A description of the Tao as per a Taoism outline

In this Taoism Outline you will find quotations from the Chinese sages describing the Tao along with my (few and far between) comments.

I do not have much to say because I am not enlightened. I cannot claim to have experienced the Tao any more than you have. Also the subject is such that even had I had a mystical experience I would be even then at a loss for words. When we name a thing we put it in a class or a category. But the Tao – or God – is all there is. It cannot be put in a category or described by contrasting it to another object. This has to be made clear in any Taoism outline.

Also you may get the impression after reading this page that you do not have a clear idea of what the Tao is. This is because the Tao is us and we are:

“Like a sword which cuts but cannot cut itself,

Like an eye which sees but cannot see itself.”

The Tao can only be experienced and cannot be described. It is beyond categories and hence it is impossible to have a clear conceptual grasp of it.

That said, let us begin:

“The Tao that can be spoken of is not the absolute Tao.”

“The Tao is that from which one cannot deviate;

That from which one can deviate is not the Tao.”

This is in contrast with the Christian God who has given us commandments that one can choose to disobey. But according to any Taoism outline the very act or choice of disobeying is itself part of the stream of Tao. People try to force issues – like our wanting to be enlightened for example – not knowing that we cannot deviate. Thus it is said that “Your everyday consciousness is the Tao.”

This is a way of being one with the Ultimate that is at complete variance with Theravada Buddhism for example with its emphasis on meditation and clearing the Mind of defilements.

However according to a Taoism outline this may not be necessary.

The Tao as I said earlier can be experienced but not described, felt but not conceived. It is beyond categories.

Also as the Tao can only be experienced in the eternal Now, the moment we try to describe it we are already in the past, trying to conceive something that is beyond classification.

In a sense this idea that all is Tao is a tautology which does not tell us anything new. It is like saying that a = a in algebra. Nothing new has been said and we have not learned anything.

But in another sense this statement that all is Tao tells us what attitude we can have towards the Universe and towards ourselves so as to grow spiritually. There is a statement attributed to Bodhidharma – the founder of Zen Buddhism in China – which goes:

“This very mind is the Buddha.”

If this very mind, this ordinary mind is the Buddha then we need to perceive it differently. No matter whether we are feeling lazy, angry, hatred, malice or spite; no matter what we are feeling it is still the Buddha mind. Hence we need to observe it being properly polite and respectful and reverent.

This does not mean that we go and slap the boss at work because we are feeling angry with him. You do not have to give expression to everything you feel. Simply be mindful and observe with respect – it is still the Buddha mind.

The imagery associated with the Tao is maternal:

“There is something obscure which is complete,

before heaven and earth arose, tranquil, quiet,

standing alone without change,

moving around without peril.

It could be the mother of everything,

I do not know its name and call it the Tao.”

The way in which the Tao makes nothing but nothing is left undone is illustrated by using the analogy of water. Lao Tzu says:

“The highest good is like water,

for the good of water is that it nourishes everything without striving.

It occupies the place that all men think bad (i.e the lowest).

It is thus that Tao in the world is like a

River spring going down the valley to the ocean.

The most gentle thing in the world overrides the most hard.

How do coves and oceans become kings of a hundred rivers?

Because they are good at keeping low,

That is how they are king of a hundred rivers,

Nothing in the world is weaker than water,

But it has no better in overcoming the hard.”

As I said earlier you may have reached the end of this page here without a clear conceptual grasp of the Tao. This is because the Tao can only be experienced and not conceived. It is beyond concepts. This needs to be made clear in any Taoism outline.

The material for this page has been sourced from Alan Watts’ book – Tao - The Watercourse Way Please pick up a copy at Amazon for a further discussion of this subject. It is not too long and will give you a Taoism outline.

And the way to experience the Tao is to use meditative practices to quiten the mind. The as Alan Watts says we will have “a vivid awareness of what is without verbal comment.”

So this then is a fragment of a Taoism outline.

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