2006-01-23
Taoism, grief and action
The following article, from: Dantao, is from a particular point of view and some of the remarks would not be agreed with by many followers of Taoism.
Nevertheless, it makes some very interesting points about Taoism and the nature of grief which, I think, are well worth considering:
What is Taoism?
( The following is a reflection and does not serve in any way as a judgment on the existence or the validity of other religious beliefs. The essay merely hopes to stimulate dialogue and thoughts about what Taoism is and its practice. I fully acknowledge my depth of ignorance regarding the oceanic profundity of Taoism and the 300 sects of Taoist practice as well as its 2,500 years of history. This text merely serves as a stepping stone to entice others to give and contribute their valuable insight into the spirit and truth of Taoism. Sat Hon)
It's like the unpredictable reaction of a chemical on a piece of dark metal.
It is based on relationship. It rides the pure energy that is the result of natural forces, surging up and out of their interaction.
Taoism is neither about explanation, nor about rationalization nor justification. It is about pure experience. It is about experiencing the moment (the context) regardless of the specifics of the event (the content).
Unlike Buddhism, it is not about cause and effect (karma). Rather, it is about dealing directly with the energy of nature that is generated, taking it in and releasing it. Explanation is the antithesis of experience and therefore it is avoided in Taoism because it diffuses the charge built up by the interaction.
For example, the current case concerning the death of JFK Jr. is an excellent example of a tremendous charge of energy that has rippled through the collective unconscious of humanity as a whole. The death of JFK Jr. is, in fact, the culmination of a trio of deaths, including those of JFK and
Robert Kennedy, in effect releasing a charge that has been building up since 1963.
The death of the father set the process in motion, the death of the uncle furthered it and the death of the son/nephew has brought it full circle.
The result of the reaction is a ripple throughout the universe that can, if one listens deeply enough, be experienced directly.
This is a very Taoist way of responding to such an event. A Taoist sees this as an opportunity to experience reality in a very direct and powerful manner. However, this is generally the exact opposite of what most people do. In this case, there seem to be two types of reaction that people are
having.
The first is to explain it away. This approach, in turn, generally takes one of three forms. First, the fundamentalist religious view, which holds that the event was God's will, that it was actually preordained. This
perspective, which essentially denies the possibility of free will and is quite immature, is taken in order to try and construct a sense of order and certainty into a seemingly random universe.
The second way is to engage in armchair psychiatry, and start proffering opinions of irresponsibility and death wish theories. Not only cynical and callous, this viewpoint is
predicated on the theories of an intellectual heritage whose primary proponents, Freud and Jung, were mentally unhinged.
The third way is to take the New Age approach and start going on about karma, but using the term with a very superficial degree of understanding, implying that karma
involves retribution for sin, rather than cause and effect.
The second reaction is that of grief, especially public demonstrations of it. This has nothing to do with the victims, but rather with the mourners themselves, who, threatened by the reality of life's transience and fragility, act out their suffering in order to make themselves feel better and more stable. Feeling sorry and grieving for someone therefore often stems from one's own states of self-absorbtion and uncertainty.
What both of these reactions have in common is that they apprehend the vividness of the moment, a sort of energetic averting of ones eyes. Therefore, the opportunity to experience directly is diminished or lost, because the reality is too great for most people to bear. It is very much in the vein of the story of Chuang Tzu's wife dying, and of him sitting on the floor, banging a pot, and singing. From the outside, it looked like he was acting frivolously, but he was actually deeply appreciating the situation for what it was, basking in the tremendous energy released by her passing.
It is not surprising, then, that Taoism, though very up front and direct, remains largely hidden. This is because true practitioners understand that the public reaction to their practicing openly would be one of outrage.
Imagine what would have happened if someone had begun dancing a jig at JFK Jr.'s funeral.
Taoists remain, out of necessity, unpopular, and are
slow to "spill the beans" about their practice.
So, what is the Taoist approach to something like grief or depression? Very simply, it is to move. That is because movement releases the excessive pent up energy which, like too much gas flooding an engine, causes the body to be
overwhelmed with energy, thus shutting it down. Physical activity, whether Taoist movement or simple labor, drains off this excess, rebalancing the system, releasing the pent up force.
So, in regards to the event of JFK Jr.'s death, rather than trying to rationalize it, or becoming mired down in self-absorbtion, one can think of it from the perspective of pure energy, energy that has been released, reverberating
throughout the universe for all to experience. Ironically, it is in this simple act of being that the true meaning of such an event is discovered, not through the mechanics of the mind, but through the directly lived experience.
meyamind at 8:26 p.m.
