My Philosophy

Before I "discovered" Taoism, I finally wrote down my perceptions on metaphysical issues. I compared what I wrote down to the summaries of all major world religions and found that Taoism was the closest to my personal philosophy. Here are the some of things I wrote back in October of 2004.

Truths
1. All things imaginable have existed, exist, or will exist.
2. All events have happened, are happening, or will happen.
3. Everything imaginable exists.
4. Everything imaginable is possible.

Myths (or I lack faith in...)
"Heaven" in the traditional sense.
Determinism (by an all-controlling God)
"Evil" in the traditional sense.

Beliefs
I believe in God as the source of energy.
I believe in the unity of all humanity through goodness.
I believe that the destruction of life should be avoided at all costs.
I believe that humans are instinctively good because we are born with the same ambition to bring everlasting peace and harmony in the world.
I believe evil is expressed because of people’s frustrations with their limitations.
I believe the ambition of power is the biggest obstacle in obtaining peace and harmony.
I believe in life after death.

UNITY & INDIVIDUALITY
At this moment in time, I see life as the experience of individuality and “the other life” as the experience of unity. When we are born as human beings, we are taken away from the union of mother and child and given our own individuality. It takes years for a child to gain the experience of individuality. It takes even longer for people to gain the experience of total individuality, which can be synonymous with freedom. I believe that as long as we are living, our goal is to become all that we can become as individuals; we should celebrate our own individuality. In addition, we should equally celebrate the individuality of others. This is very difficult for people and societies to do.
I believe the main cause for the struggle for people to celebrate total individuality and freedom is rooted in power. Using a Christian term, I believe that power is the ultimate “sin.” Power corrupts people. The pursuit of power causes mistrust and fear. And the prolonging of mistrust and fear causes hate and destructive conflict.
How does this relate to individuality? Power is the negative expression of individuality. Instead of celebrating one’s individuality, one is enforcing one’s own individuality. For example, if I take my own beliefs and share them with others, I am celebrating my individuality by saying, “This is my idea. Let me share it with you.” If I take my beliefs and force them upon others, I enforce my individuality by saying, “This is my idea. Follow it because it is good.” That quote sounds a lot like many popular deities.
Even if my idea is good, I cannot force it upon others because then I am corrupted. I can share the idea, and celebrate others’ individuality by letting them decide. If I force anything upon others, such as ideas (mentally) and work (physically), I take away people’s individuality. They lose their own freedoms. In a sense, I become greater than them. I am better, and I deserve more. People start to fear me. Others with the same goal start to mistrust me. A competitive cycle has begun. I want people to unite under me. And that type of unity, submissiveness is never permanent. The only permanent unity is the one experienced after life.
During one’s life, we see many individuals (disguised behind a group of individuals) who want to unite the world. Uniting the world is an inherent goal every individual has, but it can never be obtained by force. Everyone wants to bring harmony and peace to the world, and this can only be achieved by letting other’s be, by celebrating everyone’s individuality. People in power refuse to do this because they will lose their power. World unity can only be achieved if people stop seeking power.
The human species is so removed from nature nowadays that we do not need the desire for power to survive. The greatest threat people have in this world is themselves. We are not going to be dominated by any other species or beings (unless extraterrestrial life exists, but that’s a separate concept). In one outlook, it is depressing to know that the world will never unite peacefully as long as there is a struggle for power. In another outlook, it is uplifting to know that the world will be united without struggle. A war will never bring unity unless the war has convinced every person to give up the struggle.
It is also comforting to know that unity will be experienced upon death, the end of our individuality. We no longer experience the world as an individual, but as a being united with the world. After life, we cannot express ourselves because we do not have ourselves. We are “one with God,” pure energy, merged with the Creator, fused to the universe. This is a peaceful time where we feel the whole universe and understand its existence. Perceptions and conceptions are infinite and shared. It is also constant, without measure of time and space. It is death, and it should not be feared. The fear of death is the chief cause for every individual to submit under people of power.
In conclusion, there are two known experiences: life and death or individuality and unity. All who read this currently experience life or individuality, and fear death. If the reader is forced to read this, I have gained power over them. If the reader is interested in reading this, the reader and I have celebrated our individuality—the reader has decided what to do with the information and I have shared my thoughts. If the reader demands to read this, he has gained power over me.