A great deal of our lives concerns seeking answers. How are you today? What movie should we go see? How should I tackle this problem? Which dress do you think I look best in? Do you think he's going to live? Italian or French salad dressing? Do you love me?
Of all the answers we seek, the one that has dogged almost every person in almost every generation is -- What is the purpose of life?
We focus so much of our attention on the possible answers that we often neglect to understand how the questions themselves play the most critical role in this never-ending enterprise. Lao Tzu, to a lesser extent, and Chuang Tzu, to a greater extent, suggest that what we ask and how we formulate the questions goes a long way toward defining the answers.
For example, the question What is the purpose of life? presupposes that there is one definitive answer that all of us would be able to discern. Not only that, but it also presupposes that there is an entity out there that represents absolute and universal truth. If these presuppositions are all false, then this might explain why the answer to this singular question constantly evades us.
The Taoist sages have offered a different perspective other than this worn out game of questions and answers. As to the question of life and purpose, they urge us not to ask it in the first place and instead accept the notion that life simply is. That's as much as any of us will ever know.
In fact, most of the questions and queries we pose in our lives are unneeded. When we embrace the Way and transcend our egos, we are able to see the patterns and rhythms of all that is us and encircles us. We attain the innate ability to trace the grain of the wood of this existence and to know where to cut and where to leave alone.
We learn to know without seeking; to understand without asking.
This post is part of a series. For an introduction, go here.
Of all the answers we seek, the one that has dogged almost every person in almost every generation is -- What is the purpose of life?
We focus so much of our attention on the possible answers that we often neglect to understand how the questions themselves play the most critical role in this never-ending enterprise. Lao Tzu, to a lesser extent, and Chuang Tzu, to a greater extent, suggest that what we ask and how we formulate the questions goes a long way toward defining the answers.
For example, the question What is the purpose of life? presupposes that there is one definitive answer that all of us would be able to discern. Not only that, but it also presupposes that there is an entity out there that represents absolute and universal truth. If these presuppositions are all false, then this might explain why the answer to this singular question constantly evades us.
The Taoist sages have offered a different perspective other than this worn out game of questions and answers. As to the question of life and purpose, they urge us not to ask it in the first place and instead accept the notion that life simply is. That's as much as any of us will ever know.
In fact, most of the questions and queries we pose in our lives are unneeded. When we embrace the Way and transcend our egos, we are able to see the patterns and rhythms of all that is us and encircles us. We attain the innate ability to trace the grain of the wood of this existence and to know where to cut and where to leave alone.
We learn to know without seeking; to understand without asking.
This post is part of a series. For an introduction, go here.
To trace the grain of the wood of this existence... I love that phrase.
ReplyDeleteWhy should I care about the Tao ? I am Tao.
ReplyDeleteItalian, definitely.
ReplyDelete