Taoist meditations - essential concepts

This page is about Taoist meditations or values.

These values – as best I understand them – can be briefly summarized into the following eight points. I will deal with each, concisely as under:

1) The sublime Tao is not a being but a state of being that is manifest throughout the cosmos and lies apart from nothing since it is the very essence of all existence. To experience this state of being is to realize our oneness with all of existence and is the experience realized mystics have attained and to which all serious meditators are groping.

2) The real enemy to man's progress along the spiritual path is our propensity to make false distinctions. We cling to this, abhor that, are attached to our desires and possessions, fear loss, poverty death and disgrace. We live in an overly rational world and it is in the nature of the rational mind to make distinctions. It is not through the rational analytic mind that we can gain the experience of being one with the Universe.

3) Yin and Yang – All objects in the cosmos are in a state of flux due to the opposing polarities of the yin and yang forces. It is through the varying interaction of yin and yang forces in phenomena that they come to vary from each other. Yin contains the seeds of yang and yang the seeds of yin. The proportions of yin and yang in individual phenomena are in a state of continual flux and this results in the perpetual changes that we see both within and without us. We can therefore infer that the habit of clinging, of aversions and attachments is bound to result in suffering as the desired of object will change or get extinguished and we will be left with our unsatisfied desires.

4) The best attitude to have in the face of the above is a smiling equanimity in the face of the ups and downs of life, regarding gains and losses, life and death with detachment since all is subject to change. The Tao is not concerned with the rise and fall of individuals but with the well being of the whole of the Universe. Hence the Taoist achieves his goals not by imploring the Universe to favor him but by learning to accommodate himself to its harmonious working.

5) Taoism also contains certain practices designed to promote longevity and result in physical deathlessness (or attaining the life of an immortal). This may interest many, but even immortality pales into insignificance when compared to the ultimate experience – realization of our ones with the Tao. The experience may be compared with that of a raindrop when it falls and merges with the ocean and loses its separate individual identity. Yet there is a distinction. To experience the Tao is not jus to merge with the Tao but also to become the whole. It is as though the consciousness suddenly expands beyond the normal puny limits to contain the whole cosmos within itself. It is a state of utter bliss and that to which all aspirants are aiming.

6) A popular term in Taoist Meditations is Wu Wei (literally no activity) and is said to be the proper method of cultivation of the way. It may mean activity that is rooted in the nature of the situation – it means no wasteful exertion. Lao Tzu was the author of the Tao te Ching and is the founder of Taoism. And nature was Lao Tzu's favorite teacher. Nature is perpetually involved in activity but not of a wasteful kind. Trees and plants bend towards the sunshine, water flows continually to its level, birds build nests, fishes swim and tigers leap. But these are actions in response to need, to the exigencies of the Here and Now. They do not proceed from a desire to impose our will upon the Universe, not from a desire for pre-eminence, nor are they carried to excess. A deer may graze peacefully under the eyes of a tiger if the tiger has had a meal to satisfy him. Man on the other hand has lost his intuitive sense of oneness with existence that is displayed by animals. Hence we see all around us in society, acts of one-upmanship, naked ambition, a desire amongst men and nations to dominate and oppress each other. None of these actions is in the spirit of Wu Wei.

7) The Taoist aims to be string and supple like the bamboo – which bends to outward circumstance and yet springs back again with matchless resilience. To be tense, rigid, quick to take offence, to take pride in an ability to swim against the tide is no part of Taoist meditations or values.

8) There is a special affinity between Taoism and flowing water, which is at once the weakest and strongest of elements. Streams are persistent in their attempts to reach their goal, yet they will not batter their way through a hill or a mountain if there is a way to circumvent it. When faced wit an obstacle it cannot get around it will erode it with patience over thousands of years. And it will ultimately succeed. Thus Lao Tzu said – The weakest thing in heaven and earth strikes against and overcomes the strongest … Thus do I know the value of Wu Wei.

For further information on this subject please read John Blofeld's concise exposition in his book Gateway to Wisdom . This book is available at Amazon.

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