Taoism Essay, Research Paper

In order to travel into Taoism at all, we must get down by being in the frame of head

in which it can understood. You can non coerce yourself into this frame of head,

any longer than you can smooth crinkled Waterss. But allow & # 8217 ; s say that our get downing

point is that we forget what we know, or think we know, and that we suspend

judgement about practically everything, returning to what we were when we were

babes when we had non yet learned the names or the linguistic communication. And in this province,

although we have highly sensitive organic structures and really alive senses, we have no

agencies of showing what is traveling on around us. You are merely apparent nescient, but

still really much alive, and in this province you merely experience what is without naming

it anything at all. You know nil at all about anything called an external

universe in relation to an internal universe. You don & # 8217 ; Ts know who you are, you haven & # 8217 ; T

even the thought of the word you or me. It is before all that. Cipher has taught

you self command, so you don & # 8217 ; t know the difference between the noise of a auto

outside and a roving idea that enters your mind- they are both something

that happens. You don & # 8217 ; t place the presence of a idea that may be merely an

image of a passing cloud in your head & # 8217 ; s oculus or the passing car ; they

go on. Your breath happens. Light, all around you, happens. Your response to it

by winking happens. So, on one manus you are merely unable to make anything, and

on the other there is nil you are supposed to make. Cipher has told you

anything to make. You are wholly unable to make anything but be cognizant of the

bombilation. The ocular bombilation, the hearable bombilation, the touchable bombilation, the smellable bombilation & # 8211 ;

all around the bombilation is traveling on. Watch it. Don & # 8217 ; t inquire who is watching it ; you

hold no information about that yet. You don & # 8217 ; t know that it requires a spectator

for something to be watched. That is person & # 8217 ; s thought ; but you don & # 8217 ; t know that.

Lao-tzu says, “ The bookman learns something every twenty-four hours, the adult male of Taoist

unlearns something every twenty-four hours, until he gets back to non-doing. ” Merely

merely, without remark, without an thought in your caput, be cognizant. What else can

you do? You don & # 8217 ; t seek to be cognizant ; you are. You will happen, of class, that you

can non halt the commentary traveling on inside your caput, but at least you can

respect it as interior noise. Listen to your clicking ideas as you would

listen to the vocalizing of a boiler. We don & # 8217 ; t cognize what it is we are cognizant of,

particularly when we take it wholly, and at that place & # 8217 ; s this sense of something traveling

on. I can & # 8217 ; t even truly say & # 8216 ; this, & # 8217 ; although I said & # 8217 ; something traveling on. & # 8217 ; But

that is an thought, a signifier of words. Obviously I couldn & # 8217 ; Ts say something is traveling on

unless I could state something else isn & # 8217 ; t. I know gesture by contrast with remainder,

and while I am cognizant of gesture I am besides cognizant of at remainder. So possibly what & # 8217 ; s at

remainder International Relations and Security Network & # 8217 ; t traveling and what & # 8217 ; s in gesture is traveling, but I won & # 8217 ; t utilize that construct

so because in order for it to do sense I have to include both. If I say here

it is, that excludes what International Relations and Security Network & # 8217 ; t, like infinite. If I say this, it excludes that,

and I am reduced to hush. But you can experience what I am speaking about. That & # 8217 ; s

what is called Taoist, in Chinese. That & # 8217 ; s where we begin. Tao means fundamentally

“ manner ” , and so “ class ” ; the class of nature. Lao-tzu said

the manner of the operation of the Taoist is “ so of itself ” ; that is to

state it is self-generated. Watch once more what is traveling on. If you approach it with

this wise ignorance, you will see that you are witnessing a occurrence. In other

words, in this cardinal manner of looking at things there is no difference between

what you do, on the one manus, and what happens to you on the other. It is all

the same procedure. Just as your idea happens, the auto happens outside, and so

the clouds and the stars. When a Westerner hears that he thinks this is some

kind of fatalism or determinism, but that is because he still preserves in the

back of his head two semblances. One is that what is go oning is go oning to

him, and hence he is the victim of fortunes. But when you are in cardinal

ignorance there is no you different from what is go oning, and therefore it is

non go oning to you. It is merely go oning. So is “ you ” , or what you

call you, or what you will later name you. It is portion of the occurrence, and you

are portion of the existence, although purely talking the existence has no parts.

