Philosophy Of The Tao 3 And 4

Also, you get soft. You're not on the ki-vive. You develop flabby muscles because you never get involved in a fight. And so gradually, the successful group fails. The group which managed to obliterate all its enemies will fall apart.

So, what are we to do about that? See, part of the whole joke of present-day international politics is that the United States, in order with its vast prosperity and enormous facilities for living the lazy life, must have an external enemy to get excited about.

And so, even though the Cold War is, in a way, total nonsense, and everybody who's in the know about anything knows it, that, for example, an atomic war between Russia and the United States would simply end the human race, but the populace has to be kept bamboozled.

And we keep fighting wars, like in Vietnam, in order to keep everybody excited, and in order to make a fracas and to give the soldiers practice. It's a horrible business, but that's the way things run.

And the question is, you see, can we run the human race without awful bloodshed, murders and tortures and all that kind of thing? Can we somehow introduce a new kind of gamesmanship as a substitute for war? It's the same thing in business.

Exactly. If you wipe out your competitor, then you have no reason to produce anything but a lousy product. And then you may make lots of money because you wiped out your competitors, you've got the whole market.

Then you've got this money, what are you going to buy with it? Well, there's nothing to buy except other people's lousy products, who wiped out their competitors, or who cheated the public by packaging the thing to look elegant, but it was nothing inside.

That's all you've got to buy. So naturally, if you're a success in General Motors, you go and buy a Rolls Royce from England, or you go and buy a Mercedes from Germany, because there happen to be better cars.

Or if you want to make a lot of money in the clothing industry here, making wretched prints, and you want some good clothes, what do you do? Well, you have to go to Mexico and buy the things peasants wear, because they're still substantial, solid, damn good clothes.

So you see, there's something always self-defeating in these attempts to succeed, because nothing fails like success.

So for this reason, then, the Taoist always had an attitude of caution.

Cautiously, Lao Tzu says, as one who crosses a river in spring.

That means either because of the spring floods, or because the ice is still there, and you're not quite sure how strong it is, because it's beginning to thaw.

So, what the Taoist tries to develop is a sensibility to the situation.

He tries to feel out intuitively what kind of action is required under these circumstances,

because he feels that he can never discover it analytically, with his conscious attention alone.

Well, now, to talk in modern Western terms about how this is done, we must realize, of course,

that we are equipped inside our heads with an absolutely fantastic thing called the brain.

With its millions and millions of neuron cells, it is, as it were, the most amazing computer ever devised.

The basic to the Taoist attitude to life is that you have that within you,

and you may, if you don't know anything about brains very much, call it intuition or something of that kind.

But you have within you the most amazing logical analyzer that exists in the known world.

And the point is to get it to work for you.

And instead of trying, with conscious attention alone,

which can only think of about three things at a time without using a pencil,

that is to say, keep three variables in mind at once.

Very few people can do four without using a pencil.

You can do four if you're a trained musician,

where you're playing four different lines of a fugue, say.

You're keeping four variables in mind at once.

With an organist, you can go from four to six,

because you've got your two feet, and they're playing two.

But that requires a high amount of training to be able,

with conscious attention, to keep these many variables in mind.

But the world around us has infinitely many variables going in it.

And you can reason out something with your conscious verbal thinking.

Say you want to make a contract in business,

and you figure out how to make it,

whether it will be a good contract, whether it will work, etc., etc.

And you think of all these things and write them down,

and you make the contract, and you think that's fine.

But one of the variables that you couldn't possibly include in the contract

was that your partner would slip on a banana skin and break his neck.

All sorts of things.

I mean, the contract might make provisions in it

if your lawyer was thoughtful for what was to be done

under the case of the disability of any of the parties thereto, etc.

But eventually there are so many possibilities that can occur

that you cannot think of them all.

So then the question arises,

is it within the power of the human brain

to comprehend, because of its immense complexity,

in a kind of un- or subconscious way

what the surface consciousness can never grasp?

And the Taoist would say, certainly it can.

But you've got to learn to use your brain

by allowing it to go to work on your problems

without interfering with it.

And then it will deliver you a decision.

