This, our briefest chapter, evokes the deepest emotions within me. Possibly because there are fewer words to get in the way. Pondering it this time (particularly: Weakness is the means the way employs) brings me to tears... well actually some sobbing. It strikes me so poignant how we, in life, struggle to be strong, to win, succeed, measure up... when in truth we are pushing against an inexorable weakness within. Weakness is profound... a gateway to mystery.

I've done Yoga (the vigorous Iyengar style) for forty plus years, but only within the last few, did I realize how deeply weakness was the actual foundation of my practice. Weakness was the key. Before that, Yoga was an 'ego' thing where I was struggling to succeed, win and measure up; Yoga was a way to deny weakness and foster an illusion of strength.

Nothing has really changed in my practice, externally speaking. But internally, the competitive forces have been largely replaced by surrender and yielding to the weakness within. Weakness is eternal, strength is passing, or as they say, "the bigger they are the harder they fall".

Most of my life's blunders occur from getting ahead of myself and racing forward into an imagined future (thanks brain). An ever deepening faith that Turning back is how the way moves helps me look in the right direction to find peace.

Finally, while Something and Nothing produce each other, portrays the general Taoist viewpoint, Something from Nothing helps prioritize things. It is as though there are two nothings being spoken about. One is a Nothing than we can know in juxtaposition to Something. The 'deeper' Nothing points to the nameless and primordial - the origin of Something from Nothing. It's like Nothing yet it's not Nothing. Words fail, only feelings of awe remain.

I can see where many, including myself might first have problems with the concept of accepting 'weakness' in our lives, but only because we're focusing on the word 'weakness' which is really just a word, a convenient term to describe a myriad of conditions. Athel;etes destroy their bodies to avoid 'weakness', but the meek (or weak) shall inherit the earth, y'know...

studying shaolin kempo, i've learned, i'll never be the strongest martial artist, but in acknowledging my weaknesses, i grow stronger.

Hi AnthropologistCarl,

For me, truth is universal. The various modes of human perception and conception account for the various presentations, e.g., Christian vs Taoist. Much more tumultuous is the effect our innate tribal instincts (social biology) have on religion. All the denominations and the bickering stem from that parochialism and/or fear. Ecumenicalism is a wonderful ideal, but sad to say, human biology will always stand in the way... ... sigh.

Naturally, "the way" is the "The Way". The only difference is the capital letters T & W. When we capitalize, we are in effect bringing elitist instincts into play, resulting in the plain old way vs. The Way. The Taoist view points to a universal 'lower position' - the plain old way - which reaches left as well as right and is all inclusive. No one goes to 'hell'. On the other hand, claiming, "I follow The Way" can infer that others don't. The Taoist view would be that we... all things, organic and inorganic... follow 'the way' in a kind of "mysterious sameness". Saying "the way" makes hubris and bigotry a little less likely.

I can interpret and fit the first two Scriptural passages effortlessly into a Taoist view. The third one is more of a stretch and could allow one to project one's agenda. It's all about interpretation, which is simply a reflection of who we are. I suppose a religion can only become popular if it has an extensive body of Scripture which lends itself easily to various interpretations and selective readings.

For example, the old Testament says "An eye for eye", while Jesus says "turn the other check". As a Christian you can hang your hat on either the former if you want revenge, or the latter if you seek the 'lower position'. Jesus's statement correlates to the Taoist view. Thus, had they just made the bible limited to the Gospels, Christianity would probably not be any more popular that Taoism, the superstitious 'hocus pocos' of China's peasant 'Taoism' notwithstanding. By giving folks a means to rationalize and act on their instincts and emotions makes for a 'big tent' religion which can accommodate more folks.

Lynn Cornish:

Ah ha! 'Turning back is how the way moves' reminds me of your email:

'Returning' refers to how we sense life flow. It's boils down to being
either forwards or 'returning' or a combination of the two. A sense of
'returning' conveys a sense of eternity. Going forward conveys the
promise of things to come and an illusion of the happiness that will
bring.

I really appreciate your instructions to let this resonate, because it's pretty mind boggling. Perhaps it's purposefully so, hmmm?

Yes, exactly, Taoist 'thought' aims to help us pass through the 'prison of thought' which the mind 'cooks up' from years of conditioning circumstances (education) in conjunction with our innate responses to stimuli (instinct). Liberation from our fear (instinct) bound self centric view (education) is the promise.

Most folks are content with life in this 'prison' so have little interest in 'boggling their mind' to free it. The burden of this inherently lonely journey is eased by the companionship of fellow travelers. We hope this web site can give a place for us to gather without having to all go share a monastic life on some mountain top. Maybe we can make this our virtual monastery.