Category Archives: Taoism - Page 2

A good quote on Mindfulness

Posted by on October 6, 2010 2 comments

I heard this remark tonight from my instructor regarding the practise of mindfulness, the class was talking about it in relation to Taijiquan.

“We’re Human Beings, not Human Doings”

This is actually a very good quote, and I’d like to say a little more about this subject.  I’ve said before and I will always maintain, that it’s very difficult to penetrate Taoist philosophy deeply without at least some Tai Chi practise.  The (often) not so simple act of playing with the principles physically enables an intuitive view, not an intellectual one, that is a great help.  This also helps a lot with Buddhism.

As we attempted to move each other around, it became more apparent that the act of attempting to do something blocks mindfulness.  In fact in attempting to influence, force, or otherwise get at a result from our actions, we can lose our grasp on the thread of things and we fail.  Even the intent seemed to cause me to lose the thread of what I was doing, all very strange and quite unnerving.

It became clear to me tonight that a large part of mindfulness involves getting your mind out of the way.  So, mindlessness?  No…

The trick seemed to be to be present, but unattached to an outcome in a relaxed way, don’t try to force it.  It reminded me of some of my best meditation sittings, I didn’t focus, I just got out of my own way and let it happen.

There, I can’t explain it very well.  But hey I’ll let it be, and who knows, maybe this can be used as a start?

Does it really matter?

Posted by on September 9, 2010 5 comments

I saw the statement from Stephen Hawking last week about his view that the universe didn’t need a divine creator.  This was reported far and wide and as you have probably noticed, this has kicked up a bit of a fuss.

I can’t help but look at this and shake my head and wonder when people will make the realisation that all of this fuss is fruitless?  The Buddha warns us away from these questions, saying that they only cause suffering and angst, from  what I can see he was bang on the money!  Also, Lao Tzu also makes it clear that certain things are simply beyond our knowledge, in fact Taoism tends not to encourage knowledge hoarding.  I find myself agreeing wholeheartedly with this, we have no evidence on which to base any speculation on the events prior to the big bang.  In the same manner we have no real idea what things are like outside the universe.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, there are a lots of times when the only honest answer is “I don’t know”, and I feel that this realisation is quite freeing.  The recognition of limitations and the acceptance that there are things out there that are beyond our capacity is liberating, in a way it gives you your mind back.

That’s quite something to say, almost heresy in todays society.  We almost worship knowledge and to be the expert on something is considered to be quite the excellent thing.  I am starting to wonder if this is the “Information Age” or the “Information Fetish Age”?

The Tao Te Ching warns us against this in chapter 19:

“End sagacity; abandon knowledge
The people benefit a hundred times

End benevolence; abandon righteousness
The people return to piety and charity

End cunning; discard profit
Bandits and thieves no longer exist

Reduce selfishness; decrease desires

These three things are superficial and insufficient
Thus this teaching has its place:
Show plainness; hold simplicity” [1]

We hoard knowledge, which isn’t a bad thing all in all, but it can breed arrogance if you’re not very careful.  If you’ve seen Star Wars Episode 2 AotC, remember when Obi Wan suggests to a Librarian in the Jedi Archive that a planet is missing, that their records might be incomplete?

“JOCASTA NU: Well, I’m sure you didn’t call me over here for a history lesson. Are you having a problem, Master Kenobi?
OBI-WAN: Yes, I’m trying to find a planet system called Kamino. It doesn’t seem to show upon any of the archive charts.
JOCASTA NU: Kamino? It’s not a system I’M familiar with… Let me see…
JOCASTA NU leans over OBI-WAN’S shoulder, looking at the screen.
JOCASTA NU: (continuing) Are you sure you have the right co-ordinates?
OBI-WAN: (nodding) According to my information, it should be in this quadrant somewhere… just south of the Rishi Maze.
JOCASTA NU taps the keyboard and frowns.
JOCASTA NU: No co-ordinates? It sounds like the kind of directions you’d get from a street tout… some old miner or Furbog trader.
OBI-WAN: All three actually.
JOCASTA NU: Are you sure it exists?
OBI-WAN: Absolutely.
JOCASTA NU: Let me do a gravitational scan.
OBI-WAN and JOCASTA NU study the star map hologram. Episode 2, Jedi Archives Episode 2, Jedi Archives
JOCASTA NU: There are some inconsistencies here. Maybe the planet you’re looking for was destroyed.
OBI-WAN: Wouldn’t that be on record?
JOCASTA NU: It ought to be. Unless it was very recent. (shakes her head) I hate to say it, but it looks like the system you’re searching for doesn’t exist.
OBI-WAN: That’s impossible… perhaps the archives are incomplete.
JOCASTA NU: The archives are comprehensive and totally secure, my young Jedi. One thing you may be absolutely sure of – if an item does not appear in our records, it does not exist! “

… and we all know how that turned out, don’t we?

Sources

[1] – Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths in 2006. (www.taoism.net)

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The Big Bang image above is by pshutterbug and is under an Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Organise without Organising

Posted by on September 1, 2010 No comments

It’s been a bit of a bad day.  This morning I suffered what I can only describe as an anxiety attack, I’ve been doing too much.  So I returned to Tai Chi after a long hiatus, the class wasn’t on but a few other rogue students were there and we conversed and ran through the form.  I can recommend the practise of Taijiquan, especially if you’re studying Taoist writings.

Earlier today I was mulling things over on my lunch break.  With a little help from a friend, I decided part of the problem was not just that I was trying to do too much.  It’s that I was straight jacketed by my structures and methods.

My mind wandered into a few of the lessons I learned from Taoism and Tai Chi and I realised that the the lesson was there.  I was in the garden of a cafe and looking at a flower I remembered the Taoist teaching that things are self organising.

So, I thought, what does that mean for me?  Well, I think that the wise course is to organise to a point, but not be stifled by it.  Guidelines not rules, light sketches not heavy ink.  You get the picture.

But most of all, lots of room to manoeuvre to change and to flow.  Most of this will arise from the situation the moment, and like the flower in the cafe garden it will take a structure all its own.

If I use the Taijiquan principle of 4 ounces of force, and also simply yield to the moment, it will organise without needing organising.

I like that.  Maybe not such a bad day after all?