I was hoping we could find a way

Part deux of "Places I find truth other than the Bible":

In high school I dated a Taoist and I also had a very good Taoist friend*. I had honestly never heard of Taoism before I met D and J, so my relationships with them were also a sort of religious education course. So at seventeen, I read the Tao Te Ching and was floored by it. To a kid who is really starting to chafe against a childlike "just because" ideology ("I believe this just because I do"), Taoism's simplicity and seeming lack of dogma was very appealing**. Instead of worrying about lists of rules and requirements (which is how I saw Christianity at the time), Taoism calls for us to be in harmony with the flow of the universe, practice wu-wei (non-action; being still until the right path is revealed rather than actively seeking the path), and stop struggling against the inevitable and constant tide of change. Cool; I could handle this religion.

Of course, Taosim is one of those philosophies that seems exceedingly easy and yet takes a lifetime or more to master, something it holds in common with Christianity. It is easy, for example, to nod in agreement when Matthew 22:39-40 is read in church; it is very hard to practice Jesus' teaching with the co-worker you cannot stand or the driver who splashes you with dirty slush as s/he speeds by. In the same way, it is easy to intellectualize the benefit of "active passivity"--waiting patiently for the right moment instead of trying to force it. How much simpler could our lives be if we went with the flow more often instead of trying to shape events to our desires? Not so easy is the actual practice of this passivity in a world that is constantly telling us, "Go, go!"

Wu-wei is usually translated as "non-action" (though it should be noted that there are dozens of translations of the Tao Te Ching, which makes choosing one translation as iffy a process as choosing one translation of the Bible), though it's a little more complex than simply sitting still. It requires watching the flow of things and going with them rather than fighting against them. Instead of a person running in circles and trying to make events fit her/his desires, s/he should shape her/his desires to the flow of the universe. I think of wu-wei when I think of Jesus' exhortation to always watch for his coming (Mt 25:13, Mk13:32-37). We can't make him come and we don't know when he's coming, so we should be always watchful and ready. It's not a call to complete inaction but rather to one of more thoughtful action.

I can always count on a reading of the Tao Te Ching to soothe my mind, especially when I find myself flustered about what God wants me to be doing in my life. Far too often I become overwhelmed trying to discern the direction in which God is trying to lead me and I wind up spinning my wheels, paradoxically upset that I'm not going anywhere and yet unable to make myself go anywhere. Spending a bit of time on the Tao Te Ching helps me remember wu-wei and its passive action. Just as Elijah did not hear the voice of God in earthquakes and thunder but rather in stillness, I am frequently unable to hear God until I stop running after him and let him come to me.


*Interestingly enough, I met them both at Catholic school (which could be the subject of many posts in its own right), where I also had Muslim, Wiccan, Jewish, Seventh-Day Adventist and atheist friends. Needless to say, our theology classes could get very interesting.

**For a religion whose main text is short, direct, and based on yielding and simplicity, Taosim has a lot of commentary devoted to it. The only two books I actually remember reading aside from the Tao Te Ching itself are Benjamin Hoff's The Tao of Pooh and The Te of Piglet. This is perhaps one of the more telling things about my approach to religion.