Enjoy What You Do – or – Do What You Enjoy?

A tricky part of life lies in how our biology constantly pushes us to do what we enjoy and pulls us away from what we don’t enjoy. This makes work feel like ‘work’. Peace and contentment come when work feels truly meaningful, if not enjoyable. Here, work and rest can feel mysteriously the same, to quote chapter 56.

Understanding how biology pushes and pulls us is helpful. However, as chapter 70 reminds us, 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.  Being constantly aware of biology’s push-pull hoodwink is the challenge we face. This is where knowledge parts company with intuitive knowing. Knowledge can be stored in memory. Intuitive knowing is alive, concurrent with each moment. Chapter 2’s practices the teaching that uses no words speaks to this — the kind of teaching that is the living truth in each moment. Once we recognize this knowledge vs. knowing issue, how do we tackle it?  That is the real question!

The difficulty here is that we are attempting to buck biology. Simply put, biology trumps knowledge! Only concurrent intuitive knowing has a chance at intercepting the biological urge to do what we enjoy. Reflection on Buddha’s ‘Right Comprehension’ and ‘Right Resolution’ helps. Yet, best of all may be the Taoist tip, Do without doing (‘wei wu wei’ -为无为). This riddle is worth puzzling over because it can pull us deeper toward the teaching that uses no words!

A tricky part of life lies in how our biology always pushes us to do what we enjoy and pulls us away from what we don’t enjoy. This makes work feel like ‘work’. Peace and contentment come when work feels meaningful, if not enjoyable. Here, work and rest can feel mysteriously the same, to quote chapter 56. (graphic: do without doing)

Understanding how biology pushes and pulls us is helpful. Being constantly aware of this biological hoodwinking is the real problem. This is where knowledge is different from intuitive knowing. Knowledge can be stored in memory. Intuitive knowing is alive, concurrent with each moment. Chapter 2’s practices the teaching that uses no words speaks to this — the kind of teaching that is the living truth in each moment. Once we realize this understanding vs. intuitive knowing problem, how do we resolve it? That’s the real question! As chapter 70 reminds us, 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.

The difficulty here is that we’re attempting to buck biology. Simply put, biology trumps knowledge! Only concurrent intuitive knowing has a chance at intercepting the biological urge to do what we enjoy. Reflection on Buddha’s ‘Right Comprehension’ and ‘Right Resolution’ helps. However, best of all may be the Taoist tip, Do without doing (‘wei wu wei’ -为无为). This riddle is worth puzzling over because it can pull us deeper toward the teaching that uses no words!