Taoism

Around five years ago, I was intrigued by Taoism.  What led me to Taoism is another story, but the moment I began studying it, I found myself embracing it as truth.  Each message and idea that it conveyed jumped out at me as profound. 

Taoism is a philosophy that attempts to guide people towards grasping a clearer, more sublime perspective of the world.  The "Tao te Ching" is the book of Taoism, but it isn't actually a book, instead, it is a collection of riddles, poems and paradoxical sayings crafted to deepen one's insight. 

Some believe the 'Tao te Ching' was written over time by multiple Chinese philosophers, while others believe it was written by a single man named Lao Tzu.  Today, there are countless translations of the 'Tao te Ching,' all which try to capture the impact of this ancient text as effectively as possible.

As oppose to telling one what to see, it attempts to rattle them into seeing it for themselves.
Here is an example-

'When people see some things as beautiful,
other things become ugly.
When people see some things as good,
other things become bad.'

This particular passage made me realize that sometimes, people unintentionally brainwash themselves into seeing certain things as bad by labeling something opposite or different as good.  If having straight hair is really good, then suddenly, having curly hair must be bad.  The idea that this passage is trying to convey, it seems, is that labeling things blinds us from seeing them as they truly are.  The next part of the passage goes on to say-

'Being and non-being create each other.
Difficult and easy support each other.
Long and short define each other.
High and low depend on each other.
Before and after follow each other.'

Interpret the above passage however you see fit.  Here is another-

'In pursuit of knowledge,
everyday something is added.
In the practice of the Tao,
everyday something is forgotten.
Less and less do you need to force things,
until finally you arrive at non-action.
When nothing is done,
nothing is left undone.

True mastery can be gained
by letting things go their own way.
It can't be gained by interfering.'

First, I want to clearly state that I don't see all knowledge as bad, and I don't think that that is what this passage is suggesting.  I think it is talking about losing ourselves to knowledge. We simply need to go back to being our true selves, and stop letting all of the learned social conditioning that we have been bombarded with tell us that we are not good enough as we are.  The more that we learn about how to act and what to do, the more separated we become from who we really are.  Deep down, we all know what we really want and who we really are.

Another passage-   

'To those who are good, the sage is good.
To those who are not good, the sage is also good.
Thus s/he attains true goodness.'

If one is only good to those who are good to them, they are basically just reacting.  The society we live in today does not encourage compassion and understanding, it encourages aggression and materialism.  Many people are afraid to be good to everyone because they feel they might get taken advantage of.  Or, they feel that society was hard on them so why shouldn't they be the same way back to others? Imagine having the wisdom and vision to transcend what society has been to us, or has told us to be. 

Ultimately, I think that there is great value in reading through the "Tao te Ching," even once.  If there is some greater wisdom out there that will lead me to a deeper, more profound inner peace than I've ever experienced, how could I just go on living without trying to uncover it? 

That being said-

'The tao that can be known
is not the eternal Tao
The name that can be spoken
is not the eternal name.'

-and-

'He who talks does not know
He who knows does not talk'

The intellectual concept of the Tao is not the real Tao.  The Tao cannot be explained, only lived, and those who live the Tao lead by example.