Saturday, July 17, 2010

Adventures in Taoism, and how come we're always surprised by change?


Lately I've been poking around in various religions and pulling out anything I like, and I've found a lot to like in Taoism. It fits with a lot of my own ideas about embracing life in the present, living in harmony with nature and seeking balance in our lives. The Three Jewels to be sought are compassion, moderation and humility. Very simple, and I much prefer principles over rules. With a few good principles, you can make your own rules and adjust them as needed to specific situations. (By the way Feminist Mormon Housewives had an awesome post yesterday critiquing and questioning the validity of the endless rules within Mormonism. Comment #16 was especially good.)

This very basic overview describes Tao as "the first cause of the universe. It is a force that flows through all life." That reminded me of John's comment on this post: "To me spirituality is what I call the yet-to-be-explained driving force of the universe or the force that moves us when we're alive and leaves us when we're dead." 

The explanation of the Yin Yang symbol I found particularly interesting:
"It represents the balance of opposites in the universe. When they are equally present, all is calm. When one is outweighed by the other, there is confusion and disarray." 1...The two swirling shapes inside the symbol give the impression of change -- the only constant factor in the universe. 
 That got me thinking: If change is the only constant in the universe, why are we continually surprised by it? For example, when someone dies or there's a natural disaster or your favorite restaurant goes out of business? Why is it human nature to expect constancy?

Or, is it only unpleasant changes that cause us to cry foul at the universe? Have you ever known anyone to get upset over an unexpected job opportunity or a new romance?

In my experience, the happiest people seem to be those who recognize that there's very little that we actually control. They are able to bend with whatever life brings them and appreciate whatever goodness and joy is in their lives in the present moment, recognizing its evanescence. Buddhism has a similar concept: When we recognize that the glass is already broken, then every moment that it's still intact becomes precious. I see this in my children, who are constantly changing. My little one is starting to use language and real words, and while his fledgling speech is so adorable, I'm a little sad that his baby gibberish is disappearing.

Accepting change as inevitable helps us deal with pain too. When I find myself going through something painful, it helps to remind myself, This won't last forever. No matter how bad it gets, it always gets better eventually.

There's much, much more to Taoism, and I may write more as I get further into it. If I've piqued your interest, A Personal Tao was a fun website to explore.

Share/Bookmark

If you enjoyed this post, I hope you'll check out my new blog.

14 comments:

  1. Have you read the Tao of Pooh? It is a cute little book that discusses Taoism. I personally love the little exchange between the author and pooh at the beginning.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Curmudgeon, I've heard of it but haven't read it. I'll have to add it to my to-read stack.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Heya, found you over at FMH (Thanks G-ma!) and I have to think that people are generally only upset about negative change, I think mostly because it's hard to see opportunity in things when you are upset.

    I tend to be drawn to the eastern religions, I hadn't gotten to the Tao though... definitely have to look into that more!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Leah, you mention that you are pulling out parts that you like from different religions and so as you explore Taoism I'm wondering what you think the relationship between bullets 1 and 5 on the link you provided are? What is the relationship between the Tao being the first cause and at the same time the concept of the creation of the universe being foreign in taoism?

    What about bullet 7 that says time is cyclical and not linear? How do you think that relates to general relativity which mandates a beginning to the universe and a beginning to time?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Aprillium, thanks for reading! Glad to have you. You make a great point about even negative change--perhaps especially negative change--provides opportunities for growth.

    Patrik, I certainly am not any kind of expert on Taoism, so I hope I didn't give that impression with this post. I've looked at a few internet pages about it; that's the extent of my knowledge. As far as my take on your questions, I don't see a First Cause being in conflict with the absence of a creation. To me, creation implies a creator, which implies an intelligent, personal kind of deity. A cause can be any of the laws we observe in nature. Gravity causes sundry events. That doesn't mean we anthropomorphize and worship it.

    I don't really know about cyclical vs. linear time. That wasn't something that captured my attention so I didn't study or think about it further. I was more interested in the aspects of it that have application in my day to day living.

    If you're trying to "disprove" Taoism because part of it conflicts with the theory of relativity, I think you're on a slippery slope, my friend, considering your own religion conflicts with many current theories.

    I will say that I don't think Taoism is the Absolute Answer. I haven't delved very deep into it, but I've seen enough to know that there are parts of it that I definitely disagree with, just like every other religion. But also like every religion, there's good stuff in there too, and I intend to keep the good.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Taoism rocks! I have read many, many books over the years and own three different I Ching texts. The I Ching is a great way to learn about Taoism with events that happen to you every day, week, month, year or however often you want to consult it.
    Taoism is a brilliant evolution of thought. Studying the evolution is even more fascinating. However, I recommend getting the I Ching for starters. The best one is the I Ching Workbook, translated by R.L. Wing.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks for your enthusiasm and recommendations, Joe!

