Taoism

Chuang Tzu

The Tao – the “Way”

Major founder was Lao Tzu Tzu – means great teacher, or sage The seminal work which serves as the

foundation for Taoism is the Tao Te Ching Lao Tzu lived around the 5-6th century BCE When Boddhidharma- in 500 CE- traversed over

the Himalaya mountains, he brought Buddhism to China where it mixed with Taoism and created a separate strand of Buddhism called Mahayana.

Contemporaries

Lao Tzu was a contemporary of Confucius – the most famous Chinese philosopher ever

Confucius, who authored The Analects, was an optimist, as were his disciples.

Confucius:Mencius::Socrates:PlatoMencius was a contemporary of Chuang

Tzu

Chuang Tzu Lived around 350-275 BCE From the state of Sung, a small, weak state

surrounded by more powerful statesLike his contemporaries, Chuang Tzu was writing

during what’s called the Warring States PeriodGiven the ubiquity of feudal wars during this period,

the central question became, “How is man to live in a world dominated by chaos, suffering and absurdity?”

Adjoining questions arose connected to that one, which included competing theories on both human nature and the natural world.

Freedom He, a mystic, thought that true freedom and

peace come from disengaging from the social traps in the world, which he labeled the “essential meaninglessness of conventional values.”

If one wants to become one with heaven, with nature, then one mustn’t struggle for $, fame, success or safety.

We create our own individual mess by buying fully into conventional standards (becoming a lawyer – for the prestige - or working 60 hours a week and hating life).

The mentality to cultivate is wu wei – commonly translated as inactivity.

Part of our misery is the thinking that we shouldn’t have misery. It’s a part of life, and we refuse to accept it. We add drama by being surprised when loss or disappointment knocks on our door.

The Secret Of Caring For Life – section 3

“Your life has a limit but knowledge has none.” Opening line highlights how we should live, with our

compasses heading towards heaven, and not towards the finite realities of earth.

“If you do good, stay away from fame.” Notion here is that fame will feed your ego, and once that

begins one’s ego will never be satisfied. One becomes the hungry ghost.

Much wiser to try and live in accordance with one’s own values rather than by others’ values to get their approval. Seek self-acceptance and peace will come. Seek others’

approval and insecurity and disatisfaction will arrive.

Wu Wei (the “flow” or effortless activity)

“I go at it by spirit and don’t look with my eyes.”

Spretzatura – to achieve excellence with apparent ease.

“If you are content with the time and willing to follow along, then grief and joy have no way to enter in. In the old days, this was called being freed from the bonds of God.”

Accept life on its own terms. Don’t freak out when colleges reject you, for instance. Your ego is blocking your ability to see reality.

To feed our egos, we often downplay our weaknesses and exaggerate our strengths. In others, we do the opposite: we downplay their strengths and exaggerate their weaknesses.

The Sign of Virtue – section 5

“Life and death are great affairs, and yet they are no change to him.”

Don’t be too surprised when people die. It will be a heavy matter, but we mustn’t be shocked. There’s literally nothing we can do to guarantee that we will be alive tomorrow. Thinking we can creates our own delusions.

Still water

In order to live correctly, we need a calm steady mind.

Be aware of the disturbances of emotions. Be mindful of their nature, but don’t be controlled by them.

Pay attention to logic and reason. Be careful of strong reactions to other’s. avoid two

opposite traps: “Of course” & “No way.” The first accepts too easily. The second rejects too quickly.

Pay attention and consider all feedback.

Wise to accept one’s own weaknesses

“People who excuse their faults and claim they didn’t deserve to be punished – there are lots of them. But those who don’t excuse their faults and who admit they didn’t deserve to be spared – they are few.”

When our parents caught us fighting with our siblings, we’d immediately say, “She/he started it.” Our egos stay away from blame. We hide the truth from ourselves in order to feel good.

When the referee calls a foul on us, our common reaction is that we act as it was a bad call.

Happiness MUST include practicing virtue

“Virtue is the establishment of perfect harmony.”

