Call of Nature

The other night I was awakened by...shall we say...the call of nature. Unwisely, I had consumed too much ice tea before heading off to bed. So, I pulled myself up off of my sleeping mat and found myself standing in front of my second story bedroom window.

As I typically do, I quickly scanned the back yard and the forest beyond for any signs of nocturnal wildlife. Initially, I didn't see a thing. In a few seconds, however, I realized there was a large dog just beyond the back fence. Hmm, I thought to myself, that dog doesn't look familiar. Wonder where it hails from?

About the time this latter question was percolating in my mind, my eyes became better adjusted to the faint light and I realized that it was not a dog at all. It was a small deer!

Nothing fantastic happened over the ten minutes or so I watched the deer. It moved back and forth in the small field behind my house, nibbling at the greenery here and there. Every few seconds it would perk up its ears to insure no predator was afoot and, when satisfied that all was still safe, it would go back to grazing. For awhile, it meandered into the yard to the south side of our back fence and the next door neighbor's back fence.

After a moment or two, it returned to its previous location. It stopped momentarily to watch a rather large raccoon lumber down one of the paths into the forest.

For me, this is one of the great joys with living in a small town in a rural county on the edge of the woods. We share our environment with a multitude of critters, birds, owls and even a few scary predators (bears and cougars). It's in the dead of the night when all is still that I often get a brief glimpse of this wonderful connection between all things.

And I wonder. What really caused me to come awake? Was it the tea in my system or the presence of the deer?

Hua Hu Ching Miniseries

Well, so much for my respite!! I've been reading the Hua Hu Ching (HHC) and it's quite interesting. So, I've decided to do a miniseries on it over the next week or two. While I had a very structured approach for the Tao Te Ching series, this time around it's going to be more relaxed. I may feature several verses in one post or several different verses in one day or a combination of the two. I also don't plan to cover each verse -- just some of them. And I may or may not cover them in order.

What's more, I'm hoping to mix in a few guest posts. I think this a most important element because, unlike the TTC series, I won't be quoting from source material -- I will simply be adding my own contemplations and musings. It will be good then to offer you some different perspectives and voices.

And ANY of you out there can get in on the act too. You can read the HHC online for free. If you read one or more verses that speak to you in some way and you want to write a guest post about your own musings, simply drop me an email.

So, fasten your seat belts. I'll try to have the first post in this miniseries out this afternoon or evening.

To view an index of all the posts in this series, go here.

Reflections on the TTC Series

On July 17, I started off on a journey to present and analyze all the verses of the Tao Te Ching. To be completely frank, I didn't think through what I was committing myself to. Sure, I well knew that this work featured 81 verses, but I hadn't really thought through what it meant to write an analysis of one verse per day for 81 consecutive days! That's nearly 3 darn months.

I think that one thing that really helped me keep to the schedule is the fact that I'm an aspie! Since I crave pattern and routine in my life, this became one of my (sort of) daily routines. I say "sort of" because, if truth be known, I tended to write several entries ahead. As an example, during mid-August, one day I wrote a week's worth of entries and scheduled each entry to post on the appropriate day. As another example, I finished writing the last five entries (October 1 - 5) and this entry itself on Wednesday, September 30.

The reasons I tended to write ahead are twofold. First, because keeping to my own pre-determined posting schedule was of the utmost importance to me and there are days due to my various physical infirmities when concentrating and writing cogently can be difficult, this tended to relieve my own anxiety and stress. Being a few entries ahead most of the time meant that I could allow myself a few days off here and there without feeling I was letting myself down.

The second reason I finished this assignment ahead of time may sound a bit morbid, but, if I was suddenly to drop dead or wind up in the hospital with a coma, I would know in my fleeting moments of consciousness that all 81 verses will be posted. This is important to me because I loathe projects (particularly ones undertaken by me) that inexplicably get dropped midstream. So, I wanted to insure I followed this all the way through to the end.

Now that I'm done, I feel relieved, yet a bit empty. I'm relieved because I don't have to think so fervently everyday. ; ) While I really got into researching the various opinions and commentaries for each day's verse, it was a lot of work I hoisted upon myself. So, I'm looking forward to simply writing stuff that comes out of me own noggin and not feeling the need to correlate what I write with the comments and quotes of others all the time.

On the other hand, I feel kind of empty because their aren't any more verses! While I enjoyed each step along the journey, I've reached this destination. :(

As indicated previously, I plan to replicate this effort with the Book of Chuang Tzu. However, this won't happen tomorrow or next week simply because I'm not as familiar with this book as I am with the TTC. I'll have to go back to read and re-read it several times before I would even attempt to commit to such a series. In addition, there aren't as many sources to draw from, so this means a lot of time searching for and researching the books and sites I can find. And, of course, Chuang Tzu's book is a helluva lot longer -- my copy spans nearly 300 pages!

