On top of this, when California had a massive budgetary surplus, the people spent it left and right, saving none for an economic downturn. Should I laugh or cry? My kids as toddlers had a better sense of frugality than many adults these days. I can only guess that this is due to the habits ‘taught’ in an extremely affluent culture like ours. It was different in the old pre-capitalist days of famine and serious want. Back then, people were motivated to save surpluses.

This is yet another example, if one were needed, of our core animal nature. We are irrational and emotional just like every other creature on earth. We would like to have it both way; we want to have our cake and eat it too. Chapter 70 speaks to our irrational predicament:

My words are very easy to understand and very easy to put into practice, yet no one in the world can understand them or put them into practice.

I think, if asked, most people do understand ‘that one must pay for what one gets’. It is natural common sense, right? Yet, the urge to get something for nothing is irresistible⁽¹⁾. Credit (cards and the rest) imparts a sense of ‘free’ because you get your desires met now, but postpone payment. Free is one of the most emotionally enticing words we use. Free is also illusionary! Capitalism, because it is based on growth rather than conservation, probably ties into all this. And, endless growth, like ‘free’, is an illusion. Natural processes are based upon balance, with a little ‘growth’ (decay later) and ‘free’ (payment later) thrown in to make Great perfection seems chipped.

⁽¹⁾ The overpowering desire to get something for nothing drives us to conjure up by-paths that make us feel we can. An good example of this is the idea of taxing the ‘rich greedy corporations’. That either forces a corporation to move out of state, pass on the tax increases on to customers (us) through higher prices, or make its business less competitive in the global market place and so lay off workers (us). Getting something the easy way is a healthy instinct in the wild. I reckon the core driver of human civilization has always been to make life as easy as possible. However a blind obsessive focus on getting it the easy way has consequences that make life much more difficult in the long run. In the end, balance will always be maintained. It is the way of heaven. There is no free lunch, despite all our rationalization to the contrary. Joke’s on us!

“The slime mold has no central brain or indeed any awareness of the overall problem it is trying to solve, but manages to produce a structure with similar properties to the real rail network…” [This behavior] “is really difficult to capture by words,”

This exemplifies the impetus to maintain self integrity I discussed in my last post on Extinguishing Self. I see this impetus as extending throughout creation; it is the driving force to be, do, and succeed, and results in feats of engineering in humans and slime molds alike.

On the surface, humans and slime molds appear vastly different. Viewed more deeply, the only significant difference I see is that we think that we know whereas the mold just knows without thinking that it knows. Seeing ourselves special (e.g., wise and intelligent beings created in God’s image and such), we lack the humility to see the sameness we share with the rest of creation and suffer as a consequence. Ah, to return to the innocent humble bliss of the slim mold.

Seriously though, Karma could provide a way back to that innocent bliss. Although, the hitch here is that ‘returning’ (as opposed to moving ‘up’) is traditionally viewed as a consequence of bad action in life (i.e.,bad Karma). Of course, I imagine just the opposite would be the view from a slim mold’s paradigm. Its version of Karma: Being moved ‘up’ in the next life to a thinking human state as a consequence of its bad actions.

Of course that’s silly, but so are the irrational ideals of good, bad, beautiful and ugly. Ideals like these are simply our projections of what pleases (attraction) or pains (repulsion). Indeed, I see no good, beautiful, bad or ugly in Nature, either in the wild or in humanity. Sure, we humans do some pretty ugly repulsive things to each other and nature, but these are only symptoms of underlying imbalance, not the result of malfunctioning ‘free will‘ or temptations of the devil. Wasn’t it Christ who said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). The Taoist version of that could be, It is because people are ignorant that they fail to understand me.

“What is self in the first place?”

Let’s consider self in the largest possible sense of the word. In biology there is the concept of emergent properties where simple structures, processes, and order, form a foundational pattern upon which more complex structures, processes and order emerge. I see this principle at work, not only in biology, but throughout existence. Indeed, what is biology but an emergent property of some more primordial order? It is helpful, then, to think of self as just such an emergent property, not only of biology, but also of something much more universal that extends from the present back to antiquity.

