Taoism & the Art of Flow - The Philosophy of Lao Tzu

everything is pushed or pulled through something by something all that is and isn't created and moved by some substrate force evolving from this to that towards apparent nothing for apparently no reason other than itself what is this movement what is our role within it and can we integrate more seamlessly into it the ancient chinese philosophy known as taoism is one of the primary schools of thought that emerged and sustained out of a volatile but intellectually enriched period of chinese history between around 700 and 200 bc its origins long-standing popularity and viewpoints are often similar and discussed in relation to other leading eastern philosophies like buddhism and confucianism by more or less coincidence taoism can also be said to contain many similar ideas to the ancient greek and roman philosophy of stoicism it is generally accepted that taoism was founded by the writer and philosopher known as lao tzu who is credited with authoring the foundational taoist text entitled the dao te ching however there is no substantiated proof that lao tzu ever actually existed and some historians believe that the name could merely be a pseudonym of sorts either intentionally or unintentionally creating a legend-like figure for the school this however is also unproven if laotzu was real he is believed to have been a record keeper in the court of zoo in around 5th century bc china at some point during his later life the story goes that lautsu grew tired of the increasing bureaucracy and corruption of zoo and decided to leave on his way out the border official recognized lao tzu and knowing of his reputation of wisdom asked if he would write down his insights prior to leaving allegedly laotsu did and this would become the daotei ching the most translated philosophical or religious book in all of history after the bible there are like most things of this sort different forms and sects of taoism that implicate different ways of interpreting behaving and thinking as a result of its inherently vague and somewhat open-ended nature a division of philosophical religious and political interpretations have formed and fragmented over time and thus taoism has been rendered into somewhat of a broad malleable philosophy what is generally considered taoism today specifically in the modern west naturally deviates at least to some extent from the likely origins and initial interpretations separated by upwards of 2500 years of time and a globe of space this is to be expected arguably but it is no less worth noting and respecting ironically though the possible fluctuation and evolution of taoism is perhaps a testament to one of its own primary ideas central to taoism everything is in a continual state of flux ceaselessly changing and adapting thus no single idea or thing is to be attached to nothing is to be forced in or out of place all is to be permitted to go its natural course subject to the one constant unchanging truth that everything changes and so it is perhaps nothing but a confirmation of this idea that the interpretation of taoism's ideas in some sense change over time to understand the philosophical basis of taoist ideas it is essential to know of the concept known as the tao the tao generally translates into the way which in the context of taoism refers to the natural way or order of the universe although the tao is so to speak more of a blanket abstract term for what is beyond human concept and comprehension the sort of force or substrate that creates and propels all things for apparently no reason the incomprehensible origins and destination of the universe where logic and human sensibility collapse a sort of god without a god a creation without a creator the infinite and the nothing in a singular unified eternal dance with itself for itself however according to lao tzu even here this sort of explanation still misses the point and essence of the tao the tao that can be told is not the eternal dao the name that can be named is not the eternal name the unnamable is the eternal real laotzu writes in the opening lines of the dao tae ching the dao is or at least appears paradoxical in this sense by virtue of it being a word that is spoken and a concept that is in a roundabout way understood and yet it declares itself beyond concept and states that it cannot be stated however perhaps sometimes words and concepts of this form can work like fingers pointing in the direction of a thing that can only truly be seen and understood by living it essential to taoism is living according to this tao which is to say living in accordance with nature lao tzu suggests one can accomplish this by accepting the fluctuation of everything and giving up rigid judgments attachments expectations and controlling efforts in life in doing so one becomes more closely intertwined with the natural order of things taking on a sort of fluid intuitive and harmonious relationship with the natural world perhaps one of taoism's most useful and slightly more practical ideas that stems from this is the concept of wu wei which generally translates into non-doing or effortless action this idea does not literally suggest doing nothing or doing things that are easy per se but rather suggests cultivating abilities circumstances and lifestyles in which one frequently becomes fully immersed in their actions so much so that they are almost carried by action rather than the other way around in other words engaging in tasks with a deep focus and presence surrendering to more spontaneous second nature instincts like how a bowl's emptiness allows for it to be filled and made useful for lao tzu emptying or stilling the mind allows being to unfold more effectively in many respects this idea of wu way parallels modern day positive psychology's notion of the flow state they differ of course in the latter being underpinned by science and the former by more spiritualized philosophy but at bottom both seem to point to the same relative idea a state where one experiences