Well, the first challenge in understanding the Tao is its definition. Translated literally, ‘The Tao’ means ‘The Way’. The very first verse of this ancient teaching warns that it’s useless to try to define or name The Tao:
The Tao that can be told
Is not the eternal Tao
The name that can be named
Is not the eternal Name.
Despite this warning, the Western mind needs to describe it in a language that it understands, such as, “The intangible formless essence of all things. It is the noumenon at the root of all phenomena, the invisible caused by the presupposed by the visible world of effect. Without it, nothing could exist, and yet our senses perceive only the outer manifestations.” – Anonymous
If I were to hazard a guess, the source there could be a professor of Phenomenology at a prestigious university.
I see online that the Tao is described as the ‘chill’ philosophy: ‘just go with the flow, bro!’ But living the Tao is not a philosophy but a way of ‘being’ and warrants our attention to its basic principles.
In spite of all the failed attempts to describe the Tao by Western scholars and their need for logic and the rejection of paradox, there is much wisdom to be found in the Tao. One analogy for understanding the practical application of the Tao is to imagine a fish tank full of muddy water. Eventually, if we calmly wait, the mud settles to the bottom. If we try to remove all the dirt from the tank with our hands, we end up worse off than before.
I actually apply that same analogy to my mindfulness practice, where I just allow all the mud and debris to settle a little. Ancient Taoist scholars such as Chuang Tzu came to realize that the human mind works on the same principle. Instead of trying to grasp, seek, and control, when we allow ourselves to be peaceful and still, we find we return to balance effortlessly. And in many cases, this is practical advice.
Silence is a great source of strength
When the mind is still
The whole Universe surrenders.– Chuang Tzu, 4th century B.C.E.
Related article: The Way Of Chuang Tzu & Four Practices Of Taoism
The natural world of the Tao
The Tao Te Ching was inspired by the observation of the harmony and beauty of the natural world: the ebb and flows of the tides, the phases of the moon which tells us when to sow and when to harvest, the cyclical nature of the seasons, rivers flowing effortlessly to the sea, returning to their source, the clouds nourishing all life with precious water, and the sun setting at dusk and rising again at dawn.
One only needs to spend some time in nature to feel the pulsating harmony of life. Over and over again central themes of the Taoist scholars and the original text of the Tao Te Ching speak of ‘the flow’, of all things eventually ‘returning to their source’, and water. The Taoist would not fear death because it is part of a grander scheme of us effortlessly returning to our source and is simply the yin and yang of existence. But the Tao Te Ching recognized that the harmony and ease of the natural world had been lost by mankind.
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Wu wei
One of the key principles of Taoism is called wu wei, which can be translated as ‘doing without doing’ or ‘actionless action’. This is difficult to describe but it fundamentally means that instead of straining to force things to happen which usually entails fighting against the current of life, the Taoists yield to the flow, allowing the right action to spontaneously arise. How many times have we rushed projects faced with unreasonable deadlines or multi-tasked everything so that the results are not what we would wish for.
“My greatest happiness consists in doing nothing whatsoever that is calculated to obtain happiness; and this, in the minds of most people, is the worst possible course. I will hold to the saying that ‘Perfect Joy’ is to be without Joy. Perfect Praise is to be without Praise. If you ask ‘what ought to be done’ and ‘what ought not to be done’ on earth to create happiness, I answer that these questions do not have an answer. There is no way of determining such things.
Yet, at the same time, if I cease striving for happiness, the ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ at once become apparent all by themselves. Contentment and well-being at once become possible the moment you cease to act with them in view, and if you practice non-doing (wu wei), you will have both happiness and well-being.”
– Chuang Tzu
Heaven does nothing; its non-doing is its serenity.
Earth does nothing; its non-doing is its rest.
From the union of these two non-doings
All actions proceed; all things are made.
Rather than trying to make life conform to the whims of our ego, a powerful Taoist practice is to be still, go within, and find out what ‘life’ wants—what life wants us to do, have, and create.
