ANCIENT WISDOM FROM CHINA

As we begin pondering the ancient wisdom of China through readings from the Tao Te Ching and Confucius, it is wise to note that the rites and rituals of Taoism and Confucianism are not widespread religious practices today, like those of Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism, which we have been exploring in this blog. Nevertheless, the wisdom of these two ancient Chinese Wisdom Traditions has been very influential in the West as well as the East.

When I was a child, for instance, I remember hearing certain proverbial wisdom prefaced with "Confucius say....." Sometimes this was said almost as a joke, but it would have had no effect if behind it there was not the acknowledgement of the wisdom of many sayings attributed to Confucius. As for the Tao Te Ching, it has become widely translated in the West, and the its wisdom has been studied and applied in numerous ways.

Perhaps you have seen some of the book titles that reflect this fact. "The Tao of Leadership," "The Tao of Parenting" "The Tao of Aging" etc. etc. There are even two wonderful little books by Benjamin Hoff entitled

"The Tao of Pooh" and "The Te of Piglet" which are funny, wise, and clear explorations of the wisdom of the Tao. If you loved Winnie the Pooh books, as I did as a child (and still do!) you will enjoy them all the more.

When I visited China three decades or so ago, I was privileged to go at the time when the Cultural Revolution had run its course, and for the first time in many years, houses of worship of all major faiths were being allowed to reopen. We were able to worship with Christian congregations, in a Jewish synagogue, and in Buddhist Temples alongside those who were able to finally worship freely again. It was very moving to see the joy and devotion on the faces of believers who could once again express their faith with others. I noticed, however, that there were not many re-opened Taoist shrines, and was told that Taoism as a folk religion was not followed by nearly as many people as in ancient times. Scholars say that folk Taoism, and some of its teachings, were actually rooted in and greatly shaped by the ancient shamanic traditions of China.

In the next seven blogs, I will share readings from both Taoist and Confucian scriptures, although scholars differ on how contradictory or overlapping these traditions are. For our purposes, both of them contain wisdom worth pondering, and thus flowers of faith worth enjoying. So----enjoy!

The first reading is the famous one from the first chapter of the Tao Te Ching. It is worth noting that Chinese is one of those languages which can be translated into English in a wide variety of ways. Chinese ideograms do not have the kind of precise meaning English words tend to have. That is why you may find that this same passage (and others) has been expressed differently by other translators.

That said, let us consider this translation from the Global Spirit Library, edited by Robert Van De Weyer.

The Way of which you can speak is not the true Way.

The Name that can be uttered is not the true Name.

Heaven and earth begin in the named.

Name is the mother of the numerous living beings.

In order to discern that which is hidden, you must rid yourself of all craving.

But in order to see that which is manifest, you must desire to do so.

The hidden and the manifest are one;they have a single origin.

Yet they diverge as they come forth.

Their sameness is a mystery, the mystery of all mysteries.

The manifest is the gateway to the hidden.

My reflection:

This reading, like many others from the Tao Te Ching, is full of paradox that can make your head spin.

It has to be sipped slowly, like good wine, and savored for awhile before the inner sense becomes clear.

My prayer/intention in response is this:

May I remember that the most profound truth and spiritual experience cannot be put in words.

May I not be so foolish as to think that any expression of the Way, or That from Which all comes and to Which all returns, can be captured in any words whatsoever.

May I deeply respect the Mystery of Life, of Truth, of Being.

May I be free of all self-centered craving, and open to the hidden Wisdom in all that I see and sense.

May the manifest, all that I sense, be for me a wondrous Gateway into the Infinite Invisible.