We merely call certain characteristics of the universe parts. However you can & # 8217 ; T

unplug them from the remainder without doing them to be non merely non-existent,

but to ne’er to hold existed at all. When a one experiences oneself and the

universe go oning together, the other semblance one is apt to hold is that it

is determined in the sense that what is go oning now follows needfully from

what happened in the past. But you don & # 8217 ; t cognize anything about that in your primal

ignorance. Cause and consequence? Why evidently non, because if you are truly naif

you see the yesteryear is the consequence of what is go oning now. It goes backwards into

the past, like a aftermath goes backwards from a ship. All the reverberations are

vanishing eventually, they go off, and off, and off. And it is all get downing

now. What we call the hereafter is nil, the great nothingness, and everything comes

out of the great nothingness. If you shut your eyes, and contemplate world merely with

your ears, you will happen there is a background of silence, and all sounds are

coming out of it. They start out of silence. If you close your eyes, and merely

listen, you will detect the sounds came out of nil, floated off, and off,

stopped being a sonic reverberation, and became a memory, which is another sort of reverberation.

It is really simple ; it all begins now, and therefore it is self-generated. It isn & # 8217 ; T

determined ; that is a philosophical impression. Nor is it freakish ; that & # 8217 ; s another

philosophical impression. We distinguish between what is orderly and what is random,

but of class we don & # 8217 ; t truly cognize what entropy is. What is & # 8217 ; so-of-itself, & # 8217 ;

sui generis in Latin, means coming into being spontaneously on its ain agreement,

and that, by the way, is the existent significance of virgin birth. That is the universe,

that is the Taoist, but possibly that makes us experience afraid. We may inquire, “ If all

that is go oning spontaneously, who & # 8217 ; s in charge? I am non in charge, that is

reasonably obvious, but I hope there is God or person looking after all

this. ” But why should at that place be person looking after it, because so there

is a new concern that you may non of idea of, which is, “ Who takes attention of

the caretaker & # 8217 ; s girl while the caretaker is busy taking attention? ” Who

guards the guards? Who supervises the constabulary? Who looks after God? You may state

“ God doesn & # 8217 ; t need looking after ” Oh? Well, nor does this. The Taoist is a

certain sort of order, and this sort of order is non rather what we call order

when we arrange everything geometrically in boxes, or in rows. That is a really

petroleum sort of order, but when you look at a works it is absolutely obvious that

the works has order. We recognize at one time that is non a muss, but it is non

symmetrical and it is non geometrical looking. The works looks like a Chinese

drawing, because they appreciated this sort of non-symmetrical order so much

that it became an built-in facet of their picture. In the Chinese linguistic communication

this is called Li, and the character for Li means the markers in jade. It besides

means the grain in wood and the fibre in musculus. We could state, excessively, that clouds

hold Li, marble has li, the human organic structure has li. We all recognize it, and the

creative person transcripts it whether he is a landscape painter, a portrayal painter, an

abstract painter, or a non-objective painter. They all are seeking to show the

kernel of Li. The interesting thing is, that although we all know what it is,

there is no manner of specifying it. Because Taoist is the class, we can besides name Li

the watercourse, and the forms of Li are besides the forms of fluxing H2O.

We see those forms of flow memorialized, as it were, as sculpture in the

grain in wood, which is the flow of sap, in marble, in castanetss, in musculuss. All

these things are patterned harmonizing to the basic rules of flow. In the

forms of fluxing H2O you will all sort of motives from Chinese art,

instantly recognizable, including the S-curve in the circle of yang-yin. So fifty-one

agencies so the order of flow, the fantastic dance form of liquid, because

Lao-tzu likens tao to H2O: The great Taoist flows everyplace, to the left and to

the right, It loves and nourishes all things, but does non lord it over them.

