Over the past month, I've been rather busy - family events to organise and deal with, everyday life, job, etc.
It's at times like this that we can sometimes feel everything getting on top of us; it's all getting too much, the world seems to be closing in and everything is getting darker and we can't see our way clear. When we're busy, and the task that we're dealing with now is merely a foothill in mountain range of tasks still to be completed, it can often appear that everything is dark, that there is no light at the end of the tunnel; and even if there was a light, it's merely the headlight of an oncoming train!
And so we need to train ourselves, force ourselves to take a step back from our tasks and this reminded me of a chinese proverb: "In the darkness, light a candle".
Here in the west, we sometimes need to force ourselves to find an opportunity to light a candle in our own personal darkness.
There are many different ways we can do this: meditation in a formal way, perhaps lighting candles and incense; taking a long hot bath and listening to some calming music; or even easier, taking a walk amongst nature and tuning ourselves in to the rhythm of the natural world. There are as many different methods of relaxation as there are people, and I'm sure that you can think of other ways that you enjoy relaxing.
But as I was thinking about this topic, it struck me that we don't just need to light candles in our own personal darkness, but we also need to light 'candles' in the darkness of the world. It is at times of difficulty in the world around us, in our own small local communities where taoism and taoists, by embracing balance and losing sense of self can, without making a song and dance about it, show others how much easier it is on everyone, if we live in harmony and balance with each other.
And if we consider it this way, then the ripples of our actions/example will eventually brush against other 'objects' which will in their turn set up ripples of their own.
Lighting a candle in the darkness has the potential to spread the light a very long way. So go ahead, light those candles!
Tag Taoism candles despair
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Friday, May 05, 2006
All beings return to it
At work yesterday, we learned that the mother of one of our collegues' partners, had just been diagnosed with terminal cancer. She has a matter of weeks, possibly months, to live.
Sometimes, Death can creep up upon us all unexpected; at other times, death is expected, accepted, perhaps sometimes even longed for. With our modern, western culture, we often worship life and youth; look at how people spend time and, often, vast amounts of money, trying to stave off the inevitable - encroaching old age and the inevitability of death.
When someone we know dies young or much earlier than we have come to expect, this death becomes a tragedy. Our grief can be overwhelming; it can take over our lives; we can appear to have come to terms with it only to have it blindside us at unexpected moments. Christianity would have us believe that, if we lead good lives prior to death, we will be 'allowed' into Heaven by our Heavenly Father. Personally, I prefer Ch.34 of the TTC:
"Enduring without desire,
It may be called slight.
All beings return to it,
But it does not become their Master."
From this perspective, dying merely means that we slough off our mortal, human, bodies and reunite our spirit/soul/chi with Tao. This is not the same as the Christian belief in Heaven; there is no 'allowing' here, nor any specific requirement to live a 'good' life according to very clearly defined rules (and how do we know what good is?). Our death, from this perspective, inevitably leads us to reunification.
And yet this is not an easy perspective to hold on to, but we should remember that our grief is not for those who have left us, they are beyond pain and fear. Our grief is for ourselves, the ones left behind. Our grief expresses the fact that there is, and always will be, a certain person-shaped gap in our lives that used to contain someone we cared for.
We should resist the temptation to let grief overwhelm us at all times. Obviously, there will be times when our grief seems to become unbearable, and this is when we need to share that grief either with friends or trained counsellors, but we should always strive to bring it into perspective and remind ourselves that life progresses smoothly on and we must move with it or be left behind.
Tag Taoism grief death
Sometimes, Death can creep up upon us all unexpected; at other times, death is expected, accepted, perhaps sometimes even longed for. With our modern, western culture, we often worship life and youth; look at how people spend time and, often, vast amounts of money, trying to stave off the inevitable - encroaching old age and the inevitability of death.
When someone we know dies young or much earlier than we have come to expect, this death becomes a tragedy. Our grief can be overwhelming; it can take over our lives; we can appear to have come to terms with it only to have it blindside us at unexpected moments. Christianity would have us believe that, if we lead good lives prior to death, we will be 'allowed' into Heaven by our Heavenly Father. Personally, I prefer Ch.34 of the TTC:
"Enduring without desire,
It may be called slight.
All beings return to it,
But it does not become their Master."
From this perspective, dying merely means that we slough off our mortal, human, bodies and reunite our spirit/soul/chi with Tao. This is not the same as the Christian belief in Heaven; there is no 'allowing' here, nor any specific requirement to live a 'good' life according to very clearly defined rules (and how do we know what good is?). Our death, from this perspective, inevitably leads us to reunification.
And yet this is not an easy perspective to hold on to, but we should remember that our grief is not for those who have left us, they are beyond pain and fear. Our grief is for ourselves, the ones left behind. Our grief expresses the fact that there is, and always will be, a certain person-shaped gap in our lives that used to contain someone we cared for.
We should resist the temptation to let grief overwhelm us at all times. Obviously, there will be times when our grief seems to become unbearable, and this is when we need to share that grief either with friends or trained counsellors, but we should always strive to bring it into perspective and remind ourselves that life progresses smoothly on and we must move with it or be left behind.
Tag Taoism grief death
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Nothing gets left undone
I was reading a Garfield cartoon the other day. In the first two frames Jon says "I thought it was Tuesday, but as it turns out, it's Wednesday." In the final frame, Garfield sarcastically adds "But in spite of that startling revelation, ladies and gentlemen, the man is still able to function."
Chapter 37 of the Tao Te Ching starts "Tao endures without a name, yet nothing is left undone". Our concepts of the passage of time are very much linked in with names, words, descriptions of some kind. We work "9 to 5", "Monday to Friday" or if we work on a shift pattern, the times/days when we start/finish are quite clearly defined. And so often we find that as we travel along in this way, our time, our days, our lives seem to flash past in an instant. Yet we all remember those summer holidays of our childhoods where the days seemed to last forever, nothing was left undone and six weeks seemed like a glorious lifetime with endless possibilities.
As we grow older we become habitual clock and calendar watchers - we have meetings arranged days/weeks in advance; our lives become more constrained by time. But when we go on our annual leave, particularly if we make the effort not to read the newspapers, we very quickly start to lose track of what day it is and, all of a sudden, just as it did when we were young, the world opens up with endless possibilities - at least it should do.
How many people do you know that stay in email/mobile phone contact with their offices whilst they're on leave? How many people do you know who will only take a week's leave at a time? In our society's constant drive for efficiency, we have started to cram every minute full of activity, until we are in danger of finding our ignition switches stuck in the 'on' position with our engines operating at maximum revs. This sort of usage or behaviour is not sustainable; "extraneous activity inspire disgust" (ch. 24).
Tao has no name, it cannot be described, and yet when we are truly in tune with it, nothing is left undone. As in the Garfield cartoon, Jon has lost track of time, he is free; Garfield's sarcasm is like most peoples' understanding about time - how can you not know what day of the week it is, with the subtle subtext, that somebody of Jon's type can forget what day of the week it is because they don't have important meetings to attend, telephone calls to make/receive, etc., etc. But if we are truly in tune with Tao, we don't need to know which day of the week it is, without knowing, nothing is left undone.
Tag Taoism Garfield Time
Chapter 37 of the Tao Te Ching starts "Tao endures without a name, yet nothing is left undone". Our concepts of the passage of time are very much linked in with names, words, descriptions of some kind. We work "9 to 5", "Monday to Friday" or if we work on a shift pattern, the times/days when we start/finish are quite clearly defined. And so often we find that as we travel along in this way, our time, our days, our lives seem to flash past in an instant. Yet we all remember those summer holidays of our childhoods where the days seemed to last forever, nothing was left undone and six weeks seemed like a glorious lifetime with endless possibilities.
As we grow older we become habitual clock and calendar watchers - we have meetings arranged days/weeks in advance; our lives become more constrained by time. But when we go on our annual leave, particularly if we make the effort not to read the newspapers, we very quickly start to lose track of what day it is and, all of a sudden, just as it did when we were young, the world opens up with endless possibilities - at least it should do.
How many people do you know that stay in email/mobile phone contact with their offices whilst they're on leave? How many people do you know who will only take a week's leave at a time? In our society's constant drive for efficiency, we have started to cram every minute full of activity, until we are in danger of finding our ignition switches stuck in the 'on' position with our engines operating at maximum revs. This sort of usage or behaviour is not sustainable; "extraneous activity inspire disgust" (ch. 24).
Tao has no name, it cannot be described, and yet when we are truly in tune with it, nothing is left undone. As in the Garfield cartoon, Jon has lost track of time, he is free; Garfield's sarcasm is like most peoples' understanding about time - how can you not know what day of the week it is, with the subtle subtext, that somebody of Jon's type can forget what day of the week it is because they don't have important meetings to attend, telephone calls to make/receive, etc., etc. But if we are truly in tune with Tao, we don't need to know which day of the week it is, without knowing, nothing is left undone.
