Newcomers to Taoism — and even a lot of old hands —
often want to know what it says about something specific: marriage,
promotion at work, dealing with difficult people. There are a number of
Taoist principles that fit universally, regardless of the situation,
with moderation, compassion and non-contention being just some of them.
But each moment is unique and in continuous flux. It is impossible to
apply the same solution every time; for in each instance, the dynamics
will be different even if, at first glance, they appear to be identical.
How many of us have leaned on our experience to fix a problem that we
have encountered before, only to see it fail in the most spectacular way
this time? Even if the same people are involved as before, they will
each be different to who they used to be. Even if we change only in
subtle ways, we do always change.
And what we have trouble noticing is that the motivating factors in a
situation go far beyond the obvious. Taoism — and modern physics — tells
us that everything that exists is connected to everything else that
exists in the universe, both spatially and temporally. It is simply
impossible to know everything about a moment in time.
We do not, of course, have to know everything; and that is just as well:
we as humans focus only on what we need to, discarding the rest, to get
through life without, on the one hand, bumping into things and, on the
other, going mad.
However, to really get to grips with an event, we do need to delve
further into it than we might normally do; to trace its evolution back
to its seed (or at least to where it branched off from the main stem);
and to understand the nature of everyone involved and, therefore, the
'colour' of their interactions that dictate the future direction of
change.
I use the word 'colour' because I find it helpful to think of the key
factors (not just people) at the heart of a situation in those terms.
The colours I assign are purely arbitrary, and are there only to allow
me to keep a clear picture in my head.
There is the idea that this sort of dividing and labelling is somehow
'not Tao'. However, Taoists have always broken the universe and its
workings up in order to understand it better. Yin-yang, the Five Phases,
the eight trigrams and much else besides are obvious examples of this.
The Five Phases, in particular, are very revealing of Taoists seeking to
understand the nature of things and their interactions.
The I Ching — the Classic of Change — is, apart from its usefulness as a
divinatory tool, a monument to the appreciation of the evolution of
events based on their unique dynamics and interactions present in any
given moment.
In the I Ching, sometimes it is right to press on; sometimes it is right
to pause and to take stock.
So instead of asking: 'What does Taoism say about marriage?' ask 'What
is the Tao of my marriage?' In other words, whatever it is you want to
know about, ask what is unique about it; what are the main motivating
factors that I can identify; what is the nature of their interactions?
Importantly, the answer will never be the same twice. It may even appear
to contradict itself from one instance to the next. No 'one size
fits all' solution is available. In this way, Taoism is a path of
personal responsibility. It puts you in the hot seat. There are many
good examples we can follow; and we may emulate the sages in a number of
ways; but ultimately, we are at the centre of our own worlds; we are the
masters of our own fates, to greater or lesser extents depending on how
much we understand and how artfully we can act armed with that
knowledge.
That, though, is only how we can act with contrivance. Contrived action
is not the purest form of Taoist action, but when taken without agenda
(or at least with as little as you can reasonably manage), it is still
recognised as benevolent and righteous. It is, in other words, a good
start; and for those who cultivate no further, still a positive way to
live.
Non-contrived action — that which does not strive, that has little or no
agenda — is the highest level of Taoist action. There is then no need to
ask how to act: you simply do; and perfectly, too.
When Yen Hui approached his master, Confucius, and explained he was
travelling to a neighbouring state to guide its tyrant away from his
evil ways, he was told that each of his suggested approaches was doomed
to fail. His problem, according to Confucius, was that by taking any
sort of preconceived approach, whether direct or indirect, he was going
to run into trouble. His advice to his student was to employ Xin Zhai.
Xin Zhai is neither direct nor indirect: it is the art of cleansing your
mind. Thus empty of preconceptions, it is possible to sense your way
through a situation, unencumbered by your best laid plans of strategies
and schemes.
I remember, many years ago, when I was far more
quixotic than I am now, I bought some flowers for a girl I didn't know.
I would see her every day on her way home from work and I decided to do
something to sweep her off her feet, like a hero in a song. Having
bought the flowers, I rehearsed my speech over and over again until it
was perfect. And then I waited, and along she came, right on time. I
stopped her and was just about to open my mouth to begin my pitch when
she, nodding toward the flowers, said, 'Are they for me?'
I had not planned for this. I said they were and as
soon as I did whatever I had intended to say next became redundant. I
stuttered a little, salvaged a line, and handed them to her. She thanked
me and left. I never heard from her again.
Had I employed Xin Zhai that wouldn't have happened;
and I would have had to contrive some other way to make a fool of
myself, which, knowing me back then, I surely would have.
The kind of listening that Xin Zhai allows is not the act of a moment to achieve; but it is
certainly within the scope of anyone to at least approach this state.
And it is the very antithesis of the notion that there is one way to
solve a problem.
Whether or not you choose to examine the heart of a situation, or
whether you wish to empty your mind of preconceptions — or a combination
of the two — there is no right way or wrong way, that is already laid
out, to deal with a situation. If Taoism says anything about what you
are dealing with it is that there is a way to meet with its unique
nature and act accordingly.
And it might even help you to get a date.
