SHRINE
TAOISM
Religious Systems of the World
Fredrick H. Balfour
1892
This pure and lofty philosophy arose two thousand years
ago, when a wave of inspiration swept over the
civilized world, bringing with it a restlessness
and earnest expectation of something better
yet to come.
Chang-Tzu, writer of the Taoist school, says,there never was a time when it was not. Lao-tzu, the reputed
founder of Taoism, affirms that the image of it existed before
God Himself. "It is all pervasive; there's no place
where it's not found. It fills the Universe with its grandeur
and sublimity; yet it's so subtle that it exists in all its
plenitude in the tip of a thread of gossamer. It causes the
sun and the moon to revolve in their appointed orbits, and
gives life to the most microscopic insect. Formless, it's the source of every form we see; inaudible, the source
of every sound we hear; invisible, it's that which lies behind
every external object in the world; inactive, yet it produces,
sustains, and vitalizes every phenomenon which exists. It is impartial, impersonal, and passionless;
working but its ends with the remorselessness of Fate, yet
abounding in beneficence to all.
"What is Tao?" asks Huai-nan-tzu.
"It is that which supports heaven and covers the earth;
it has no boundaries, no limits; its heights can't be measured,
nor its depths fathomed; it enfolds the entire universe in
its embrace, and confers visibility on that which of itself
is formless....It's so tenuous and subtle that it pervades
everything just as water pervades mire.
It's by Tao that mountains are high and abysses deep, that
beasts walk and birds fly; that the sun and the moon are bright,
and the stars revolve in their courses....
When the spring wind blows, the sweet rain falls, and all
things live and grow. The feathered ones brood and hatch,
the furry ones breed and bear; plants and trees put forth
all their glorious exuberance of foliage, birds lay eggs,
and animals produce their young; no action is visible outwardly,
and yet the work is completed. Shadowy and indistinct, it
has no form. Indistinct and shadowy, its resources have no
end. Hidden and obscure, it reinforces all things out of formlessness.
Penetrating and permeating everything, it never acts in vain."
EVOLUTION AND TIME
"There was a time," says Chang-tzu, "when all
things had a beginning. The time when there was yet no beginning
had a beginning itself. There was a beginning to the time
when the time that had no beginning had not begun. There is
existence, and there is also nonexistence. In the time which
had no beginning there existed Nothing - or a Vacuum. When
the time which had no beginning had not yet begun, then there
also existed Nothing. Suddenly there was Nothing; but it cannot
be known, respecting existence and non-existence, what was
certainly existing and what was not."
"Those who can, may find relief
in believing in absolutely void space and absolutely unoccupied
time,
which may in such belief be called the beginning of all things;
but the void time before that beginning can have had no beginning,
unless it were preceded by time no unoccupied by events, which
in inconsistent. We find no absolute
beginning if we look backwards."
In the first chapter of the work of Lieh-tzu:
"There is a life that is uncreated; There is a Transformer
who is changeless. The Uncreated alone can produce life; The
Changeless alone can evolve change. That Life cannot be produced;
That transformer cannot but transform. Wherefore creations
and transformations are perpetual. And these perpetual creations
and transformations continue through all time. They are seen
in the Male and Female Principles of Nature. They are displayed
in the Four Seasons. The Uncreated stands, as it were, alone'
The Changeless comes and goes; His duration can have no end.
Peerless and One - His ways are past finding out."
THE EQUALITY OF CREATION
According to the Taoist theory, humanity is simply a part of the Universe, an offshoot of creation,
a manifestation, like everything else of the universal and
inherent Tao.
And this is not merely a scientific or speculative
opinion. It's a powerful moral factor, inducing
resignation to destiny and submission to the laws of Nature
which deserve our respectful attention.
DEATH
To the Taoist, Death is an
inevitable and welcome change, a turn in the wheel of the
Universe, an event as natural as the fading of an autumn leaf
or the succession of the Four Seasons. "Poverty,"
says Lieh-tzu, "is the common lot of scholars, and death
is the end of all. What cause for sorrow then,
in quietly fulfilling one's destiny and awaiting the close
of life?"
"Death is to life, as going away is to coming. How can we know
that to die is not to be born elsewhere? How can we tell
whether, in their eager rush for life, men are not under a
delusion? How can I tell whether, if I die today, my lot may
not prove far preferable to what it waS when I was originally
born?" "Ah! People know the dreadfulness of death;
but they don't know its rest." How excellent it is!
It's repose for the good and a hiding-away of the
bad. Death is just a going home again. The dead are those
who have gone home, while we, who are living, are still wanderers."
TAOIST SPONTENEITY
Nature is spontaneous in all her works; therefore
the Sage should be spontaneous too, no acting from design,
but following the natural prompting of his heart in accord
with his surroundings. Nature never strives; therefore the
Sage should guard against striving too. Nature is ever passive;
therefore the Sage should let things take their course, and
be content with following in their wake. Ambition, scheming,
passion, desire - any attention to external objects of whatever
kind - are all so much disordering, or spoliation of the original
nature of man, and as such should be utterly discarded. Even
the active cultivation of virtues, such as benevolence, rectitude,
and propriety, is condemned;
"Wherefore,"
Says Chang-tzu, "do not develop this artificial human,
or engrafted nature; but do develop that Inherent or Natural
nature which is the inheritance of you all."
Huai-nan-tzu says, "What is it we mean when we talk about the Natural
or Inherent?
It is that which is homogeneous, pure, simple, undefiled,
untarnished, upright, luminous, and immaculate, and which
as never undergone any mixture or adulteration from the beginning.