The final point I want to address is YOUR participation in this endeavor. I am so thankful for all the comments left throughout the series. Many times you explained things far better than I and offered great food for thought. It is because of each of you that this endeavor proved so worthwhile.

From the bottom of my heart I say -- THANK YOU! THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!!!

This post is part of a series. For an introduction, go here
To view the list of posts for the entire series, go here.

A Different Sort of Twittering

When I awoke just now, I could hear the fanciful twittering of a multitude of birds in the forest behind my house. They seem to be everywhere, flitting from tree to tree. Some are singing. Some are squawking. Some are jabbering. Some are doing all three and more.

The birds around here seem to have a different sound each autumn than they do at any other time. So here's my question: Do they really sound different or is it that I am listening differently? Hmm.

Was Militant

As it goes with the history of human society, there is always a status quo perspective; one set of mores and expectations predominates. In time, however, the thinkers and philosophers of any given era branch out beyond the accepted parameters to establish alternate worldviews and visions.

I was sort of meditating about this whole formulation when it dawned on me that each religion is born of militancy. When each suffered through its initial birth pangs, it represented a perspective on life and the unknown that was outside of the accepted norm of the day. It was a challenge to the ruling orthodoxy and its first adherents were the beatniks poets of their time.

In those heady early years, the new religion was about inclusion. Almost anyone who wanted into the tent was welcomed with open arms. Come in, brothers and sisters. Rest your weary bones. We'll bring you food and drink for your tattered soul.

In time, however, as the religion grew, being a member granted its followers a badge that marked how their group differed from all others. While the burgeoning belief system still welcomed new converts, the rites of membership slowly begin to become more stringent. What was once a nebulous concept that was coalescing into an identifiable form, soon becomes a far more rigid structure.

To compete with other systems of belief, religions often borrow and incorporate foreign rituals, creeds, beliefs and practices into the mix. This is not done in a conscious manner; it's more a form of unconscious marketing savvy. You see what methodologies your competitors are finding success with and you borrow those fragments that you can gently knead into your own dough. By doing this, you can stay faithful to your core principles, while attracting new blood and swelling your membership ranks.

At some point, successful religions reach critical mass. Far from being the rebel philosophy, it now takes its place as the predominate system of thought within a society. In essence, it begins to stagnate by becoming the new status quo. Adherents are no longer the militants but the establishment!

Now, we see the reversal of roles. What was once a revolutionary concept -- a thrust for mental or spiritual independence -- becomes the tool that attempts to quash anything that even winks at revolution.

In the United States, for one example, the religious right has become the Pharisees and Sadducees of our day. They rule the inner temple and siphon off the money from the tax collectors. And they are ready to crucify anyone who dares to think outside their teeny box of orthodoxy.

What was once militant is now the epitome of stagnation and, of course, this reality is completely lost upon them just as it was to different groups two millennia ago.

Verse 81: Do No Harm

Verse Eighty-One
True words are not beautiful
Beautiful words are not true
Those who are good do not debate
Those who debate are not good
Those who know are not broad of knowledge
Those who are broad of knowledge do not know

Sages do not accumulate
The more they assist others, the more they possess
The more they give to others, the more they gain

The Tao of heaven
Benefits and does not harm
The Tao of sages
Assists and does not contend
~ Derek Lin translation ~

And now we come to the last installment in this 81-day series -- the final verse. In many ways, it's nice to get to the end, but, in all honesty, I'm going to miss it. (I'll write more about my feelings in a post tomorrow.)

Of all the myriad of messages contained in the TTC, I think the message of "Do No Harm" is one of the most important ones for humanity. It is the one I wish more of us could take to heart and I think it's the one that would have the most dramatic affect on our society and history.

It is bound up in the idea of viewing existence as interconnected and that to harm one aspect, harms all. It goes along the same line as the Martin Luther King, Jr. thought that a threat to justice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

Even more importantly, this core message can be found in almost every religion and belief system -- the idea that we should treat others as we ourselves wish to be treated. When this concept is fused with the understanding that all things are manifestations of the One, then we can know intuitively that willfully creating disharmony in any aspect of our existence only spreads disharmony throughout the entire cosmos.

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

Oh, The Irony!

Back in September I wrote a post entitled, "Bare Naked Breasts". The title was meant tongue-in-cheek because the heading had little to do with the post itself. However, in all honesty, I decided to use that racy title as a form of an experiment. I was interested to find out how many people -- most likely horny guys -- searched for that kind of information.

I haven't really kept count, but I can tell you the number is quite a few! My guess is that, at least, 100 visitors have arrived here hoping to read and get an eyeful of this...shall we say...meaty topic.

