Three Taoisms and Their Approaches to Te


Three Taoisms and Their Approaches to Te

The Taoist's desire to live life by the power (te) of the Tao has developed into three currents within the stream of Taoism. The first, with which Yakrider.com is mostly concerned, is commonly called"Philosophical Taoism," which is reflected in the Tao Te Ching of Lao Tzu, the writings of Chuang-Tzu, and Lieh-Tzu. Philosophical Taoism is reflective, usually meditative, and involves some vitalizing programs to conserve Tao's power as it flows through human beings. In the philosophical Taoism of the Tao Te Ching, and Chuang- Tzu, the emphasis is on conserving te by using it efficiently.

A second current of Taoism might be called"vitalizing Taoism" because it seeks to increase or augment the supply of the Tao's power which it finds in the life-force, or ch'i, through three means: movement, matter, and mind. In this stream you will find ch'i increasing training programs based on movement (Tai Ch'i Chuan, Kung- Fu exercises, etc.) which also worked as ch'i unblocking practices. Acupuncture was developed for the same reasons. Matter has vital energy as well, so Taoists developed the pharmacopoeia of the use of herbs to increase this vital power bodily, and experimented (sometimes fatally!) to find elixirs of immortality. Air is the most rarified matter and thus we find the famous Taoist breathing techniques to rejuvenate health and energize the body. Thirdly, the mind itself becomes important for the free flow of Tao's power. Here we find the contemplatives and hermits who developed Taoist meditation. Huston Smith summarizes well: "This practice involved shutting out distractions and emptying the mind to the point where the power of the Tao might bypass bodily filters and enter the self directly.”Some call the practice Taoist yoga because of its similarity to the raja yoga of India. The Taoist yogis had a peculiar point of departure from their Indian counterparts: they believed that the yogi could accumulate enough ch'i through meditation that it could be"transmitted psychically to a community to enhance its vitality and harmonize its affairs" (Smith).

This brings us near the third stream of Taoism and its approach to the power of the Tao. It can be called"religious Taoism"because it is more organized than the other two and its approach to te is as vicarious power through a Taoist priesthood. Where philosophical Taoism sought to conserve and manage power, and vitalizing Taoism sought to increase the supply of this power, a third approach was still needed. The first two took time which not everybody had and practices which not everyone could perform consistently. There were still villages of work-a-day people who needed help, plagues to be stopped, malevolent ghosts to be dealt with, rains to be induced, etc. And this is where the priests helped. They used their understanding of the flow of ch'i to correct situations (think Feng- shui here), and used their store of power for those who were not adept in the correct manipulation forces. This became what some call"Church Taoism"- the folk religion of China with its shamanistic priests, rituals, and vicariously empowering practices.

There are a few other terms in Chinese that need to be understood in order to better understand the meaning of Tao. These terms are"Li"- which we translate as"organic pattern"," Tzu-jan"Which we translate as"that which is so of itself", and"Wu wei"Which is translated as"Without effort"or perhaps better stated"Without forcing.”

Before we get started on these terms let us also share that Lao Tzu stated"The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao.”It cannot be put into words, we can generalize but the part can never understand the whole. We can only describe that which we have experienced, and since we cannot experience the entire cosmos, we do not have words or symbols for it. In the ancient scriptures of most all religions of the world, there was no word for what we now so readily call God, Brahman, Allah, Buddha, Tao, or whatever symbol we choose to use to describe that which we do not know. In fact some scriptures wrote in letters or symbols that made no sense in order to get that exact message across. Sadly somewhere along the line it was decided to put names to this and it is here that many of our troubles began. God versus Tao, Buddha, Allah, Brahman, etc.

With that said, let us go into these three Taoist terms and see what we can learn about Taoism.

Li

Alan Watts described three basic philosophical ideas of nature. The western mechanical view of nature which stems from ancient Greek science as well as from the Bible in which God made a man out of clay and breathed the breath of life into him. Viewpoints that everything in nature was"made", as man was made of clay. So we in the west generally have a mechanical view toward nature, that all things in nature are"made"of something other than itself and that each has a function or reason for being. Our very language is rooted in this viewpoint. What is quite interesting is that western mans' scientific quest to find out exactly what everything is made of has led us to some amazing discoveries, which seem to point towards what many people in various parts of the world have known for thousands of years. (See our unified field of behavior and science pages for more on this.)

The second philosophical viewpoint toward nature is that of the Hindu tradition, where nature is a drama. Brahman (The Supreme Being) is basically bored, the principle being that if you had full control over everything it would be a lot of fun for a while but you would soon become extremely tired, lonely and bored, you would know absolutely everything that was going to happen... there would be no surprises, no fun. So, for fun, Brahman cycles through periods of time (Kalpas), one of which he falls into a deep sleep and dreams. In these dreams he is playing the parts of all things in nature, including you and I. He does this to live in the myriad of unknowns and surprises, thoroughly convinced that everything is real (not his dream). So this viewpoint takes the stance that everything is Brahman playing out a drama. Brahman is playing out all the parts, wearing all the masks. Nothing is to be taken seriously, because it is all just a play, a drama put on by Brahman. This is a circular cycle that goes on and on and on, never ending.

