Although ascetics and
hermits such as Shen Tao (who advocated that one 'abandon knowledge and discard
self') first wrote of the 'Tao' it is with the sixth century B.C. philosopher
Lao Tzu (or 'Old Sage' -- born Li Erh) that the philosophy of Taoism really
began. Some scholars believe was a slightly older contemporary of Confucius
(Kung-Fu Tzu, born Chiu Chung-Ni). Other scholars feel that the Tao Te Ching,
is really a compilation of paradoxical poems written by several Taoists using
the pen-name, Lao Tzu. There is also a close association between Lao Tzu and
the legendary Yellow Emperor, Huang-ti.
According to legend Lao
Tzu was keeper of the archives at the imperial court. When he was eighty years
old he set out for the western border of China, toward what is now Tibet,
saddened and disillusioned that men were unwilling to follow the path to
natural goodness. At the border (Hank Pass), a guard, Yin Xi (Yin Hsi), asked
Lao Tsu to record his teachings before he left. He then composed in 5,000
characters the Tao Te Ching (The Way and Its Power).
Whatever the truth,
Taoism and Confucianism have to be seen side-by-side as two distinct responses
to the social, political and philosophical conditions of life two and a half
millennia ago in China. Whereas Confucianism is greatly concerned with social
relations, conduct and human society, Taoism has a much more individualistic
and mystical character, greatly influenced by nature.
In Lao Tzu's view
things were said to create "unnatural" action (wei) by shaping
desires (yu). The process of learning the names (ming) used in the doctrines
helped one to make distinctions between good and evil, beautiful and ugly, high
and low, and "being" (yu) and "non- being" (wu), thereby
shaping desires. To abandon knowledge was to abandon names, distinctions,
tastes and desires. Thus spontaneous behavior (wu-wei) resulted.
The Taoist philosophy
can perhaps best be summed up in a quote from Chuang Tzu:
"To regard the
fundamental as the essence, to regard things as coarse, to regard accumulation
as deficiency, and to dwell quietly alone with the spiritual and the
intelligent -- herein lie the techniques of Tao of the ancients."
One element of Taoism
is a kind of existential skepticism, something which can already be seen in the
philosophy of Yang Chu (4th century B.C.) who wrote:
"What is man's
life for? What pleasure is there in it? Is it for beauty and riches? Is it for
sound and colour? But there comes a time when beauty and riches no longer
answer the needs of the heart, and when a surfeit of sound and colour becomes a
weariness to the eyes and a ringing in the ears.
"The men of old
knew that life comes without warning, and as suddenly goes. They denied none of
their natural inclinations, and repressed none of their bodily desires. They
never felt the spur of fame. They sauntered through life gathering its
pleasures as the impulse moved them. Since they cared nothing for fame after
death, they were beyond the law. For name and praise, sooner or later, a long
life or short one, they cared not at all."
Contemplating the
remarkable natural world Lao Tzu felt that it was man and his activities which
constituted a blight on the otherwise perfect order of things. Thus he
counseled people to turn away from the folly of human pursuits and to return to
one's natural wellspring.
The five colours blind
the eye.
The five tones deafen
the ear.
The five flavours dull
the taste.
Racing and hunting
madden the mind.
Precious things lead
one astray.
Therefore the sage is
guided by what he feels and not by what he sees.
He lets go of that and
chooses this.
The central vehicle of
achieving tranquillity was the Tao, a term which has been translated as 'the
way' or 'the path.' Te in this context refers to virtue and Ching refers to
laws. Thus the Tao Te Ching could be translated as The Law (or Canon) of Virtue
and it's Way. The Tao was the central mystical term of the Lao Tzu and the
Taoists, a formless, unfathomable source of all things.
Look, it cannot be seen
- it is beyond form.
Listen, it cannot be
heard - it is beyond sound.
Grasp, it cannot be
held - it is intangible.
These three are
indefinable, they are one.
From above it is not
bright;
From below it is not
dark:
Unbroken thread beyond
description.
It returns to
nothingness.
Form of the formless,
Image of the imageless,
It is called
indefinable and beyond imagination.
Stand before it - there
is no beginning.
Follow it and there is
no end.
Stay with the Tao, Move
with the present.
Knowing the ancient
beginning is the essence of Tao.
Lao Tzu has Yin Xi
appear to the Barbarian as the Buddha.
Lao Tzu has Yin Xi
appear to the Barbarian as the
Buddha.
Lao Tsu taught that all
straining, all striving are not only vain but counterproductive. One should
endeavor to do nothing (wu-wei). But what does this mean? It means not to
literally do nothing, but to discern and follow the natural forces -- to follow
and shape the flow of events and not to pit oneself against the natural order
of things. First and foremost to be spontaneous in ones actions.
In this sense the
Taoist doctrine of wu-wei can be understood as a way of mastering circumstances
by understanding their nature or principal, and then shaping ones actions in
accordance with these. This understanding has also infused the approach to
movement as it is developed in Tai Chi Chuan.
Understanding this,
Taoist philosophy followed a very interesting circle. On the one hand the
Taoists, rejected the Confucian attempts to regulate life and society and
counseled instead to turn away from it to a solitary contemplation of nature.
On the other hand they believed that by doing so one could ultimately harness
the powers of the universe. By 'doing nothing' one could 'accomplish
everything.' Lao Tzu writes:
The Tao abides in
non-action,
Yet nothing is left
undone.
If kings and lords
observed this,
The ten thousand things
would develop naturally.
If they still desired
to act,
They would return to
the simplicity of formless substance.
Without form there is
no desire.
Without desire there is
tranquillity.
In this way all things
would be at peace.
In this way Taoist
philosophy reached out to council rulers and advise them of how to govern their
domains. Thus Taoism, in a peculiar and roundabout way, became a political
philosophy. The formulation follows these lines:
The Taoist sage has no
ambitions, therefore he can never fail. He who never fails always succeeds. And
he who always succeeds is all- powerful.
From a solitary
contemplation of nature, far removed from the affairs of men, can emerge a
philosophy that has, both in a critical as well a constructive sense -- a
direct and practical political message. Lao Tzu writes:
Why are people
starving?
Because the rulers eat
up the money in taxes.
Therefore the people
are starving.
Why are the people
rebellious?
Because the rulers
interfere too much.
Therefore they are
rebellious.
Why do people think so
little of death?
Because the rulers
demand too much of life.
Therefore the people
take life lightly.
Having to live on, one
knows better than to value life too much.
No comments:
Post a Comment