Imagine their utter dismay when, not only do they not find photos of bare naked breasts, but they've landed in the world of philosophical Taoism!! They must think this is the worst kind of cosmic joke imaginable.

Too bad there aren't any semi-nude photos of Lao Tzu or Chuang Tzu I could post. I bet that would cure anyone with pornography addiction. :P

A Routine Pain

There I was...sound asleep. All of a sudden, I jerked awake. It felt like the inside of my left thigh was on fire in an electrical sort of way. I switched on the lamp next to my sleeping mat. I pulled down my sweats to see if I'd been bitten by something or if there was something visual for me to see. Of course, there wasn't. Everything looked normal.

So, I tried to get comfortable and fall back to sleep. Before I nodded off, it happened again and happened several more times over the next hour. I finally did fall asleep.

When I awoke this morning, my entire inner left thigh from my groin to just above my knee really hurts. It hurts to the touch and it hurts to move. Again, I took a look at the area and there is nothing noticeable.

Am I alarmed? Not at all. This is par for the course. I guess the best I can say is that it's annoying, but it's normal for my life with fibromyalgia.

My body doesn't seem to like itself because it constantly attacks itself. For me, it's rarely a question of when, but where. Where will it strike next and how long will it last?

I believe I've suffered from fibro most of my adult life. In my 30s to earlier 40s, the pattern was different. I had severe flare-ups that would last from a few days to a few months, followed by months of remission. The attacks covered multiple areas of my body and were often excruciating and/or debilitating. They seemed to come out of the blue and then disappear just as suddenly.

Over the past decade, the pattern has shifted. I now to seem to be in one extended flare-up that spikes from time to time. I can't think of a day over the past several years when I have felt physically okay. Some portion of my body is always under attack and, from time to time, several areas are under attack simultaneously.

To give you an idea of what I'm referring to, here's a brief list:

• Inflamed sternum (happens frequently)
• Noticeable tremors in my hands or feet
• Light sensitivity
• Stiff neck
• One side of face swells up with or without an accompanying rash
  
• Horrendous rashes that can envelope limbs and/or scalp
• Searing pain
  
• Swelling with no known injury
• Butt spasms (makes it hard to sit, stand or lie down)

The list could be ten times longer, but you get the idea. Fibro used to get me down, mainly because I never knew when or where it would strike. It doesn't depress me too much these days because I guess I'm used to it -- As an aspie, I like patterns, even bad patterns and this is definitely a pattern.

The only parts of having fibro that I still struggle with are a) that far too many people think it's solely a "woman's disease" and b) for the most part, it's not a disability that others can see. I may be writhing in pain or entirely foggy in the head, but I just look like an average fellow to most people. So, a lot of people act as if it's all in my head or I'm exaggerating.

I'd willingly trade places with them for one week. I bet they'd soon sing a far different tune.

The Quote

One popular blogging strategy is to feature one or more quotes as the basis for a post. (I use this device quite frequently!) However, I've noticed a trend lately that I'm not altogether that pleased with. I visit a lot of blogs that feature a quote and nothing else. That's the entire post!

The whole point of a [public] personal blog is to share something of yourself with anyone who might happen by. When a quote is the whole shebang for the day's entry, I'm often left scratching my head.

The main question that comes to mind is why the particular quote[s] was selected. Does it resonate with you? If so, why? Is it posted to spur deep contemplation or because you feel it's controversial or outside the norm? Is it something you live by or do you simply find it interesting?

When no discussion, commentary or analysis is offered, there is no way for me to discern an answer. I have to guess and who knows if I'm guessing rightly or wrongly?

To be quite frank, if an entire post is a quote and nothing else, I usually skip it. I check the next post in my feed reader or I check out the next blog. If you habitually feature other people's thoughts and words without including some of your own, I won't follow your blog on a daily basis.

Maybe others feel differently.

Verse 80: Simple Lives

Verse Eighty
If you want to be free, learn to live simply.
Use what you have and be content where you are.
Quit trying to solve your problems by moving to
another place, by changing mates or careers.
Leave your car in the garage.
If you have a gun, put it away.
Sell that complex computer and
go back to using pencil and paper.
Rather than read every new book that comes along,
reread the classics.

Eat food grown locally.
Wear simple, durable clothing.
Keep a small home, uncluttered and easy to clean.
Keep an open calendar with periods of uncommitted time.
Have a spiritual practice and let family customs grow.

Of course, the world is full of novelty and adventure.
New opportunities come along every day.
So what?
~ John Heider rendition ~

This verse doesn't need a lot of extra commentary because Heider's rendition is a commentary unto itself!

It goes hand in hand with the saying: Live simply so others can simply live.

When we each lead simple lives, there is more for everyone. When we lead complex lives, there is less for everyone and we have to spend a great deal of time and resources protecting what we have from those who have not.