Tag Taoism Garfield Time
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
A letter to myself
I was visiting the Official Calvin & Hobbes website earlier and read the cartoon shown for today.
Hobbes is helping Calvin get the mail from the mail box and Calvin says "Ah! I got the letter I wrote to myself!" Hobbes replies: "What did you write?" Calvin (reading aloud) says "Dear Calvin, Hi! I'm writing this on Monday. What day is it now? How are things going? Your Pal, Calvin." Calvin then goes on to say: "My past self is corresponding with my future self." And Hobbes replies: "Too bad you can't write back."
How many times in the past have we wished that we could go back and tell ourselves what will happen in the future so that we can avoid the heartache/disasters etc. that are lying in wait for us. Hobbes says it's too bad that we can't write back; no matter how hard we try, we can't post a letter to the past. But how often do we actually try to live there? How often have we caught ourselves rehashing old situations and trying to rationalise them or have ourselves say the things that we thought of later that would have been 'clever'.
Rather than trying to change the past in our own heads, we should view these situations, or the people from these situations, as resources - as it says in Ch. 27, "the bad person is the good person's resource." In the scroll of the 3 vinegar tasters, the world for the followers of Tao, is a teacher of valuable lessons, but this doesn't mean that we should be living in the past rather than in the present. As in the story about the Tibetan Monk and his annoying secretary, we need to learn from our resources (the annoying people/situations we encounter today or have encountered in the past); if they are still annoying us then it means that we still have unresolved issues and we need to develop more compassion, patience and understanding.
Ultimately, what we seek in following the Way is a true understanding of ourselves and our place in, and relationship to, the World. Chapter 33 expresses this best:
"Knowing others is intelligent
Knowing yourself is enlightened."
So unlike Hobbes, we realise that it's not a shame that we can't write back; our past, and our present, is our 'teacher of valuable lessons', rather than something with which we wish to be in correspondence.
Tag Taoism Calvin and Hobbes 3 Vinegar Tasters
Hobbes is helping Calvin get the mail from the mail box and Calvin says "Ah! I got the letter I wrote to myself!" Hobbes replies: "What did you write?" Calvin (reading aloud) says "Dear Calvin, Hi! I'm writing this on Monday. What day is it now? How are things going? Your Pal, Calvin." Calvin then goes on to say: "My past self is corresponding with my future self." And Hobbes replies: "Too bad you can't write back."
How many times in the past have we wished that we could go back and tell ourselves what will happen in the future so that we can avoid the heartache/disasters etc. that are lying in wait for us. Hobbes says it's too bad that we can't write back; no matter how hard we try, we can't post a letter to the past. But how often do we actually try to live there? How often have we caught ourselves rehashing old situations and trying to rationalise them or have ourselves say the things that we thought of later that would have been 'clever'.
Rather than trying to change the past in our own heads, we should view these situations, or the people from these situations, as resources - as it says in Ch. 27, "the bad person is the good person's resource." In the scroll of the 3 vinegar tasters, the world for the followers of Tao, is a teacher of valuable lessons, but this doesn't mean that we should be living in the past rather than in the present. As in the story about the Tibetan Monk and his annoying secretary, we need to learn from our resources (the annoying people/situations we encounter today or have encountered in the past); if they are still annoying us then it means that we still have unresolved issues and we need to develop more compassion, patience and understanding.
Ultimately, what we seek in following the Way is a true understanding of ourselves and our place in, and relationship to, the World. Chapter 33 expresses this best:
"Knowing others is intelligent
Knowing yourself is enlightened."
So unlike Hobbes, we realise that it's not a shame that we can't write back; our past, and our present, is our 'teacher of valuable lessons', rather than something with which we wish to be in correspondence.
Tag Taoism Calvin and Hobbes 3 Vinegar Tasters
Thursday, April 13, 2006
The importance of compassion
Compassion is one of the 3 great treasures of Taoism. Compassion, in the western understanding, is almost always linked to concepts of kindness and caring. It can be related to concepts from Christianity which talk of 'turning the other cheek', 'forgiving your brother seventy times seven'. It often has connotations of soft blindness, like a warm cushion with no strength or backbone to it. When referring to a compassionate nature here in the West, the implication is often one of softness and that softness is wrong, weak, just a little contemptible.
"Nowadays, people reject compassion
but want to be brave,"
But there is a great deal more to compassion than softness. In order to be truly compassionate, we might sometimes find ourselves in the position where we 'have to be cruel to be kind'. So often in our modern society, we are asked to protect people from the consequences of their actions, to shield them from the realities of the situations in which they find themselves. However, if we read Chapter 67 in TTC correctly, this is not what compassion always requires us to do. If we are truly seeking to protect someone's best interests, is it not more appropriate that, in the right circumstances, we tell them the unvarnished truth? Perhaps, by doing this, by bringing people into full-on contact with reality, we are being truly compassionate, because ultimately only when they fully understand all the implications will they be able to develop their full potential.
"Compassion:
Attack with it and win.
Defend with it and stand firm."
As we can see, from the quote above, compassion is not a wishy-washy, cuddly thing in the Taoist perspective. It is dynamic; you can both attack and defend with it. Taoist compassion does not stand by and say that 'it's all for the best, in the best of all possible worlds' and do nothing. Being compassionate does not mean that we stand there feeling sorry for people, although empathy and sympathy do have roles to play. After all:
"Heaven aids and protects through compassion."
So, act with dynamic compassion, attack with it and win; defend with it and stand firm. Don't equate compassion with spinelessness; become one with Tao and view reality with clarity and use that clarity to nuture the first of Taoism's 3 treasures - compassion.
Tag Taoism Compassion
"Nowadays, people reject compassion
but want to be brave,"
But there is a great deal more to compassion than softness. In order to be truly compassionate, we might sometimes find ourselves in the position where we 'have to be cruel to be kind'. So often in our modern society, we are asked to protect people from the consequences of their actions, to shield them from the realities of the situations in which they find themselves. However, if we read Chapter 67 in TTC correctly, this is not what compassion always requires us to do. If we are truly seeking to protect someone's best interests, is it not more appropriate that, in the right circumstances, we tell them the unvarnished truth? Perhaps, by doing this, by bringing people into full-on contact with reality, we are being truly compassionate, because ultimately only when they fully understand all the implications will they be able to develop their full potential.
"Compassion:
Attack with it and win.
Defend with it and stand firm."
As we can see, from the quote above, compassion is not a wishy-washy, cuddly thing in the Taoist perspective. It is dynamic; you can both attack and defend with it. Taoist compassion does not stand by and say that 'it's all for the best, in the best of all possible worlds' and do nothing. Being compassionate does not mean that we stand there feeling sorry for people, although empathy and sympathy do have roles to play. After all:
"Heaven aids and protects through compassion."
So, act with dynamic compassion, attack with it and win; defend with it and stand firm. Don't equate compassion with spinelessness; become one with Tao and view reality with clarity and use that clarity to nuture the first of Taoism's 3 treasures - compassion.
Tag Taoism Compassion
Sunday, April 09, 2006
All chilled out
It's been a busy week and a busy weekend. Arranging events at work brings a lot of things together - when I do this sort of thing, I try to plan with military precision (I know, it's a contradiction in terms, a bit like "military intelligence") but people rely on me to get things done - and they get done, come hell or high water!;-))))
My weekend was busy for other reasons - I'm a member of the Taoist Tai Chi Society and I was involved in a Tai Chi workshop here in Stamford (UK).
It's amazing what a difference small changes to your practice can make. Just a small change in how I do my toryu's and my poor old knee went most of the day without complaining (much). In the past, I used to fence (swords, not wooden panels) and I've dislocated my kneecap twice. This meant that I could only do so many toryu's before the knee started to complain.
All that happened was that I was shown/told 2 small pieces of information. This was the "softest thing in the world" that "rides roughshod over the strongest". My determination to 'tough' things out sometimes got in the way of my practice. Small changes meant that I spent most of the day doing toryu's and I'm still OK. Very, very tired - but OK and my knee has behaved itself.
Not forcing, going with the flow - a lesson to remember.
My weekend was busy for other reasons - I'm a member of the Taoist Tai Chi Society and I was involved in a Tai Chi workshop here in Stamford (UK).
It's amazing what a difference small changes to your practice can make. Just a small change in how I do my toryu's and my poor old knee went most of the day without complaining (much). In the past, I used to fence (swords, not wooden panels) and I've dislocated my kneecap twice. This meant that I could only do so many toryu's before the knee started to complain.
All that happened was that I was shown/told 2 small pieces of information. This was the "softest thing in the world" that "rides roughshod over the strongest". My determination to 'tough' things out sometimes got in the way of my practice. Small changes meant that I spent most of the day doing toryu's and I'm still OK. Very, very tired - but OK and my knee has behaved itself.
