As anyone who knows their way around a kitchen can tell you, the plants in the onion family are multi-layered. Once you peel off the outer skin, there is an inner skin followed by layer about layer of the meat of the onion itself. As many people have observed -- I am certainly not suggesting that this metaphor originates with me -- the messages contained in the texts of philosophical Taoism are like that of an onion.
I bring this up in relation to a comment left by Baroness Radon on my post, Real Life Tao - Where's the Beef? She wrote,
I bring this up in relation to a comment left by Baroness Radon on my post, Real Life Tao - Where's the Beef? She wrote,
While I applaud your progress attributed to applied philosophical/practical Taoism, I would not agree that "the anxious person" is your "internal nature", your true self or inner nature. As long as one believes that "the anxious person", or whatever, is one's "internal nature", one will never be free of it and cannot know one's true self (which may be found through meditation).
Her point is an excellent one, but it all hinges on the definition of "internal nature." For me, this term has more than one meaning and I believe that, when it is employed in the ancient texts, it is pointing toward at least two different manifestation of what we call the self.
On one level, I believe this term indicates the true essence of being in its purest form. If a person subscribes to the idea that all things are connected and are aspects of the one reality, then the "internal nature" of everything is free of blemishes. There can be no anxiety, ambition, fear, lust or greed for these are bound solely in the human emotions. So, on this count, I agree with the thesis the Baroness advances.
On another level, however, I submit that the term "internal nature" also deals with the specificity of our inborn predilections. We each are born with preferences -- general likes and dislikes -- that defines each of us as unique individuals.
As I've mentioned in this space before, I have always loathed tunafish. I detest the smell of it and the idea of placing it in my mouth conjures up visions of whole-scale vomiting. My best buddy during childhood was the exact opposite. Supply him with an endless supply of tuna and the boy was in 7th heaven!
These unique traits are derived from mysterious sources. Some could be explained via biological, physiological, chemical, environmental or behavioral origins as well as differing combinations of these factors and more.
For example, we're really not sure why some people are sociopaths -- those who feature a complete disregard for the feelings and rights of others. Many theorists believe there is a biological or genetic component that shuts off certain chemical interactions in the brain which renders the person incapable of experiencing empathy OR sympathy for others. In a manner of speaking, this lack could be defined as the "internal nature" of such individuals.
It is in this same vein that I believe a certain level of anxiousness is part of my unique internal nature. I seem to have popped out of the womb with an anxious disposition. It has remained with me from infancy to toddlerhood to all the times in between to the present. Consequently, it seems to me that accepting my anxious tendencies for what they are -- rather than constantly fighting against them -- is more in line with what Lao Tzu means by "going with the flow."
The flow of a river is never the same at all points. In places, the water is placid. At other locations, there can be rapids or whirlpools. It depends on which part of the river a person calls home. If your boat is moored in the rapids or whirlpool, then that becomes the normal flow for you. It simply isn't as calm as those stretches that lazily meander along.
On one level, I believe this term indicates the true essence of being in its purest form. If a person subscribes to the idea that all things are connected and are aspects of the one reality, then the "internal nature" of everything is free of blemishes. There can be no anxiety, ambition, fear, lust or greed for these are bound solely in the human emotions. So, on this count, I agree with the thesis the Baroness advances.
On another level, however, I submit that the term "internal nature" also deals with the specificity of our inborn predilections. We each are born with preferences -- general likes and dislikes -- that defines each of us as unique individuals.
As I've mentioned in this space before, I have always loathed tunafish. I detest the smell of it and the idea of placing it in my mouth conjures up visions of whole-scale vomiting. My best buddy during childhood was the exact opposite. Supply him with an endless supply of tuna and the boy was in 7th heaven!
These unique traits are derived from mysterious sources. Some could be explained via biological, physiological, chemical, environmental or behavioral origins as well as differing combinations of these factors and more.
For example, we're really not sure why some people are sociopaths -- those who feature a complete disregard for the feelings and rights of others. Many theorists believe there is a biological or genetic component that shuts off certain chemical interactions in the brain which renders the person incapable of experiencing empathy OR sympathy for others. In a manner of speaking, this lack could be defined as the "internal nature" of such individuals.
It is in this same vein that I believe a certain level of anxiousness is part of my unique internal nature. I seem to have popped out of the womb with an anxious disposition. It has remained with me from infancy to toddlerhood to all the times in between to the present. Consequently, it seems to me that accepting my anxious tendencies for what they are -- rather than constantly fighting against them -- is more in line with what Lao Tzu means by "going with the flow."
The flow of a river is never the same at all points. In places, the water is placid. At other locations, there can be rapids or whirlpools. It depends on which part of the river a person calls home. If your boat is moored in the rapids or whirlpool, then that becomes the normal flow for you. It simply isn't as calm as those stretches that lazily meander along.
After I made that comment, I was afraid I might have offended, but I see I just helped to generate an interesting post. Bear in mind, my Tao teacher regards the TTC as 70% meditation manual. He poses questions like "who were you before the birth of your parents?" and is very interested in quantum physics. I lean toward the meta-quantum-physical.
ReplyDeleteCheers!
But another point I may have failed to make is that our attachment to these physical manifestations, defining our SELF through them, I think, limits us. I am not my afflictions (I have my share) any more than I am my name -- BR or the legal name for which that is an anagram-or my job. I am not convinced that my true self is even my genetic heritage. I'm not too interested in my DNA. It's just a vehicle. Laozi et al. have wonderful advice on how to live and cope in this physical realm, but there are other levels. Zhuangzi and the butterfly are both dreaming.
ReplyDeleteOf course, this is kind of proto-Buddhist thought.
a taoist way to approach anxiety might be, acknowledging the anxiety, nod to it, and watch it float on by without interfering with your observance of it.
ReplyDeletenot always possible, but with training it can be done most of the time. i've done it with pain many a time, although my willpower muscle (fact: willpower can actually be exercised like a muscle!) is not in the best of shape these days.
In my post, I should have offered another example -- my brother and his temper. Even as a toddler, he would have violent emotional outbursts. At age 7, he threw a child-sized rocking chair through a 2nd story glass window. So, it seems to me that this tendency is inborn.
ReplyDeleteAs he has matured, he has learned to curb his violent outbursts in some measure, but he is not rid of them. I think this will always be part of his personal constitution -- his internal nature.