At the end of the day, all the money, possessions, power, status and fame a person can sop up won't make you a contented person -- instead it will make you a person who always is striving for more. The more you strive, the more stress you will feel throughout your body. The more stress you take on, the worse you will feel about yourself and the world around you. So, you will try to obtain even more money, possessions, power, status and fame to fill the void. It becomes a never-ending vicious circle.

Live simply and you free your being to walk a path of enlightenment.

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

Soup's On

Most days, I make my soup right here. I kind of look around to see what words are in my mental cabinet. I cut 'em and dice 'em. I string 'em together in different combinations. Sometimes I let it all simmer quietly in the pot, while, on other days, it's a rapid, rolling boil. Once thoroughly heated, I let the whole thing sit awhile before serving it up.

Some days it's really delicious soup. At other times, you all help mightily by adding some needed seasoning. Of course, there are times when it turns out rather tasteless. When the chef doesn't follow a recipe, you never know if it will come out yummy or not. All you can do is slurp up a spoonful or two, then you'll know if the proper balance of ingredients and flavors was achieved.

Today, I made soup in the kitchen. I looked around to see what was in the fridge, on one of the counters and in the cabinets. I found acorn squash, red potatoes, a yellow onion, carrots, celery, a clove or two of garlic, mushrooms and a handful of red chard leaves. So, I cut 'em and diced 'em. I threw it all in my favorite soup pot and mixed them up.

After adding some water, I allowed the mixture to boil for a while, then simmered it for 2 hours. At some point after most of the boiling, I added some Bragg's Liquid Amino Acids, a pinch of salt, pepper, paprika, tarragon, Italian seasoning, nutritional yeast and a bit more garlic, for good measure.

Since I was doing this freestyle -- I almost never use a recipe to make soup -- I wasn't sure until I tasted it if this effort would turn out delicious or not. As far as my palate goes, it's super yummy.

Alas, that's the difference between making soup here and in the kitchen. With the former, you can ladle out as many servings as you desire and it's all calorie free!! : ) Unfortunately, I don't think you will get to taste the latter.

But I've set a bowl out for you, nonetheless. Simply place your nose next to your monitor. Can't you smell the tantalizing aroma? Mmmmmmmmm. Good, isn't it?

More from Lao Tzu?

In a recent comment, the Aussie who writes the fantastic blog, Tow Wow, provided a link to a book I'd never heard of, Hua Hu Ching. I've read many books on the subject of Taoism and this one has never been mentioned directly and I don't believe it's been part of any bibliography. Of course, in and of itself, that doesn't mean much. I'm certainly no expert on every Taoist book ever written!

So, I did a little research. Here's what I found on Wikipedia (I found similar info on a few other sites too).

The Huahujing (pinyin: Huàhújīng; Wade-Giles: Hua Hu Ching; literally "Classic on Converting the Barbarians") is a Taoist book. Although traditionally attributed to Laozi, most scholars believe it is a forgery because there are no historical references to the text until the early 4th century CE. According to Louis Komjathy, the Taoist Wang Fu originally compiled the Huahujing circa 300 CE, and the extant version probably dates from the 6th century Northern Celestial Masters. The text is honorifically known as the Taishang lingbao Laozi huahu miaojing ("The Supreme Numinous Treasure's Sublime Classic on Laozi's Conversion of the Barbarians"). A copy of the Huahujing was discovered in the Mogao Caves near Dunhuang, and Liu Yi (1997) believes the original text dates from around the late 4th or early 5th century.

Emperors of China occasionally organized debates between Buddhists and Taoists, and granted political favor to the winners. The Taoists developed the Huahujing to support one of their favorite arguments against the Buddhists, writes Holmes Welch, their claim that "Lao Tzu had gone to India after his westward departure from China, and had converted—or become—the Buddha. Buddhism then was only a somewhat distorted offshoot of Taoism."

The Huahujing is somewhat longer than Laozi's Tao Te Ching taking the form of a question-and-answer dialogue between a young Prince and a learned Master. Thematically the text covers much of the same ground as the Tao Te Ching elucidating on the concept of the Tao - the universal force that purveys everything and everyone. The Huahujing makes reference to holistic medicine, Taoist meditation, feng shui, and the I Ching.

The text has been translated into English by Brian Walker and the Taoist priest Hua-Ching Ni.

Hmm. So what are we to make of this document? If it genuinely was written when many scholars believe it was and it has no connection to the mythic figure of Lao Tzu, should we simply toss it aside?

My response is: Why do that? Unlike a religion, philosophical Taoism doesn't have "sacred texts". Neither Lao Tzu nor Chuang Tzu were prophets or divinely inspired. They each were merely sages -- wise men -- who wrote the foundational works for what became known as Taoism.