Not forcing, going with the flow - a lesson to remember.
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
Trying to control the world?
Today I was reading a new (to me) translation of the TTC by Addiss and Lombardo. Opening the text at random, I discovered Ch. 29:
"Trying to control the world?
I see you won't succeed."
......
"Those who control, fail.
Those who grasp, lose."
We live today in what is called the "Information Age". The fact that I am writing this blog is down to the development of technology that has led to the World Wide Web. The Web is a nebulous entity that contains a great deal of information; some of that information is good, some of it is bad and some, merely mediocre.
The original idea behind the web was for a boundless world, where information could be shared and it might be possible to bypass censorship, allowing individuals to access information that they might not have been able to get elsewhere.
Constant technological progress is always viewed as a good thing and, generally, I would agree with this point - usually because developments in information technology often benefit the general public before governments or other large organisations. Take the blogosphere - a lot of blogs have been set up for the exchange of information in an unedited, rapid fashion, that gets ahead of the 'official' line.
However, it has been reported that governments and companies are now attempting to use the blogosphere to sway public opinion on policies or on products. Generally, these attempts have been rather clumsy and easily spotted. Others have been more sophisticated, but often something about them has drawn the attention of the online community and they have been after those inconsistencies like a ferret down a trouser leg.
Governments and big business will always try to control, or manage, the information that is available to the general public - it is in their interests to make that attempt. I believe that we (the general public) are now in the fortunate position of being able to fight back. It seems, so far, that we are roughly even, in this modern technological world. But even in the past the attempts at control have ultimately failed. You only need to look at what happened during, and at the end of, the McCarthy era, to see how attempts at control ultimately are doomed to failure.
Perhaps if the Tao Te Ching were required reading at all levels of government, politicians might learn to be more tuned in to what is really necessary. As it says in Ch. 30:
"The most fruitful outcome
Does not depend on force,
But succeeds without arrogance
Without hostility
Without pride
Without resistance
Without violence."
Tag Taoism control
"Trying to control the world?
I see you won't succeed."
......
"Those who control, fail.
Those who grasp, lose."
We live today in what is called the "Information Age". The fact that I am writing this blog is down to the development of technology that has led to the World Wide Web. The Web is a nebulous entity that contains a great deal of information; some of that information is good, some of it is bad and some, merely mediocre.
The original idea behind the web was for a boundless world, where information could be shared and it might be possible to bypass censorship, allowing individuals to access information that they might not have been able to get elsewhere.
Constant technological progress is always viewed as a good thing and, generally, I would agree with this point - usually because developments in information technology often benefit the general public before governments or other large organisations. Take the blogosphere - a lot of blogs have been set up for the exchange of information in an unedited, rapid fashion, that gets ahead of the 'official' line.
However, it has been reported that governments and companies are now attempting to use the blogosphere to sway public opinion on policies or on products. Generally, these attempts have been rather clumsy and easily spotted. Others have been more sophisticated, but often something about them has drawn the attention of the online community and they have been after those inconsistencies like a ferret down a trouser leg.
Governments and big business will always try to control, or manage, the information that is available to the general public - it is in their interests to make that attempt. I believe that we (the general public) are now in the fortunate position of being able to fight back. It seems, so far, that we are roughly even, in this modern technological world. But even in the past the attempts at control have ultimately failed. You only need to look at what happened during, and at the end of, the McCarthy era, to see how attempts at control ultimately are doomed to failure.
Perhaps if the Tao Te Ching were required reading at all levels of government, politicians might learn to be more tuned in to what is really necessary. As it says in Ch. 30:
"The most fruitful outcome
Does not depend on force,
But succeeds without arrogance
Without hostility
Without pride
Without resistance
Without violence."
Tag Taoism control
Saturday, April 01, 2006
Watching the clouds
Earlier today, whilst waiting for my son to finish his karate class, I had the opportunity to just sit and stare at the clouds drifting by above me. I admired the way they drifted effortlessly; they were fascinating. This fascination is not a new one, it started early on in life with me. I'm sure that we can all remember days as children when we lay on our backs in the fields, or our gardens, seeing pictures in the clouds, creating patterns where there were none.
Thinking about this cloud watching episode, I was reminded of the story in Lieh-Tzu entitled "Riding on the wind, floating with the clouds". In this story, we learn something about Lieh-Tzu himself; apparently he was able to ride on the wind and float with the clouds. His student, Yin-Sheng, wanted to be taught how to do this (and how many of us have not wondered what it would be like to be able to fly like the birds?), but he was impatient - he wanted to be taught NOW, he was not prepared to wait. He appears to have been sure that there was just a trick to it and that all he needed was the lessons.
What Lieh-Tzu told his student, after he returned, was that there was a lot of self-cultivation involved in this process - it was not a quick fix or easy set of lessons. He worked hard to discipline his mind and body; becoming more aware of his body and his mind, allowed him to, eventually, realise that there is no difference between the outside and the inside, and it was at this point that he became able to float through the sky.
Taoism discusses, in many different texts and stories, the interdependence of all things; there is no difference between my body and the world around me, except in the external form that I perceive. Modern physicists would agree with that perspective - there really is no such thing as a solid object.
So why aren't we all floating around the sky? Perhaps, after many years of self-cultivation and discipline, we will. But we need to be able to realise fully, that there is no difference between the outside and the inside. We must not just recognise this intellectually, we must know it with every fibre of our body, instinctively. Then, and only then, will we be able to join those clouds we have been watching.
Tag Taoism Clouds Lieh-Tzu
Thinking about this cloud watching episode, I was reminded of the story in Lieh-Tzu entitled "Riding on the wind, floating with the clouds". In this story, we learn something about Lieh-Tzu himself; apparently he was able to ride on the wind and float with the clouds. His student, Yin-Sheng, wanted to be taught how to do this (and how many of us have not wondered what it would be like to be able to fly like the birds?), but he was impatient - he wanted to be taught NOW, he was not prepared to wait. He appears to have been sure that there was just a trick to it and that all he needed was the lessons.
What Lieh-Tzu told his student, after he returned, was that there was a lot of self-cultivation involved in this process - it was not a quick fix or easy set of lessons. He worked hard to discipline his mind and body; becoming more aware of his body and his mind, allowed him to, eventually, realise that there is no difference between the outside and the inside, and it was at this point that he became able to float through the sky.
Taoism discusses, in many different texts and stories, the interdependence of all things; there is no difference between my body and the world around me, except in the external form that I perceive. Modern physicists would agree with that perspective - there really is no such thing as a solid object.
So why aren't we all floating around the sky? Perhaps, after many years of self-cultivation and discipline, we will. But we need to be able to realise fully, that there is no difference between the outside and the inside. We must not just recognise this intellectually, we must know it with every fibre of our body, instinctively. Then, and only then, will we be able to join those clouds we have been watching.
Tag Taoism Clouds Lieh-Tzu
Thursday, March 30, 2006
The Sword of the Commoner
I was reading the Guardian Online earlier today when I came across an article entitled "Pupils import torture tools to highlight UK arms loopholes", the link to this article is here Guardian Story.
This story tells the tale of how easy it is to subvert/exploit loopholes in our laws against the export/import of implements that may be used to torture other human beings.
This article reminded me of the story in Chuang Tzu entitled "The Lover of Swords" about a king who loves swords and swordsmen and concentrates on them so much, pitting them against each other, that he doesn't pay attention to what is happening in his state. When Chuang Tzu goes to see the King, he talks about 3 swords: the first is the Sword of the son of heaven, which Chuang Tzu describes as part of the landscape; the second is the Sword of the noble prince, is made up of the people of the land; the third is the sword of the commoner, the one that cuts through actual bodies.
As Chuang Tzu puts it "The people who use the sword of the commoner are no better than fighting cocks who at any time can have their lives curtailed."
Most of the time, when a state chooses to use implements of torture it is because those who run the country are afraid of their people and they have to use the "sword of the commoner" to keep them in check. But this method only works for a while - it is not effective forever.
However, in our modern day society, as in the past, we are all interdependent - these tools of torture do not manufacture themselves, they have to be created, sold and exported. So although the torture is not carried out by the manufacturers themselves they are just as guilty of using the "sword of the commoner" as those that they sell their products to. But like Pilate, because they have not 'intended' their products to be used for this purpose, their hands are clean.
No society is perfect, and in our current western society, where we are worried about terrorism and the state starts to chisel away at our rights and liberties - how far do we go before these tools of torture are being used here? In order to avoid being in the situation where 'he who lives by the sword, dies by the sword', we need to make ourselves aware of what the products of some of our companies can be used for. And once we are aware of it we need to do something about it.
