. Whatever the case, the text features sufficient epistemology, logic, analogy, and dialectic to delineate Zhuangzi’s philosophical thinking.

Next time we will pick up with his major points.

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¹Magill, Frank N. and McGreal, Ian P. (editors), Masterpieces of World Philosophy. HarperCollinsPublishers, 1990. ISBN 0-06-270051-0, page 97.

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Building on this platform of natural ethics, a spirituality of unity, and the power of Tao/Te, Laozi comes to some astonishing conclusions. The first and most surprising regards human purpose: the absence of purpose is one’s purpose! That is to say that individual purpose originates in following the inherent ‘purpose’ emanating from Tao. To be clear; human purpose is the facilitation of the natural course of events in the world along the path of least resistance. Laozi leaves no doubt; increased striving and movement outside the guardrails of natural processes is counterproductive to the purpose instantiated in the universe. In this sense Tao informs one of humanity’s great opposites, freedom and fate. We can choose freely whether to follow Tao with its sheen of determinism or not to follow the Tao and hazard the unanticipated consequences.³

Second Laozi is tells us that one gets closest to the Tao when one cultivates natural wisdom and follows the Tao. This is achieved through two modalities: (1) quietism or philosophical inaction based on the humble recognition that one’s ignorance of the intricacy and final direction of cosmic unfolding and (2) wu-wei or prudent action informed by an instinctual priority of yin over yang when intercession is necessary.

At last one may come to the highest excellence. For Laozi, Tao is logically prior to and above the world – in his words ‘subtle’ which appears to be interchangeable with the I Ching’s word, ‘sublime.’ By quietly contemplating and conforming to the Tao, one reaches apotheosis or enlightenment – the ‘subtle’. Laozi calls this human summit, the Sage, that is one who participates fully in ultimate reality as both the saint in his or her selflessness, sympathy, and humility, and the hero as the guarded wise actor in Nature who serves as a paradigm for others. This, I believe, is the second kind of change described in the I Ching – transformation.

Finally, the Sage also achieves immortality, not through striving to exist and prosper, but by endurance (‘persistence’ is the term in the I Ching) in new-found wisdom, tranquility, and concordance with the Way. Laozi therefore addresses the four fundamental pieces of the meaningful life I have proposed on this site– virtue, purpose, contentment, and participation in ultimate reality! Few other thinkers have been so comprehensive.

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³Who can miss the analogy with Hinduism’s karma ? A practical example may be modern overforesting with the consequences of global warming and loss of habitat for valuable species.

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“The thought has been constantly on my mind to find a religion that is acceptable to a scientist.” – Lin Yutang, in his introduction to the Daodejing.¹

We have now summarized the two most important foundational texts for Taoists, the I Ching and the Daodejing. This seems a good place to compare and collate them.

We remember that in the I Ching ultimate reality was a metaphysical mix disclosed in 64 ideograms: (1) cosmic order manifested as a mathematical harmony, (2) the fundamental principle that change is the only constant in the universe and manifested in two modalities – alternation and transformation, (3) the perpetual interplay of yin and yang, (4) the theory of opposites which interact in a manner analogous to magnetic fields, (5) the supreme triangle of Cosmos, Nature, and humankind, and (6) the ‘sublime’ as summum bonum. We also saw that the ethical paradigm in the I Ching entails four cardinal virtues: humility, truthfulness, perseverance, and synchronization with Nature and the Way or Tao.

Laozi appears to pick up with these principles, refining and remolding them into a more accessible and less symbolic system. Tao continues to be a convenient term for the ultimate reality underpinning a monistic metaphysics, which, while displayed in Nature, is wholly unfathomable. Tao generates the universe and its opposites (especially yin and yang) which are reciprocally defining and hence relative while only the Tao is undefinable and Absolute.

Tao, via its power or Te, also regulates the dynamic reversion (interchangeability) of the opposites thereby producing the eternal cycles of the universe, that instantiate the first kind of change in the I Ching – alternation. By this process and as that which turns all things from outward to inward, Te is the unifying force in the cosmos as well. In short Tao/Te informs the mathematical harmony of reality described by the I Ching. However it is worth pointing out that Tao is not God as person in either text.

Laozi never addresses the I Ching’s triad of Cosmos, Nature, and Humankind, but it is implied throughout his writing. A large part, if not the majority, of his text examines human conduct in the world. Laozi’s ethics is grounded in a natural morality, most succinctly described as modeling oneself on the Tao. He expands the virtues of the I Ching adding desirelessness, frugality, selflessness, sympathy, goodness, self-restraint (knowing when to stop), and finally spirituality (inward turning which blends the mind and spirit into a unity). This last virtue is achieved by harnessing the power of Te to actualize one’s natural potential for excellence² spontaneously and effortlessly summed up in the term wu-wei.  However this depends on one being empty – especially of desire and superfluous and erroneous knowledge – to make room for the ‘One in All and the All in One.’

(continued next post)

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¹Yutang, Lin, The Wisdom of Laotse. The Modern Library, New York, NY, 1976. Page 15.

²I am reminded of Aristotle’s belief that human ethics should be directed at human excellence.

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We finish with additional extracts from the Daodejing that encapsulate Laozi’s teaching.

 

To know when you have enough is to be immune from disgrace,

To know when to stop is to be preserved from perils.

Only thus can you endure long.” ¹²

Describing Aristotelean-like prudence, Laozi warns the reader that following the Tao means recognizing what goods are sufficient for happiness and when cessation of action comports with noninterference in the course of nature. In addition, self-control with respect to desire and self-restraint with regard to actions are the two principles that bring about immortality and enlightenment.