Wu wei is not woo woo
There is a lot of misunderstanding about the practice of wu wei. Does it mean doing nothing? No, it means that when we undertake any task, project, or endeavor, we give it our undivided attention. In other words, do it mindfully. When we find ourselves in doubt over the appropriate next step, we slow down or stop until the next action becomes clear. Once we are satisfied that we have given a task, endeavor, or project our very best effort, we let go of the outcome: a powerful practice in Stoicism.
Living the Tao means living in a state of wu wei and by doing so our actions become effortless and the results far more likely to yield positive results. It’s like planting seeds and then having the patience to have them sprout and grow to fruition.
The Tao Te Ching warns that forcing actions are likely to lead to chaos. Lao Tzu spells this out in Verse 15 of the Tao Te Ching:
Verse 15 of the Tao Te Ching
Rushing into action you fail
Trying to grasp things, you lose them.
By forcing a project to completion
You ruin what was almost ripe.
Can you remain still and tranquil
Until the right action appears spontaneously?
Yin and Yang
We tend to categorize our experiences as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ and we cling to and resist things accordingly. Life consists of polar opposites: hot and cold, suffering and joy, light and darkness, night and day, pleasure and pain, praise and blame, loss and gain. They are simply two sides of the same coin. If we have never experienced pain in our lives, then we would never experience pleasure.
“We shake with joy.
We shake with grief.
What a time they have,
these two, housed
in the same body.”– Mary Oliver
I recollect a winter night in my apartment during the freezing winter of Canada when I was struggling to ‘let go’ of something that was causing me distress. I got dressed and went out into the freezing dark night and walked around until all I wanted was warmth. Once I got inside, I was so grateful for the warmth that my troubled mind was at peace.
Taoists seek to live with humility and acceptance; to take the good with the bad without rejecting anything that comes our way on our journey through life.
“When the heart is right, ‘for’ and ‘against’ are forgotten.”
– Chuang Tzu
If we are in harmony with life by living the Tao, when we start to feel anxious or depressed, instead of asking ourselves, ‘What do I need to be happy,’ the question becomes ‘What am I doing to disturb the inner peace that I already have?’
Related article: 13 Principles For Practicing Taoism
The Three Jewels of living the Tao
Lao Tzu outlined what he called the Three Jewels or three values that are key to a life of virtue, integrity, and harmony. These three jewels are:
- Compassion
- Moderation
- Humility
“With compassion you will be brave. With moderation you will be able to give to others. With humility you will be able to live with integrity.”
– Lao Tzu
Compassion
These three jewels should be natural. Compassion for others comes about with the awareness of our shared connection with others as embodiments of the Tao. This interconnectedness of all living things is also taught in the dharma of Buddhism.
But the human ego often feeds off of judgment, competition, and negative comparison. When this happens, we become alienated and disconnected from our fellow humans, and we lose touch with the natural world. Perhaps, at no time in human history have we become so alienated. This leads to isolation, conflict, and disaster: war, crimes against humanity, and the impending problem of global warming.
Lao Tzu and Taoist scholars who followed his teachings warned of this and concluded that this type of human behavior utterly violated the laws of the Tao. The metaphor of water is used throughout the original text of the Tao Te Ching, and by the prominent Taoist scholar Chuang Tzu.
We are rather like whirlpools in the river of life. In flowing forward, a river or stream may hit upon the rocks and branches, or irregularities in the ground, here and there. Water entering one whirlpool causes other whirlpools to spring up here and there. Water entering one whirlpool quickly passes through and rejoins the river, eventually joining another whirlpool and moving on. Though for short periods it seems to be indistinguishable as a separate entity, the water in the whirlpools is just the river itself.
The way of water
However, we want to think that our little whirlpool isn’t part of the river. We want to see ourselves as permanent and stable: that we are completely separated from the river of life. Our whole energy goes into trying to protect our supposed separateness. To protect this separateness, we set up artificial boundaries; as a consequence, we consume and accumulate excess baggage, so that neighboring whirlpools may get less water because of our frantic holding on, and eventually the river itself ceases to flow and becomes inhabitable.
When we are faced with the cold, hard truth that 1% of the population owns and controls 99% of the planet’s wealth and resources, it is easy to understand ourselves as living in little whirlpools along a river and without regard for anyone else, we consume and continue to consume so much ‘stuff’ that many whirlpools get no water whatsoever, and finally the river itself ceases to flow.
