Tao: The Watercourse Way

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Let your ears hear whatever they desire; let your eyes see whatever they want; allow your mind to think whatever it wants; let your lungs breathe in their rhythm. Do not expect any particular result; for this wordless and ideal state, where can there be passed, future, and any motion of purpose? So, stop, look, listen, and stay there awhile before you go on reading. Our cultures unimaginably condition us. We may repress all the things we do not want to be a part of and pretend we are here on our own; the question arises one day, if not the answers. Please do yourself a favor and learn it on your own. Nothing could help you, not even this book by any means, but yourself, no deliberate or conscious but spontaneous efforts. Our language has long limited verbal comprehension. Occidental cultures and the impact of the same in the Oriental cultures, the same language I use to control the way I question things and things I take for granted in nature. It was very contemplative and meditating, but for the first time, I felt like understanding the essence of Tao made me a bit fearful of whether I was deluding myself with the idea of understanding. This book has notions only upon contemplative Taoism from the interpretations of various individuals' oral and surviving ideographic scriptures and is lucid and highly meditative of the writer. World order is possible, something that individuals have dreamed of for millennia. I know I cannot be hopeful, but with the learnings we can attempt, that is where the problem lies. The Tao seems pervasive and elusive. It is the source of everything, but it is not the creator. It permeates everything, but it cannot be seen and cannot be grasped. It reigns but does not rule. Tao has an order, but it is not the law. We are part of the Tao, and it flows through us. We are part of the stream, and it isn't easy to see, understand, or describe it objectively. The Tao spoken is not the eternal Tao acknowledged the irony of his talking and writing about the Tao but explained that it was his way of grasping what it is. Lao Tzu said, "It could be the mother of everything; I do not know the name, so I call it Tao." Perhaps it resembles the universe's ways and energetic flows just as grass grows and a flower blooms. The Tao should try to follow the natural way of things and the path of least resistance; the approach is not associated with inertia, passivity, or a laissez-faire way but needs to be with intelligence and alertness. It is a nonforcing path flowing with the natural course of things, like the soft branches of a tree that can survive the strong winds compared to the complex components that resist and break or using our innate wisdom, being true to ourselves, being devoid of artifice. The book explains why following requests like needing to relax or love God with all your heart is impossible. Things in life are natural, like loving, settling, and getting inspiration. No one can hasten or postpone them, as no one can smooth out the sea's waves. Instead, one can attune to them and follow the course like water. Alan Watts says that living is turned into such a process by wise men of the East who eat when hungry, urinate when needed, and go to bed when sleepy. Alan Watts tells the most specific things with the help of the brightest metaphors; this book liberated my mind from working too hard on the things that must not come hard.