And this is why,

when you get to the real study

of Taoist and Zen Buddhist practice,

you get to the point where you learn to act

without making decisions.

Or rather, to use a more exact word,

without choosing.

Krishnamurti talks a great deal about

being choicelessly aware.

And he says freedom is precisely the state

of not having to choose.

Now that sounds quite paradoxical,

because we're always talking about freedom of choice.

But choice is not a form of freedom

in the sense of the word.

What is choice in the sense of the word?

Choice is the act of hesitation that we make

before making a decision.

It is a mental wobbling.

You know some people,

when they take up a pen to write,

they don't just write,

but they jiggle the pen around

undecisively like this,

and then start writing.

Or a person comes into a room

and wonders who to talk to

and sort of is in doubt, you see.

In that moment, he's choosing.

Whereas a person who comes into a room

and decides who to approach,

he doesn't wait to choose.

We say he is decisive.

But that's a funny saying,

because it means he doesn't stop to decide.

So in the training in Zen Buddhism,

which is simply a Buddhist extension of Taoism,

it all, Zen Buddhism arose

out of the marriage of Buddhism and Taoism

in the 5th century AD

and over the following centuries.

So they have a way of training you

so that you always act without choosing.

For example,

there was one day a leaky roof

and there were a couple of monks

attending the Zen master

and he said,

the roof is leaking.

One monk disappeared

and came back instantly with a sieve

and put it under the drips.

Another monk after some time

came back with a bucket.

The master praised the one

who brought the sieve.

Now,

the action wasn't exactly appropriate,

I mean,

you know,

to catching rain.

But the point was

that he was in the spirit

of the Zen discipline

by acting without choosing.

And you'll notice this

with certain people.

Certain people

never hesitate.

They always seem,

if something needs to be done,

they seem somehow

simply to grab something

and do it.

You know,

which is a kind of a Zen

capacity.

So what happens is this,

that the teacher of Zen

constantly throws curves

at his students

and puts them in dilemma situations

where they have to act immediately.

One of the things,

of course,

that you mustn't do

is rush

because rush

is a form of hesitation.

Rushing,

when a person rushes

to get a train,

he starts to fall over

his own feet.

See?

So it really holds him up.

It's like trying

to drive at high speed

through the water

with a blunt-nosed boat

at rush.

But now,

what he's trying to get

is a kind of a smooth,

unhesitating,

flowing action

that is the response

to the challenge.

And it must be done

in the,

with what is called

another use of this word

mu.

This is called

wu nian

in Chinese

or munen

in Japanese.

and this word

nian

is composed

of the character

meaning now

and the character

meaning

mind,

heart,

shin.

And so,

it has the meaning

of a thought

but especially

for us

it is well translated

by the psychological term

blocking.

You're blocking,

you say to someone

when they hesitate,

when they

dither,

when they

stop to choose.

So,

the attitude of mu nian

or wu nian

is

the unblocked mind

where

it doesn't hesitate

ever.

Just as the river

doesn't hesitate

when it flows

and just when you

clap your hands

the sound

comes out

without hesitation

and when the moon rises

the water

doesn't wait

to reflect it.

It reflects it instantly.

So,

that instant reflection

or it's a kind

of resonance

is

what is looked for

as a response

of the individual

to his environment.

And he does this

to the degree

that he knows himself

to be one

with his environment.

then his

capacity for response

increases

in according

to the way

in which he feels

that he is simply

all of a piece

with it

and not something

that is

in it

and with a barrier

around him

through which

messages have to get

and then their decisions

have to be made up

and sent out.

So then,

you could say

that a kind of

extremely subtle

sensory awareness

has to be developed

as between

the individual

and his environment

so that he

feels it out.

Now,

today,

this sort of talk

is very unpopular

because

scientifically-minded people

especially

academic scientists

those who teach

in universities

are

exceedingly

suspicious

of intuitive

reactions.

They say,

oh,

well,

you can get

into all sorts

of trouble

that way.

But the thing

that they neglect

to realize

is that

everybody

uses it.

Even the most

meticulously

careful,

analytical,

rigorous,

sound

scientist

uses

intuitive

judgment

after a certain

point.

Why?