The kids mentioned in the Guardian article have done us all a favour; they have showed us how easy it is to get hold of this type of equipment, these 'swords of the commoner'. We need to remember that we too can have our lives curtailed at any point - and by lives I don't just mean the difference between life and death, but also the difference between liberty and tyranny. The gap between these things is a lot smaller than you think.
Tag Taoism Torture Sword
This story tells the tale of how easy it is to subvert/exploit loopholes in our laws against the export/import of implements that may be used to torture other human beings.
This article reminded me of the story in Chuang Tzu entitled "The Lover of Swords" about a king who loves swords and swordsmen and concentrates on them so much, pitting them against each other, that he doesn't pay attention to what is happening in his state. When Chuang Tzu goes to see the King, he talks about 3 swords: the first is the Sword of the son of heaven, which Chuang Tzu describes as part of the landscape; the second is the Sword of the noble prince, is made up of the people of the land; the third is the sword of the commoner, the one that cuts through actual bodies.
As Chuang Tzu puts it "The people who use the sword of the commoner are no better than fighting cocks who at any time can have their lives curtailed."
Most of the time, when a state chooses to use implements of torture it is because those who run the country are afraid of their people and they have to use the "sword of the commoner" to keep them in check. But this method only works for a while - it is not effective forever.
However, in our modern day society, as in the past, we are all interdependent - these tools of torture do not manufacture themselves, they have to be created, sold and exported. So although the torture is not carried out by the manufacturers themselves they are just as guilty of using the "sword of the commoner" as those that they sell their products to. But like Pilate, because they have not 'intended' their products to be used for this purpose, their hands are clean.
No society is perfect, and in our current western society, where we are worried about terrorism and the state starts to chisel away at our rights and liberties - how far do we go before these tools of torture are being used here? In order to avoid being in the situation where 'he who lives by the sword, dies by the sword', we need to make ourselves aware of what the products of some of our companies can be used for. And once we are aware of it we need to do something about it.
The kids mentioned in the Guardian article have done us all a favour; they have showed us how easy it is to get hold of this type of equipment, these 'swords of the commoner'. We need to remember that we too can have our lives curtailed at any point - and by lives I don't just mean the difference between life and death, but also the difference between liberty and tyranny. The gap between these things is a lot smaller than you think.
Tag Taoism Torture Sword
Just for laughs
I finally got around to doing the "How Jedi are you?" quiz. And my result? See below;-))))
how jedi are you? :: by lawrie malen
This reminded me of the results of the 2001 census here in the UK where, I believe, 10000 people put their religious affiliation as Jedi in the hope of getting it recognised as a official religion!:-))))
However, there is a serious point to be made here (whilst trying to control my snickering), why is it that people like to 'create' new religions? They reject the old structures for a number of different reasons - perhaps they have serious reservations about the fundamental teachings of their original beliefs, or the interpretation of the original dogma, or the way that their particular clergy behave, or they see an opportunity to make money out of insecure and credulous people. Or perhaps it's a combination of all these things - I don't know.
The one similarity that this has is that people turn from one set of rules and one structure to another, different, set of rules or structures - no matter what they believe they are clinging to structure/rules.
This is the main reason that I find Taoism so satisfying - there are no rules, there is no official structure that I have to conform to. Before I came to Taoism, I looked at a number of different paths including modern paganism, but everywhere I looked, I found rules that inhibited, ideas that clung to the visible structure of the world.
So here I am - Taoist and happy/relaxed. More at peace with myself than I have ever been. And definitely up for some growing old disgracefully fun!
Tag Taoism Jedi
how jedi are you? :: by lawrie malen
This reminded me of the results of the 2001 census here in the UK where, I believe, 10000 people put their religious affiliation as Jedi in the hope of getting it recognised as a official religion!:-))))
However, there is a serious point to be made here (whilst trying to control my snickering), why is it that people like to 'create' new religions? They reject the old structures for a number of different reasons - perhaps they have serious reservations about the fundamental teachings of their original beliefs, or the interpretation of the original dogma, or the way that their particular clergy behave, or they see an opportunity to make money out of insecure and credulous people. Or perhaps it's a combination of all these things - I don't know.
The one similarity that this has is that people turn from one set of rules and one structure to another, different, set of rules or structures - no matter what they believe they are clinging to structure/rules.
This is the main reason that I find Taoism so satisfying - there are no rules, there is no official structure that I have to conform to. Before I came to Taoism, I looked at a number of different paths including modern paganism, but everywhere I looked, I found rules that inhibited, ideas that clung to the visible structure of the world.
So here I am - Taoist and happy/relaxed. More at peace with myself than I have ever been. And definitely up for some growing old disgracefully fun!
Tag Taoism Jedi
Monday, March 27, 2006
Moving mountains
I was reading a story from Lieh-Tzu again earlier on this evening. The story was entitled 'The man who tried to move the mountains'. This story deals with a man, referred to as 'Old Fool' who decided that he didn't like having to walk around the mountains near his home and that, therefore, he would set out to move them. He recruited a small number of helpers and they started digging. A sage came to remonstrate with him, reminding him that he was barely strong enough to pull weeds from his garden and that, moreover, he was well on in years and would never complete the task. Old Fool told the sage that if he didn't finish the job his son and grandson would continue the task and so on down the generations until the task was completed. The spirits of the mountain became concerned and called in the lords of heaven who, although amused, when they saw Old Fool's determination and patience, decided to help him and moved the mountains away.
This story is all about patience and determination - the willingness to look to the long-term, to work hard, being patient, keeping on track. Too much in our modern western society is about instant gratification; wanting to be famous now, wanting our school qualifications now - looking for the easy road, the direct route that must be there to take us immediately to what we want.
In schools, colleges and even universities these days, students will, and do, say "never mind all that, what do I need to do to pass?" Not for them the true interest in the subject, the reading around the topic in hand to gain a wider understanding; "give me the answers now" they cry, so I can achieve my qualification and move on to a well-paid job, fame, fortune etc. etc.
The idea that patience and determination are good things to have seem to have been forgotten. As a society we seem to have become bound up with visions of our goals that we forget that the most important part of reaching the goals we set for ourselves is the journey we take on the way to achieving them.
Of course, the other thing we should remember as Taoists, is that as the journey progresses we may find that the original goals we started towards have changed. And this is what we miss when we look for the shortcuts, the quick routes to the end. We miss change, growth, development, chances to become one with Tao; this is why we so often find that when we have taken the short cut to our goals, after a very short period these goals no longer satisfy us and the process starts all over again.
Patience and determination - excellent virtues to have!
Tag Taoism
This story is all about patience and determination - the willingness to look to the long-term, to work hard, being patient, keeping on track. Too much in our modern western society is about instant gratification; wanting to be famous now, wanting our school qualifications now - looking for the easy road, the direct route that must be there to take us immediately to what we want.
In schools, colleges and even universities these days, students will, and do, say "never mind all that, what do I need to do to pass?" Not for them the true interest in the subject, the reading around the topic in hand to gain a wider understanding; "give me the answers now" they cry, so I can achieve my qualification and move on to a well-paid job, fame, fortune etc. etc.
The idea that patience and determination are good things to have seem to have been forgotten. As a society we seem to have become bound up with visions of our goals that we forget that the most important part of reaching the goals we set for ourselves is the journey we take on the way to achieving them.
Of course, the other thing we should remember as Taoists, is that as the journey progresses we may find that the original goals we started towards have changed. And this is what we miss when we look for the shortcuts, the quick routes to the end. We miss change, growth, development, chances to become one with Tao; this is why we so often find that when we have taken the short cut to our goals, after a very short period these goals no longer satisfy us and the process starts all over again.
Patience and determination - excellent virtues to have!
Tag Taoism
Friday, March 24, 2006
Books worth a mention
Just thought I'd add another few books that I consider worth a mention. These books have all been useful (and still are useful) in my study of the Tao. They have all at one time or another given me much food for thought.
Lieh-Tzu: A Taoist Guide to Practical Living by Eva Wong
Wen-Tzu: Understanding the Mysteries translated by Thomas Cleary
Sun Tzu: The Art of War by the Denma Translation Group
The Book of Chuang Tzu translated by Martin Palmer with Elizabeth Breuilly
365 Tao: Daily Meditations by Deng Ming-Dao.
I was thinking about one of these texts in particular yesterday, (365 Tao) in meditation when it was discussing how, in order to follow Tao, we need to bring ourselves into harmony with Tao - only then can we be open to what Tao truly has to show us.
Although I've mentioned quite a number of books today and some previously and, I'm sure, will mention some in the future, I don't mean to emphasise the book side of things. One of the problems in the West is that the study of the Tao has often been left too heavily in the hands of scholars or, as Benjamin Hoff describes them in The Tao of Pooh the Confusionist, Dessicated Scholars and this has meant that the practical side of Taoist living has been forgotten.
