Expert: Joe McSorley - 2/24/2006

Question
Hi, I have some questions about Taoism for a  project I'm working on for this Tuesday; thank you so much for your time!

What makes Taoism appealing to a follower of Taoist philosophies?

What is the most important aspect of Taoism?

Are there any rituals or common practices done by people who follow Taoist philosophies?

In what way, if any, do these beliefs conflict with the values of today's modernized world?


Answer
Hi Hannah,
  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 be a superficial 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 yinyang/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 life there is no death.  Mutually defining and existing.  This is the heart of Taoism.
 So all nature is an 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.
  There is no particular place of worship for Taoist though there are temples and monasteries such as the famous Shaolin temple that kung fu supposedly comes from.  You don't need a building or a place to be one with nature.  For the individual the everyday practice is everything from eating a good diet and exercise to practicing kung fu, chi qong ( breathing exercises) and  meditation.  For the most part it is trying to still the mind so that one may see ‘what is' and thus live harmoniously.
  
     Lao Tzu envisioned his writings to guide the rulers to become ‘emperor sages' that they would rule in harmony with nature and man.  Chuang Tzu is much deeper than Lao and in his writings tries to explain the relativity of things, man in particular, and the interpenetration of things.  There are no real formal schools of Taoism and it's articulations today go from to harmonious to bizarre.  There is a thread that some Taoists follow to be ‘all natural' and anything synthetic or man made is wrong.  Some of these folks feel that passing gas, belching and all other ‘natural' forms of being human should never be controlled but expressed fully.  It's an odd interpretation to me.  The problem with the anti-societal thinking is that society is natural.  Insects, elephants, wolves and chimps have social structures and behavior they adhere to so it is consistent with nature for man to do the same.  So when one tunes in to the Tao what is one tuning into?  I fear that there is tremendous room for anthropomorphism and egocentrism.   How does one judge what is natural or unnatural and is there a qualitative judgment that can be made here?  This assumes that someone knows natures course and can therefore tune into it.  It is natural for cancer to want to grow, it is its nature, but it is harmful to the nature of a human, so how does one say what is the natural course?  Taking its natural course the simplest infection could grow to kill you and the simplest bacteria have self defense mechanisms to preserve their lives.  So the natural course for bacteria is contrary to the natural course for humans.  All nature seeks to preserve itself and humans, naturally, do the same thing.  It is natural for humans to develop intellect and to use tools.  To go against this might be said to be unnatural.  So this simplistic idea of tuning into the Tao is fraught with problems.  There is a Buddhist prayer that states something like ‘ bring happiness to the lion and happiness to the lamb' and I once asked a Buddhist priest this question after it was recited, ‘ if happiness for the lion is to eat the lamb how can both be happy'?
It's very naïve and problematic to have this simplistic thought.
 The crux of this whole situation is; why is man separated from nature/the universe in the first place and why do we need to resolve this?  Are we really, in fact, apart from our true nature and what is the mechanism that creates this?  From what standpoint do we make any judgments  about the Tao, or anything else in life?  When one faces this at its source is one begins to realize the Tao at its source.  Humans are nature so how can we not be the Tao?
  As far as what makes Taoism appealing to a follower would be whatever resonates in the individual that this is the way for them.
     Take care,
          Joe