Restrictions, Laws and Poverty
The Tao Te Ching (Daodejing) is the second most translated book in the world today. Let’s take a look at a handful of translations of a particular part of Chapter 57 and see if we can determine what is being expressed:
Beck: The more restrictions there are, the poorer the people.
Chan: The more taboos and prohibitions there are in the world, The poorer the people will be.
Hansen: The more the social world has to elude, the more the people are impoverished.
Legge: In the kingdom the multiplication of prohibitive enactments increases the poverty of the people.
Mitchell: The more prohibitions you have, the less virtuous people will be.
Ta-Kao: The more restrictions and avoidances are in the empire, The poorer become the people.
To Be Who You Want
So often these days we spend a lot of time and effort striving to make changes in ourselves. Many of us are trying to kick bad habits such as cigarette smoking. Even more are attempting to lose weight and keep themselves in good shape. Why is it such a struggle for some people?
Exercise: Experiencing Tao
I think one of the best ways to learn about Tao is to sit in a city park on a busy (and comfortable) day. Watch people. Watch nature. Listen to all the sounds. Don’t think about what the people are doing. Don’t ponder their intentions. Just watch the movement as a whole.
Life and Death
I am often asked questions such as “Do you believe in the soul?” or “Do you believe in an afterlife?” First, I make it clear that Taoists as a whole do not all share the same views on this subject. Views can range from a type of reward or punishment existence to reincarnation. What follows are my own personal views:
Tao is the source of all things. What this means is that I consider all matter, all energy, all things and the emptiness between things to be part of the Tao. It’s similar to saying, “everything in the universe”.
To quote Carl Sagan, “We are made of star stuff.” We understand matter to the point where we can trace everything down to protons, neutrons and electrons. These same basic building blocks can be found in everything from a grain of sand to the brightest star.
Patriotism
The Daodejing has some things to say about what happens when a nation strays from the natural flow of the Tao:
When Tao is forgotten, piety and righteousness are empowered.
When a nation falls into confusion, there is a call for loyalty to officials and patriotism.
I know that, at least where I’m from, patriotism has always been considered an essential trait. As children we learn such things as the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem to inspire pride and commitment to our nation. Isn’t it however, a bit paradoxical if not outright hypocritical to promote the idea of patriotism while at the same time teach that discrimination is bad?
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