Taoism and Lao Tzu
There are moments in life when we feel we’ve reached the fullest expression of ourselves, the very peak of our being. Happiness is often seen as sharing life with those we call family.
But who truly makes up our family, and what might Lao Tzu be pointing to in chapter/verse fifty-three of the Tao Te Ching when he speaks of the Great Way and I would add the cognitive or paradigm shift of spirit he would have us to experience.
I think of the word “cognitive” as our ability to remember people, places, and relate to things we’ve known in the past. A paradigm shift happens when new information changes the way we see things in a big or radical way, assisting or helping us view them differently than we did before.
Cognitive dissonance is the mental discomfort we feel when holding two conflicting beliefs, values, or attitudes, which often drives us to resolve the inconsistency in ways that align with our character and return us to our innate virtues. It’s interesting how our fate can change when the timing is right and we choose to do the right thing.
The fourth key word here is parameters, which simply means boundaries. How much of what we assume to be true or false are we willing to release if it no longer serves our understanding of universal truths and what, until now, we’ve taken for granted?
Especially when physics and science can prove otherwise. When we understand and find comfort in the eternal spirit, we recognize the Great Way, realizing that once awakened, we see we’ve never truly left it. From experience, we can say,
“The Tao is not hard to know, but it is hard to follow”. Walking the Great Way of Spirit isn’t just a Taoist idea as referenced in the Tao Te Ching. Every religious tradition has looked to the spirit as a guide for traveling this Great Way. Humanity however tends to suffer when a single spiritual path is viewed as the only acceptable way to define the unknown.
Lao Tzu reminds us that we often move through life worried we’ve lost our way, taken a detour, and are trying to get back on track. That when we live with our virtue intact, we can trust in a smooth journey and look forward to reaching the end with a clear, even path ahead. Unfortunately, over time we’ve sometimes strayed from spirit and the path, causing hardships for ourselves and others, living as if tomorrow will never come. We’ve forgotten the virtue within us that knows the path Lao Tzu speaks to.
Chapter/Verse fifty-three tells us that people admire tidy homes and charming byways, yet their yards and fields are overrun with weeds and their pantries sit empty. They dress in fine clothes and carry sharp swords for protection, eating more than they need and hoarding possessions they will never use.
In the Tao, this is seen as thievery and robbery, not the path we were meant to follow. They have strayed from their own inherent spirit and have gotten lost along the Great Way. Their spirits have since become disheartened with louder voices always taking over and having preference.
Looking beyond the present, people throughout the centuries have sought someone or something to keep them grounded—someone they could admire in the image of Lao Tzu or a model of living like Chuang Tzu’s Perfected Man.
Even to Confucius who conveyed the proper way to treat our universal family and our ancestors. Commentaries have always served as the vehicle to convey… “Ok, what would they have done if faced with the present circumstances?”
I like the commentary of Lu Hsi-sheng, who was a high official and scholar who reflects the view that Lao Tzu and Confucius were the spiritual heirs of Fu Hsi (who lived in 3500BC) who created the hexagrams of the I Ching, with Lao Tzu emphasizing in yin and Confucius the yang aspects of the Way of Heaven who says, (From the Tao-te-chen-ching-cheng)
“The Great Way is like a grand thoroughfare: smooth and easy to travel, perfectly straight and free of detours, and there is nowhere it does not lead. But people are in a hurry. They take shortcuts and get into trouble and become lost and don’t reach their destination. The sage only worries about leading people down such a path.”
Verse 53 – Gently Guiding Others
Slow down and let your virtue lead the way. Stay fixed to the Great Way not letting distractions lead you astray. Stay focused on doing nothing and do everything simply with that you have learned by following the Tao.
Just as others look to you for direction, you must first gather them up like laundry, put them in the same basket, wash and dry them, then sort them in an orderly fashion. Folded and put away they await their turn to come to the forefront for all to see.
Instead of pushing certain things to happen, sit back and let your nature gently guide those around you. Instead of being in such a hurry, taking shortcuts and finding nothing but trouble, let events play themselves out.
While the sage remains ahead by staying behind, his only concern is leading people down such a path.
However, as events play themselves out, he remains always ready to show the next step along the way.
53. 循循引导
慢慢来，让大德引路。遵循道，不要因分心而误入歧途。要专心无为，只按道行事。
当别人请你指点方向时，你必须像洗涤那样，把衣服收集起来，放在一个篓子里，洗净烘干，然后分类折妥放好，等候众人来观看。
不要人为地制造事端，而是坐下来，让你的自然天性柔和地指导周围的人。不要仓促，抄近路，自寻烦恼，让事物自然发展。当圣人置身殿后而率先前行时，他的唯一担心是，这样做会令人失望。
然而，随着事物的发展， 一路上，圣人总是高瞻远瞩，指点前程。
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