Volume 10 - Issue 1, February 15, 2008 - Lake Chapala Review

Page 22 Lake Chapala Review
February 2008
Sacred Texts – Chinese Religion and Philosophy
The Tao Te Ching (Part 2)
Dr. Ronald A. Barnett, BA, MA, MA, PhD lakechapalareview@yahoo.com
In Part One we looked briefly at the Chinese classic the
Tao Te Ching (“Classic of the Way and its Virtue,” hereafter
abbreviated TTT). In this fundamental text of Taoism
metaphysical, ethical, political, mystical, philosophical, and
religious themes together form an integrated philosophy
of life. This is in contrast to our technologically-driven
future-oriented society in which we tend to categorize
everything into separate compartments. The unique world
outlook of Lao Tzu, author of the TTT, the difficulties of
ancient Chinese , and the subsequent ambiguity of key
terms make interpretation of this ancient text difficult.
However, we can begin to probe the meaning of the TTT
by examining a few of its key concepts, such as De (Virtue),
Ziran (Naturalness), and Wu Wei (Non-action in Activity).
In Taoism, De is the essence of Tao (the Way, a topic to
which we shall return later), which is inherent in all beings.
If one lives in accordance with Tao, then one naturally lives
a virtuous life. But Lao Tzu was an individual thinker and so
in some ways at odds with state-sponsored Confucianism
which was concerned more with proper conduct and
political ethics than with individual spiritual development.
In Confucianism and extended usage moral virtue is indeed
obtained from the Tao and is therefore a natural way of life
and thought but it is more a matter of self-cultivation than
an inherent feature of the Tao. This is an example of the
ambiguity in many of the key terms and concepts of the
TTT. The usual Latin-based translation of De as “virtue”
gives the idea of strength and capacity, which rather misses
the more subtle meaning of the term in Taoist philosophy.
Ziran (Naturalness) from “self ” (zi) “so” (ran) is another
key term. The power of Tao found in nature is also
found in a way of life that is in accord with nature. This
idea is graphically represented in Chinese landscape
painting. One of my favorites, “Traveling among Streams
and Mountains,” by Fan K’uan (early 11 th century), shows
a caravan proceeding along a pathway at the foot of a
beetling mountain. Half-hidden on one of the foothills the
roof of a Buddhist monastery pokes its unobtrusive head
just above the treeline. The human travelers below are
almost indiscernible because they blend in completely with
the surrounding landscape. In Taoist philosophical terms
they are in accord with the Tao in not seeking to dominate
nature as in western technological society. In Taoism as in
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Chinese paintings the human element appears as a integral
part of nature.
WU WEI, which might be interpreted as “Non-Action
in Activity,” is a most important key concept. However,
there are so many different translations and subtle
interpretations of this term that it is best illustrated by
examples. Basically Wu may be translated as “nothing,”
“non-being,” “negativity,” etc., although it does not signify
nothing or annihilation in the usual western sense of the
word. This does not mean no-action but a kind of passivity
in the midst of action. Do what is necessary but take no
thought of success or failure.
Let me illustrate the idea by posing the following
question: why am I writing this article? Having been
brought up and educated in western society, I might reply
that I am writing this article to beat the competition and
meet the deadline set by my editor. Secretly I might say
to myself that I hope someone reads it and thinks what a
clever fellow I am. This line of thought reflects some of
the egotistical, ethnocentric, aggressive, dualistic, and
competitive values my society has instilled in me.
Now, let us suppose that I am writing this article in
the spirit of WU-WEI. First it is not “I” who am writing
this article; it is a person named Ronald A. Barnett who is
writing it because that is what a person of this name does.
The article may or may not get finished; but if it does it
will likely get delivered to the editor’s office and possibly
appear in the next issue of the magazine. People may or
may not read it. Some may like it, others may hate it. But it
doesn’t really matter because the writer is concerned more
with the “thing-in-itself ” than with the final outcome. It is
not the final product which matters so much as the process
of reaching that point. Thus the outcome is not seen in
absolute terms of black or white, as in ordinary western
thinking. Think of “heads” and “tails” on a coin, where
one side depends on the other. They are not opposites but
rather complementary sides of the same coin. Likewise the
ultimate “success” or “failure” of this article is relative.
Provided that “I” (or the writer of this article) perform the
task in the proper spirit of detachment then the result will
be as it was meant to be. This is what is meant by taking no
action in accordance with the principle of WU-WEI (Nonaction
in activity); or, as we say, “go with the flow.”