For as he remarks elsewhere, H2O ever seeks the lowest degree, which work forces

abhor, because we are ever seeking to play games of one-upmanship, and be on

top of each other. But Lao-tzu explains that the top place is the most

insecure. Everybody wants to acquire to the top of the tree, but so if they do the

tree will fall in. That is the false belief of American society. Lao-tzu says the

basic place is the most powerful, and this we can see at one time in Judo, or in

Aikido. These are self-defensive humanistic disciplines where you ever acquire underneath the

opposition, so he falls over you if he attacks you. The minute he moves to be

aggressive you go either lower than he is, or in a smaller circle than he is

traveling. And you have spin, if you know Aikido. You are ever whirling, and you

cognize how something whirling exercisings centrifugal force, and if person comes

into your field of centrifugal force he the gets flung out, but by his ain

bounciness. It is really funny. So, hence, the watercourse manner is the manner of Taoist.

Now, that seems to white Anglo-saxon Protestants, lazy, spineless, and

wholly inactive. I am ever being asked when I talk about things, “ If

people did what you suggest wouldn & # 8217 ; t they become awfully inactive? ” Well,

from a superficial point of position I would propose that a certain sum of

passiveness would be an first-class restorative for our sort of civilization because we

are ever making problem by making good to other people. We pay wars for

other peoples benefit, and effort to assist those life in

“ developing ” counties, non recognizing that in the procedure we may

destruct their manner of life. Economies and civilizations that have coexisted in

ecological balance for 1000s of old ages have been disrupted all around the

universe, with frequently black consequences. A celebrated Chinese anthropologist has written

that Chinese faith “ mirrors the societal landscape of its disciples. There

are as many significances as there are vantage points. “ 2 The same could be said

of the diverse tradition we call Taoism. Taoism was understood and practiced in

many ways, each reflecting the historical, societal, or personal state of affairs of its

disciples. While this diverseness may confound and vex the outside perceiver, it

histories for the resiliency of Taoism in China. Taoism was adaptable, germinating

to make full religious spreads created by the vagaries of life. Taoism can besides be

called “ the other manner, ” for during its full history, it has

coexisted alongside the Confucian tradition, which served as the ethical and

spiritual footing of the establishments and agreements of the Chinese imperium.

Taoism, while non radically insurgent, offered a scope of options to the

Confucian manner of life and point of position. These options, nevertheless, were non

reciprocally sole. For the huge bulk of Chinese, there was no inquiry of

taking between Confucianism and Taoism. Except for a few priggish

Confucianists and a few pious Taoists, the Chinese adult male or adult female practiced both & # 8211 ;

either at different stages of life or as different sides of personality and

gustatory sensation. Classical Taoist doctrine, formulated by Laozi ( the Old Master, 5th

century B.C. ? ) , the anon. editor of the Daodejing ( Classic of the Way and

its Power ) , and Zhuangzi ( third century B.C. ) , was a reinterpretation and

development of an ancient unidentified tradition of nature worship and divination.

Laozi and Zhuangzi, populating at a clip of societal upset and great spiritual

incredulity ( see article on Confucianism ) , developed the impression of the Dao ( Tao

& # 8211 ; manner, or way ) as the beginning of all creative activity and the force & # 8212 ; unknowable in

its kernel but discernible in its manifestations & # 8212 ; that lies behind the

operations and alterations of the natural universe. They saw in Dao and nature the

footing of a religious attack to life. This, they believed, was the reply to

the firing issue of the twenty-four hours: what is the footing of a stable, incorporate, and

digesting societal order? The order and harmoniousness of nature, they said, was far more

stable and digesting than either the power of the province or the civilised

establishments constructed by human larning. Healthy human life could boom

merely in agreement with Dao & # 8212 ; nature, simpleness, a casual attack to life.