This may very well be our epitaph—our legacy to our children and our children’s children. As a father and a grandfather, I’m willing to look at the principles of living the Tao or as I like to call it, ‘The Way of Water,’ and look deeply to understand it, because quite frankly, Western philosophy has done nothing to dispel the ludicrous notion that we are completely ‘separate’ from our fellow human beings and from nature, from our beautiful planet. We believe that we are alone, so we must grab as much as we can and do anything to keep it. Western education teaches how to do things—for the most part how to acquire wealth. But, we are not taught how to ‘be’. Instead of being a great source of strength, silence frightens us and we have to keep busy and check our smartphones constantly.
Moderation
Moderation is a key principle as the second Jewel of the Tao. Lao Tzu and the Chinese sages noted how the balance of the natural world appeared to be maintained in an effortless manner or by the principle of wu wei.
Once again, they observed how water ‘nourished all of creation without trying to compete with it.’ When one considers that the lack of the most valuable resource on the planet, fresh water, will be humanity’s greatest challenge as global warming continues, one realizes just how important the study and living by the principles of the Tao should be taken seriously.
“Nothing is softer or more flexible
Than water yet,
Nothing can resist it.
Nature does not hurry,
Yet, everything is accomplished.”– Chuang Tzu
Humility
Humility is the third jewel of the Tao or value that Lao Tzu frequently references. Humility is to be grateful for life, for the very breath that keeps us alive. But we don’t own it. It’s on loan to us and thus all the more precious and eventually we will have to give it back. If you watch the waves on a fast-running river, you will see a wave and then you may think it is gone. But the wave comes from the water, has a brief appearance or manifestation as a wave, and then it simply returns to the water again. It returns to its source. There is no birth, no death here. After a brief appearance as a wave it doesn’t die, it simply becomes water again.
“When the wave rises
The river and the water are one surf:
Where is the difference between
The river and its wave?
When the water rises,
It is water.
And when it falls,
It is the same water again.
Tell me Sir, where is the distinction?
Because it has been named as a wave,
Shall it no longer be considered as water?”– Kabir
To the wise person who truly understands the nature of reality, there is no place for complacency or arrogance. There is no time for that! The wise person lives with utmost humility and gratitude, and in constant awe and wonder at the miracle of existence. Life is full of miracles. That is why the Tao can’t be described. All life is a mystery. To try to explain existence in terms of noumena and phenomena—just words and naming—is pointless. Embrace the mystery of life. Be silent and look around and pay attention, and you will begin to experience the utmost humility and gratitude for the gift of life.
Verse Eight of the Tao Te Ching
The supreme good is like water Which nourishes all things without trying to. It is content with the low places that people disdain. Thus, it is like the Tao.
In dwelling, live close to the ground. In thinking, keep to the simple. In conflict, be fair and generous. In governing, don’t try to control. In work, do what you enjoy. In family life, be completely present.
When you are content to simply be yourself And don’t compete or compare, Everybody will respect you.
If a man is crossing a river And an empty boat collides with his own skiff, Even though he be a bad-tempered man, He will not be angry. But, if he sees a man in the boat, He will shout for him to stay clear. If the shout is not heard, he will shout again And yet again, and begin cursing. And all because there is somebody in the boat. Yet, if the boat is empty He would not be shouting and not be angry. If you can empty your own boat crossing the river of the world, no one will oppose you, No one will seek to harm you.
– Chuang Tzu
“Remember, it is not enough to be hit or insulted to be harmed, you must believe that you are being harmed. If someone succeeds in provoking you, realize that your mind is complicit in the provocation. Which is why it is essential that we not respond impulsively to impressions; take a moment before reacting and you will find it easier to maintain control.”
– Epictetus
Commentary
While writing this article I tried my best to employ wu wei—to take my time, in the hopes of getting it right. I would leave it for days at a time, before delving into yin and yang, and other humble attempts to understand the Tao and how it is still relevant today and attempt to convey that to you, the reader. I used two sources: the Tao Te Ching (paid link) and The Way of Chuang Tzu by Thomas Merton (paid link).