People could do far worse than to read Benjamin Hoff's book - it was the first book I read about Taoism. And I read it because I love Winnie the Pooh - not because I was interested in the Tao. Once I read the book, however, I found that it rang many bells for me, harmonising with a number of ideas and thoughts that had been circulating in the back of my mind. It was from here that I started my investigation into the classic taoist texts - but I still read Hoff's book on a regular basis just to remind myself that life is supposed to be fun and to avoid turning into a Confusionist, Dessicated Scholar.:-)))
Tag Taoism
Lieh-Tzu: A Taoist Guide to Practical Living by Eva Wong
Wen-Tzu: Understanding the Mysteries translated by Thomas Cleary
Sun Tzu: The Art of War by the Denma Translation Group
The Book of Chuang Tzu translated by Martin Palmer with Elizabeth Breuilly
365 Tao: Daily Meditations by Deng Ming-Dao.
I was thinking about one of these texts in particular yesterday, (365 Tao) in meditation when it was discussing how, in order to follow Tao, we need to bring ourselves into harmony with Tao - only then can we be open to what Tao truly has to show us.
Although I've mentioned quite a number of books today and some previously and, I'm sure, will mention some in the future, I don't mean to emphasise the book side of things. One of the problems in the West is that the study of the Tao has often been left too heavily in the hands of scholars or, as Benjamin Hoff describes them in The Tao of Pooh the Confusionist, Dessicated Scholars and this has meant that the practical side of Taoist living has been forgotten.
People could do far worse than to read Benjamin Hoff's book - it was the first book I read about Taoism. And I read it because I love Winnie the Pooh - not because I was interested in the Tao. Once I read the book, however, I found that it rang many bells for me, harmonising with a number of ideas and thoughts that had been circulating in the back of my mind. It was from here that I started my investigation into the classic taoist texts - but I still read Hoff's book on a regular basis just to remind myself that life is supposed to be fun and to avoid turning into a Confusionist, Dessicated Scholar.:-)))
Tag Taoism
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Accumulating riches
"They don't accumulate riches, so no one steals from them." TTC, Timothy Freke
I was reminded of this verse from TTC whilst listening to a piece of classical music today. The piece was entitled "My mind to me a kingdom is", written by William Byrd (c.1540-1623), who was the court composer to Queen Elizabeth I. The verse that sent me back to my copies of the TTC was this:
"I see that plenty surfeits oft,
And hasty climbers soonest fall;
I see that such as are aloft
Mishap doth threaten most of all;
These get with toil, and keep with fear,
Such cares my mind can never bear."
This song, published around 1588, also links in with another verse from TTC:
Amass too much wealth and you will never protect it. Too much success breeds arrogance, and arrogance brings downfall."
Although Byrd would never have heard of the philosophical ideas expressed within the TTC, it is possible to see that he has arrived at these ideas through his experience of life in the Royal Court which would have been full of intrigue/politics.
So it is not just from the East that these ideas have emerged, although they are expressed, perhaps, more coherently in this tradition.
Too many people view the accumulation of riches/wealth/material objects to be the be-all and end-all of their existence; whilst most people have to earn a living and seek to secure a comfortable existence, many go beyond this and work so hard for the money to purchase these 'labour-saving' devices that they rarely have time to enjoy them properly.
I will leave the final words to William Byrd - his first verse of the above mentioned song runs:
My mind to me a kingdom is;
Such perfect joy therein I find
That it excels all other bliss
Which God or Nature hath assign'd;
Though much I want that most men have,
Yet still my mind forbids to crave."
Tag Taoism William Byrd
I was reminded of this verse from TTC whilst listening to a piece of classical music today. The piece was entitled "My mind to me a kingdom is", written by William Byrd (c.1540-1623), who was the court composer to Queen Elizabeth I. The verse that sent me back to my copies of the TTC was this:
"I see that plenty surfeits oft,
And hasty climbers soonest fall;
I see that such as are aloft
Mishap doth threaten most of all;
These get with toil, and keep with fear,
Such cares my mind can never bear."
This song, published around 1588, also links in with another verse from TTC:
Amass too much wealth and you will never protect it. Too much success breeds arrogance, and arrogance brings downfall."
Although Byrd would never have heard of the philosophical ideas expressed within the TTC, it is possible to see that he has arrived at these ideas through his experience of life in the Royal Court which would have been full of intrigue/politics.
So it is not just from the East that these ideas have emerged, although they are expressed, perhaps, more coherently in this tradition.
Too many people view the accumulation of riches/wealth/material objects to be the be-all and end-all of their existence; whilst most people have to earn a living and seek to secure a comfortable existence, many go beyond this and work so hard for the money to purchase these 'labour-saving' devices that they rarely have time to enjoy them properly.
I will leave the final words to William Byrd - his first verse of the above mentioned song runs:
My mind to me a kingdom is;
Such perfect joy therein I find
That it excels all other bliss
Which God or Nature hath assign'd;
Though much I want that most men have,
Yet still my mind forbids to crave."
Tag Taoism William Byrd
Saturday, March 18, 2006
A Right to Death?
A few days ago, I published my last post entitled "The right to life". Now I would like to examine the opposing side of the coin - death. Or perhaps I should put it in capitals to reinforce its' bogeyman status here in the Western world - DEATH.
One modern way to deal with death is to deal with it through the use of comedy. One of the modern writers who deals with Death to great comic effect is Terry Pratchett - here the portrayal is of a seven foot tall skeleton with the traditional black robe and scythe so beloved of illustrators in the Western hemisphere for many years. As Death himself states "there is no justice, there is just us" - death happens, it is neither fair nor unfair.
This portrayal of Death has been very popular - perhaps because Death scares us, we find we can deal with it when we laugh at it. Other portrayals of Death and difficult circumstances appeared in the long-running TV series "MASH" where doctors and nurses had to make difficult choices in very difficult circumstances and yet the humour was used to make those difficult decisions a little easier on occasions.
The main reason that I wanted to deal with the subject of Death is down to the case of Baby MB over here in the UK. This child has the most severe from of spinal muscular atrophy (if you want a detailed medical description, you can Google it) which affects his ability to move, eat, breathe, swallow, although it does not affect cognitive function. In the most severe form, according to the information I've read, the diagnosed individual rarely lives beyond 18 months of age - the age that baby MB is now. In this case the doctors wanted to withdraw life support which meant he would die immediately as he can't breathe on his own. The judge ruled that life support should not be withdrawn as he had to proceed on the basis that the child 'had the cognition of a normal 18-month-old and that he continued to have a relationship with his family'. However the judge also ruled that the child shouldn't be subjected to procedures 'requiring positive infliction of pain' (e.g. intravenous antibiotics or blood sampling). For Baby MB to require these treatments would mean that his condition was deteriorating and that he was 'moving naturally towards death'. At this point it would be regarded as in his best interests to withhold these procedures even though he'd almost certainly die.
This is a very difficult case - the child himself is in constant discomfort, has some periods of distress and reasonably short periods of pain and the doctors felt that it was unfair to prolong his existence any further. His parents, naturally, feel that he is benefitting from his relationship with them, although they know that his condition is terminal, and believe that he should be able to enjoy that relationship for as long as is possible.
As a parent myself, this is a very difficult case for me, as I am sure it is for many others whether they have children or not. Putting myself in the shoes of these parents, I know that they know their child is terminally ill, he will not live very much longer and they want to have as many precious moments as they can. From the doctors' perspective, I can see that it is distressing to maintain a life that involves constant discomfort, frequent distress and periods of pain, particularly when they are doing so in the full knowledge that they are only delaying the inevitable.
Most of us hope never to be faced with this type of decision, but as we in the Western world face an increasing aging population, more and more of us may have to make similar decisions for our parents; as medical technology advances, more of us may have to face these decisions for our children; or perhaps we will have to face these decisions for ourselves. Just as every person has a right to life, perhaps we also have a right to death - to be able to choose when we can say 'no' to measures that will only put off the inevitable (and let me just be clear that I am not talking about assisted suicide/euthanasia here). We should all be able to say as Chuang Tzu said "When the Master came, it was because he was due to be born. When he died, it was entirely natural."
If it is our 'time' and there is nothing more that can be done other than to put off the inevitable we should be able to accept that it is 'our' time, that we have come to the other end of the natural order, that there is nothing to be afraid of. Unfortunately, here in the West, we have become so distanced from death - more often than not people die in hospital rather than at home, in an antiseptic, clinical environment. As modern society has developed, and healthcare and diet have improved, so we have seen life expectancy rise; people no longer die from easily preventable or even very serious diseases as a matter of course; the death of women during labour is relatively rare. All this means that we encounter death less frequently than those in previous generations, we have become disassociated with the natural order of things.