Taking this a step further, it is helpful to see the natural impetus in all things to maintain a kind of ’self’ integrity: From the impetus that keeps an atom of hydrogen stable (more or less) to the impetus that keeps the human heart pumping away. In all things, this impetus to maintain self integrity is un-self-conscious, like a baby that has not yet learned to smile. The atom doesn’t think it has to ‘keep it together’, and neither does the heart as it pumps its life away. The worm, the tree, the crow all feel the impetus to ‘keep it together’… to survive, but none think they should. There is impetus to ‘just do it’, without any thoughts of choice or otherwise. Humans are somewhat different, at least on the surface.

The emergent property of mind knows ‘I am’

We experience an emergent property of thought – the mind. We are able to think that we know. One of the earliest things we think that we know is “I am”. All the while, however, the impetus to maintain self integrity (survival) is pulling the strings. Moreover, the more certain one is of “I am”, the harder it is to know and identify that which is pulling the strings. About 400 years ago, the belief in “I am” got a real boost in the Western world from Descartes’ I think, therefore I am; or I am thinking, therefore I exist. From a Taoist point of view, such certainty is just asking for trouble. As chapter 71 puts it:

To know yet to think that one does not know is best;
Not to know yet to think that one knows will lead to difficulty

Seeing all we think and do as an emergent property of something ancient, if not eternal, can be very helpful once you can ‘feel it in your bones’. On the other hand, thinking “I am”, and the other ideals and beliefs we hold, are true and real in their own right leads to never ending difficulty. For example, the idea of God points to a darkly visible, it only seems as if it were there, something. Alas, the ‘naming of’, and ‘believing in’, creates a never ending focal point for division and strife. (Then again, being a tribal species, I guess we ‘need’ something to fight over.)

Buddha’s Second Noble Truth states that, The illusion of self originates and manifests itself in a cleaving to things. The Third and Fourth go on to say that conquering self, extinguishing self and self disappearing will end suffering. Finally he gives us the Eight Fold Path as a means to accomplish this self disappearance. The question is, does this set up an ideal that is impossible to achieve? As always, does believing this create unnecessary difficulty for ourselves? Are we shooting ourselves in the foot? (Then again, being a somewhat neurotic ape, perhaps we ‘need’ something by which to shoot ourselves in the foot.)

Up to this point we see that the idea of self is perhaps just an emergent property of a simpler universal reality. This gives some clues on our goal of extinguishing self. From here it will help to examine the ideal of extinguishing self from an emergent property point of view.

The Ideal is an emergent property of what?

Ideals themselves can also be seen as emergent properties, not only of biology, but also of something more primordial. It is not an accidental whim of nature that human thought is rife with ideals: spiritual, political, romantic, health, intelligence, knowledge, sports… you name it! Ideals provide the direction for our actions, our self actualization. Question: All these ideals are an emergent property of what?

First, let’s review: In biology there is the concept of emergent properties where primary structures, processes and order form a foundational pattern upon which more complex structures, processes and order emerge. I see this principle at work throughout Nature. The only primary ‘ideal’ I see in Nature, as a whole, is balance. This is the ‘ideal’ around which the impetus to maintain self integrity of all things works. Likewise, nature’s core ‘ideal’ of balance serves as the foundation out of which all human ideals emerge. (Whoa! That’s a big chuck to bite off, I’ll admit. Let’s bite of an even bigger one!)

The ideal of balance underlying the impetus of Nature to balance itself can never be realized! Achieving a state of perfect balance is made more perfect by allowing for (incorporating) imbalance. In other words perfect balance is counter balanced by some degree of imbalance. The ideal can never be reached for reaching it would become ‘one sided’, i.e., perfect and complete balance is essentially imbalanced. It is not the ‘whole picture’ for it abandons imbalance. Ah yes, straightforward words seem paradoxical. Not surprisingly, the Tao Te Ching puts this principle more poetically: Great perfection seems chipped, Yet use will not wear it out.

