Daoist Concepts and Todays Thought - Essay Example

Daoist Concepts and Today’s Thought Traditional Chinese philosophies are gaining popularity in the Western hemisphere for a variety of reasons. In the medical world, researchers are realizing more and more that the human body operates as an interconnected system rather than a connected yet separate cooperation between the mind and the body. While Western medicine focuses on eliminating the external causes of illness in the belief that there’s a ‘pill for every ill’, traditional Chinese medicine, or TCM for short, focuses on balancing the Yin and Yang to bring harmony to the system and eliminate illness. In this system, Yin represents water, quiet, substance and night, while Yang represents fire, noise, function and day. As can be seen, these two entities are polar opposites, which means that in order to have one, you must have the other – in order to comprehend light, you must comprehend dark. But these definitions are misleading because they suggest an absolute measure. “Yin and Yang create each other, define each other, control each other, and transform each other. They are not absolute, but relative concepts. Each yin or yang can continually be further subdivided into yin and yang” (“The Oriental View”, 1996). This is the basic principle upon which the Dao is based, that everything is, at one and the same time, itself and its opposite, separate but combined, mutually exclusive wholes. Much of this understanding comes from the Daoist concepts of nature and technique and are widely applicable in fields such as today’s emerging cosmologies and understanding of ecology. As has been illustrated, the concept of Daoism is focused upon the constant interplay between polar opposites as they define and shape each other. This implies a position in the here and now rather than fixating on the events of the past or the promises of the future. This philosophy, as might be guessed, is strongly rooted in an understanding of nature as a current event, something that happens now, in the moment and cannot be anticipated or recovered. Rather than seeing human beings as the dominant creature of the earth, Daoism holds that there is one force from which all other beings spring, whether these other beings are humans, rocks, plants or animals. “Man and all other beings are born from the same primordial Breath (Qi), so that all beings emanate from Dao and obtain their essence from Dao … All things in the world are inseparable and interdependent” (Xia, 2003). Common words of wisdom offered within the Daoist tradition include “Dao follows nature”, the “unity of Heaven and Man,” “the Heavenly Way in Non-interference” and “the three realms exploit each other” (Xia, 2003). These sayings illustrate the importance of nature within the philosophy, placing it above all other things and suggesting that the only way to find the true path back to unity is to follow the paths set forth by the un-coerced and unimpeded forces of nature itself. This is a significant departure from the concepts of nature held by most Western traditions in which it is seen as something to be contended with, overcome and brought into submission. However, it also begins to introduce a new way for Westerners to look at the world that is much more in keeping with today’s mindsets regarding religion and environment. In their practices, Daoists strive to mimic or understand or move with the flow of nature. “It is said that ‘both birth and death are the ways of Dao. Heaven and Earth are exploited by the myriad beings; the myriad beings are exploited by human beings and human beings are exploited by the myriad beings. If the three forms of exploitation are in harmony, the three types of beings (Heaven and Earth, human beings and the myriad beings) will be in peace’” (Xia, 2003). This suggests the importance of the give and take relationship between the self and nature, nature and the self and begins to suggest the extreme flexibility of the practice. “The historical process of Daoism’s growth is more closely related to the concept of evolution, than to the notion of creation … the natural world is not a collection of interacting objects set in motion by a divine being but rather a dynamic system of vital processes whose basic character is that of self-transformation” (Miller, 2006: 4). Rather than attempting to define a single means by which an individual should seek to pursue unity with the Dao, the philosophy offers numerous methods by which this can be achieved. The limits seem defined only by the number of individuals seeking enlightenment. “The universe was not created by any external creative act, but rather subsists as a complex of ‘ways’ that are wholly spontaneous or self-generating” (Miller, 2006: 4). Thus, to prescribe a specific practice as the only means through which one can achieve a transformational process or gain further connection to the Dao is itself to deny the forces of the Dao itself. Miller cites one Daoist sentiment that can be translated as “ways take as their