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Sunday, November 10, 2013

Just one 'waffeer thin' verse



Photo: Jan Stockwell
'The highest good is like water.
It flows in places men reject,
And so is like the Tao....'

Please bear with me a moment before I tell you what this is about. I promise, Scout's Honour, it won't take long. 

   If you've been following my postings for a long time you’ll know that a guiding light in my life has been the Tao te Ching [pinying translation of the name: Daodejing].

   When I began teaching the year-long course, the History of Asian Civilisations,   the Tao te Ching was allocated its own time-slot. The reason was that students needed time to start to understand the broad philosophy behind it, which I tried to explain in another series of postings.

   The Tao te Ching is somewhat cryptic, and like a set of instructions for doing something on the computer, it makes a lot more sense after the task is completed than before it.

   One other explanatory thing. Taoism has three strands; philosophical, religious and popular. Reading about Taoism on the web may take you to any one of the three. Concentrating on the Tao te Ching itself neatly avoids the trap of confusion amongst the three. I am talking here only of the philosophical strand.

   I've decided to take one of the ninety Tao te Ching verses that puzzled students, and explain it via just one translation. When you read it, don't be surprised if you don't get all of it. I'm going to try to unravel and exemplify it.

   This is the verse. It starts with the premise that order is the most desirable state, whether for the universe, society, or for a family. Following it is my explanation.
38
When a truly kind man does something, he leaves nothing undone.
When a just man does something, he leaves a great deal to be done.
When a disciplinarian does something and no one responds,
He rolls up his sleeves in an attempt to enforce order.
Therefore when Tao is lost, there is goodness.
When goodness is lost, there is kindness.
When kindness is lost, there is justice.
When justice is lost, there ritual.
Now ritual is the husk of faith and loyalty, the beginning of confusion.
...
It is the beginning of folly.

When a truly kind man does something, he leaves nothing undone.
[This relates to someone having a complete understanding of the nature of what they’re doing. Only a compassionate person achieves this level of awareness.]

When a just man does something, he leaves a great deal to be done.

[Justice means arbitrating between two or more people. Each may have a case. If so, one may still have a grievance once a decision is reached. I return to this below.]

When a disciplinarian does something and no one responds,

He rolls up his sleeves in an attempt to enforce order.
[Force or the threat of violence is going to be used in this case. Force may achieve a return to order, but leaving discontent, and often at horrific cost.

The paragraph that follows this details the stages in loss of order.

Therefore when Tao is lost, there is goodness.
[When all is in order, enough said. But if it’s not, then people have to be good to each other to keep things on the level.]

When goodness is lost, there is kindness.

[Taking a relationship as an example, the next step down from goodness is a willingness to be kind to each other, in an attempt to hold things together.]

When kindness is lost, there is justice.

[The relationship has deteriorated further. Now there's nothing for it but to have it come before the court. There's property involved; maybe kids as well.

When justice is lost, there is ritual.

[They decide to stick it out, maybe for the sake of the children. They simply go through the motions of normalcy in a ritualised way.]

Now ritual is the husk of faith and loyalty, the beginning of confusion.

[It becomes obvious that the relationship is a sham. Those in this relationship or affected closely by the behaviour of the parties suffer. Signals become more and more mixed. “...the beginning of confusion.”

It is the beginning of folly.
With no order to go by, the most extreme of events may occur. 

   I've used a modern example here to show that this ancient text can be applied to a social phenomenon which happens world-wide, even though it has variations according to local custom and religious tradition. 

   It could apply to countless other circumstances where they descend from an ordered or balanced state down a ladder of disorder into chaos. Some would point to climate change, civil war, the increased abuse of drugs, obesity and carcinogens, over-population and over-consumption.

   The Tao te Ching is all about how to deal with this at any stage – a mindset rather than a recipe. It does not say that all systems begin with perfection and decline thereafter, although we might be forgiven for seeing a great deal of what’s happening in the world showing signs of this descent. if not from a perfect start.

   Understanding the nature of a system or a problem provides a chance of returning it to order if it goes out of whack. If it can't be fixed, understanding it properly at least gives the best chance of coping with it.