Perhaps it is fear of what might happen next - Christianity of course talks about Heaven and Hell, rewards and punishments and judgements - that makes us want to hide from Death. As Taoists, we should strive to remember these words from Chuang Tzu:
"We can point to the wood that has been burned, but when the fire has passed on, we cannot know where it has gone."
We don't know what happens next, as Taoists we accept that we return to the whole, to nature, to the divine Universe (depending on how you want to phrase it) - there is nothing to be afraid of here. It is worse for those we leave behind, because they miss us, they grieve. Death is part of the natural order of things, 'our lives cannot be controlled by our own efforts, and coming and going are not our own doing." (Lieh Tzu, Ch.1)
Tag Taoism Death
One modern way to deal with death is to deal with it through the use of comedy. One of the modern writers who deals with Death to great comic effect is Terry Pratchett - here the portrayal is of a seven foot tall skeleton with the traditional black robe and scythe so beloved of illustrators in the Western hemisphere for many years. As Death himself states "there is no justice, there is just us" - death happens, it is neither fair nor unfair.
This portrayal of Death has been very popular - perhaps because Death scares us, we find we can deal with it when we laugh at it. Other portrayals of Death and difficult circumstances appeared in the long-running TV series "MASH" where doctors and nurses had to make difficult choices in very difficult circumstances and yet the humour was used to make those difficult decisions a little easier on occasions.
The main reason that I wanted to deal with the subject of Death is down to the case of Baby MB over here in the UK. This child has the most severe from of spinal muscular atrophy (if you want a detailed medical description, you can Google it) which affects his ability to move, eat, breathe, swallow, although it does not affect cognitive function. In the most severe form, according to the information I've read, the diagnosed individual rarely lives beyond 18 months of age - the age that baby MB is now. In this case the doctors wanted to withdraw life support which meant he would die immediately as he can't breathe on his own. The judge ruled that life support should not be withdrawn as he had to proceed on the basis that the child 'had the cognition of a normal 18-month-old and that he continued to have a relationship with his family'. However the judge also ruled that the child shouldn't be subjected to procedures 'requiring positive infliction of pain' (e.g. intravenous antibiotics or blood sampling). For Baby MB to require these treatments would mean that his condition was deteriorating and that he was 'moving naturally towards death'. At this point it would be regarded as in his best interests to withhold these procedures even though he'd almost certainly die.
This is a very difficult case - the child himself is in constant discomfort, has some periods of distress and reasonably short periods of pain and the doctors felt that it was unfair to prolong his existence any further. His parents, naturally, feel that he is benefitting from his relationship with them, although they know that his condition is terminal, and believe that he should be able to enjoy that relationship for as long as is possible.
As a parent myself, this is a very difficult case for me, as I am sure it is for many others whether they have children or not. Putting myself in the shoes of these parents, I know that they know their child is terminally ill, he will not live very much longer and they want to have as many precious moments as they can. From the doctors' perspective, I can see that it is distressing to maintain a life that involves constant discomfort, frequent distress and periods of pain, particularly when they are doing so in the full knowledge that they are only delaying the inevitable.
Most of us hope never to be faced with this type of decision, but as we in the Western world face an increasing aging population, more and more of us may have to make similar decisions for our parents; as medical technology advances, more of us may have to face these decisions for our children; or perhaps we will have to face these decisions for ourselves. Just as every person has a right to life, perhaps we also have a right to death - to be able to choose when we can say 'no' to measures that will only put off the inevitable (and let me just be clear that I am not talking about assisted suicide/euthanasia here). We should all be able to say as Chuang Tzu said "When the Master came, it was because he was due to be born. When he died, it was entirely natural."
If it is our 'time' and there is nothing more that can be done other than to put off the inevitable we should be able to accept that it is 'our' time, that we have come to the other end of the natural order, that there is nothing to be afraid of. Unfortunately, here in the West, we have become so distanced from death - more often than not people die in hospital rather than at home, in an antiseptic, clinical environment. As modern society has developed, and healthcare and diet have improved, so we have seen life expectancy rise; people no longer die from easily preventable or even very serious diseases as a matter of course; the death of women during labour is relatively rare. All this means that we encounter death less frequently than those in previous generations, we have become disassociated with the natural order of things.
Perhaps it is fear of what might happen next - Christianity of course talks about Heaven and Hell, rewards and punishments and judgements - that makes us want to hide from Death. As Taoists, we should strive to remember these words from Chuang Tzu:
"We can point to the wood that has been burned, but when the fire has passed on, we cannot know where it has gone."
We don't know what happens next, as Taoists we accept that we return to the whole, to nature, to the divine Universe (depending on how you want to phrase it) - there is nothing to be afraid of here. It is worse for those we leave behind, because they miss us, they grieve. Death is part of the natural order of things, 'our lives cannot be controlled by our own efforts, and coming and going are not our own doing." (Lieh Tzu, Ch.1)
Tag Taoism Death
Thursday, March 16, 2006
The right to life
I have been re-reading an essay in The Philosophers Magazine (Issue 31, 2005) by Paola Cavalieri which discusses whether we should extend the most basic of human rights to whales - that of a right to life.
There is some discussion in the early part of the article about the history of the whaling industry and how we, as humans, moved from purely plundering a natural resource, to realising that stocks had to be preserved, to the point where we now are under international law, that a large proportion of nations regard whaling as wrong. The article puts forward that the next logical step is to move from the point of preservation alone to the right to life being possessed by the whales themselves.
But this article doesn't only look at the development of international law to support its' argument. There is also some interesting discussion on evidence from cognitive scientists and their increased understanding of brain structure both in land and marine based creatures. Alongside this is an important strand of western moral philosophy (e.g. Locke) that argues that the concept of a person is the concept of "..a being endowed with certain psychological characteristics - first and foremost, self-consciousness." Therefore being a member of homo sapiens is not an essential requirement for being a person. Cognitive scientists argue that the brain creates self through relationships and that there is a need for complex societies and relationships. There is now a significant amount of evidence that seems to show the sharing and development of culture amongst whales, particularly evidenced through cetacean vocal development and social identity.
So why am I including this discussion on a Taoist blog, I hear you cry? Because this discussion on the right to life has moved us (homo sapiens) on from just talking about preserving other species because we may need them in the future - the mercenary, selfish point of view - towards a Taoist perspective that every part of nature is interdependent and no one part is more important than any other, something that us hairless apes have a tendency to forget more often than not. Not only is all of nature interdependent, but it also equally valuable and deserving of respect.
There are so many science fiction films, series, books etc. that discuss the possible or even definite existence of alien species (both benign and malignant) that perhaps we have now arrived at the point where we can start to think about the right to life for those who don't look like us in any way (although it is remarkable how many 'alien' species seem to have 2 arms and legs! - a deep lack of originality amongst scriptwriters, obviously). From this point it is a relatively small step to the discussion about whether it's right to eat meat or not (but maybe we'll deal with that another day). Recent research has demonstrated other 'human' qualities in chimpanzees, specifically that of altruism; again humanity is no longer 'unique'.
It is also a point to consider that if we have almost reached this point in respect to whales, and we are realising that it is not only humans that can show a desire to help, perhaps we can also, as a species move forwards in our relationships among ourselves. Across the world, there are whole rafts of examples of the 'them' and 'us' divisions - where one group regards the other as slightly sub-human (for whatever reason). Divisions exist for a large number of reasons, some historical, some geographical and some religious - what we now need to do is to learn to move beyond these to seek harmony and balance. Perhaps now we are seeing what Lao Tzu says in the Wen-Tzu that "Changes arise from the times". Perhaps the time for change is now.
I will leave you with a final quote from Lieh-Tzu:
"All things have their place in the universe, whether it is active or passive, moving or not moving. They fulfill their function in the world simply by being what they are."
Tag Taoism
There is some discussion in the early part of the article about the history of the whaling industry and how we, as humans, moved from purely plundering a natural resource, to realising that stocks had to be preserved, to the point where we now are under international law, that a large proportion of nations regard whaling as wrong. The article puts forward that the next logical step is to move from the point of preservation alone to the right to life being possessed by the whales themselves.
But this article doesn't only look at the development of international law to support its' argument. There is also some interesting discussion on evidence from cognitive scientists and their increased understanding of brain structure both in land and marine based creatures. Alongside this is an important strand of western moral philosophy (e.g. Locke) that argues that the concept of a person is the concept of "..a being endowed with certain psychological characteristics - first and foremost, self-consciousness." Therefore being a member of homo sapiens is not an essential requirement for being a person. Cognitive scientists argue that the brain creates self through relationships and that there is a need for complex societies and relationships. There is now a significant amount of evidence that seems to show the sharing and development of culture amongst whales, particularly evidenced through cetacean vocal development and social identity.