model their own capacity for self-generation” (2003: 4). By following the ways of nature as they are revealed to the inner self, the individual may find their own path to the Way and it is in finding and following that path that all importance rests. However, there are a variety of methods that can be tried that have been found effective for multitudes. These techniques will be familiar to new age cosmologists. The modern age is full of practices in which individuals are attempting to find the cosmology that works for them. No longer is society divided into well-ordered communities of rigidly similar religious practitioners. Globalization has brought a high degree of integration among peoples of differing beliefs and cultures, bringing discussion more and more into the light regarding who has the ‘right’ concepts of the divine. At the same time, science has entered the picture, demonstrating how illnesses and physical health conditions are not necessarily the result of divine retribution brought down upon a sinful mother or father, but are instead genetic mutations brought about as a reaction to particular chemicals during pregnancy, ill health in the mother or any number of other possibilities occurring on a microscopic, but still explainable level. The New Age cosmology seeks answers to the creation of the universe that are observable, logical, free of myth and human interference and completely accessible to the individual regardless of spiritual training or the lack thereof. With the increasing urbanization of the world and the encroaching ugliness of urban sprawl into the country sides, there is also a strong reaction to the concrete jungle as more and more people turn to nature as a source of inspiration and possible solution. Rather than seeing the universe as having a finite beginning and a finite ending, as is traditionally understood through the Christian and Western traditions, the modern world is coming to view it as a cycle that is endlessly repeating, constantly changing yet always somehow the same. One of the symbols proposed to represent this new cosmology is the Greek symbol known as Uroboros, which is the image of a snake eating its own tail (“Theorists”, 1999). When one thinks about Uroboros in conjunction with the image of the familiar Yin Yang, the similarities seem impossible to miss. The snake eating its tail suggests a cyclical process that will always be a snake and yet seems impossible to always be the same snake. This is also suggested in the circular image of the Yin Yang in which the two halves seem to be constantly pursuing each other yet never fully one or other. This idea is also brought out in more detail in the Dao de Jing as is pointed out by Professor Sandra A. Wawrytko who says, “Every day you forget common sense, you’re on your way to enlightenment” (Galperin, 2004). As is explained in Galperin’s article, even the child who has learned to smile has begun to manipulate those around him and is therefore at least one step away from his most enlightened state. Life from this point forward is a pursuit back to this natural state. To do this, there are numerous practices that have become popular in Western societies today. Using age-old practices of the East, people of the West are attempting to find their own connection to the inner natural state unaffected by the outer commercially mundane world. These include acupuncture, herbalism, holistic medicine, meditation and study in the martial arts. Acupuncture utilizes known pressure points to try to improve the flow of energy, or chi, through the body’s systems. Herbalism and holistic medicine rely on the use of herbs and a total system approach (physical, mental, spiritual) to bring the balance into natural harmony. Meditation seeks to establish a connection with the inner natural self and martial arts train the various elements of the self to work in conjunction with each other to accomplish desired results. Studying these practices, Western medicine has begun to scientifically verify conclusions reached by Asians centuries ago as they followed the philosophies of the Dao, thus opening the way for thousands of Western individuals, already dissatisfied with the answers offered through their own traditions, to seek this new vision of a natural flow connecting everything, this ‘new’ cosmology that precedes many of their own traditions by thousands of years. Just as this ‘new’ wisdom of the world is breaking upon the individual, so is the realization of today’s endangered world ecology. The scientific community agrees that global temperatures are rising due to the burning of fossil fuels which are damaging the protective atmospheric Ozone layer by changing its composition. Human pollution is changing the climate of the earth and has increased global warming in the past half century. Four of the five warmest years for more than three centuries have occurred in the last 10 years. Scientists predict that in 50 years, annual temperatures in the south east of the country could be 2C warmer, on