The early Taoists taught the art of life and surviving by conforming with the

natural manner of things ; they called their attack to action wuwei ( wu-wei & # 8211 ;

lit. no-action ) , action modeled on nature. Their sages were wise, but non in the

manner the Confucian instructor was wise & # 8212 ; learned and a moral idol. Zhuangzi & # 8217 ; s

sages were frequently artisans & # 8212 ; meatmans or woodcarvers. The lowly craftsmans

understood the secret of art and the art of life. To be adept and originative,

they had to hold interior religious concentration and put aside concern with

externals, such as pecuniary wagess, celebrity, and congratulations. Art, like life, followed

the originative way of nature, non the values of human society. Thr

oughout Chinese

history, people weary of societal activism and aware of the breakability of human

accomplishments would retire from the universe and bend to nature. They might withdraw

to a countryside or mountain scene to commune with natural beauty. They would

compose or declaim poesy about nature, or paint a image of the scene,

trying to capture the originative forces at the centre of nature & # 8217 ; s verve.

They might portion their excursion with friends or more seldom & # 8212 ; a partner, imbibing

a spot of vino, and basking the fall leaves or the Moon. Chinese Utopian

Hagiographas besides frequently bore a Taoist cast. Tao Qian & # 8217 ; s ( T & # 8217 ; ao Ch & # 8217 ; ien, 372? -427?

A.D. ) celebrated “ Peach Blossom Spring ” told the narrative of a fisherman who

discovered by opportunity an idyllic community of Chinese who centuries earlier had

fled a war-worn land, and had since lived in perfect simpleness, harmoniousness, and

peace, obliviously incognizant of the convulsion of history beyond their grove.

Although these Utopians urged him to remain, the fisherman left to portion his

find with friends and a local functionary. He could ne’er happen his manner back.

He did non understand that this ideal universe was to be found non by following an

external way, but a religious way ; it was a province of head, an attitude, that

comprised the utopia.3 If Taoist thoughts and images inspired in the Chinese a love

of nature and an occasional retreat to it from the attentions of the universe to rest

and heal, it besides inspired an intense avowal of life: physical life & # 8211 ;

wellness, wellbeing, verve, length of service, and even immortality. Laozi and

Zhuangzi had reinterpreted the ancient nature worship and esoteric humanistic disciplines, but

they crept back into the tradition as ways of utilizing cognition of the Dao to

enhance and prolong life. Some Taoists searched for “ isles of the

immortals, ” or for herbs or chemical compounds that could guarantee

immortality. More frequently, Taoists were interested in wellness and verve ; they

experimented with herbal medical specialty and pharmacological medicine, greatly progressing these

humanistic disciplines ; they developed rules of macrobiotic cookery and other healthy diets ;

they developed systems of gymnastic exercises and massage to maintain the organic structure strong and

youthful. Taoists were protagonists both of thaumaturgy and of proto-science ; they were

the component of Chinese civilization most interested in the survey of and experiments

with nature. 4 Some Taoists believed that liquors pervaded nature ( both the

natural universe and the internal universe within the human organic structure ) . Theologically,

these countless liquors were merely many manifestations of the one Dao, which could

non be represented as an image or a peculiar thing. As the Taoist pantheon

developed, it came to mirror the imperial bureaucratism in Eden and snake pit. The

caput of the celestial bureaucratism was the jade Emperor, who governed liquors

assigned to supervise the workings of the natural universe and the disposal of

moral justness. The Gods in heaven acted like and were treated like the functionaries

in the universe of work forces ; idolizing the Gods was a sort of dry run of attitudes

toward secular governments. On the other manus, the devils and shades of snake pit

acted like and were treated like the toughs, criminals, and endangering aliens

in the existent universe ; they were bribed by the people and were ceremonially arrested by

the soldierly forces of the spirit officials.5 The common people, who after all

had small influence with their earthly swayers, sought by idolizing liquors to

maintain problems at bay and guarantee the approvals of wellness, wealth, and length of service.

The initiated Taoist priest saw the many Gods as manifestations of the one Dao.