a deep focus satisfaction natural efficiency and absence of self-consciousness one might experience this state when they are in the thralls of a creative flurry and a work of art seems to almost create itself or a moment in a sport where one seems to almost know exactly what to do two moves ahead without ever stopping and thinking or when one comes up with an idea or the right thing to say more easily once they stop trying or perhaps the more general gut instincts and intuitions felt in everyday life that seem to just feel right for no other reason and are for lao tzu perhaps life more broadly is to be lived in this zone like how the breath breathes the heart beats the birds fly the fish migrate the wind blows the earth spins all perfectly on their own the taoists believe life operates most functionally when simplified to its more intuitive natural intelligence like water is humble and soft yet erodes the sides of mountains and dissolves rocks by quietly patiently and persistently flowing its natural course so too should the human act to work and live with a sort of softness and almost passivity to the universe observing the flux of everything around us and gracefully adapting to it as it does can you coax your mind from its wandering and keep to the original oneness can you cleanse your inner vision until you see nothing but the light can you love people and lead them without imposing your will can you deal with the most vital matters by letting events take their course can you step back from your own mind and thus understand all things this is the supreme virtue lao tzu writes we are drawn to the graceful yet indifferent quality of nature when we see someone forcing something be it an artistic performance or a performance of self in everyday ordinary life we almost always know and we almost always dislike it we say that it doesn't feel natural that it feels forced that someone is being fake we have a seeming innate sensitivity to what is tried rather than simply done ultimately we want truth we want honesty we want the natural motion of everything something or essence that cannot be explained by anything else other than the act of doing or experiencing it words and ideas of intellect seem to fall short to the apparent deeper truth that is revealed by this authentic poetry in motion realistically this notion of not trying and relinquishing conscious effort is perhaps practical and effective in cases of artistic athletic and certain social circumstances however in the broader application of the idea it isn't obvious how much one really should or even can let go and accept the way things are can the can of worms of intellectualization force and desire truly be closed once it's already been opened moreover is it not possible that conscious effort forcefulness and opposing action with the apparent natural world are all in fact natural parts of the natural world in the context of taoism could working against the dao merely be the dao working against the dao for the sake of its perpetuation perhaps a further step in the logical path of taoism and philosophies like it involves an even greater surrender that doesn't even permit one to choose or consider if they are surrendering or not rather one is born into the surrender if in taoism the relationship of all things is a cooperative unified whole even when things appear in conflict is not human and nature always in cooperation even when they seem to oppose each other if darkness creates light silence creates sound beauty creates ugliness good creates bad does not forcefulness create non-forcefulness does not man create nature does not consciousness create unconsciousness human is part and parcel of nature and so how could human act in any other way how could man-made material or action ever not be natural of course this is just one counter idea that stems from just one interpretation of an elusive mysterious taoist idea and to step back on it a little there is no question that our conscious observations and logic do often fool us and we are in many cases clearly deviating from what's best when we force or strive for what we think is a drunk person who does not resist or fight what is happening often receives significantly less injury when falling or in a car crash compared to those who tense up and consciously brace resist and try to save themselves and so clearly there are better ways for things to go plenty of which would go better if we never got involved perhaps the only remaining questions are when should we and when shouldn't we and how does one find out without screwing the whole thing up perhaps these questions miss the point perhaps the point ignores these questions of course like all ideals of philosophy or religion taoism's concepts are likely just that ideals ideals that are not without some level of contradiction or general incompleteness on their own but regardless of this and the potential limits of its applicability the concept suggested by taoism are nonetheless filled with rich insights that provide worthy useful counterweights to the more common brutish way of mind and culture the thinking that things must always be a different way or must go one's own way for it to be the right way that there must always be some better ideal around the corner that isn't or couldn't be in this moment right now that one needs to seek or strive for what they already have and know [Music] so you

Channel: Pursuit of Wonder

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Keywords: taoism, daoism, lao tzu, lao tze, Loazi, the philosophy of flow, the art of flow, flow state, how to, get in, how to let go, letting go, alan watts, pursuit of wonder, the philosophy of, wu wei, school of life, easter philosophy, Buddhism, Confucianism, stoicism, calm, what is taoism?, tao te ching, the art of not trying, effortless action, the dao, effortlessness, inspiration, motivation, motivational, wisdom, Einzelgänger, ted ed, yin and yang

Id: RtGVnyRBVo4

Length: 12min 25sec (745 seconds)

Published: Tue Sep 15 2020