And what is the Human or Artificial? It is that which has
been adulterated with shrewdness, crookedness, dexterity,
hypocrisy, and deceit; which bends itself into compliance
with the world, and defers to the customs of the age.
"If Nature has given you black hair, don't try to dye
it yellow; if you have a sallow or pale complexion; don't
daub it with pink pain; if your waist measures five and twenty
inches round, don't try and squeeze it into eighteen. All
such attempts are violations of Nature, and are sure to bring
their own punishment along with them."
TAOIST MONKS
The list of Taoist hermits is long. They generally chose some rocky
glen shut in by mountains, sheltered from the burning sun
by the thick foliage of trees, and surrounded by natural
features which makes a landscape lovely. There they passed
their lives in reflection and freedom from mundane affairs.
TAOST MORALITY
Lao-tzu: "Recompense
injury with kindness." We say, "Return good for
evil." "Tao" says Lao-tzu elsewhere, "is
the jewel of the good man, the guardian of the bad."
"He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is
enlightened. He who overcomes others is strong; he who overcomes
himself is mighty. He who knows when he has enough is rich.
He whose memory doesn't perish when he dies lives for ever."
"There's no sin greater than giving rein to desire;
there's no misery greater then discontent; there's no calamity
greater than the greed of gain. Therefore contentment is an everlasting sufficiency."
"There are three things which I regard as precious. The first is Compassion; the second
is Moderation; the third is Modesty."
"The weakest things in this world subjugate the strongest."
"There's nothing under Heaven weaker or softer than
water; yet it overcomes the hardest and strongest things.
"The highest form of goodness resembles water, which
is beneficial to everything, and that without struggling."
"When there are many laws in the Empire,
the people get poorer and poorer. When the people accumulate
excessive wealth and goods, both State and families become
demoralized. When people are over-skillful, fantastical
or curious things arise. When punishments are overdone, malefactors
increase in number.
Wherefore the sage say, I do nothing,
and the people reform of their own accord; I love quietude,
and the people become spontaneously upright; I don't take any measures,
and the people upright themselves; I have no desires, and
the people naturally become simple." "The Sage dwells
in the world with a timid reserve; but his mind blends in
sympathy with all. The people turn their eyes and ears up
to him, and the sage thinks of them as his children."
"He who bears the reproach of his country shall be called
the Lord of the Land; he who bears the calamities of his country
shall be called the King of the World."
The Su Shu, or
Book of Plain Words constitutes an application
of the Taoist doctrines to political, social, and individual
life.
The writer is addressing, first and foremost, a statesman;
it's unquestionable that the standard set
is a very high one.
The public man's conduct
should be a pattern for others to imitate,
whose wisdom enables him to give just judgments, whose personal
sincerity causes sincerity in others, who can incur hatred
and suspicion without deserting his post, and how never takes
advantage of his position to secure benefits for himself.
"There's nothing," continues our author, "that
will allow you to follow your course in greater peace than
the patient bearing of insult." "There's no deeper
oy than the love of goodness; nothing that will
give you a deeper insight into hidden things than
sincerity in word and deed; but nothing more certain to bring
ruin on you than partiality or injustice."
RULES FOR THE RULING CLASS
"Those whose commands are at variance with their consciences,"
says the author, "will meet with failure. If a man is
angry without inspiring awe, the delinquency which has irritated
him will be repeated. It's dangerous, first to treat a man
with contempt, and afterwards entrust him with responsibility.
The man who hides an alienated heart behind a friendly face
will be shunned. The sovereign who loves flatters, and holds
aloof from the honest and true, will soon see his kingdom
fall.
To make little one's own faults, and be severe on those of
others, is not the way to govern. He who bestows rewards with
a grudging face will receive a grudging service. He who is
cheap in giving and yet looks for a large return, will
get no return at all. He who employs people without regard
to their peculiar capabilities, will incur the evil results
of his carelessness. He who, in a position of honor, forgets
the friends of humbler days, will not enjoy his honors long.
If you have no confidence in yourself, you will be distrustful
of others, but if you can trust yourself, you will not suspect
the people. If you drive a carriage in the ruts of another
carriage that has been overturned, you will meet with the
same disaster; so, if you follow the example set by a State
that has been already ruined, yours will be ruined too.
RULES FOR THE GOVERNED
The Book
of Recompenses by Kan Ying Pien,
was read almost universally in China, and exercises influence
over millions of lives. The exhortations with which the book opens are
beautiful:-
"Advance in all that's in harmony with good; retreat
from all that's opposed to it. Don't walk in the paths of depravity,
not deceive yourselves by sinning in the dark where none can
see you. Accumulate virtue and store up merit; treat all with
gentleness and love; be loyal, be dutiful; be respectful to
your elders and kind to your juniors; be upright yourselves
in order that you may reform others; compassionate the fatherless
and widow; reverence the aged, cherish the young; do not injure
even little insects, or grass, or trees.
Pity the wickedness
of others and rejoice at their virtues; succor them in the
distresses, and rescue them when in danger; when a man gains
his desires, let it be as though his good fortune were your
own; when one suffers loss, as through you suffered it yourself.
Never publish the failings of another, or make a parade of
your own merits; put a stop to evil, and afford every encouragement
to goodness; be not grasping, but learn to content yourself
with little. When you are reviled, cherish no resentment;
when you receive favors, do so as deprecating your deserts;
be kind and generous without seeking any return, and never
repent of anything you may give to others. This," concludes
our author, "is to be a good man; one who heaven will
guard, whom all will respect, whom blessings and honors will
accompany, whom no evil will touch, and whom all good spirits
will defend."