So, from my standpoint, it's immaterial whether this text originated with an oral tradition thousands of years ago or a bunch of Taoists of the 4th century AD wrote it. Again, unlike religion, we contemporary Taoists don't have to be married solely to documents and thoughts that are from the annals of antiquity.

ANY book written at ANY time is fair game. Alan Watts wrote several superb books that expand on and discuss ideas from the Taoist perspective; he's only been dead for about 35 years and I'm very confident that he never met Chuang Tzu!!

The Hua Hu Ching may speak to some Taoists, but not to others. That's one of the beauties of this philosophical perspective -- each person gets to decide this for him or herself.

Once the series on the TTC ends on October 6 (note: I've added a post on personal reflections after the last of the 81 verses), I plan to showcase some quotes from the Hua Hu Ching along with some of my own reflections. I invite anyone interested to jump in on the discussion. Let's see where this takes us.

Verse 79: Right by Tao

Verse Seventy-Nine
Sometimes,
when an argument is settled,
feelings of resentment still remain
on either side.
What's the point of carrying a grudge?

The Masters care
about what they owe other people,
not what other people owe them.

People who are in touch with Tao
do their duty.
People who aren't
try to force others into submission.

Tao doesn't play favorites.
But if you do right by Tao,
Tao will do right by you.
~ Ron Hogan rendition ~

Does anyone ever really win an argument? Sometimes, it's a draw with all participants frustrated by the entire encounter. At other times, there is a more clear cut "winner", but does the loser really get over it?

I like how John Lash addresses the first part of this verse.

There is really nothing that one can do about it. The history of the world is a history of such resentment. Such resentment comes from having been exploited, or having been humiliated, or having been conquered, and it can last for centuries. Therefore, the Tai Chi person does his utmost to avoid conflict and the manipulation of others. If the Tai Chi person must use Tai Chi to defend himself, it is a sign that he has failed in his journey. The whole point of Tai Chi is to become one with others. The use of self-defence shows that the Tai Chi person has lost his way.

As with most things discussed in the TTC, what we're talking about here is an ideal. It would be unrealistic to expect humans not ever to disagree simply because we each view the world through our own subjective lenses. Often, these subjective vantage points conflict with each other and, in the process of threshing out these differences, we will find ourselves at loggerheads.

But I think Lash makes a very astute point -- it's the way we try to resolve our disagreements that matters. It's important to be respectful of another person's or group's perspective -- as you may have noticed, I have often have a bit of trouble in this area! Disagreements are okay as long as we engage in honest discussion. We humans tend to fail -- again, this often represents one of my shortcomings -- because "winning" the debate becomes so important that we resort to attempting to manipulate, humiliate, demean or conquer the other person or people involved.

Even worse, when engaged in a heated debate or discussion, most of us have two kinds of ground rules -- one set for everyone else and a special set for ourselves! When another person breaks one of these precious ground rules, we immediately jump up to cry FOUL! You're not being fair or honest or straightforward, we screech.

However, when the shoe is on the other foot and we're the ones abusing the process, we're quick to offer a convenient justification for our recalcitrant behavior. We always feel that we're the only ones who merit a get out of jail free card.

In the end, a Tao person doesn't go out of their way looking for an argument. However, if the situation is at an impasse and a discussion ensues, make your points honestly and respectfully, then leave it at that. Don't try to win at all costs because those costs are almost always too high.

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

Chuang Tzu Added to Sidebar

In my continuing efforts to offer links to a vast array of Taoist materials and resources, I've added a new section to the right sidebar, "Chuang Tzu". The only book on this topic I own is The Book of Chuang Tzu by Martin Palmer, though I've ordered a second book, The Essential Chuang Tzu by Sam Hamill, from my local library. I hope to purchase another version for my birthday this month. : )

If any of you know of a book or resource not listed, please note it in the comments section.

Hatred Machines

What has been happening in Northern Ireland, in Bosnia, in Israel/Palestine, and in many other places has been more than enough to convince a fair-minded person that we simply cannot afford any longer our old tribalisms, our old ethnonationalisms, and our old religions. They are all of them hatred machines. They unite only by dividing, binding people together in fellowship only be directing their aggression externally against the demonized Other. The heretic, the apostate, the heathen, the infidel, the enemy of God, the dirty foreigner -- all this is a vocabulary we can no longer afford.
~ Don Cupitt in After God: The Future Of Religion ~

Despite the fact that Cupitt wrote these words at least one dozen years ago, it sounds like an apt description of what is going on in this nation today. The far right -- having been trounced in recent elections -- is working feverishly to unite its base by attempting to tear the nation apart. The Other they have chosen to demonize is our nation's first black president and every move he makes is painted with the wide brush of socialism.

