I'm not a very good Taoist.
The first rule of being a Taoist: Don't talk about being a Taoist. Okay, maybe not the first rule, but it's certainly up there. We're supposed to be humble and quiet about our philosophy. Says so in the Tao Te Ching.
It's sort of like being a born-again Christian, I'm so happy that I finally found a philosophy that lines up with my values that I have to tell everyone about it. I even have a website: You Might Be A Taoist that has lines like, "If you describe yourself as spiritual but not religious... you might be a Taoist". And I hope one day to turn it into a little book, like "Chicken Soup for the Soul".
See? Not being quiet about it. In fact, sometimes I'm quite militant about it when Christians try to pummel me with scripture. I whack them back with peaceful Taoist thoughts.
If Taoists believed in hell, I'd probably have to go there.
Showing posts with label you might be a taoist. Show all posts
Showing posts with label you might be a taoist. Show all posts
Monday, September 12, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
Taoish Morals
Over on my ...You Might Be a Taoist website I received an email from a gentleman named "mike" who didn't leave me a return email address so I couldn't respond to him personally, so hopefully he stumbles over here...
In reference to the line "If you believe that you can be moral without religious guidelines... you might be a Taoist. (Verse 19)" he asked, "What universally accepted guideline exists to determine where the "moral" line is? If you can indeed be moral, you must have a standard. If there is a standard, then by definition it is universally accepted. What standard would a Taoist use?"
"Moral" from a Philosophical Taoist standpoint would be whatever is in harmony with Tao. Pointing out another's moral failings would not be something a Philosophical Taoist would do.
Having said that, I couldn't imagine that killing anything unless you were going to eat it or prevent it from killing you would be acceptable to a Taoist. I can't imagine that any sort of verbal or physical violence from bullying to rape to war would be acceptable to a Taoist. Lying and stealing are pretty much out.
Maybe verse 54 is a better reference point:
Cultivate Tao within oneself; and one's virtue will be perfected.
Cultivate it within the household, and one's virtue will be abundant.
Cultivate it within the neighborhood, and one's virtue will be enduring.
Cultivate it within the nation, and one's virtue will be overflowing.
Cultivate it within the entire world, and one's virtue will be universal.
In reference to the line "If you believe that you can be moral without religious guidelines... you might be a Taoist. (Verse 19)" he asked, "What universally accepted guideline exists to determine where the "moral" line is? If you can indeed be moral, you must have a standard. If there is a standard, then by definition it is universally accepted. What standard would a Taoist use?"
"Moral" from a Philosophical Taoist standpoint would be whatever is in harmony with Tao. Pointing out another's moral failings would not be something a Philosophical Taoist would do.
Having said that, I couldn't imagine that killing anything unless you were going to eat it or prevent it from killing you would be acceptable to a Taoist. I can't imagine that any sort of verbal or physical violence from bullying to rape to war would be acceptable to a Taoist. Lying and stealing are pretty much out.
Maybe verse 54 is a better reference point:
Cultivate Tao within oneself; and one's virtue will be perfected.
Cultivate it within the household, and one's virtue will be abundant.
Cultivate it within the neighborhood, and one's virtue will be enduring.
Cultivate it within the nation, and one's virtue will be overflowing.
Cultivate it within the entire world, and one's virtue will be universal.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Attacking Christians? Me??
A semi-Christian (he doesn't go to church, not sure that he believes all of the Bible) friend of mine took offense at this quote from my ...You Might Be a Taoist website.
"If you have a hard time reconciling proven historic and scientific facts with contradictory stories passed down by uneducated superstitious desert dwellers, edited and re-edited by generations of religious and government leaders for their own benefit, constantly quoted out of context by followers with their own agendas, about a god who's described as jealous, petty, indecisive, and ruthless, having murdered millions, including admittedly innocent victims... you might be a Taoist."
He felt that I was attacking certain people whose religion was important to them, had maybe even saved their lives.
I tried to explain that he was missing the point. I wasn't attacking anyone, I was just sayin...
"If you have a hard time reconciling proven historic and scientific facts with contradictory stories passed down by uneducated superstitious desert dwellers, edited and re-edited by generations of religious and government leaders for their own benefit, constantly quoted out of context by followers with their own agendas, about a god who's described as jealous, petty, indecisive, and ruthless, having murdered millions, including admittedly innocent victims... you might be a Taoist."
He felt that I was attacking certain people whose religion was important to them, had maybe even saved their lives.
I tried to explain that he was missing the point. I wasn't attacking anyone, I was just sayin...
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