He had been ceremonially trained to cognize the names, ranks, and powers of of import

liquors, and to ceremonially direct them through speculation and visual image. In

his speculations, he harmonized and reunited them into their integrity with the 1

Dao. However, merely the educated trusters knew anything of the composite

theological system of the priest. Thus communal rites had two degrees: ( a ) a

priestly degree, which was guided by the priest & # 8217 ; s speculation and observed by

major frequenters, who were educated laypersons ; and ( B ) a public and dramatic rite,

normally performed by lower graded Taoist helpers, which was theatrical in

signifier. It conveyed the significance through seeable actions such as mounting blade

ladders, or illuming and drifting lanterns. The same ritual had a subtle

metaphysical-mystical construction for the theologists, and a seeable dramatic

construction for the ballad audience.6 Taoism was besides an of import motive in fiction,

theatre, and common people narratives. Local flakes who did non care for wealth and

place were frequently seen as “ Taoist ” because they spurned Confucian

values and wagess. In fiction Taoists were frequently flakes ; they besides had

charming or prophetic powers, which symbolized their religious attainment. They

healed, restored young person and verve, predicted the hereafter, or read work forces & # 8217 ; s psyches.

They were besides depicted as the stewards of a system of moral requital ; the

Taoist Gods in Eden and snake pit exacted rigorous penalties for error, and

would allow no sinner off the hook. On the one manus, so, they were

non-conformists who embodied different values and life manners ; on the other,

their rigorous moral requital reinforced the values of the society. Taoism was

“ the other manner, ” but it did non endanger the moral consensus. It was,

possibly, a sort of safety valve to get away the force per unit areas of society, or at least

a complementary channel for alternate positions and values. Chinese Communists see

Taoism as fatalistic and inactive, a hurt to socialist Reconstruction. The

People & # 8217 ; s Republic has kept alive some practical humanistic disciplines, such as the usage of

traditional herbal medical specialties, which have longstanding links with Taoism. In a

larger sense, since Taoism functioned in imperial China as a retreat and

backdown from the battles of the political sphere, one might state that in a

really general manner the current relaxation of political force per unit area in reaction

against the surpluss of the Gang of Four represents a Taoistic stage of Chinese

Maoism. When I was a sophomore in high school, I became positive that Asiatics

and Americans were excessively different. I besides thought that possibly true apprehension

between the two was beyond the kingdom of possibility. What started me in this

way of idea was a category on universe faiths. An aged Catholic priest

taught this category, and while he surely knew a great trade about Catholicism,

it rapidly became clear that he was non as knowing about other faiths.

Because of my bicultural background, his deficiency of apprehension was particularly

clashing whenever he spoke of Asiatic religions and beliefs. My ears perked up when we

discussed the Chinese pattern of ascendant worship. Most of the category was

non-Asian and found this construct perplexing. One schoolmate raised the inquiry:

What was the principle or ground to oblige the Chinese to idolize their

ascendants? The priest shrugged, professed ignorance, and so speculated that

the Chinese were fearful of the liquors of their ascendants. Possibly the rite was

meant to pacify them, so that these liquors would non penalize their posterities

with some kind of expletive. This was so far off the grade that I became immediately

incensed. I jumped to my pess and spoke up to belie the instructor. In

retrospect, I think I likely caused rather a scene. At that minute in clip,

about two decennaries ago, the foolhardy drift of young person possessed me, and I didn & # 8217 ; T

even see a more diplomatic attack. From this incident I learned that

many, many people in America did non hold the first hint on what ascendant

worship meant to the Chinese. They regarded this indispensable basis of

Chinese spiritualty as a quaint, alien rite, with all the furnishings of

crude superstitious notions. Recently, I came across another point that seemed to

reinforce this feeling. Prior to his ill-timed passing, celebrated writer and

scientist Carl Sagan penned his last book, The Demon-Haunted World. In that

book, Sagan spoke against the spread of irrational beliefs in the universe. To

exemplify the diminution of scientific thought in China, he pointed to the

revival of “ ancient Chinese patterns ” such as I Ching luck

stating and ascendant worship ( page 17 ) . There it was once more: the insouciant equation

of ascendant worship with crude, out-dated superstitious beliefs. Apparently

it is non merely the mean individual in America that does non understand this

facet of Chinese civilization, but celebrated intellectuals every bit good. Let & # 8217 ; s put the record

consecutive one time and for all: ascendant worship springs non from fright or

superstitious notions, but from gratitude and regard & # 8211 ; perchance the highest echelon of

all human emotions. “ Drink H2O, think of beginning ” is the phrase that

the Chinese associate most frequently with the construct of ascendant worship. The thought

is to ne’er take anything for granted. As you quench your thirst, wear & # 8217 ; t bury

the spring or good where the H2O comes from. Without that beginning you would non

be imbibing profoundly. In merely the same manner, one should ne’er, of all time take one & # 8217 ; s own

being for granted. Without your ascendants you would non be here. If they

hadn & # 8217 ; t lived, loved, struggled, fought, and survived, you would non be. Just

as you cherish your ain life, it makes perfect sense that you should besides

care for your forbears, for they are the 1s who paved the manner for you. This is

the existent kernel of ascendant worship: a province of grace known as thankfulness.