As I've made abundantly clear in this blog, I am no Obama fan myself. However, while I take great issue with many of the moves and policies undertaken by his administration, I've never once labeled him the devil incarnate. Heck, I absolutely loathed the Bush administration, but I never suggested that Bush, Cheney and company were the epitome of evil.

Fueling this current march of abject negativity is the most fundamentalist and conservative brand of Christianity. In the eyes of the Glenn Becks of the world, their task is one undertaken in the name of their god and those of us who do not bow down and prostrate themselves before his almighty throne are the infidels within our midst.

This same dynamic is afoot in other nations as well. Much of the negativity and anger that is seething over in the Middle East and other locales is fueled by conservative religious zealots who posit that anyone -- whether foreign or domestic -- who does not proscribe to their myopic views of the "will" of their creator should be cast into the fire.

How do we combat this wave of hatred? The knee-jerk reaction is to meet such hatred with our own brand of demonization. They're a bunch of crackpots! we say. Pay no attention to these idiots!

But this type of tact only plays into their hands. They want us to react this way to provide them with their own twisted justification to become even more vitriolic. If we choose to fight fire with fire, then, in their minds, we're declaring war and, in war, no strategy or act is out of bounds.

No, this is a time when we need fully to understand the Taoist perspective on contradiction. This is not the time to meet their religion-infused aggression with a stiff resolve. The only way to defeat hatred is with love and compassion.

If you merely hate that which hates you, you become fuel for a never-ending cycle. Hate runs in an ever-shrinking circle and each act or word of hatred only causes a more severe response in the next instance. In essence, it becomes a tight cyclone that will destroy everything in its path.

As Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. showed decades ago, meeting hatred head-on with love and justice is no easy thing. In fact, it takes great courage and patience. We need to look to people like them for an example of how we should address the current climate of unbridled hate.

Several of you have commented about my incessant criticisms of [conservative] Christianity. I make no apologies for it. I stand against ANY belief system that seeks to bind "people together in fellowship only be directing their aggression externally against the demonized Other." In this country, that belief system is fundamentalist Christianity. If I lived somewhere else, my critique might be aimed squarely at Judaism, Hinduism or Islam.

Verse 78: Contradictions Abound

Verse Seventy-Eight
Water is the softest and most yielding substance.
Yet nothing is better than water,
for overcoming the hard and rigid,
because nothing can compete with it.

Everyone knows that the soft and yielding
overcomes the rigid and hard,
but few can put this knowledge into practice.

Therefore the Master says:
"Only he who is the lowest servant of the kingdom,
is worthy to become its ruler.
He who is willing to tackle the most unpleasant tasks,
is the best ruler in the world."

True sayings seem contradictory.
~ John McDonald translation ~

To get us started today, I want to share with you a keen observation made by Roger Ames and David Hall about the nature of contradiction.

An hour spent with the Oxford English Dictionary might persuade us that, in spite of our common sense assumptions about the literalness and specificity of language, this linguistic phenomenon of the inseparability of opposites -- "appropriate language seems contradictory" -- is not unfamiliar within the evolution of the English language itself, perhaps recalling an earlier processual sensibility. "Terrific," for example, is both "bad" and "good"; "prodigious" is both "marvelous" and "ominous"; "enormity" is both "immense" and "horrendous"; "awful" is both "unpleasant" and "inspiring".

As I've written here before, I often had problems in job interviews when asked to list three positive traits about myself. In the same vein as the quote above, I have always figured that I simply have personality traits and it depends on the situation and/or the person making the judgment as to whether these traits are viewed as positive or negative.

For example, I tend to be very focused and persistent. If you agree with the subject or perspective I'm currently focused on, then you might view it as a positive and noble attribute. You might say, "Trey is the kind of person who will fight for the underdog to the very end; he's like a dog on a bone. I admire him for that!"

However, if you disagree with the subject or perspective I'm focused on, then you might view this trait in a very negative light. You might say, "Trey, give it a rest! The battle's over. Move on to something else."

I think this is true of most things in life. Almost every attribute I can think that a person might possess can be viewed as good or bad. It all depends on the innumerable variables involved. In essence, everything about each of us could be viewed as a contradiction.

And, in Taoist writing, the greatest example of contradiction is water. On one hand, it is shapeless, formless and appears as soft as possible. Yet, as Diane Dreher points out, its appearance can fool you!

Have you ever seen the Grand Canyon, carved by the Colorado River through miles of solid rock? How about Carlsbad Caverns or Mammoth Caves with their amazing stalagmites and stalagtites created as water deposited minerals drop by drop over centuries? These are nature's monuments to the power and persistence of water.

To live a Tao life, though it might seem counterintuitive, we need to learn to embrace the apparent contradictions and, in doing so, we fill find that they really aren't contradictions at all.