The third viewpoint of nature, and the one we will discuss at length here, is from the Chinese, who use the word Li, to describe nature as organic pattern, translated as the markings in jade, the grain in wood, and the fiber in muscle. All of it is just infinitely beautiful, flowing in all sorts of complicated patterns. There is an order to it, but you cannot put your finger on it. It simply cannot be measured or put into words or symbols. When you look at a cloud, it is not a cube, nor is it circular. It has no specific order to it that we can describe and yet it is perfect. Look at a tree, a mountain, or the foam on water when it hits the shoreline, even the stars; all amazingly beautiful, in all kinds of wild and crazy patterns. All of it has an order to it that we simply cannot measure or describe. This is Li - organic pattern.

The Tao is not something different from nature, the birds, the bees, the trees, or ourselves. The Tao is the way all that behaves. So the basic Chinese idea of the universe is that it is an organism. You cannot find the controlling center of it, because there isn't any. Everything is a system of interrelated components, all interdependent on the other. Like bees and flowers; you will not find bees where there are no flowers, nor flowers where there are no bees or other insects that do their equivalent. Therefore though they look very different, they are in fact inseparable. They arise mutually. There is no cause and effect as we study with such veracity here in the west. Light and dark, high and low, sound and silence - all are only experienced in terms of their polar opposites.

This complete system of interdependence is Tao.

tzu-jan

This brings us to a Chinese term, tzu-jan, which we also translate as nature. Not a class of things as we in the west classify nature, but rather an entire point of view. It means literally, that which is so of itself. Our word for it might be spontaneity. Like your heart beat, or controlling your body temperature, and replacing the millions of cells in your body each day, it does all of this by itself. Nothing has to be controlled, it simply is. In western religions we take comfort in a higher being, a controller, a maker, but how many of us have asked the question"Well who watches God?”, who guards the guards? Oh, you say God doesn't need to be watched, well then why does all of this? This is tzu-jan -"that which is so of itself.”

wu wei

The third term we'd like to discuss is wu wei - without effort, without forcing. Huston Smith describes wu wei as"creative quietude" and"pure effectiveness", which he describes as the most efficient and natural way of acting. The person of wu wei operates in the naturalness, suppleness, and spontaneity of the flow of Tao, not forcing, not self-consciously"Achieving"things. It can also be translated as"not doing"or"do-nothingness", yet is the supreme activity, arising naturally when the deepest levels of the self are in tune with Tao.

Eternal Tao doesn't do anything,
yet it leaves nothing undone.
If you abide by it, everything
in existence will transform itself.
When, in the process of self-transformation,
desires are aroused, calm them with
nameless simplicity.
When desires are dissolved in the primordial presence,
peace and harmony naturally occur,
and the world orders itself. [Tao Te Ching 37]





The soft overcomes the hard in the world
as a gentle rider controls a galloping horse.
That without substance can penetrate where there is no space.
By these I know the benefit of nonaction [wu wei].
Teaching without words, working without actions—
nothing in the world can compare to them. [Tao Te Ching 43]





In the pursuit of learning,
every day something is added.
In the pursuit of Tao,
every day something is dropped.
Less and less is done until
one arrives at nonaction [wu wei].
When nothing is done,
nothing is left undone.
The world is won by letting things
take their own course.
If you still have ambitions,
it's out of your reach. [Tao Te Ching 48]





The great Tao flows everywhere,
both to the left and to the right.
It loves and nourishes all things,
but does not lord it over them,
and when good things are accomplished,
it lays no claim to them.
The Tao having done everything, always escapes
and is not around to receive any thanks or acknowledgement.
Like water, the Tao always seeks the lowest level, which man abhors.
It does not show greatness and is therefore truly great. [Tao Te Ching 34]

http://www.yakrider.com/Tao/Taoism_Daoism.htm





Disclaimer: Our material may be copied, printed and distributed by referring to this site. This site also contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available to our readers under the education and research provisions of "fair use" in an effort to advance freedom of inquiry for a better understanding of religious, spiritual and inter-faith issues. The material on this site is distributed without profit. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes other than "fair use" you must request permission from the copyright owner.






search



Home
Introduction
New Age Children
Miracle Photo
Meeting His Messengers
Prophecies
Age Of Aquarius
Nostradamus
Mayan End Age 12-21-2012
Our Conscious Earth
Adi Shakti's Descent
Witnessing Holy Spirit's Miracles
Jesus' Resurrection
Book Of Revelation
His Human Adversary
Kitab Al Munir
Al-Qiyamah (The Resurrection)
His Light Within
His Universe Within
His Beings Within
Subtle System
Lectures To Earth
Shri Mataji
Self-Realization
Drumbeat Of Death
Table Of Contents
HALF THE SKY Forum
Contact Us
Declaration of the Paraclete
The Paraclete opens the Kingdom of God
Cool Breeze of the Resurrection - BBC 1985
The Supreme Source Of Love 1985
The Great Mother
The Vision Part One
The Vision Part Two
The Vision Part Three
The Vision Part Four