Although I do not know that much about the Tao, I took
an Eastern Religions course one year ago and Taoism was included in that
discussion. I was thinking the other day about my approach to tasks and getting
things done, and I remembered a few interesting ideas about the way of the Tao.
I thought this would be extremely applicable to write
about right now, being that it is the week before finals week for me, thus I am
overwhelmed with a lot of tasks that need doing, and I could not think of
anything more relevant to my life right now to write about.
One of these magnetic ideas that I just recalled
recently, is a short story about a farmer that is meant to be representative of
the way of the Tao:
An old
farmer who had worked his crops for many years.
One
day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit.
“Such
bad luck,” they said sympathetically.
“We’ll
see,” the farmer replied.
The
next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses.
“How
wonderful,” the neighbors exclaimed.
“We’ll
see,” replied the old man.
The
following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and
broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune.
“We’ll
see,” answered the farmer.
The
day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the
army. Seeing that the son’s leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors
congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out.
“We’ll
see,” said the farmer. (Dr. Jamie Rishikof)
My
take away from this story is that the farmer had realized there are many things
which lie outside of his means to control, and he cannot predict the future
outcomes of current situations. There is a distinctive wisdom inside of this
message. No one knows what is around the corner, what's going to happen to
them, or what is about to occur. In a nutshell, the way of the Tao means to go
with flow of the nature of things, rather than try to fight against that
current.
These
comparisons with nature and all of the harmonious relationships within nature
is an integral part of Taoist philosophies. It has been called by some, "a
nature-based philosophy." Taoism is intensely rich with short stories, parables,
and many comparisons to nature. The most important comparison that I have ever
heard throughout my little quest to better understand Taoism, and to get an
idea of their way of life is the comparison to water.
In
Taoism, the characteristics of water are seen as ideal characteristics for a
human being to have as well. The way in which water moves, and how it acts in
relation to all of the other things in nature, is seen as a source of
inspiration to the Tao. As water moves down a stream or in a river, there are
plenty of large rocks blocking its path: yet, it moves around each one someway.
Water doesn't forcefully try to resist change, but it remains powerful anyway.
"Water always seeks the
lowest point and always takes the shape of any vessel into which it is
poured."(Michele Scott James)
The way of the Tao is the way of living your life
in accordance with an awareness of the frequent and unexpected changes that
happen in the nature of life, it is to be ready to transform at a moment's
notice to that change.
Taoists embrace the mystery. They enjoy every
confusion and misunderstanding and mysterious thing they see, because to them,
life is a game, and games, as you know, aren't fun without both the possibility
of winning and the equal possibility of losing. Mystery is what makes games
fun, and to Taoists, mystery is what makes life fun...For this reason, Taoists
still retain their basic innate fear...They look within themselves and see all
that they don't understand, and they like it that way.(Bill Mason)
My
reasoning behind picking this topic is very specific to what I am going through
right now. I will be taking a step back from writing briefly, in order to
adjust myself to the next change coming, which is: being really busy with
finals, cleaning up my life a little bit, and removing some of the stress of
trying to make deadlines for the current time period. Meanwhile, I will be
embracing the mystery of breaking with the routines that I have now, and will
be creating some new ones. I intend to resume writing later, with new
perspectives on important topics as soon as I have effectively adapted myself
to the incoming change.
Sarah
Works
Cited
Anthony, Seamus. "The
Contemporary Taoist." The
Contemporary Taoist. Blogger, 8 Jan. 2005. Web. 24 Apr. 2013.
James, Michele Scott.
"Daoism." Gossamer Strands.
N.p., 2007. Web. 24 Apr. 2013.
Mason, Bill. "Taoist Ethics." Taoism.net. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr.
2013.
Rishikof, Jamie.
"We'll see." Doctor Rishikof.
Dr. Jamie Rishikof, n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2013.
Smith, Trey. "Verse 8:
Flow Like Water." Rambling Taoist.
Blogger, 24 July 2009. Web. 24 Apr. 2013.
"Taoism:
Chinese Customs and Beliefs." Nations
Online. Nations Online, 10
Feb. 2013. Web. 24 Apr. 2013.
No summary post here? So am I get the impression that you might continue on?
ReplyDeleteThis is a good post...your ease with which you explain some difficult religious concepts lead me to wonder if you might not want to teach someday. I know that idea might be abhorrent to you (or maybe not!) but continue to give it thought. Once you speak in front a group a few times you get the hang of it. And if you have this knowledge, share it with the world. You deserve to be heard.
One small note: make sure to space those citations after the quote and use only last names in the parentheses, like this: "..." (Smith). See the space between the end quote and the parenthetical?