So why am I including this discussion on a Taoist blog, I hear you cry? Because this discussion on the right to life has moved us (homo sapiens) on from just talking about preserving other species because we may need them in the future - the mercenary, selfish point of view - towards a Taoist perspective that every part of nature is interdependent and no one part is more important than any other, something that us hairless apes have a tendency to forget more often than not. Not only is all of nature interdependent, but it also equally valuable and deserving of respect.
There are so many science fiction films, series, books etc. that discuss the possible or even definite existence of alien species (both benign and malignant) that perhaps we have now arrived at the point where we can start to think about the right to life for those who don't look like us in any way (although it is remarkable how many 'alien' species seem to have 2 arms and legs! - a deep lack of originality amongst scriptwriters, obviously). From this point it is a relatively small step to the discussion about whether it's right to eat meat or not (but maybe we'll deal with that another day). Recent research has demonstrated other 'human' qualities in chimpanzees, specifically that of altruism; again humanity is no longer 'unique'.
It is also a point to consider that if we have almost reached this point in respect to whales, and we are realising that it is not only humans that can show a desire to help, perhaps we can also, as a species move forwards in our relationships among ourselves. Across the world, there are whole rafts of examples of the 'them' and 'us' divisions - where one group regards the other as slightly sub-human (for whatever reason). Divisions exist for a large number of reasons, some historical, some geographical and some religious - what we now need to do is to learn to move beyond these to seek harmony and balance. Perhaps now we are seeing what Lao Tzu says in the Wen-Tzu that "Changes arise from the times". Perhaps the time for change is now.
I will leave you with a final quote from Lieh-Tzu:
"All things have their place in the universe, whether it is active or passive, moving or not moving. They fulfill their function in the world simply by being what they are."
Tag Taoism
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Recovering purpose
I was reading a very interesting article in The Observer sunday newspaper yesterday (the address may be found here - http://observer.guardian.co.uk/columists/story/o,,1729171,00.html
The title of the article, by Will Hutton, was 'You're 35 and experienced. Let's face it you're useless.'
In this article, Hutton discusses a book by Richard Sennett called "The Culture of the New Capitalism" which posits the idea that modern work patterns make self-respect taken from our working lives, an awful lot harder to achieve. Sennett states that most of us ordinary, average Joes/Joesses work in the expectation that our experience and job knowledge make us worthwhile and worthy of respect in our chosen fields (however mundane those might happen to be); however, the new cultural phenomena that he discusses suggests that we are only viewed as valuable for what we might be able to do in the future. We are only valuable if we are able to embrace the future and be the kind of person who ".. will repudiate the past, trash their own experience and embrace the short-term opportunity."
This idea about flexibility, being constantly ready to retrain etc. links into the ideas that exist in our Western society about globalisation - that this a good thing and makes the world a better place, developing economies and creating new jobs for those people phased out of 'old' industries. What Sennett claims is that for most people, this development in our society gives them an 'intensifying sense of their own uselessness'.
Sennett makes some valid points but we need to be careful about harking back to some past 'golden age' of the world of work. No or very slow change is just as difficult to deal with as change that appears to happen faster than the speed of light. Hutton agrees that Sennett makes some valid points and states, at the end of the article, that 'how to recover purpose should be on our political agenda and part of our national conversation.' Obviously, a conversation, in public and at all levels, needs to be had. The problem is that one solution - that we cease to define our lives by the jobs we do is not in the interests of the employers who pay us. They need us to commit to them, their organisations, our jobs so that we'll work hard and be productive for as long as they need us (not for as long as we need them - please note). So I am afraid that this conversation is unlikely to be heard by the vast majority of our working society - it is not in capitalisms best interests for us to have the conversation.
As a taoist, it is necessary to step outside this situation and look at it in a slightly more detached way. Unless we are very lucky, all of us need to perform some type of work for a large proportion of our lives. However, what we should not do is allow this facet of who we are to dominate the centre, our actual selves. Once we detach ourselves from our 'job', perhaps the constant rush to change/retrain/cast out the old will be easier to deal with. The way that we work and gain meaning from our careers is a constant process of evolution. As Andrew Cohen says 'Evolution is not a mindless process. It demands and needs our participation'.
So the choice is simple, we can stand on the bank of the fast-flowing river, looking at the terrifying speed of the water and allow our fear to either prevent us from moving or make us plunge in in an unplanned way; or we can look for way to navigate the river, to become one with it, to understand it so that we can emerge from the other side, like the old man that Confucious observed, unharmed.
Tag Taoism
The title of the article, by Will Hutton, was 'You're 35 and experienced. Let's face it you're useless.'
In this article, Hutton discusses a book by Richard Sennett called "The Culture of the New Capitalism" which posits the idea that modern work patterns make self-respect taken from our working lives, an awful lot harder to achieve. Sennett states that most of us ordinary, average Joes/Joesses work in the expectation that our experience and job knowledge make us worthwhile and worthy of respect in our chosen fields (however mundane those might happen to be); however, the new cultural phenomena that he discusses suggests that we are only viewed as valuable for what we might be able to do in the future. We are only valuable if we are able to embrace the future and be the kind of person who ".. will repudiate the past, trash their own experience and embrace the short-term opportunity."
This idea about flexibility, being constantly ready to retrain etc. links into the ideas that exist in our Western society about globalisation - that this a good thing and makes the world a better place, developing economies and creating new jobs for those people phased out of 'old' industries. What Sennett claims is that for most people, this development in our society gives them an 'intensifying sense of their own uselessness'.
Sennett makes some valid points but we need to be careful about harking back to some past 'golden age' of the world of work. No or very slow change is just as difficult to deal with as change that appears to happen faster than the speed of light. Hutton agrees that Sennett makes some valid points and states, at the end of the article, that 'how to recover purpose should be on our political agenda and part of our national conversation.' Obviously, a conversation, in public and at all levels, needs to be had. The problem is that one solution - that we cease to define our lives by the jobs we do is not in the interests of the employers who pay us. They need us to commit to them, their organisations, our jobs so that we'll work hard and be productive for as long as they need us (not for as long as we need them - please note). So I am afraid that this conversation is unlikely to be heard by the vast majority of our working society - it is not in capitalisms best interests for us to have the conversation.
As a taoist, it is necessary to step outside this situation and look at it in a slightly more detached way. Unless we are very lucky, all of us need to perform some type of work for a large proportion of our lives. However, what we should not do is allow this facet of who we are to dominate the centre, our actual selves. Once we detach ourselves from our 'job', perhaps the constant rush to change/retrain/cast out the old will be easier to deal with. The way that we work and gain meaning from our careers is a constant process of evolution. As Andrew Cohen says 'Evolution is not a mindless process. It demands and needs our participation'.
So the choice is simple, we can stand on the bank of the fast-flowing river, looking at the terrifying speed of the water and allow our fear to either prevent us from moving or make us plunge in in an unplanned way; or we can look for way to navigate the river, to become one with it, to understand it so that we can emerge from the other side, like the old man that Confucious observed, unharmed.
Tag Taoism
Saturday, March 11, 2006
The quest for fame
Been re-reading Chuang Tzu and was struck by the following quote:
"So we look at things and see things, but it is only an outward form and colour, and what can be heard is just the name and sound. How sad that this generation imagines that the form, colour, name and sound are enough to capture the essence of something!" (Ch.13 'Heaven's Tao', The Book of Chuang Tzu, trans. by Martin Palmer with Elizabeth Breuilly)
This reminded me of some of the thoughts I'd had about all these 'reality' TV shows where all the contestants are taking part because they want to be famous and earn lots of money. They also want their lives to 'mean something' and believe that fame and fortune (even if shortlived) will make them important. They imagine that form, colour, name and sound are enough to capture the essence of something - in this case fame, happiness, self-worth, importance.
All the participants in this type of TV show have completely failed to understand that those who are content with themselves, who are truly happy like the sages are "not greedy for food or power and so they are full of well-being" (Tao Te Ching, Timothy Freke). They require things from outside them to complete them, to make them happy, fulfilled, important, famous, admired. They believe that money can make you happy or, even if they realise that money doesn't make you happy, they pursue it anyway - subscribing to the belief that "money might not make you happy, but it does at least allow you to be miserable in comfort".
Even when following Tao, it is difficult not to succumb to this lure of money and fame and fortune; we can all be seduced away from the path when we allow our focus to slip. Constant attention and focus is the price we followers of the Tao must pay for living in our western materialistic society.
"Fulfillment comes from selflessness". (Tao Te Ching, Timothy Freke)
"So we look at things and see things, but it is only an outward form and colour, and what can be heard is just the name and sound. How sad that this generation imagines that the form, colour, name and sound are enough to capture the essence of something!" (Ch.13 'Heaven's Tao', The Book of Chuang Tzu, trans. by Martin Palmer with Elizabeth Breuilly)
This reminded me of some of the thoughts I'd had about all these 'reality' TV shows where all the contestants are taking part because they want to be famous and earn lots of money. They also want their lives to 'mean something' and believe that fame and fortune (even if shortlived) will make them important. They imagine that form, colour, name and sound are enough to capture the essence of something - in this case fame, happiness, self-worth, importance.
