Wen Tzu - Verse 116, Part II

from Verse One Hundred Sixteen

Acceptability is a matter of logic: if you do not pursue what is acceptable when you see it, and don not flee what is unacceptable when you see it, acceptability and unacceptability are to each other as left to right, or outside to inside.

~ Wen-tzu: Understanding the Mysteries ~

In one sense, Lao Tzu is not suggesting there is no difference between acceptable and unacceptable. Each person and each society has such preferences. What I believe he's driving out -- we'll see much more of such discussion when we start our exploration of the Chuang Tzu -- is that the definitions for these two terms are not static. They depend on the nature of the being and the society the being lives in.

For example, Chuang Tzu likes to use animals to drive home this point. He might point out that, while scales are acceptable to fish, they would be unacceptable to camels. Conversely, camels may find humps to be acceptable, but not a fish!

When we apply this same motif to humans, we can easily see that what is acceptable in one culture may not be acceptable in another. For instance, if I belch loudly after you serve me a meal, am I being rude or paying you a compliment? In western culture, it's the former, while in many eastern cultures, it's the latter.

The Taoist doesn't bother with trying to discern what is deemed acceptable or unacceptable. If anything guides his/her actions, it is what is harmonious or disharmonious. That may sound like splitting hairs, but many times what is harmonious for a given situation may be unacceptable by the standards of the predominant culture.

This post is part of a series. For an introduction, go here.