Three Taoisms and Their Approaches to Te

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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]

 

 

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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]

 

 

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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]

 

 

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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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