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

A Diving Platform

One of the aspects of blogging is that new people always are dropping by. For some, it's a quick peek and then "I'm out of here!" Others may tarry awhile, but it's still a one-time visit. A small percentage of first-time visitors become regular readers and this blog post is aimed at those of you who fall into this category (long-time readers have already heard this).

If you are are new to philosophical Taoism, I have a word of caution for you. While it is certainly not a bad thing at all to become familiar with the writings of the three "founders" of Taoism -- Lao Tzu, Chuang Tzu, and Lieh Tzu -- please do not look at these texts in the same way as a religious adherent looks at the Torah, the Christian Bible or the Koran.

There's nothing sacred about any of them! They weren't written by divine beings or part human-part god manifestations. You could go your whole life and never read one word in any of these three books. What these works represent is something akin to a diving platform.

An Olympic diver needs a platform to jump off of -- something that is solid and not slippery. But a diver won't accomplish much of anything if he or she simply stands on the platform! The point is to dive into the water.

In this same vein, the works of these three visionaries provide great insight and a foundation into Taoist philosophy. They tease out ideas and concepts that often seem foreign and contradictory. Their purpose is to provide you with a place to gain your footing. But none of them want you to stand there flat-footed -- they want you to dive into life and to swim in your own direction at your own pace!

Zhuangzi

So who is Zhuangzi or Chuang Tzu and how have his writings formed part of the basis for what is called philosophical Taoism? I made a quick perusal of the internet and offer these brief snippets as a way of introduction.

Chuang Tzu: The Next Voice
Chuang Tzu (399 - 295 B.C.) has always been an influential Chinese philosopher. His writing is at once transcendental while at the same time being deeply immersed within everyday life. He is at peace while at the same time moving through the world. There is a deep vein of mysticism within him which is illuminated by his very rational nature. His style of writing with its parables and conversations both accessible while at the same time pointing to deeper issues.

Chuang Tzu took the Taoist position of Lao Tzu and developed it further. He took Lao Tzu's mystical leanings and perspectives and made them transcendental. His understanding of virtue (te) as Tao individualized in the nature of things is much more developed and clearly stated. There is also a greater and more exact attention to Nature and the human place within it which also leads to his greater emphasis on the individual.

A very interesting and new notion which he brought into Chinese philosophy is that of self-transformation as a central precept in the Taoist process (an understanding that has also penetrated to the heart of Tai Chi Chuan). He believed in life as dynamic and ever changing, making him akin to both Heraclitus and Hegel in these regards. In general, our contemporary understanding of Taoist philosophy is deeply predicated on a very thorough intermingling of the ideas of Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu.

Chuang Tzu believed that life is transitory and that the pursuit of wealth and personal aggrandizement were vain follies, which distracted from seeing and understanding the world and contemplating its meaning...

Cosma Rohilla Shalizi -- Carnegie Mellon University
"Chuang Tzu'' means "Master Chuang''; his personal name was Chou, and he was a Taoist philosopher of the fourth century BC, contemporary with Plato and Aristotle. He was, according to the Records of the Historian, from a place called Meng, where he was "an official in the lacquer garden.'' (No one is very sure what that means.) China at the time was fragmented into a number of incessantly-fighting kingdoms --- the era is known as the "Warring States Period'' --- and it is thought that Meng was in the state of Sung. Chuang Chou is also recorded as being a member of the Chi-Hsia academy maintained by the larger and more advanced state of Ch'i, along with many of his most famous philosophical contemporaries, like Mencius and Hui Shih. Beyond this, we know exactly nothing about the life of Chuang Chou.

We don't even know that he composed the book that bears his name. Some of the book is brilliant; some is dreadfully dreary; the last chapter describes Chuang Tzu as one among many other philosophers. The book Chuang Tzu may be the work of several hands, or one person with off days, and a fondness for speaking about himself in the third person. The first seven, or "inner'' chapters, are traditionally regarded as genuine, and certainly are extremely good...

Taoism Initiation Page
We know fewer things about Chuang-tzu than we do about Lao-tzu. The main source of information is once again the historian Ssu-ma Ch'ien.

Chuang-tzu was born in today's Ho-nan province, in the village of Wei. He occupied a minor position in the administrative office of Ch'i-yuan. Apparently, he was a contemporary of Mencius, but what is peculiar is, in fact, that these two great polemists never met each other . Ssu-ma Ch'ien writes about Chuan-tzu:

Chuang had made himself well acquainted with all the literature of his time, but preferred the views of Lao-tzu, and ranked himself among his followers, so that of the more than ten myriads of characters contained in his published writings the greater part are occupied with metaphorical illustrations of Lao's doctrines.