It & # 8217 ; s a feeling that you are unambiguously blessed, as the last nexus in an

unthinkably long concatenation of human existences stretching all the manner back to the

generation of humanity. You feel really much a portion of this ancient tradition and the

experiencing gives you power and strength. In that respect, ascendant worship is non

needfully superstitious. One does non hold to believe in the being of

shades or religious existences to experience a sense of gratitude and grasp.

Similarly, showing that gratitude and grasp through a ritual International Relations and Security Network & # 8217 ; T

ever an indorsement of the supernatural. The accent on thankfulness extends

into other facets of Chinese thought every bit good. For case, it elevates filial

piousness to its rightful topographic point as a high virtuousness. This sort of accent does non

exist in the “ advanced ” West, where excessively many of the aged dice lonely

and are non commemorated by their posterities after their passing. The Chinese

pattern is a crisp contrast to this deplorable province. In that respect, ascendant

worship is anything but crude. The ability to experience gratitude Markss an

single as a worthy human being ; the establishment of ritualized Thanksgiving

Markss a people as a genuinely civilised society. One ground why many Westerners have

such a tough clip with this construct is the unfortunate usage of the word

“ worship. ” The intension of this word is wholly spiritual, with

all the deductions of divinities and prayers. Without any other information,

the typical Westerner of course assumes that the Chinese regard their ascendants

as Gods on a similar degree as Buddha or Jesus. This is a false premise that

the Chinese would happen farcical or absurd if of all time they figure out what their

American friends are truly believing. Surely the Chinese believe their

ascendants exist as religious entities, but to travel from at that place to godhood is a

mightily large stretch, so. A better word than “ worship ” would be

“ Communion. ” When the Chinese clasp incense sticks in their custodies and

face the hereditary shrine or headstone, they are in soundless supplication to the dead.

The content of such supplications have to make with salutations, the paying of respects,

invitation to portion a repast ( therefore the offerings of nutrient ) , and request to watch

over the safety of household members. Note that the Chinese supplications to ascendants make

non include imploring for things like forgiveness for wickednesss or evildoings,

triumph over Evil, vanquishing of one & # 8217 ; s enemies, or a guaranteed entryway into

heaven. That makes sense because departed household members are at best guardian

angels, non Gods. When you look at it this manner, is the Chinese pattern of

ascendant worship/communion truly so eccentric after all? In the West, do we non

besides pray to departed household members? We most surely do, and all without

presuming that beloved old Aunt Meg has, since her decease, become the Almighty Saint

Meg of the Seventh Host. The Catholic priest from my high school yearss would

ne’er assume that we pray to the beloved departed out of some fright of the

supernatural. Carl Sagan, despite his atheist strong beliefs, would ne’er believe of

it as some superstitious and irrational mumbo-jumbo. What the Chinese do, in

kernel, sums to the exact same thing. And yet Americans seem to take a firm stand on

seeing Chinese imposts as both more and less than they really are. Possibly

this is because there is a certain demand in the Occidental mind to see the

East as cryptic and cryptic. If so, the penetration we have gained today

may come as a letdown. In the concluding analysis, and despite superficial

furnishings and different manners, we all portion a common, cosmopolitan need to be in

touch with the religious universe. Beneath the multicultural veneer, our indispensable

human nature is similar. The penetration gives me a new position every bit good. It

Tells me that my sophomoric high school positions were incorrect. The East and the West

are more similar than different. Possibly true understanding between the two International Relations and Security Network & # 8217 ; T

an impossible dream after all!