   I'm sure you understand why this is uppermost in my mind at the moment.
___
Translation: Gia-fu Feng and Jane English

8 comments:

  1. Read with interest. I feel that in this sense "kindness" is a quality which is innate. If you don't have it you can (and should)strive for it but that's not easy - not for me, anyway, who is by nature judgmental. It's hard to be kind AND discerning! Whereas justice is at least something for which we can strive and reasonably hope to attain. I wish I was kind but I know I am not - I merely try to be. I do think, however, that I am just.

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  2. There's another piece a little later (near the 'journey of a thousand miles...' so often quoted) which I've come to think you have applied exceptionally well. It goes

    Deal with it before it happens.
    Set things in order before there is confusion


    kvd.

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  3. Yes, Denis, the Tao te Ching is a pivotal guide to living. Thank you for pulling me back to it once again. Funny thing, how we learn something, live it, and then gradually it becomes less central to our lives. I began on the Tao again, on my Kindle, over breakfast ... gave me a better start to the day than the rather sorry thriller I try to digest with porridge.

    The start to this latest blog of yours, on one verse of the Tao, was rather wonderful. The beautiful picture and introductory quote brought a feeling of peace and stillness, shifting me back to the feeling of wonder I had when – on the fringes of the hippie movement – I was first introduced to the Tao some 40 or so years ago.

    Something you have always known ... many don’t ... is that the role of an educator is to make people think, for themselves. To provide them with the background and framework within which to do so effectively, and to provide access to further knowledge as their minds expand.

    And this morning you have made me think ... about the Tao, about the limits of our understanding and, indeed, the point at which further analysis becomes counter-productive. Your comments – using a contemporary example - provided just the right balance of understanding but still left much room for individual interpretation.

    I struggle to find suitable words with which to express my ignorance but, to me, there is an indefinable, inexplicable state of stillness, immobility, mystery and timelessness about the Tao and its philosophy. Without ever really managing to precisely pin down the text, it moves me to a place where a different viewpoint of life prevails. Part of a flow, the need to accept without an obsessive need to take action; a sort of almost ‘absorptive’ position. Almost a spectator.

    I am vaguely aware that if, as individuals, we can place ourselves - in Buddhist terms - into leading the right life, with the right occupation and viewing the world and our fellow humans in the right way, then we don’t need to analyse and agonise over whether or not we are being kind, or good. It will just happen. I think every religion, somewhere, expresses similar sentiments: “Love me and do as you like”, or “This too shall pass”.

    Sorry to rabbit on at such length, Denis, but thank you. This morning you have made me think and I have both my versions of the Tao open on my desk awaiting renewed pleasure. How we all wish you had the time left to work your way through the other 89 verses ... as starters. (I have bookmarked your link to previous postings).

    I have read various translations of the Tao and still have Cleary’s in book form and Legge on my Kindle. If you were to recommend a particular translation, which would it be?

    Love to you both.

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  4. I know nothing about Tao (intend to Google after this) but that poem resonated with me very much as I thought of that very tragic case of Thomas Kelly and Kieran Loveridge and the brouhaha surrounding the sentence. It seems so appropriate to consider how important other things are ahead of justice (and may I pop in here a sad side effect of justice - vengeance). Thanks again Denis for an insight. Now off to Google Anne P

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  5. Fascinating post - and made more so by Julie Lake's observations, which lead me to wonder whether being kind and judgmental (or discerning) are mutually exclusive. I hadn't thought they were.

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  6. So many worthy points to take up here. I shall return - but not tonight!

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  7. A thought-provoking post as always, even more so with the stimulating comments above. The compatibility of justice and kindness? I don’t believe they are incompatible, although perhaps not often seen together. I think judgement is only just where there is complete understanding, and I’m not at all sure that is possible. Judgement without understanding merges too easily into arrogance. If we can’t have goodness, I would rather have kindness than have to depend on justice.
    Look forward to your return, Denis.

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  8. I'm finding with the onset of dysphasia and head seizures that my concentration has fallen to near zero. At the moment at least I’ll suspend one of my most enjoyable occupations - of responding to comments - in the hope of finding a time when I’ll get some back. Please be assured that I've read every one and thank you deeply for them.

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