The how of extinguishing self

We have finally come to the how of extinguishing self. The warning above gave us a clue (i.e., To know yet to think that one does not know is best; Not to know yet to think that one knows will lead to difficulty.) The question is, how can one know and yet think they don’t? This really boils down to the depth of your faith in names and words. The more faith in names and words you have, the further from the constant you will necessarily be… or again, is it the other way around? They seem to go hand in hand; are they are the same thing?

Chapter 56 gives us more clues: One who knows does not speak [thinks, writes]; one who speaks [thinks, writes] does not know. I added ‘thinks, writes’ as those are all interconnected with ’speaks’. To put this in an emergent property context: first comes think, then speak, then write. Chapter 56 advices us to “Shut the doors, Blunt the sharpness; Untangle the knots; Soften the glare” and so on. To me, these are all metaphorical for softening faith in names and words. Next is the idea of “mysterious sameness”, which points to the illusion of difference. The illusion of difference being essential to maintain meaning and faith in names and words.

Okay, I’ll admit, we are only beating around the bush of the why and the how of extinguishing self. This may be as far as we can go. Buddha’s Second Noble Truth perhaps show us why. Namely, The illusion of self originates and manifests itself in a cleaving to things. Words, names, ideals, beliefs are all things to which we can cling to in order to maintain our sense of self. Yet, as we have seen, even absent these things, we would still experience the primary property of an un-self-conscious self. The illusion of self, itself, is a natural emergent property. Any notion of ridding ourselves of it, is itself a delusionary ideal. Round and round we go!

This brings us back to the only escape I have found: mysterious sameness. The more I can see similarity in all things, the softer and more muddled my faith becomes in apparent differences (word, names, beliefs, ideals). I’m able to be more like other animals, less dominated by that which so easily throws me off balance (again, words, names, beliefs, ideals). This is as close to “A How-To for Extinguishing Self” I’ve come.

Perhaps chapter 36 offers the best view of the ‘how’ extinguishing self plays out in each of us.

If you would have a thing shrink,
You must first stretch it;
If you would have a thing weakened,
You must first strengthen it;
If you would have a thing laid aside,
You must first set it up;
If you would take from a thing,
You must first give to it.
This is called subtle discernment:
The submissive and weak will overcome the hard and strong.

Eligible bachelors

There is a curious thing I notice in the life of my two sons. They are not chasing girls like I was at their age. They aren’t gay either, so what gives? I look back on my youthful lust and see a disconnected lad looking for companionship that my ‘independent’ upbringing (plus innate nature, I suppose) never provided. All I ever really wanted was intimacy and acceptance. And the only path to that deeper sense of connection was through a boy-girl relationship. That was true of my wife and most everyone I know (especially in Western cultures). Ironically, our culture’s love of ‘independence and self reliance’ actually leave its people with just the opposite, deep down anyway.

The radically different path my sons seem to be on is not that surprising when considered from a symptoms point of view. The boys get a level of acceptance and intimacy from me and my wife that only a ‘taoist’ paradigm can give. (Note, my use of small ‘t’ ‘taoist’, not Taoist.) They never felt the need to rebel as teenagers; how can you rebel against a ‘taoist’ point of view; how can one push back against nothing? By not pushing self reliance on them, self reliance happened to them naturally. In other words, to paraphrase chapter 2: It is because we lay claim to no self reliance, that self reliance never deserts us.

True, we do have a family business which gives them something to sink their teeth into. Also, I gladly let them take on any level of responsibility they wish (something neither my parents, nor any I knew, seem willing to do; parents want to maintain control). Come to think of it, a sense of responsibility also conforms to the view that we often get just the opposite of what we push for. Or, to paraphrase chapter 22: He does not consider himself responsible, and so is illustrious (i.e., responsible).