One who lives according to social values ($, fame) will never have lasting happiness. [Look at the 30for30 called “Broke” young rich athletes in ruin.]

Being kind, generous and humble will provide longer last experiences of joy.

Supreme Happiness – section 18

Wu Wei (pronounced “ooo way”) Top athletes talk about being in the zone, or in

the flow when they are operating from a place of pure excellence.

“Chi” is the Chinese word for an inner river. When we are at our best, our chi is flowing. This is what Chuang Tzu means when he writes,

“I take inaction to be truly happy.”

Just Be Yourself

Trying too hard can bring us ruin. Don’t force it or it will not turn out well.

Mencius wrote, “Try but not too hard.”We are happiest when we are grounded in

the realization that we are good enough, though not perfect.

Once you master a skill, it becomes second nature and this is the goal – effortless action.

Don’t be overly concerned with opinions

Perhaps the easiest way to disrupt one’s peace of mind is an overconcern with others’ perceptions.

Chuang Tzu writes, “The world can’t decide what is right and what is wrong.”

We must make these judgments for ourselves rather than abide by common standards.

We have a unique value system and must live in accordance with it, and not by other’s value system.

Chuang Tzu’s Wife

She dies and he is okay with it, after a period of mourning, which is key.

Some never get over loss, and this ruins their life.

Others adjust, and life full lives. “If I were to follow after her bawling and sobbing,

it would show that I don’t understand anything about fate.”

Best to adjust to change, rather than resist it.

Life after death

“Why would I throw away more happiness than that of a king on a throne and take on the troubles of a human being again?”

Chuang Tzu is open to the possibility that life after death is better than life on earth.

We, too, should consider this idea.

How one thinks determines one’s happiness “Small bags won’t hold big things; short well

ropes won’t dip up deep water.” Again, we must understand how life works

before we can be happy. If we have wrong perceptions, it’s impossible to be happy.

If you want to nourish a bird, you must give it bird, not human, food. It must live deep in the forest.

What must you need to in order to be happy? We cannot live under water, for instance.

Right or correct thinking is a monumental in living the good life.

The movie, “The Beach”

The very notions of what we think will make us happy can become the very thoughts that bring us unhappiness.

Related to this is the idea of conformity. Chuang Tzu writes, “conformity is not compatible

with perfect wisdom nor solid virtue.” Often we pursue things mainly because

everyone else is doing so.

External Things – section 26

“External things cannot be counted on.”Better to follow the way of virtue and truth. People cannot always be trusted. Get

ready for people to disappoint. As long as you know this, you will be better prepared for how life truly is.

Karmic determinism

“If in life you gave no alms, in death how do you deserve a pearl?”

One becomes what one does. Action determines character. This is why

we say he is a liar, if in fact he lies with great repetition. Or, he is a great swimmer if he very regularly swims fast.

Discernment

“The sage is hesitant and reluctant to begin an affair, and so he always ends in success. But what good are these actions of yours? They end in nothing but a boast.”

Be slow to begin things. Figure out if its right for you, first.

Think through it before you launch a project.

Penetrating senses

“The eye that is penetrating sees clearly, the ear that is penetrating hears clearly… the mind that is penetrating has understanding, and the understanding that is penetrating has virtue.”

The point here is not to always believe what people say. Often what people say is not the truth. Intentionally or not, people deceive us. We must contemplate what they say, and figure out what the truth is.

Don’t’ immediately accept things as they appear. Only if you know the truth can you be wise and this leads to virtue.

The Butterfly Dream

Once upon a time, Chuang Tzu dreamed that he was a butterfly, flying about enjoying itself. It did not know that it was Chuang Chou. In fact, it did not know whether it was Chuang Chou dreaming that he was a butterfly, or whether it was the butterfly dreaming that it was Chuang Chou. Suddenly he awoke, and veritably was Chuang Chou again. Between Chuang Chou and the butterfly there must be some distinction. This is a case of what is called the transformation of things.