A Lousy Take on Lao-Tse (Tao Te Ching 38)
When Tao is lost
There is virtue
When virtue is lost
There is morality
When morality is lost
There is propriety
Yet oddly
Even when
Awe is lost
Tao remains
The eternal rest
Giving rise to awe
The Tao Te Ching is the ancient Chinese sacred text of Taoism. The authorship is attributed to Lao-Tse, which may have been an individual or a group. There are many English translations of the Tao Te Ching, which seem to differ greatly. The above poem is my take on chapter 38, which seems to have stuck in my mind. I was struck by the truth of the progression, or deterioration, from the ineffable unity of Tao to virtue, then morality, then propriety, which is the beginning of chaos, with propriety being the shallowest foundation for life. While the Tao Te Ching is necessarily perplexing, “the Tao that can be described is not the Tao,” this foundation which escapes our grasp is the very foundation which secures our hope. No machinations, cruelty, nor any power on earth can overturn it or control it. This irreducible hope persists as an untouchable in a world bent on holding and controlling way more than called for. This irreducible hope gives rise to awe!
The Tao Te Ching is more of a comprehensive series of hints than a textbook. I view it as an essential companion for any mystic. Of course, I see mysticism as the heart of any true religion. The Tao Te Ching is very short read, especially when compared to the Christian Bible, the Muslim Qur’an, or especially the Hindu Vedas! Plus, unlike perhaps most other religions and their sacred texts, a devoted Taoist would probably suggest burning your sacred text at some point! This speaks of a truer reverence than the all-too-familiar Bibliolatry of Western civilization. As a child of Western civilization, I would heartily recommend the Tao Te Ching as an antidote for many of the imbalances acutely present in modern society. Western civilization’s addiction to scientific reductionism makes us hellbent on focusing on one thing in isolation, pressuring us to ever narrower contexts and ever greater specialization. Central in the practice of Taoists is complimentariness, Yin and Yang, that the myriad of things that comprise our world, though arising from the unity of Tao, can only be comprehended by their opposites. Perhaps the greatest formulation of this in Christianity is Jesus’ command to love our enemies. Only by reconciliation with our enemies can we become whole. Any demonization of the other necessarily degrades our own humanity. We are defined by our enemies. If our enemies don’t define us, then we are free, and in accord with Tao. May it be so…because it is so…
Real Test of Power to Prevent War
PEACE QUOTE: Real Test of Power to Prevent War–PEACE SIGN BUTTON
PEACE QUOTE: Real Test of Power to Prevent War–PEACE SIGN BUTTON
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This peace quote reverses the typical notions of power. Power is typically viewed as the ability to make things happen. That is certainly true in the context of the capacity to make war. However, the power to exert brute force and coercion is very different from the type of moral force is needed to build and sustain peace. Morality, in its essence, is about restraint. By contrast, amorality is simply having no restraint or limits on one’s actions. Thus, when comparing the capacity to make war versus the capacity to prevent war, or to create peace, these concepts of power tend to clash. War is hardly an exercise in restraint. While war may require a lot of discipline in many respects, it requires unleashing incredible brute force that by its very nature cannot be controlled. One simply has to recognize the reality that for every combatant killed in wartime, approximately ten non-combatant are killed. Clearly, war is not a precise surgical procedure, despite all the talk about smart bombs and laser guided systems.
As the United States is beating the drums of war against Iran, there is talk about the right thing to do, the moral thing to do. Of course, most of this talk is couched in terms of all the evil, bad, or immoral things that some other parties are doing. Sort of by default, morality is imputed on people who oppose such evil doings and evil doers. Unfortunately, what is lost in the mix, mostly of lies, is that morality is more about restraining one’s own behavior than about restraining another’s behavior. By losing our focus on our own behavior, we can drift dangerously close to the unaccountability needed in order to wage war. If you think war-making requires restraint and discipline, try peacemaking and loving your enemies. The difficult task of taking personal responsibility for one’s behavior both as an individual and as a citizen of a nation can be costly. However, there seems to be an inertia in the human condition that defaults to blaming others for one’s own problems, and shifting the cost of relating to one another as human beings to other people that we see at fault. Even if I have a relationship with someone where a conflict or “problem” is 20% mine and 80% theirs, this does not relieve me of being accountable for my 20%. Rather than taking care of our own moral business and accountability, we often feel justified in focusing the blame and the full costs of the conflict onto those we see as enemies. It is impossible to successfully wage war without demonizing one’s enemies. This is the only way to justify killing a combatant. This is definitely the only way to justify killing non-combatant. Show me a nation that can create peace in the face of potential war and I will show you the most morally powerful nation on earth.
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