All the participants in this type of TV show have completely failed to understand that those who are content with themselves, who are truly happy like the sages are "not greedy for food or power and so they are full of well-being" (Tao Te Ching, Timothy Freke). They require things from outside them to complete them, to make them happy, fulfilled, important, famous, admired. They believe that money can make you happy or, even if they realise that money doesn't make you happy, they pursue it anyway - subscribing to the belief that "money might not make you happy, but it does at least allow you to be miserable in comfort".
Even when following Tao, it is difficult not to succumb to this lure of money and fame and fortune; we can all be seduced away from the path when we allow our focus to slip. Constant attention and focus is the price we followers of the Tao must pay for living in our western materialistic society.
"Fulfillment comes from selflessness". (Tao Te Ching, Timothy Freke)
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Growing old - disgracefully
Many of the things that we do, that we experience, that we see, are about change. Getting older is perhaps one of the major changes that we all experience - even though many of us would rather not admit that this is happening!
We look in the mirror and suddenly see our first wrinkle, our first grey hair and suddenly it hits home - we are getting old!! And so it begins, the endless seeking after the 'fountain of youth'. We dye our hair, use the latest facial moisturisers that promise to 'reduce the 7 signs of aging', get our wrinkles 'botoxed', our faces 'lifted', our tummys 'tucked'. We cling, ever more desperately, to our youth, as though this is the only part of our lives that was worth living. Changes are happening to us, changes that we don't want and that are, therefore, bad! We must buy that 'Wrinkle Decrease' because we're worth it!
In the comedy film, 'Death Becomes Her', both Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn play women who are desperate for success and youth and beauty. They both choose to take the expensive, 'magic', potion and instantly they have what they want. However, this youth and beauty is not without cost - they wanted preservation, to remain young and beautiful for ever - but this means that they can't die and in the process of exacting their revenge upon each other they pass from immortal life to immortal death - not quite what they had in mind!
Part of our modern 'problem' with death and aging, is that we view changes that we don't choose as being bad or unfair; all these unwanted changes are something that we can opt out of if we try hard enough, spend enough money, put ourselves through more and more invasive cosmetic procedures. It's as though death is the booby prize that we can avoid if we just fight hard enough.
Life is good, death is bad. From a Taoist perspective, this view of the life/death duality is just plain wrong. You can't have life without death and vice versa; these two need each other and neither one of them is good or bad, they just are. It is our interpretation of, our reaction to, these two events that makes them either good or bad - and so here we come to the nub of the thing, it is all, in fact, about choice, about how we choose to deal with the inevitability of this change that comes to all of us, sooner or later.
Now, don't get me wrong - I'm not about to step off into the darkness before I absolutely have to and neither am I averse to looking after my health as much as is possible and making the best of what looks I ever had. I have no intention, however, of clinging to my youth through whatever means possible and so I mean to encourage my 7 signs of aging:
1. Smile a lot - if you're going to have wrinkles (and you are) let them be there because you've enjoyed yourself.
2. Grey hair - love it - it means you've made it this far.
3. False teeth - if they start to annoy you, at least you can take them out!
4. Weight gain - you're not overweight, you merely have a 'well-rounded' personality.
5. Worry - don't worry about what other people think - live life now, you're not getting any younger, no matter how much moisturiser you use!
6. Enjoy your life now - if you want to splash in puddles, then do it - after all the puddles don't last forever.
7. Lastly, when you do something you want to, and somebody younger than you gives you a 'funny' look (and this includes your children), grin slowly - it'll make them wonder what else you've been up to!
Trying to be true to the Tao means living in the present, not in the past or the future. This is not always easy, we have to work at it. So grow old disgracefully - have fun, do things you enjoy (even if everybody tells you that you're too old). Don't cling to your youth - after a while it just starts to get ridiculous; don't start panicking about the exact moment of your death either, you won't know when it's going to happen and it just means that you'll never start living in the here and now.
And remember growing old doesn't mean fading away.
You'll know who I am if you ever see me - I'm the one in the frog wellies jumping in all the puddles!
We look in the mirror and suddenly see our first wrinkle, our first grey hair and suddenly it hits home - we are getting old!! And so it begins, the endless seeking after the 'fountain of youth'. We dye our hair, use the latest facial moisturisers that promise to 'reduce the 7 signs of aging', get our wrinkles 'botoxed', our faces 'lifted', our tummys 'tucked'. We cling, ever more desperately, to our youth, as though this is the only part of our lives that was worth living. Changes are happening to us, changes that we don't want and that are, therefore, bad! We must buy that 'Wrinkle Decrease' because we're worth it!
In the comedy film, 'Death Becomes Her', both Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn play women who are desperate for success and youth and beauty. They both choose to take the expensive, 'magic', potion and instantly they have what they want. However, this youth and beauty is not without cost - they wanted preservation, to remain young and beautiful for ever - but this means that they can't die and in the process of exacting their revenge upon each other they pass from immortal life to immortal death - not quite what they had in mind!
Part of our modern 'problem' with death and aging, is that we view changes that we don't choose as being bad or unfair; all these unwanted changes are something that we can opt out of if we try hard enough, spend enough money, put ourselves through more and more invasive cosmetic procedures. It's as though death is the booby prize that we can avoid if we just fight hard enough.
Life is good, death is bad. From a Taoist perspective, this view of the life/death duality is just plain wrong. You can't have life without death and vice versa; these two need each other and neither one of them is good or bad, they just are. It is our interpretation of, our reaction to, these two events that makes them either good or bad - and so here we come to the nub of the thing, it is all, in fact, about choice, about how we choose to deal with the inevitability of this change that comes to all of us, sooner or later.
Now, don't get me wrong - I'm not about to step off into the darkness before I absolutely have to and neither am I averse to looking after my health as much as is possible and making the best of what looks I ever had. I have no intention, however, of clinging to my youth through whatever means possible and so I mean to encourage my 7 signs of aging:
1. Smile a lot - if you're going to have wrinkles (and you are) let them be there because you've enjoyed yourself.
2. Grey hair - love it - it means you've made it this far.
3. False teeth - if they start to annoy you, at least you can take them out!
4. Weight gain - you're not overweight, you merely have a 'well-rounded' personality.
5. Worry - don't worry about what other people think - live life now, you're not getting any younger, no matter how much moisturiser you use!
6. Enjoy your life now - if you want to splash in puddles, then do it - after all the puddles don't last forever.
7. Lastly, when you do something you want to, and somebody younger than you gives you a 'funny' look (and this includes your children), grin slowly - it'll make them wonder what else you've been up to!
Trying to be true to the Tao means living in the present, not in the past or the future. This is not always easy, we have to work at it. So grow old disgracefully - have fun, do things you enjoy (even if everybody tells you that you're too old). Don't cling to your youth - after a while it just starts to get ridiculous; don't start panicking about the exact moment of your death either, you won't know when it's going to happen and it just means that you'll never start living in the here and now.
And remember growing old doesn't mean fading away.
You'll know who I am if you ever see me - I'm the one in the frog wellies jumping in all the puddles!
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Books I recommend
Over the last few years I have read a number of books that dealt with different aspects of Taoism and topics that could be said to be related to them.
Two that I come back to again and again are "The Wisdom of Lao Tse", translated and edited by Lin Yutang and "Tao: The Watercourse Way", by Alan Watts.
The first book, although the language is somewhat old-fashioned, is very useful in that it places excerpts from Chuang Tse next to each chapter of the Tao Te Ching. This shows where there are similarities in views between these two texts and how the ideas, briefly expressed in TTC, are expanded in Chuang Tse.
The second book, by Alan Watts, also brings out some of the underlying meanings of the TTC and is expressed with a beautiful fluidity of style that harmonises with the subject and resonates with the reader.
I obtained both these books second-hand via abebooks.co.uk and there is also a worldwide site abebooks.com which gives access to second-hand books worldwide.
Two that I come back to again and again are "The Wisdom of Lao Tse", translated and edited by Lin Yutang and "Tao: The Watercourse Way", by Alan Watts.
The first book, although the language is somewhat old-fashioned, is very useful in that it places excerpts from Chuang Tse next to each chapter of the Tao Te Ching. This shows where there are similarities in views between these two texts and how the ideas, briefly expressed in TTC, are expanded in Chuang Tse.
The second book, by Alan Watts, also brings out some of the underlying meanings of the TTC and is expressed with a beautiful fluidity of style that harmonises with the subject and resonates with the reader.
I obtained both these books second-hand via abebooks.co.uk and there is also a worldwide site abebooks.com which gives access to second-hand books worldwide.
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