Today’s Rave: Taoism

Having just read through the Tao Te Ching for the umpteenth time in the last few weeks, I just thought I would say a few words on a slightly inscrutable subject: Taoism. While I am hardly any better than the average person at interpreting this highly esoteric subject, I believe I can shed light on few of the genuine basic tenets, as well as dispel some of the common misconceptions about it, mostly because I used to share them myself. Note that I have this post marked as philosophy and not religion, as Taoism makes essentially no transcendental claims whatsoever. Those who think Taoism is a religion are mistaken, although it does prescribe a code for living like may religions unfortunately do. The simple goal of this way of living is harmony, not reward in the hereafter or avoiding damnation.

In the particular translation I am reading, one of the key concepts is translated as “non-Ado.” I will try to clarify. Ado in this case means bother or fuss. The Tao Te Ching says (I’m paraphrasing all these) “the sage does his work, but sets no store by it.” Additionally, “the secret of the Tao is this: when you have done your work, retire!” What the book is trying to get across is the idea that you should be able to get things done without constantly marking off your achievements, as this interferes with work for its own sake (something Taoism shares with Zen Buddhism). In order to live harmoniously, one must be able to do things essentially without taking credit for them, or at least not caring about credit whether you receive it or not.

While you (and I) may balk at this idea, it is this insistence on ego gratification and ego context that makes everything such a goddamn trial. The simple joy of getting things done should in theory be enough. In fact, without all the fuss over a task, it becomes automatic, as if nothing is being done at all. After all, something is only “work” if you have to force yourself to set about doing it. If it is as natural as breathing, it can’t really be considered “work” in the usual sense. This is the true meaning of “The sage does nothing, yet nothing is left undone.”

This is closely tied to the misconception that Taoism is a philosophy for lazy people. Unfortunately this is far from the truth, unless you are so good at being lazy (and we’re talking The Dude from the Big Lebowski here) that it doesn’t inconvenience anyone else. Essentially, if one can live life in the most genuine sense possible (this is a big philosophy issue, but Taosim does attempt to address it), then the Tao will naturally follow.

It is true, however, that Taoism does teach you to relax, and live in the moment. People’s minds are always in the future or past, but rarely trained on the present. For Taoism, harmony is something in the present, and one must work in one’s current circumstance to achieve harmony.

I would caution you, though, that Taoism, like its social counterpart Confucianism, is predicated on (or perhaps the cause of) the passive-mode morality of most Asian civilizations, which stresses that leaving people alone will usually do them more good than you sticking your nose in their business. This is why Taoism says it is better for people to be stupid than smart, and better to fill their stomachs with food than their minds with ideas. This is better for the state as a whole, even if the overall average person is worse off.

Though I don’t necessarily agree with everything it posits regarding statecraft, I am partial to this passive mode of live-and-let-live myself, and in a very real sense this is what the Constitution is all about. However, the Puritanical crowd have superimposed their active-morality Golden Rule onto our politics, and are working to overturn individual’s rights to match their outdated moral code. We all can see the inherent danger here. I’ve talked about this a hundred times before, so I won’t bore you to death with it.

In summation: Taoism is very interesting. Read about it. Bye.