Those who stand on tiptoes do not stand firmly. Those who rush ahead don’t get very far. Those who try to outshine others dim their
own light. Lao Tzu How can we improve when we stop trying to
improve? Many people waste their efforts trying to
better their lives with questionable results. They gain knowledge and chase external things
while exhausting their bodies, and burdening their minds - only to end up in discontent. The Taoists observed that humans tend to act
in ways that are counterproductive. And in their attempts to alter the natural
way, they only make things worse. All these strivings, rules, ethics, values,
surely are invented to benefit humanity. But according to the ancient Taoist sages,
we should get rid of them all. Why? Because all these manmade ideas only remove
us further from the natural flow of life. Trying to alter what nature has intended,
is like swimming against the stream: it’s exhausting and gets us nowhere. This video is about not trying to change the
world, to gain the world. Behind the ever-changing universe lies a mysterious
and undefinable force that the Taoists call ‘Tao’, for the lack of a better word. The ‘Tao’ is all-encompassing, and it’s
beyond everything that our senses can perceive. Still, we can know and feel the Tao, even
though we cannot comprehend it. This symbolizes the tragic attempts by humans to conceptualize things that are beyond their understanding. They use names, categories, they select and
discern, but fail to grasp what the universe is truly like. So, they create a deception; an artifice that
makes life understandable for humans. But by trying to comprehend, they lose the
Tao. “Five colors blind the eye. Five notes deafen the ear. Five flavors make the palate go stale,”
wrote Lao Tzu in his work the Tao Te Ching. So, by arranging colors, notes, and flavors,
we might enhance our understanding, but we also limit it, as there’s so much more outside
of these fixed concepts. The same goes for the human tendency to make
rock-solid rules for everything, to get a sense of control. Again, we limit ourselves by doing so because
the world is ever-changing, and what works today, may not work tomorrow. Also, from a sense of solidarity and justice,
people create immense bodies of ethics, moral codes, and rituals, that form an artificial
way of life. Even though the intentions are good: they
try to make things work while building their own prisons. Now, let’s talk about the word ‘trying’. I think most of us are familiar with the idea
that we should simply ‘act’ and not ‘try’. This idea is closely related to the ‘flow-state’. In a flow-state one becomes the act, like
a dancer who becomes the dance, or the poet who becomes the poem. This is wu wei, a concept that can be literally translated as ‘non-doing’ or ‘doing nothing’. In the context of the flow state, wu wei translates
best as ‘effortless action’, because we act in a smooth and painless manner. In the context of this video, however, translating
wu wei as ‘non-doing’ or ‘doing nothing’ fits best. Literally ‘doing nothing’ is often seen
as unproductive, and as a useless way of being, in which there’s no progression. But according to the Taoists, nothing is further
from the truth. When we keep in mind that the universe is
in flux and in a state of entropy, we’ll realize that there’s always progression
in the natural flow of life. So instead of using force, and exhausting
ourselves (which is the favorite method of today’s culture), we could travel through
life much more easily by using intelligence. Because isn’t it so, that so many times,
problems seem to solve themselves? And that by ‘taking action’ we often make
things worse? When we waste our time trying to improve things
we distance ourselves from the natural course. We repeatedly act in ways that are (according
to the Taoists) unnatural and waste our bodies and minds doing so. So, why do we this? Well, it has a lot to do with how we attribute
value to certain things. For example, when we’re averse to poverty,
but desire money and fame, and when we’re averse to being lonely but desire to be part
of something. So we try to eradicate the former, and increase
the latter, while the latter cannot exist without the former. Also, we think that it’s necessary to conform
and alter nature based on certain belief systems. We try to better the world, while the results
of our interventions are kind of questionable. Now, how can we bring these ancient theories
into the modern world? According to Taoist thinking, in what ways
do we, modern humans, ‘try’, while our efforts only leave us with peanuts in the
end? Let’s explore some examples of how we ‘try’,
using the ancient Taoist scriptures the Tao Te Ching and the Zhuangzi. The first one is… Trying to improve the world Alan Watts, who was a fervent scholar of Taoism,
once pointed out that the goodie-goodies of society are the biggest troublemakers. Their ‘must-save-the-world’ attitude often
disrupts the natural course, simply because they seek to enforce man-made ideas of what’s
good and evil. An example is ‘communism’ which originally
sprouted from a desire to change humanity for the better, based on equality and honest
distribution of goods. However, apart from the discussion if this
approach is natural or not: the ways in which the communists spread their ideology were
absolutely brutal. In the Zhuangzi, we find a story about a man
named Yen Hui, who asked Confucius for permission to travel to the country of Wei, after he
heard that it’s ruled by an incompetent ruler. Yen Hui wanted to use everything he learned