Because

you may

accumulate

data forever

and you may

decide

that this is

on the whole

and taking

all due things

into consideration

and procedures

having been

worked out

that this is

the right thing

to do.

Why do you

decide then?

Mostly

because time's

up

and somebody's

pressing for a

decision

or else

you are

bored to death

with bringing

in data

because you

never know

much

how much

data you

need to

make a

certain

decision

and therefore

you may

go on

collecting

data

till all

is blue

but in

the last

analysis

you'll

work on

hunch

and so

much

is actually

in the

end

decided

by

flipping

coins

and the

pity

and the pity

of flipping

coins

for making

decisions

gives you

only two

choices

heads or

tails

one way

or the

other

the

Chinese

have a

more

subtle

way

of

flipping

coins

they

have a

method

of a

sided

coin

to flip

so that

instead of

just heads

or tails

there are

possibilities

of coming

to a

decision

when you

don't know

what to

do

this is

called

the

yijing

or the

book of

changes

where

the

symbols

of

yang

and yin

that is

to say

for yang

a straight

line

undivided

for yin

a line

broken in

the middle

there are

64 ways

of combining

6 of

these lines

in a

hexagram

and so

there is

a complex

method

when you

have to

make a

grave

decision

for

tossing

you do it

by tossing

sticks

or coins

and it

gives you

one of

these

figures

now if

you are

very wise

and have

studied

the book

of change

for a long

time

you don't

need to

use the

book

you just

look at

what the

figure is

and you

can tell

what it

means

because

you see

these

figures

are made

up

of

each

hexagram

figure

is made

up

of

two

three

fold

components

that

has

two

components

of

which

this

one

is

water

and

this

one

is

heaven

so

you

will

have

water

over

heaven

and

a

person

very

skilled

in

the

interpretation

will

feel

out

the

meaning

of

water

over

heaven

but

actually

if

you

are

not

so

skilled

there

is

the

book

and

for

each

of

these

hexagrams

the

book

has

an

oracle

and

it

tells

you

in

curiously

vague

and yet

curiously

precise

terms

the

meaning

of

this

hexagram

and

then

you

in

the

light

of

your

own

situation

make

up

your

mind

what

it's

saying

to

you

in

the

light

of

the

problem

that

you've

raised

the

question

that

you've

asked

the

decision

that

you

had

to

make

you

will

find

invariably

that

these

choices

are

one

of

them

or

indeed

all

of

them

but

you

have

to

pick

one

of

them

because

you

are

after

all

tossing

a

coin

but

it

has

some

peculiarly

appropriate

thing

to

today

in

Asia

this

book

is

still

widely

used

for

making

business

and

political

decisions

although

people

who

are

westernized

wouldn't

let on

perhaps

that

they

use

it

and

so

anybody

who

does

politics

or

does

business

with

Asia

should

be

completely

versed

in

this

book

to

know

what

sort

of

thinking

what

sort

of

approach

might

be

Instagram

had

fallen

when

a

certain

politician

had

made

a

decision

it

would

be

immensely

enlightening

as to

his

future

course

of

action

in

the

same

way

for

example

in

dealing

with

Hitler

our

strategists

I don't

know

if they

did

should

have

been

students

of

astrology

because

he

was

always

consulting

astrologers

and

therefore

astrology

would

be

much

more

easy

to

penetrate

than

horoscope

well

we

have

access

to

Hitler's

horoscope

and

so

we

know

what

he's

thinking

about

it

but

you

don't

have

access

to

what

hexagram

Mao Zedong

threw

when he

decided

to do

something

or

other

so

it's

a

little

bit

more

subtle

well

then

I'm

making

the

point

then

that

our

scientists

are

very

suspicion

that

science

has

of

intuitive

judgment

has

filtered

down

to

the

average

person

in

terms

of

a

mistrust

of

his

own

intuition

of

the

marvelous

analytical

powers

of

his

own

brain

and

so

we

are

always

in

a

dither

of

doubt

as

to

whether

we

are

behaving

the

right

way

doing

the

right

thing

and

so

on

and

so

forth

