We are often told by others to live in the present. I am sure it is a piece of advice we have often handed out, too. But what does it actually mean?
I like to use the I Ching when I want to know what to do today to bring about a future that suits me. Some have warned me that, by acting this way, I am not living in the present but, instead, have my head in the future. I am not, apparently, accepting things as they are and that is bound to bring suffering.
Many ideas about what does and does not bring about suffering were brought to Taoism by Buddhism. That's fine. But Taoism evolved out of the concept of change and how we might harness it. The I Ching, one of the most important texts in Taoism, is based entirely on the idea of not just letting things happen but making them happen the way you want them to. And in the Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu speaks of wielding the Tao of the ancients to manage the existence of today.
Taoism clearly does not suggest we sit passively and let life just happen to us. After all, it is not as if we are able to have no effect on events. Even if we choose to do nothing at all, that will, in its own way, make a difference. So what are we saying; that Taoism has it all wrong and that suffering is built in to its teachings?
I personally doubt it. And the very fact harnessing change is such an important part of Taoism leads me to wonder if, just maybe, there is more to it than meets the eye.
Apart from telling us how to harness change, the I Ching tells us what sort of personality we should cultivate to not only make it possible but to also make sure we end up happy. The I Ching reveals the actions that are possible for you to take in any given situation; and each is explained in terms of it either bringing you fortune or misfortune.
"All day long the superior man is creatively active," says the I Ching in hexagram #1 — Ch'ien (the Creative).
"Because he sees with great clarity and cause and effects, he completes the six steps at the right time and mounts toward heaven on them at the right time, as though on six dragons. The six steps are the six different positions given in the hexagram, which are represented later by the dragon symbol. Here it is shown that the way to success lies in apprehending and giving actuality to the way of the universe [Tao], which, as a law running through end and beginning, brings about all phenomena in time. Thus each step attained forthwith becomes a preparation for the next. Time is no longer a hindrance but the means of making actual what is potential."
And there you have it: by understanding the actuality of the universe — its state at a given moment — we recognise that each step we take brings about the next.
What Taoism teaches us is not that we must exist in the present and ignore the future, but to understand that the present and the future are connected. Everything we do or do not do right now, at this very moment, will cause something to happen later on. By concentrating on our current actions, we may shape the future.
Take two farmers. They are both dreaming of a successful harvest. One of them, however, is so busy dreaming that he forgets to plant any crops earlier in the year. When the harvest arrives, his land bears only weeds. The other farmer, using his dreams for motivation, remembers to plant the crops and works hard every day to see that they'll succeed. It's not always easy, but his dream of a successful harvest keeps him going.
Can it really be said that both farmers are acting contrary to Tao by not accepting the way things are? By seeing an empty field and wanting it to produce a crop, are they letting themselves into a world of suffering?
One of them is. But the other recognises that while wanting something is okay, you have to actually roll your sleeves up and get going.
Of course, some years, crops fail, or harvests are disappointing. How well you manage emotionally in such circumstances comes down to the sort of person you are. If that farmer hopes for the best but is prepared for the worst, he'll be able to take it on the chin and pick himself up to go through the process again and again and again.
For much of my life, I was like a cyclist who did not know handlebars existed: I went through life and never knew why I kept falling off. But now I have my hands on the bars and am learning to steer. I still fall off from time to time, but at least now I know why and it teaches me to be more careful in the future.
I do not deny that if you are dissatisfied with, say, your job that you may be able to understand the root of the dissatisfaction and resolve it. That is something else the I Ching helps you with. But if you always wanted to be a policeman but you ended up a train driver, there really is nothing wrong with wanting to make a change; and if you do, well, there are good ways you can go about it and there are bad ways. That is something else the I Ching — and Taoism as a whole — helps you with.
Either way: live in the moment, and shape the future.