about governance, to improve the country of Wei. Confucius, however, discouraged him to do
so. Not only because Wei’s highly disagreeable
leader probably wouldn’t listen, but also because people, in general, don’t like outsiders
coming in, telling what’s better for them from a place of moral supremacy. As Confucius stated and I quote: “If you do not understand men’s minds,
but instead appear before a tyrant and force him to listen to sermons on benevolence and
righteousness, measures and standards - this is simply using other men’s bad points to
parade your own excellence.” End quote. We could ask ourselves: in what way is using
other people’s faults to create a nice role for ourselves, genuine virtue? We won’t improve a situation by one-sidedly
demonizing groups while placing ourselves on the moral high ground. This only creates more division, more tension,
and will unlikely change things for the better in a sustainable manner. As Lao Tzu puts it in the Tao Te Ching, and
I quote: Do you want to rule the world and control
it? I don't think it can ever be done. The world is a sacred vessel and it can not
be controlled. You will only make it worse if you try. It may slip through your fingers and disappear. End quote. Now, the second one is... Trying to be happy No matter if it’s the pursuit of money,
status, fame, power, or knowledge; these ongoing efforts to be happy are the reason why we
aren’t. We think that we’re happy when we’ve got
a million dollars in the bank or when we finally published that book or when our YouTube channels
have a 100k subscribers, but this is hardly the case. Sure, we enjoy some momentary pleasure, but
that’s not happiness according to the Taoists. Moreover, by this pursuit, we exhaust our
bodies and minds, while, tragically, never achieving what we’re looking for. I quote: This is what the world honors: wealth, eminence,
long life, a good name. This is what the world finds happiness in:
a life of ease, rich food, fine clothes, beautiful sights, sweet sounds. This is what it looks down on: poverty, meanness,
early death, a bad name. This is what it finds bitter: a life that
knows no rest, a mouth that gets no rich food, no fine clothes for the body, no beautiful
sights for the eye, no sweet sounds for the ear. People who can’t get these things fret a
great deal and are afraid - this is a stupid way to treat the body. People who are rich wear themselves out rushing
around on business, piling up more wealth than they could ever use - this is a superficial
way to treat the body. End quote. So, when chasing happiness is a blind alley,
what should we do instead? Well, the Taoists give us some suggestions. But before we go into them, let’s look at
the third one: Trying to be something else The Zhuangzi tells us a story about animals
and the wind that envy each other for their inborn characteristics. The centipede envies the snake for the fact
that it can move without legs, but the snake envies the wind for its ability to travel
great distances without having a body at all. However, the wind argues that it takes just
a finger or foot to hinder it. All in all, nature has created everything
with its own attributes. Nothing is better than the other; only judgment
makes it so. Thus, we feel the need to change who we are,
just to fit an ideal. White-skinned people try to be tanned, while
East-Asians try to look more European, brunettes try to be blondes, and blondes try to be brunettes. Also, we try to change ourselves because we
want to conform to a manmade standard; to fit in, simply because we’re seen as defects
when we don’t. So, a sixth’ finger is cut off, just to
comply with the five-finger standard. Why can’t we just be who we are, the way
nature intended us to be? That would be so much easier. Everyone and everything has its place in the
whole. And by trying to alter this, we bring the
world in disbalance. I quote: When people see things as beautiful, ugliness
is created. When people see things as good, evil is created. Being and non-being produce each other. Difficult and easy complement each other. Long and short define each other. High and low oppose each other. Fore and aft follow each other. End quote. So, how can we put these ideas into practice? The Taoists suggest several things. First of all, the Zhuangzi points to the benefits
of taking the middle-path. This means that we shouldn’t stretch ourselves
beyond our means, but stay centered, so we conserve our health and stay close to our
own nature. I quote: “Follow the middle; go by what is constant,
and you can stay in one piece, keep yourself alive, look after your parents, and live out
your years.” End quote. The Tao is constant. And one who seeks the Tao unlearns something
new every day, according to Lao Tzu. So instead of limiting ourselves to a belief
system, we let go, keep an open mind, and give the universe room to show itself as it
is. Trying to change nature is a futile pursuit,
as is trying to blur our vision of nature by man-made constructs. Instead of adding to knowledge, we let go
of knowledge, until we reach a point of inner stillness. Only then, we’re opening ourselves up to
the Tao, or what we, from a theistic point of view, could call God. In this state of emptiness, we feel content. And contentment is true happiness. The Taoists call this process the fasting
of the heart. By unlearning something every day, the Taoist
arrives at non-action. It’s the art of not trying, while nothing
will be left undone. Thank you for watching.