and

lack

a

certain

kind

of

self

confidence

and

if

you

see

you

lack

self

confidence

you

will

make

mistakes

through

sheer

fumbling

if

you

do

have

self

confidence

you

may

carry

get

away

with

doing

entirely

the

wrong

thing

the

British

have

an

enormous

degree

of

self

confidence

they

know

they're

right

and

they're

not

even

defending

themselves

they

know

they're

so

right

and

therefore

they

can

allow

any

kind

of

political

revolution

total

free

speech

all

sorts

of

things

can

go

on

which

make

Americans

very

nervous

because

Americans

don't

have

the

same

degree

of

aplomb

they're

not

quite

sure

you

see

when

you're

an

aristocrat

and

you've

been

brought

up

for

generations

in

the

right

schools

and

there's

never

any

doubt

whatsoever

you

don't

even

have

to

mention

the

fact

that

you're

an

aristocrat

see

I mean

that's

why

aristocrats

know

how

to

treat

servants

but

they

never

take

it

out

on

their

servants

in

the

sense

of

having

to

emphasize

their

own

superiority

because

they

know

they're

superior

they

don't

even

question

it

see

well

this

is

extraordinary

kind

of

nerve

that

they've

built

up

and

so

the

you know

you

can

do

this

is

first

of

all

in

zen

practice

the

thing

that

you

have

to

understand

is

this

you

have

to

regard

yourself

as

a

cloud

in

the

flesh

because

you

see

clouds

never

make

mistakes

did

you

ever

see

a

cloud

that

was

misshapen

did

you

ever

see

a

badly

designed

wave

no

they

always

do

the

right

just

like

clouds

and

waves

only

we

have

complicated

games

which

cause

us

to

doubt

ourselves

but

if

you

will

treat

yourself

for

a

while

as

a

cloud

or

wave

and

realize

that

you

can't

make

a

mistake

whatever

you

do

because

even

if

you

do

something

that

seems

to

be

totally

disastrous

it

will

come

out

in

and

through

confidence

you

will

be

able

to

trust

your

own

intuition

only

the

thing

that

you

are

a

Buddha

anyhow

and

I'm

going

to

prove

I'm

a

Buddha

anyhow

by

breaking

all

the

rules

so

you

peddle

on

the

weirdest

filthiest

clothes

and

you

go

and

steal

things

and

all

kinds

of

things

like

that

that's

overdoing

it

that

shows

that

you

haven't

learned

you

don't

you're

overcompensating

because

before

you were

told to

do this

do that

and the

other

and watch

and be

self

conscious

and nervous

and so

on

and so

you

just

go

to

the

other

extreme

but

this

is

the

middle

way

of

knowing

it

has

nothing

to

do

with

your

decision

to

do

this

or

not

whether

you

decide

that

you

can't

make

a

mistake

or

whether

you

don't

decide

it

it's

true

anyway

that

you

are

like

cloud

and

water

and

through

that

realization

without

overcompensating

in the

other

direction

you

brain

but

at

that

level

you

are

supra

personal

that

is

to

say

when

you

realize

that

you

stand

here

as

a

body

it's

as

if

you

see

there

was

according

to

certain

cosmology

cosmological

theories

today

a primordial

explosion

which

blew

up

and

created

the

over

the

place

there's

a

big

blob

in

the

center

and

then

as

it

goes

out

it

that

originally

happened

that

in

a

certain

sense

is

in

you

are

still

manifesting

it

you

see

so

when

you

consider

yourself

as

a

physical

being

consider

this

hand

it

is

very

ancient

just like

you pick

up a

stone

how old

is

the stone

well

scientists

will say

well

it's

about

comes

from

the

plasticine

age

and it's

probably

you

know

four

million

years

old

but

then

you

think

well

wait a

minute

wait a

minute

you

mean

four

million

years

old

where

did

it

come

from

what

was

it

before

it

was

a

stone

well

it

was

something

or

other

and that

goes

back

you

see

so

everything

you

touch

including

yourself

is

incredibly

ancient

goes

back

to the

very

beginning

of

time

so

if

you

mind

awakens

you

suddenly

see

all

your

friends

sitting

around

you

looking

incredibly

ancient

I

was

there

from

the

beginning