1. Truth is not manufactured by us; it is discovered by us, or dis-covers (the Latin vela, "veil," gives us the word re-veals or un-veils) itself to us.
From the Taoist standpoint, all "truth" is subjective. We find it through our experiences, knowledge and perceptions. What may be true for me may not be true for you and what may be true for me now may not be true for me later.
Another way to state this is that truth is not external. There is no objective thing sitting out there in the heavens waiting to be discovered. There is no one singular universal "truth" that applies to all things at all times. (Even if we entertain the thought of a god, truth for this being would be subjective too.)
When a Taoist empties her/his mind and sits in meditation, we're not trying to discover truth; we're trying to sense the rhythms and flow of the process of life, Tao.
I realize some may look at this differentiation and think, "Bah, it's just semantics, plain and simple!" Who knows? Maybe it is. But from where I sit, I see a substantive difference. Truth is the ultimate value judgment and a Taoist isn't looking for a value per se but the process of life devoid of value.
From this perspective, Tao simply is and the process -- the flow of life -- percolates through all things beyond good and evil, love and hate, truth and non-truth.
Needless to say, this is very hard to describe. Maybe one of you can thresh this out better than moi.
This post is part of a "miniseries". For an introduction, go here.
Another way to state this is that truth is not external. There is no objective thing sitting out there in the heavens waiting to be discovered. There is no one singular universal "truth" that applies to all things at all times. (Even if we entertain the thought of a god, truth for this being would be subjective too.)
When a Taoist empties her/his mind and sits in meditation, we're not trying to discover truth; we're trying to sense the rhythms and flow of the process of life, Tao.
I realize some may look at this differentiation and think, "Bah, it's just semantics, plain and simple!" Who knows? Maybe it is. But from where I sit, I see a substantive difference. Truth is the ultimate value judgment and a Taoist isn't looking for a value per se but the process of life devoid of value.
From this perspective, Tao simply is and the process -- the flow of life -- percolates through all things beyond good and evil, love and hate, truth and non-truth.
Needless to say, this is very hard to describe. Maybe one of you can thresh this out better than moi.
This post is part of a "miniseries". For an introduction, go here.
Discovering the 'truth' implies a selection or a division of the true from the untrue. Selection/division requires rejection of something which is not the Tao. To be truly known all things must be acknowledged with respect to their relationship with the whole and one cannot isolate something as 'true' without removing it from the background of all things and thus not comprehending in it total. Alan Watts dealt with this very well in the "Two Hands of God".
ReplyDeleteThe problem here lies with trying to put a label or boundaries around what is the 'truth' and what is not the truth and the error lies in assuming that there is a boundary to be 'discovered'. In following the path of the Tao or the Buddha an essential learning is that there are no boundaries and that there is nothing separate and attempts to divide things into good/bad, true/untrue, or black/white is nothing but what Watts called 'mental masturbation'.
the explanation of truth is ambiguous because the definition of truth is ambiguous. christians define truth as "not a lie", so saying that the bible contains truth is, in my opinion, true. i don't think the bible is a lie. however saying that it is "absolute truth" is saying that everything else (besides christianity) is a lie, which is, in my opinion, not true.
ReplyDeletethe problem with cosmic truth is that we cannot know for sure what, if anything, is true. since we can only see the world through our own eyes, we can't be sure that our perspective is the true one or not. defining cosmic truth is the act of validating the world around you, imposing your perspective on the world. finding cosmic truth is trying to adjust your perspective to fit your observations and experiences.
personal truth is a little trickier because it's more important. i find it useless to make a statement about the afterlife, for example (cosmic truth) but i find it essential to enhance my personal truth (or truthfulness) and avoid any lie, both external and internal. (by external lie i mean speaking falsehood to others. by internal lie i mean self deception.)
IMHO, religion should focus more on cultivating personal truth, both internal and external, and spend less time trying to define cosmic truth, because no one can see past their own nose in that regard.
Bravo! Bravo! I think both of you, in your own way, captured the essence of point 1 far better than I.
ReplyDeleteWhile the monk is an old geezer like me (hooray for geezers!), Iktomi, you continue to amaze me. You seem so wise beyond your years. Me thinks your baby son is a very lucky lad indeed!