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<\/a>Pick up the classic Chinese philosophy text\u00a0Tao Te Ching<\/em>, and at first its circular logic may baffle you. That\u2019s how I felt when I initially read the book a couple of decades ago. I was puzzled by lines like \u201c<\/em>when nothing is done, nothing is left undone<\/strong><\/em>.\u201d<\/em><\/strong> \u00a0<\/em>But in recent years, it\u2019s beginning to make more sense.<\/p>\n The Tao Te Ching<\/em> was authored by a guy named Lao Tzu and is believed to have originated around 500 BCE\u2014or about five centuries before the birth of Jesus<\/a>. This ancient text consists of a series of aphorisms, or sayings, that articulate a philosophy known as the Tao. These sayings have been described as \u201cthe process of the world\u201d and \u201cthe principles governing the universe.\u201d In other words, they represent the key to life<\/strong>.<\/p>\n In ancient China, there were two philosophical traditions.<\/strong><\/p>\n In The Way of Zen<\/em>, Alan W. Watts explains the two traditions were Confucianism and Taoism. \u00a0In a nutshell, these philosophies can be summarized as follows:<\/p>\n According to Watts, Taoism was seen as a pursuit of the elderly, especially those \u201cretiring from active life<\/a> in the community.\u201d This pulling back from the world was viewed as an \u201coutward symbol of inward liberation.\u201d It allowed the retiree to pursue \u201cunconventional patterns of thought,\u201d giving them the opportunity to sit back and reflect on life, in the days before we were distracted by TVs and smartphones.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a passage in the\u00a0Tao Te Ching<\/em>\u00a0where the essence of the Tao is explained. As you read the passage that follows, you\u2019ll see the Tao is referring to something invisible. Call it the life force, the essence of the universe, or what I refer to as God<\/a>. It goes like this:<\/p>\n The great Tao flows everywhere<\/em><\/p>\n To the left and to the right<\/em><\/p>\n All things depend upon it to exist,<\/em><\/p>\n And it does not abandon them.<\/em><\/p>\n To its accomplishments it lays no claim.<\/em><\/p>\n It loves and nourishes all things,<\/em><\/p>\n But does not lord it over them<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n At lease that\u2019s my take. When we fight the flow of life<\/a>, we struggle and can suffer. But when we go with<\/em> the flow, we are traveling on the path of\u00a0least resistance, gently floating down the stream of life. Living with the spirit of the Tao means letting things happen naturally, as opposed to trying to make things happen.<\/p>\n Less and less do you need to force things<\/em><\/p>\n until finally you arrive at nonaction<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Watt explains that the goal of the Tao is to\u00a0bring the mind into play not by forcing it, but by using our inborn, spontaneous intelligence<\/strong>. To do this, we use our mind like \u201ca mirror.\u201d Our mind \u201creceives input but does not keep it, performing actions without worry.\u201d When we operate in this manner, according to the Chinese philosopher Chuang-tzu:<\/p>\n The notions of right and wrong and the praise and blame of others does not disturb us. We operate from the true self and not from the ego.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n When you learn to leave your mind alone \u201cit functions in the integrated and spontaneous way that is natural to it.\u201d You then begin to possess the special virtue called \u201cTe.\u201d In the Te state, the mind is constantly at rest, as if in a totally relaxed meditative\u00a0state<\/a>, \u201cnon-active and aimless.\u201d Nothing to worry about. Nothing to do. Life takes care of itself.<\/p>\n As\u00a0Stephen Mitchell<\/a>\u00a0points out in the book\u00a0God\u2019s Breath<\/em>, the philosophy found in the\u00a0Tao Te Ching<\/em>\u00a0is often seen as taking \u201ca passive approach\u201d to the activities of our everyday world. But \u201cnothing could be further from the truth.\u201d Mitchell explains:<\/p>\n A good athlete can enter a state of body awareness in which the right stroke or right movement happens by itself, effortlessly, without any interference from the conscious will. This is a paradigm for non-action: the purest and most effective form of action.<\/em><\/p>\n Mitchell tells us that when you move through life following this principle, \u201cnothing is done because the doer has vanished into the deed<\/strong>.\u201d This happens when you \u201ctrust the intelligence of the universe\u201d in the same way an athlete or a dancer trusts the instincts of their body. They don\u2019t think so much as do. In the words of Lao Tzu this means you:<\/p>\n Act without acting<\/em><\/p>\n Work without working<\/em><\/p>\n Taste without tasting<\/em><\/p>\n Great or small many or few<\/em><\/p>\n Repay each wrong with virtue<\/em><\/p>\n Plan for the hard while it\u2019s easy<\/em><\/p>\n Work on the great while it\u2019s small<\/em><\/p>\n The hardest task in the world begins easy<\/em><\/p>\n The greatest goal in the world begins small<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n When you operate at this effortless level, flowing with the stream of life and not against it, you also find an inner\u00a0contentment<\/a>. It\u2019s a way of knowing that transcends the intellect. Lao Tzu explains the mindset this way:<\/p>\n Without going out his door<\/em><\/p>\n He knows the whole world<\/em><\/p>\n Without looking out his window<\/em><\/p>\n He knows the Way of Heaven<\/em><\/p>\n The farther people go<\/em><\/p>\n The less people know<\/em><\/p>\n Therefore the sage knows without moving<\/em><\/p>\n Names without seeing<\/em><\/p>\n Succeeds without trying<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Ultimately, the Tao isn\u2019t a set of rules to follow. It\u2019s more of an invitation to tune in to the natural rhythm of life. It challenges us to let go<\/a> of the need to control what happens, and instead trust in a deeper, more intuitive intelligence. With this \u201ceffortless action,\u201d we align ourselves with the flow of the universe. We do more by doing less.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
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The core teaching of the Tao: \u201cGo with the flow.\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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The Tao is not a passive approach to life.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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