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There are several ways to approach the Tao Te Ching, including the mystical, but I think that there's a great book that explains the underlying approach the Chi
by hosh 3y ago
There are several ways to approach the Tao Te Ching, including the mystical, but I think that there's a great book that explains the underlying approach the Chinese have, called, Treatise on Efficacy.
Essentially, in Chinese philosophy, any given situation has a propensity (water tends to run downhill). It is therefore more effective to work with that propensity, than it is to work heroically against that propensity. This is very much a layer in what the Tao Te Ching talks about.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- svat 3y ago> Essentially, in Chinese philosophy, any given situation has a propensity (water tends to run downhill). It is therefore more effective to work with that propensity, than it is to work heroically against that propensity. Interesting, this is similar to the Hindu/Indic idea of dharma (e.g. the dharma of water is to flow) and the idea of working with/towards dharma (both of oneself and the world generally). (Dharma refers to both the proper order of things and to the actions one takes to uphold it.) Edit: The "See also" section on the Wikipedia page for Ṛta is interesting: • Asha (Zoroastrianism) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asha https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asha • Maat (Egyptian religion) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maat https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maat • Me (Sumerian religion) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Me_(mythology) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Me_(mythology) • Tao (Chinese Taoism) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tao https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tao and a few others. In Hinduism there are Ṛta, Dharma, etc. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E1%B9%9Ata https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E1%B9%9Ata https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dharma https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dharma) (also in Buddhism Jainism etc)
- hosh 3y agoWhat's also interesting to me is that there are enough similarities between Vedic and ancient Greek thought, and yet here we are with Aristolean ideas in the West, and in India, things went the way of the Puranas. (Treatise of Efficacy went into the flaw baked into Aristolean thoughts separating Theory and Practice, and how going with the propensity bypasses that). The Chinese word for this propensity of the situation is shi (勢), rather than dao (道). There are other texts that talk about exploiting and profiting from propensity (shi), rather than what the Dao De Jing talks about with wei wuwei (為無為).
- agumonkey 3y agoThe notion of propensity/flow made me question if one's life is not best when being able to see and surf trends as you need. Tiny soft and round exchanges between all parties.. a kind of dance.
- hosh 3y agoMindfulness — being alive to the changing circumstances — is the key.