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]
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