    ReplyDelete
  8. "If change is the only constant in the universe, why are we continually surprised by it?"

    A psychologist by the name of Jordan Peterson has an amazing, deep lecture about our 'constant' struggle between order and chaos, between the sacred and the real. It's lengthy but if you have 50 minutes or so I strongly encourage you and your readers to check it out (it may speak more directly to students and recent students considering its setting).

    http://www.tvo.org/TVO/WebObjects/TVO.woa?videoid?84734481001

    It's on youtube as well, but chopped up into parts.

    (I was thinking about using it on my blog in the next few weeks, but it's important enough to spread around, and tied to your new-found Taoist curiosities.)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi Leah, thanks for that enjoyable read :) I especially liked the Buddhist quote you included: When we recognize that the glass is already broken, then every moment that it's still intact becomes precious. I was just wondering who wrote that and where I could find it.. Any ideas?

    ReplyDelete
  10. @Aiden

    I believe the broken glass imagery can be attributed to Achaan Chah, a Buddhist teacher.

    Here's one rendering:
    "Someone gave me this glass, and I really like this glass. It holds my water admirably and it glistens in the sunlight. I touch it and it rings! One day the wind may blow it off the shelf, or my elbow may knock it from the table. I know this glass is already broken, so I enjoy it incredibly." Achaan Chah Subato, Thai Buddhist teacher

    ReplyDelete
  11. And while I'm at it...

    The obvious recommendation for anyone who's interested in Taoism is the 'Tao Te Ching' - the book is tiny, but altogether delightful. Translations vary pretty widely though, so it's best to look over a few to see which best fits your inclinations.

    If you want a westerner's take on the Tao, I can't recommend Raymond Smullyan's 'The Tao is Silent' enough. Again, it's a short read, but very worthwhile. Smullyan was quite a character - he was (as his Wikipedia entry will attest) a mathematician, concert pianist, logician, Taoist philosopher, and magician.

    ReplyDelete
  12. "It represents the balance of opposites in the universe. When they are equally present, all is calm. When one is outweighed by the other, there is confusion and disarray."

    This is an annoyingly common misconception for me as a Taoist. Taoism is not, as the common belief about the Yin and Yang's symbolism is, a dualistic tradition.

    The Yin and Yang are not opposites, but rather represent interpreted opposites, the reality being that Yin and Yang are one and the same.

    Take the Yin and Yang of Hot and Cold. "Hot" and "Cold" are merely interpretations. If I walk out of a sauna into a temperate room, I will feel Cold. Yet if I walk out of a meat freezer into that same room, I will feel Warm. The opposites of Yin and Yang are only opposite in personal interpretation. In reality, they are one in the same.

    My Taoist master described it the best. "The Yin and Yang are not two separate symbols," he said, "They are one." Yin and Yang demonstrates not a balance between opposites (that would be, in my opinion, a world of conflict) but a disintegration of the concept of opposites.

    It is ironic that a symbol meant to demonstrate the dissolution of opposites has come to represent the very concepts of opposites.

    ReplyDelete
  13. CMac, Thank you for the clarification and your insight.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Aprillium, thanks for reading! Glad to have you. You make a great point about even negative change--perhaps especially negative change--provides opportunities for growth.

    Patrik, I certainly am not any kind of expert on Taoism, so I hope I didn't give that impression with this post. I've looked at a few internet pages about it; that's the extent of my knowledge. As far as my take on your questions, I don't see a First Cause being in conflict with the absence of a creation. To me, creation implies a creator, which implies an intelligent, personal kind of deity. A cause can be any of the laws we observe in nature. Gravity causes sundry events. That doesn't mean we anthropomorphize and worship it.

    I don't really know about cyclical vs. linear time. That wasn't something that captured my attention so I didn't study or think about it further. I was more interested in the aspects of it that have application in my day to day living.

    If you're trying to "disprove" Taoism because part of it conflicts with the theory of relativity, I think you're on a slippery slope, my friend, considering your own religion conflicts with many current theories.

    I will say that I don't think Taoism is the Absolute Answer. I haven't delved very deep into it, but I've seen enough to know that there are parts of it that I definitely disagree with, just like every other religion. But also like every religion, there's good stuff in there too, and I intend to keep the good.

    ReplyDelete

Religion, skepticism, and carving out a spiritual life post-Mormonism