Expert: Joe McSorley - 10/7/2008

Question
Hello sir! I take a philosophy class that studies eastern and western thought. Right now we are focusing on eastern religions, particularly those that the Chinese practice. My personal problem is with Daoism. After my (limited) amount of reading on the subject, all I really know is that it values harmony, peace with nature, and it really is against disruption and chaos of every kind. Wu wei is sort of the term for going with the flow of life sort of thing. Here are my questions:

How do you explain the Dao?

What are the other main aspects of Daosim? Like, if I wanted a quick rundown on Daoism in five minutes, what are the most important and vital elements you would tell me?

And lastly, can you tell me how action through non-action works? I sort of understand (I think), but I need clarity.

Thank you in advance for helping me out.

Answer
Hi Ryan,
 Here's your questions:

How do you explain the Dao?


      To try to define Taoism or the Way  immediately creates a problem.  It’s a problem because it is not a particular thing or way.  There are no tenets, dogma, belief or laws and no central authority.  Tao is often understood as the way nature works or the natural order of things but its meaning is really deeper than that.  I would say that the central theme of Taoism is the ‘interpenetration’ of things.  Many might say harmony with nature but this would not be a deep enough understanding. Many talk about following the tao (way) which is the natural order of things but that is an anthropomorphic concept.  By this I mean that it is a construct of human thought trying to say what is natures’ way and what is not natures’ way.  How can humans speak for all of nature? Taoism has many articulations but if you look into the heart of Lao Tzu and Chuang tzu what you find is the emphasis on interpenetration.  What this means is that things are co-originating, intertwined and mutually defining.  This is the meaning of the yin yang/Tai Chi symbol which I am sure you have seen.  The black and white swirls in the circle with the dots of opposite colors in them.  What this icon symbolizes is that opposites actually define one another.  That the foundation for darkness is light and vice versa.  Thus in the dark field you have a white dot and in the white field you have a black dot.  Each is the foundation for the other and cannot be separated from the other.  All being is defined by non-being.  Life is life precisely because you can die and without death there is no life they are mutually defining and existing.  This is the heart of Taoism.
 So all nature is the expression of the Tao and Tao is the expression of all nature.  In the West we have a split that is God/Man/Nature, all separate but in the East it is Man=Nature=Man, not split so this is why nature is integral to Taoism.





What are the other main aspects of Daosim? Like, if I wanted a quick rundown on Daoism in five minutes, what are the most important and vital elements you would tell me?

Besides everything I said above Taoism seeks to get the individual to realize that we are nature, not just a part, but we are a manifestation of nature, all nature.  If we learn to realize this then we will be in harmony with nature and see all nature as ourselves.


And lastly, can you tell me how action through non-action works? I sort of understand (I think), but I need clarity.
Non- Action or non-doing is generally a greatly misunderstood concept in Taoism.  It is not a simplistic non-action.  The original term for it is wei-wu-wei or doing without doing.  The way most people express it is in the negative as just ‘no doing’ or no voluntary action but that is misleading.  Here’s an example.  To become proficient at playing a musical instrument you need to practice.  This practice is ‘doing’.  The more you practice the more you are ‘doing’ but you hope to reach a point where your playing becomes unconscious so that you are no longer ‘doing’.  When you reach this point you are doing it without doing, no voluntary action, you are moving freely.  Now practicing the scales got you there but practicing the scales is not ‘it’.  You need to transcend the doing to get to the non-doing.  Most people mistake this non-doing as being placid and blank but it is the exact opposite, it is active and dynamic.  So through meditation or any other practice you strive to reach the point that you are no longer doing it, you are ‘it’.

       take care,
               Joe