from Verse FourNothing pleases them, nothing pains them; nothing delights them, nothing angers them. All things are mysteriously the same; there is neither right nor wrong.~ Wen-tzu: Understanding the Mysteries ~
On first blush, this sounds like absolute gibberish! A person might well ask: What's the point in living if their are no pleasures nor delights? Why seek a life without love and compassion?
But, in my estimation, that's not what this passage is aiming toward at all. If we will return to the many discussions I've had on the concept of wu wei, then this passage begins to make sense.
As I hope you remember, one way to describe wu wei is what athlete's call "being in the zone." If, for instance, we are referring to a baseball player who is hitting well (a timely example since the World Series is going on right now -- Go Phillies!), the small baseball seems as if it's as large as a beach ball and it's moving in slow motion. Without thinking about the mechanics of striking the baseball with his bat, the player seems to get a hit almost every time up.
When each of us is "in the zone" as it relates to almost any aspect of life, we're not judging things -- we merely are effortlessly reacting to whatever circumstances are before us. For me, that's the point the author is driving at.
This post is part of a series. For an introduction, go here.
But, in my estimation, that's not what this passage is aiming toward at all. If we will return to the many discussions I've had on the concept of wu wei, then this passage begins to make sense.
As I hope you remember, one way to describe wu wei is what athlete's call "being in the zone." If, for instance, we are referring to a baseball player who is hitting well (a timely example since the World Series is going on right now -- Go Phillies!), the small baseball seems as if it's as large as a beach ball and it's moving in slow motion. Without thinking about the mechanics of striking the baseball with his bat, the player seems to get a hit almost every time up.
When each of us is "in the zone" as it relates to almost any aspect of life, we're not judging things -- we merely are effortlessly reacting to whatever circumstances are before us. For me, that's the point the author is driving at.
This post is part of a series. For an introduction, go here.
As a single verse my interpretation is that it is a matter of living without judgment. Things are what they are. You accept it for what it is. I don’t think that it is discussing emotion or feeling.
ReplyDeleteReading all 3 verses as a whole though says to me that harmony is not in your status or possessions. Desire nothing and just be.
yep, i agree. i don't think taoism is about giving up feelings or possessions, but simply not striving for them, and not thinking about them (or over-thinking about them).
ReplyDeleteSounds like a statement about the enlightened being or real person of Tao.
ReplyDelete