Much of what parents do in raising their children is in reaction to, and symptomatic of,  their needs and fears. I find most people need to think they are in control (i.e., free will), and end up pushing that ’story’ onto their kids. Teenager then just end up rebelling against this projection of parental expectations. Our vain struggle for free will and choice is such a waste of time and energy. I find I waste much less, now that I understand that my actions (or inactions) are simply reactions – symptoms of deeper causes. Being aware of this moment – to – moment ‘karma’, I can not help but be more tentative, hesitant, and vacant like a valley.

So when will my sons find their “significant others”? Unlike me, I am guessing they will seek a mate in earnest only when they feel the real inner pull to have a family of their own. Hmm, I better keep taking good care of myself if I ever want to see grandchildren!

Background
Memories become dimmer as the years fly by. Many are even too misty to write down without filling in the voids with poetic license (fiction). Still, I’ve set out to fetch what memories remain before they fade any further. See: The Further One Goes for background on this ‘Times of Yore’ series.

Leaving Meiji park after yoga

After settling down in Tokyo, I began going the humungous Meiji park to do yoga in the morning before work. While standing on my head and watching people walking off in the distance, I noticed something very odd. The people had an obvious bob in their gate as they walked. Initially I wondered if they were walking that way on purpose for I’d never seen such a sight before. Then I realized I’d never actually watched people walking while doing the headstand.

All it took for me to see our human way of walking as it actually occurs was a 180 degree (upside down) change of perspective. These days it is difficult for me to notice this ‘bob’ in people, when I do yoga down at the beach. The novelty wore off; I guess familiarity breeds blindness.

The moral here for me: I must counteract familiarity to see the world anew, and sometimes to even see the world as it may actually be. So pray tell, how can I counteract familiarity?

Trusting language (words and names) helps impart a sense of familiarity. The more I trust it, the more readily I think that one know. The upside: This makes me feel more secure with ‘reality’. The downside: This deaden my proper sense of awe.

I say, give me a sense of awe any day!  Mystery upon mystery – The gateway of the manifold secrets.

Keeping mindful of this tendency is invaluable. Conscientiously done, life turns out much better than otherwise I find. For me, chapter 14 speaks to this:

Hold fast to the way of antiquity
In order to keep in control the realm of today.
The ability to know the beginning of antiquity
Is called the thread running through the way.

So, what about the future. Shouldn’t we look ahead for potential opportunity or dangers which lie there? Actually, the real opportunities and dangers are found in the present. Being here in the moment is the best way to take advantage of opportunity and avoid danger. The future actually does take care of itself when I am fully engaging in the present. For me, chapter 64 speak to this perfectly:

It is easy to maintain a situation while it is still secure;
It is easy to deal with a situation before symptoms develop;
It is easy to break a thing when it is yet britle;
It is easy to dissolve a thing while it is yet minute.
Deal with a thing while it is still nothing;
Keep a thing in order before disorder sets in.

Looking out to the future actually robs from the present, and besides:

Foreknowledge is the flowery embellishment of the way, and the beginning of folly.

Speaking of foreknowledge, I tried my hand at foretelling it for awhile. In the 70’s I learned to read palms, cast horoscopes, do the I-ching, Tarot cards and a few other things. The most fascinating part of it was how people reacted to me telling them their past, present and future. Those that had faith from the start in what I was doing not only bought every word, but often amplified it. They believed!

Those who didn’t have faith from the start were less than convinced and neutral at best. It only went to show how our expectations play a huge role in how and what we see. Anything that seems to support our expectations reinforces them, and anything that doesn’t we usually discount heavily or ignore.

Never-the-less, cultures place great importance on the teacher, so what makes for a good teacher? Usually the answer centers on how capable the teacher is, and their command of the material. However, after home schooling my kids, I discovered the more important, yet under-recognized, side of teaching lay deeper.