average, than they are now (Climate Crisis 2000). Global warming is further evidenced by the well-documented melting of glaciers along with thermal expansion of the oceans, which have contributed to an increase in sea level over the past century of about 15 cm. (Trenberth 1997). As these changes are occurring on the material level with elemental natural processes, other biologic processes are also occurring. Polar bears are dying off, no longer finding the ice packs that they rely upon for rest stops during their long swims in search of food. Plant species are affected providing less food for other organisms and the pinch is finally starting to be recognized by humans. Large dead zones in areas like the Gulf of Mexico and other coastal waters are bringing attention to the effects of farmers’ use of pesticides in the deep interior of the country and desert sands tracked from the Sahara to the smog of Los Angeles are emphasizing the degree to which the planet’s ecosystems are largely interdependent and inseparable from each other. As people are beginning to understand the connections between nature and the human being, more connections are being made with the concepts inherent in the Dao. For example, Wawrytko explains how an aggressive use of nature is unproductive and operates instead to destruct by using the Daoist symbol of the human hand on top of the elephant. “The characteristics of the Wei include being proactive, powerful, assertive, manipulative and exploitive” (Galperin, 2004). The Bu is described as “passive, reactive, powerless, manipulated, exploited and doing nothing – surrender” (Galperin, 2004). If the human hand on the elephant acts with too much Wei, trying to force the larger animal into doing something that is against its nature, the elephant will react violently, easily overpowering the weaker human. However, if the human hand acts with too much Bu, then the elephant feels no compunction to obey the human’s commands. “The key is to finding a balance between the two using Hur, the character of wisdom. ‘We must be partners with nature, not competitors … The world is a sacred vessel that may not be mishandled, nor may it be coveted’” (Wawrytko cited in Galperin, 2004). Working within the concepts of the Dao, it is easily seen how the human exploitation of the land and the ‘myriad beings’ has led the planet to what may very well be self-destruct mode. The science of today has revealed that our practice of ignoring our affect upon the world’s ecosystems has led to the destruction or disruption of very unique and essential processes. Thousands of years ago, ancient Chinese philosophers took a look around them and developed a complex yet simple philosophy based upon what they understood of the world around them. Rather than seeking far-fetched and difficult to articulate concepts of divine beings in some celestial plane inaccessible to themselves, they determined that the truly divine element of their existence could be found within themselves, in the connection they shared with the world around them and all the things in it. The philosophy they developed was passed down to subsequent generations as the concept of the Dao, or the Way. Enlightenment was achieved when one found connection with the truly natural state and the connection that ran through all things, at once separate but inseparable, defined yet undefinable. The key to this practice was opening up to the flow of energy that provided this connection and numerous practices were developed to help facilitate this connection. As the Western world has advanced, losing its confidence in the cosmologies offered by their own traditions as they have been refuted by science and conflicting visions, the philosophies contained within the Dao have increasingly emerged as logical within the general context of proved science. Concepts regarding our interconnectedness have been further illustrated through the processes of global warming and global pollution. If we are to save our planet, we must begin to adopt more of the Daoist attitudes that view all of nature as a single whole, and healing must take place on multiple levels throughout the entire system if it is to be complete. Works Cited “Climate Crisis: All Change in the UK?” BBC News. (November 12, 2000). November 4, 2007 Galperin, Vadim. “Daoism Brings Balance Between Mind and Nature.” The Whit Online. (April 8, 2004). November 4, 2007 Miller, James. “Daoism and Nature.” Handbook of Religion and Ecology. Roger Gottlieb (Ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006 Oriental View of Health, The. Toronto: Shiatsu School of Canada, 1996. “Theorists and Theologians Contemplate the Implications of Modern Cosmology.” Science Daily. Anaheim, CA: University of California Santa Cruz, 1999. November 3, 2007 . Trenberth, Kevin E. “Global Warming: It’s Happening.” National Center for Atmospheric Research. (1997). November 3, 2007 Xia, Chen. “Daoism and Environment Protection.” Sichuan University: Institute of Religious Studies, 2003. November 3, 2007 Read More