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Originally Posted by Stargirl  Is the Tao like the "God" or "Source" like in The Power of Now? And if so, the concept of reversal is returning to the Source? |
God, as a personified individual, is incorrect. The Tao isn't actually "something". Tao is like the creative principle of the universe. It's said Tao created the Heavens, which then created Earth. Humans as form identify with earthly yin, but our spirit identifies with heavenly yang. Returning to the Source is reconnecting with the oneness of the Tao. Sorry if this sounds very esoteric, it's difficult to explain.
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Originally Posted by Stargirl And I'm starting to understand nonaction, but could you give me an example of someone going against the Tao. |
Most comedies and dramas on television during the week display perfect examples. The vast majority of conflict in people's lives are a direct result of straying from the path.
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Originally Posted by Stargirl It seems like nonaction is living in the present and taking every situation for what it is, and with an intent in mind, moving toward one's goals and letting life take you naturally toward your goal without pushing. Am I understanding it correctly? |
Sort of. Nonaction, or Wu Wei, is a critical principle. Change is a constant interplay of yin and yang. When something becomes too yin, it must be balanced by yang and vice versa. That rebalance is a form of action. When you apply action, it must be decisive and leave nothing undone. Most of the time, you should leave things to sort themselves out.
Living in the present is a given, because past and future don't really exist. Your mind should always be still when flowing with Tao. If you intend it, it will elude you. Theoretically, you should only have one goal, and that should be to be virtuous and return to the Source on a regular basis. Everything else is ancillary to that intent.
There's a beautiful story in the Chuang Tzu about a prince observing his butcher/cook carve an oxen. Ch-3: "A good cook changes his knife once a year because he cuts, while a mediocre cook has to change his every month because he hacks. I've had this knife for nineteen years and have cut up thousands of oxen with it, and yet the edge is as if it were fresh from the grindstone. There are spaces between the joints. The blade of the knife has no thickness. That which has no thickness has plenty of room to pass through these spaces. Therefore after nineteen years, my blade is as sharp as ever. However, when I come to a difficulty, I size up the joint, look carefully, keep my eyes on what I'm doing and work slowly. Then with a very slight movement of the knife, I cut the whole ox wide open. It falls apart like a clod of earth crumbling to the ground. I stand there with the knife in my hand, look about me with a feeling of accomplishment and delight. Then I wipe my knife clean and put it away."
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Originally Posted by Stargirl Thank you so much again. Now I want to learn more about Taoism  . Do you know any good sources for doing that? Or is it better to read the texts like the Tao Te Ching first before reading other people's interpretations? |
Don't dwell too much on the Tao Te Ching. I personally think people place way too much importance on it at the expense of all the other great literature. At the same time, I avoid the Tao of Pooh and Te of Piglet books and go for something less pop culturish. Read the Chuang Tzu and study the nature of change using the I Ching. Learn how the three energies and five elements work inside your body.
Thomas Cleary has some good accessible translations. The Taoist canon is massive, and only a small portion of it is translated to English. A lot of the more obscure translations I've found via academic websites from philosophy and religious professors. I've got a whole library of obscure PDFs. Eva Wong's books are great if you want to read more about the ancient processes of moving energy.
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