Home schooling turned out well for my children. This was obviously not due to my command of the material. Sure, in some areas I have sufficiently knowledge, in others just minimal. Either way, I never really ‘taught’ them much of anything, at least overtly. The key to my ‘teaching’ success was simply not getting in their way! That allowed them to follow their curiosity. However, that doesn’t mean total laze fare. I was ‘right there’, but in a shadowy presence kind of way.

For example, Luke was learning computer programming, and whenever he ran into ‘insurmountable’ difficulty he would come to me. I know next to nothing factual on the subject; I would just be a sounding board, occasionally asking questions, or offering observations, based upon my overall life experience. It is amazing how well this approach actually works. The only true requirement was being patient and connected (i.e., generally curious and interested).

In fact, I reckon my sons have learned what they know more through what I didn’t say than anything I said. Does this have anything to do with the teaching that uses no words? I suppose, though even calling it that can become misleading.

Knowing when not to say something (teach) is most important, by far. That allows one to stumble as a child, which is how we all learn to walk and talk! Just imagine if your parents had hovered over you correcting every misstep as you learned to walk or to talk? Not fun! Not helpful! Not efficient! Doing it ‘wrong’ is essential part of finding how to do it ‘right’. Robbing them of that opportunity, while it might have felt helpful, I knew would actually hinder them.

I only set the overall tone of the environment, and refrained from micromanaging anything. This, allowed them to take on as much responsibility as they wished, no more and no less. This let them fulfill whatever innate potential they had. As our good book says, do not constrict their living space; do not press down on their means of livelihood. It is because you do not press down on them that they will not weary of the burden.

All things considered, I reckon that the social component accounts for 99% in teaching, while the teacher’s command of the material just 1%. This makes sense if you accept the proposition that one can only understand what one already knows intuitively. Granted, that is an impossible pill to swallow in a culture, like ours, that sees students as empty vessels into which knowledge can somehow be poured. Rather than pour knowledge in, the trick is to have conducive social circumstances which draw on a student’s thirst and intuitive knowing. Objective understanding and know-how come in due course naturally.

Finally let’s go back to the question of thirst, and whether a person truly wants to learn, or is thirsty for something else. They say it is better to teach a man to fish than give him a fish. But, what if he rather be given a fish than be taught? The former, being given a fish, is perhaps far more common, 99% to 1% more common in fact. Giving and receiving fish is a far more socially achievable relationship than giving and receiving a teaching. Furthermore, our deepest need (thirst), bar none, is for social connection, not for knowledge per se. Yet knowledge is held in the highest esteem; knowledge is power! All that is needed to bypass this kink in the way is sufficient cultural hoodwinking to make receiving of fish appear like receiving of teaching. Yep, a lot of hoodwinking goes on in human social interactions.

Back in the late 70’s I began teaching yoga. I soon noticed how many of my students began to see me as their guru. I was trying to teach them the yoga equivalent of teach a man to fish. Most weren’t thirsty for that; they wanted the yoga equivalent of being given a fish, and seeing me a their guru was one way to get that. I’m not saying this was intentional on their part. Far from it; it was simply innate social (tribal) dynamics. Personally, I couldn’t oblige them, and couldn’t help but do what I could to discourage it. Alas, I wasn’t thirsty for that type of teacher/student relationship⁽¹⁾. I suppose I am drawn to neither ‘a leader or a follower be’; ‘neither a hood-winker or hood-winkee be’. Perhaps…

I alone am foolish and uncouth.
I alone am different from others
And value being fed by the mother.

⁽¹⁾ That changed some with my own family and kids though. As a father, I naturally fell into the role of leader and teacher, albeit in a shadowy presence kind of way. I imagine that civilization is just too ‘mega’ for me to feel connected. A small hunter gather group around 20,000 b.c. would have been more my speed.

Background
Memories become dimmer as the years fly by. Many are even too misty to write down without filling in the voids with poetic license (fiction). Still, I’ve set out to fetch what memories remain before they fade any further. See: The Further One Goes for background on this ‘Times of Yore’ series.