Even more, Chuang-tzu becomes an indefatigable critic of Confucius and of his disciples. His critical work brilliantly combines satire and sophism.

Scientific Pantheism
From a literary point of view the Chuang Tzu is one of the richest texts in all of philosophy. At times the language has a diamond-like density in which every word counts. At times it is extended, full of dialogues, parables, stories, examples and images based on the whole of human life from low to high, and on natural phenomena.

The book was probably written by a number of followers of Chuang Tzu. It expresses a deeply compassionate insight into human weaknesses and sufferings, and a refreshing concern with common folk and the poor which is unusual in ancient texts.

Chuang Tzu was a full precursor of scientific pantheism. Like Heraklitus he accepted the reality of constant flux, and the full reality of physical death. Like most Chinese philosophers he did not believe in an afterlife.

He did not believe in any creator God, or any God at all in the Western sense. But he did believe in an underlying Tao, Way or One, from which the Heaven and Earth derived. This One transfused everything in the universe from the lowest to the highest.

The individual could attain mystical unity with this One by achieving complete emptiness or - a timeless state free of worries or selfish desires, open to impressions but transcending all individual material objects.

Much of the Chuang Tzu focuses on the benefits of inaction. On this it followed the Tao-te-Ching, but took its philosophy to extremes. People should abandon concern for fame, power and wealth and follow a simple life. They should distrust ethical and political schemes and follow their instincts....

More Than Lao Tzu

When exploring Taoist thought, it's very important not to become overly fixated on the writings attributed to Lao Tzu. While many have theorized that "his" philosophy forms the basis of what came to be called Taoism, his writings are neither sacred nor divine. They merely represent one strand of a school of thought.

Equally as important are the writings attributed to the other two "founders" of philosophical Taoism: Chuang Tzu and Lieh-Tzü.

It is interesting to note that of the big three only Chuang Tzu definitely is known to have been a real person and historians have a fairly good idea of when he lived. Though not all of the writings attributed to him came from his own pen, many of the chapters from his book are thought to be his original words.

As the series on the TTC comes to a close, I will shift my attention to Chuang Tzu. I think I've read all of his book -- it's far longer than the TTC -- but, like many Taoists, I haven't really focused on his take on Tao and life. I do know that, while there are many common strands between Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu, the latter's approach is far different. He can be quite hilarious and argumentative in the same breath!

As I reread the Book of Chuang Tzu, I'm sure many of the themes he touches on (as well as the manner of his delivery) will become fodder for future blog posts. That said, I make no promises of how frequent this new direction will rear its head. Understanding Chuang Tzu -- chiefly because of its shamanic influences -- is often no walk in the park.

Besides that, Chuang Tzu doesn't want you to get it easily. He defies conventional thinking at every turn and laughs about it uproariously along the path.

Verse 77: Drawing the Bow

Verse Seventy-Seven
The way of tian is like archers drawing their bows.
To hit something high in the air, they pull the string downward;
To hit something lower, they pull the string upward.
When they draw the string too far back, they let some go,
And when they have not drawn it far enough, they pull harder.

The way of tian is also to let some go where there is excess
And to augment where there is not enough.

The way of human beings on the other hand is not like this at all.
It is instead to take away from those who do not have enough
In order to give more to those who already have too much.

Who then in having too much is able to draw on this excess to make
an offering to the world?
Perhaps only those who are way-making (dao).

It is thus that sages act on behalf of things but do not make any claim on them,
They see things through to fruition but do not take credit for them.
It is in such a way that they refrain from making a display of their worth.
~ Roger Ames and David Hall translation ~

Both today's and tomorrow's verses return again to the idea of the apparent contradictions that are manifested in philosophical Taoism. As today's translation highlights, to hit something high, you must pull the drawstring low and to hit something low, you must pull the string up.

As John Lash sees it, this principle of opposites offers a strong commentary on humans within society.

Those who seek to be high with fame and money are violating the principles of the Tao and will never find Oneness, peace, and harmony. Those who live a life of humility and who are moving towards Oneness with all things will succeed because the universe is with them. Thus they achieve the highest pinnacle of human existence.

When a person seeks material and emotional baubles, enough is never enough. No matter how much you have, you always want a little bit more. You work to reach this platform only to find that your desire has now moved higher. So, your life becomes one lived on a treadmill. Since enough is never enough AND you're always worried that you will lose what you've previously gained, you can never be at peace. Your life will be marked by constant stress and tension.

The person who lives a life of simplicity has far less needs and so can more easily accept what they have. If more comes or does not come their way, they are content. There is little within them to generate stress and tension. So, they find peace.

What characterizes the human condition is that we each try to complicate our lives in our pursuit of balance and harmony, when, in truth, the simple and humble life is what will bring us what we crave most.

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