I have omitted the first few lines of verse one because those lines have been interpreted the most, almost exhaustively. The major theme of the beginning of verse one is how the Tao cannot be expressed through human language, so it is futile to entirely grasp the Tao through reading someone else's words. The Tao must be grasped without listening to or reading the words of any individual. It is found through the still mind.
The purpose of this blog and future blogs is to express my outlook on life if you care to know. It's so close to Taoism anyway. My goal is not to enlighten you, but to explain me. Me, me, me, me. Let's me begin. Words in italics are from an English translation of the Tao Te Ching. It is referenced in my first posting.
A mind free of thought, merged within itself, beholds the essence of Tao.
A mind filled with thought, indentified with its own perceptions, beholds the mere forms of the world.
- Our mind and our thoughts are part of our individuality.
- Even our perceptions are our own and not shared.
- Universal truth cannot be sought by thinking or perceiving as an individual.
- Universal truth arrives when one ceases to do anything as an individual.
Application: When I'm feeling deeply philosophical, I have to meditate until I lose my individuality, my identity. This is hard to do if you've never done it before--almost impossible. If you can't do it, try to perceive all as one. There are no objects or people, just the one. That's the point in which you can attempt to grasp the universal truth. The problem is you can't take it with you once you're back in your identity. It does apply to us as individuals because we are all one.
Tao and this world seem different but in truth they are one and the same. The only difference is in what we call them.
- Objective vs. subjective perspectives
- Classifying objects as seperate from everything is futile
- Labeling things, actions, and qualities is a human invention
- Labels seperate and cause division when there is none
- Labels help the individual but not the unified whole
- What helps one, hurts all, in the game of survival
Application: This is difficult to avoid in the material world. Everything is labeled. What is worse is that almost everything has a price. Thanks to capitalism, we are near to commodifying anything that can be labeled. This is the extreme of individuality (or the yang). What can I do about it? Nothing but wait. As with nature, when one reaches an extreme it fails its mission. This hyper-capitalism will not last.
How deep and mysterious is this unity. How profound, how great! It is truth beyond the truth, the hidden within the hidden. It is the path to all wonder, the gate to the essence of everything.
- Universal truth is beyond personal truth
- What is hidden in both microcosm and macrocosm is the essence of everything
- Space between particles, waves, and systems is more meaningful than the objects because it brings everything together
- Relationships are the key to existence
Application: This is the traditional perspective of East Asian cultures, where relationships hold more value than rules. For me to apply this perspective means for me to change my culture. Quite difficult. I've been in Asia for a while to see that "modern" Asians are switching to Western perspectives. One can no longer immerse oneself in an Asian culture and expect this perspective to "rub off" on oneself.
Confucius and his followers has written everything you need to know about human relationships, but I find that too extreme. He loses focus of the natural universe to give as many details as possible about maintaining harmony in human relations. Lao Tzu puts humanity in their place in nature. This is why I follow Taoism because I don't believe humans are "above" nature. We are nature. And the further we remove ourselves from nature, the faster we destroy our humanity. I see it happening now.
What do I do? I try to pay more attention to spaces than objects. I can do this very well at times as I find myself engaged in a lot of emptiness between jobs. It's always the gaps between jobs that are more exciting than the jobs themselves. I must learn to see is at exhilirating rather than worrying. It's hard to maintain that perspective as the waiting period expands.
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