House of Jamie - The beginnings of the Tao

The beginnings of the Tao

2008-Dec-19

Lately i've been spending my time reading up on the Ancient Chinese Philosophy of Tao. I do not claim to know a great deal about Tao, or it's more advanced practices. I have never attempted meditation or claimed to follow Tao to it's conclusion, I am picking and choosing which aspects appeal to my life, and can be of some help in my overly confused mind.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Tao, the symbol of the Yin/Yang is a Taoist symbol. The black and the white, ever changing. Black inside the White, the White inside the Black, suggests that nothing is absolute, everything is subjective. What's right to one, may be wrong to another. The Yin/Yang also represents the balance of everything. Night and Day, Hot and Cold, Right and Wrong, Male and Female, Pleasure and Pain, Life and Death. The universe is in a delicate balance.

It gave rise to the Taoist religion of the far east. And although I will never embrace a religious doctrine, given that religious doctrines all take the power of the human mind, the love and the acceptance, and give that power to an unseen force, full of hate and intolerance, i'm always willing to accept philosophies as a guide when i'm too confused to understand the World for myself.

Today, too much energy is wasted on fear, war, hatred, intolerance, anxiety, energy that could be used instead in a much more fulfilling role. We're all human, and we've all got to put up with each other, we may aswell at least TRY to get on and help each other as best we can. When energy is wasted on hatred, intolerance and fear, it means there is less to spend on compassion, empathy and helpfulness. We are all interconnected. It doesn't matter if you're a Christian or a Darwinist (as I am), you recognise that when you take history back to it's origin, the moment before the big bang, we were all the exact same thing. The same concept. The same. I was you, you were I, we were all the trees, the plants, the animals, we were everything and nothing at the same time. That energy was Tao. The idea is that we're always trying to reach that point of tranquility, that feeling of belonging and oneness. And Taoism offers an idea on how to achieve that feeling.

Lao Tsu, the Taoist writer, wrote that his three treasures in life, that could never be lost, were Benevolence, frugality (the avoidance of waste) and never trying to be Number 1. I can relate to that. I like those principles. They appeal to me more than any other Philosophical principles i've come across. Benevolence is obvious. Frugality relates to patience and calm above fear and violence. Never trying to be number 1 relates to the idea that we're all the same. No one is above anybody else, that ultimately we all end up the same. The balance of life. Which goes a long way to explain why I wear a Yin/Yang around my neck.

Tao seems to be subjective. It has no one single meaning. It can mean something different to everyone who gives it some consideration. The general definition of Tao is given as "the path" or "the way". It's the path each of us follows through life. In the same way that the universe itself follows the Tao. It's about recognising your path and following it. You put aside your worries surrounding social demands; money, profit, house, car etc, and recognise that there is more to you than that, and by following the concept of Tao, you work to achieve that end, whatever it may be.

It doesn't matter if a person is male or female, gay or straight, white or black, as long as it's natural to the individual, as long as they follow the path that they feel is right for them, instead of falling to pressure from outside forces, they are following Tao.

I like Tao, because it is liberal. It allows people to be themselves, interpret their own "way" the path that they chose. It's almost a
Chinese version of St.Aquinas Natural Law theory, except much more open to change. Tao is about peace, restraint, understanding, and simplicity, in Taoist Philosophy this concept is known the principle of "Wu Wei" or "Emptiness". It promotes togetherness as opposed to separate from the World. A kind of "go with the flow" feeling. Another Taoist writer "Chuang Tzu" referred to Wu Wei quite beautifully as "purposeless wandering". Again, this is a concept I relate too. I don't want to be forever chasing things I don't really need. Trampling on people in order to make a bit of money. It's not my way. I'm slowly becoming aware of the interconnectedness of everything in life. I'm listening more to my intuition, watching closely, understanding more about myself than i've ever done before. And so naturally, i'm drawn to the Philosophy of Tao.

Tao offers to keep your feet firmly on the ground whilst you find your own way, it provides a sense of beauty of togetherness and that essentially we're very much the same, whilst accepting that everyone and everything is very much different. It's free, and liberal, accepting and loving, it doesn't say, like so many other religious doctrines that "you MUST live like this!". It's the only Philosophy that appeals to me as ever changing and updating. And in this lack of dogmatic fundamentals, there is very little way of describing Tao, apart from "Not rushing, not forcing, but going along with and understanding the natural flow of the World".

I think me and this Tao business are going to get a long just fine.

2008-Dec-19 - Untitled Comment

Posted by WelshPixie

I love being able to follow you on this journey. Is good and makes me smile that you are discovering these things and having fun with them ^.^

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The beginnings of the Tao

2008-Dec-19 - Untitled Comment

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