 

“There is no crime greater than having too many desires;

There is no disaster greater than not being content;

There is no misfortune greater than being covetous.

Hence in being content, one will always have enough.”¹³

Laozi takes the near universal philosophical position: fulfilling desires does not lead to contentment; rather contentment originates inside oneself existentially and in turn paradoxically leads to freedom from desire.

 

 “Those who are good I treat as good. Those who are not good I also treat as good. In so doing, I gain in goodness.”¹⁴

Personal virtue arises in the self, not from external things. Goodness is thus immune to external forces and need not be sought in the world.

 

“It has been said that he who is a good preserver of his life

Meets no tigers or wild buffaloes on land,

Is not vulnerable to weapons in the field of battle.

The horns of the wild buffalo are powerless against him;

The paws of the tiger are useless against him;

The weapons of the soldier cannot avail against him;

How is this so?

Because he is beyond death.”¹⁵

One who follows the Way – the path to virtue, goodness, and contentment – knows how to live and thereby becomes invulnerable to threats to one’s life. Immortality is not, at last, deathlessness, but a level of aliveness that transcends biological death.

 

“Sincere words are not sweet,

Sweet words are not sincere.

Good men are not argumentative,

The argumentative are not good.

The wise are not erudite,

The erudite are not wise.

 

The Sage does not take to hoarding.

The more he lives for others, the fuller is his life.

The more he gives, the more he abounds.

 

The Way of Heaven is to benefit, not to harm.

The Way of the Sage is to do his duty, not to strive with anyone.”¹⁶

In his final chapter, with the last words we will ever hear from him, Laozi leaves no doubt: the pinnacle of human existence is the Sage. And the Sage follows the Way seeking not knowledge, but wisdom; not contention, but harmony; not one’s own desires, but the benefit of others. Apotheosis, it turns out,  is found at the intersection of mysticism and humanism… in adherence to the Tao.

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¹²Wu, John C.H., Tao Te Ching. Shambala Publications, Boston & London, 2003, ISBN 1-57062-961-7, page 103 (Chapter 44).

¹³Lau, D.C. (translator), Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching. Penguin Books Ltd., Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England, 1963 (reprint dated 1986), Page 107 (Chapter 46).

¹⁴Ibid., page 111 (Chapter 49).

¹⁵ Yutang, Lin, The Wisdom of Laotse. The Modern Library, New York, NY, 1976. Page 233 (Chapter 50).

¹⁶Wu, John C.H., Tao Te Ching. Shambala Publications, Boston & London, 2003, ISBN 1-57062-961-7, page 181 (Chapter 81).

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We continue with extracts from the Daodejing logically ordered to communicate Laozi’s message.

“Tao gives them birth,

Te fosters them.

Makes them grow, develops them,

Gives them a harbor, a place to dwell in peace,

Feeds them and shelters them.

   It gives them birth and does not own them,

  Acts (helps) and does not appropriate them,

  Is superior, and does not control them.

  -This is the Mystic Virtue.”⁷

Laozi introduces the virtuous power, Te, the operative force of Tao that unifies all of existence. This ‘Mystic Virtue’ is also models principles of human conduct which comport with Tao and foster the enlightenment of the sage.

“High Virtue is non-virtuous;

Therefore it has Virtue.

Low Virtue never frees itself from virtuousness;

Therefore it has no Virtue.

High Virtue makes no fuss and has no private ends to serve;

Low Virtue not only fusses but has private ends to serve.”⁸

Laozi is telling us that true virtue for humans is informed by Te, that is, action complementary with nature rather than through motivation to be virtuous according to the standards of human-defined morality.

“In the pursuit of learning one knows more every day; in the pursuit of the way one does less every day. One does less and less until one does nothing at all, and when one does nothing at all there is nothing that is undone.”⁹

Here Laozi defines the path of natural virtue and provides the quintessential description of his concept of philosophical inaction. Next he explains what action comports with the Way.

 

“Do that which consists in taking no action; pursue that which is not meddlesome; savor that which has no flavor.

Make the small big and the few many; do good to him who has done you an injury.

Lay plans for accomplishment of the difficult before it becomes difficult; make something big by starting when it is small.

Difficult things in the world must needs have their beginnings in the easy; big things must needs have their beginnings in the small.

Therefore it is because the sage never attempts to be great that he succeeds in becoming great.”¹⁰

We see that philosophical inaction is not in fact complete inactivity, but action limited to only that which is essential, perfectly timed, and based on wisdom derived from the knowledge of nature and the Tao.

 

“I have Three Treasures;

Guard them and keep them safe:

   The fist is Love.

   The second is, Never too much.

   The third is, Never be the first in the world.

Through Love, one has no fear;

Through not doing too much, one has amplitude (of reserve power);

Through not presuming to be first in the world,

One can develop one’s talent and let it mature.” ¹¹

Laozi reveals his greatest values are compassion, frugality, and unpretentious selflessness. These we understand direct his action and inaction.

(further continued next post)

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⁷ Yutang, Lin, The Wisdom of Laotse. The Modern Library, New York, NY, 1976. Page 242 (Chapter 51).

⁸Wu, John C.H., Tao Te Ching. Shambala Publications, Boston & London, 2003, ISBN 1-57062-961-7, page 85 (Chapter 38).

⁹Lau, D.C. (translator), Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching. Penguin Books Ltd., Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England, 1963 (reprint dated 1986), Page 109 (Chapter 48).

¹⁰Ibid., page 124 (Chapter 68).

¹¹Yutang, Lin, The Wisdom of Laotse. The Modern Library, New York, NY, 1976. Page 291 (Chapter 67).

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