• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

CenterTao.org

taoism, taoist thought, buddha, yoga, tai chi, shakuhachi

  • Home
  • Tao Te Ching
  • Ways
  • Facebook Group
  • Blowing Zen

Seeking Out Untruth

It is striking how we humans relentlessly search for truth, and when we think we have it, how tenacious we hang on to our version of it. Politics and religion have always been fertile fields for this obsession. Not surprisingly, these are two sides of one tribal coin. Indeed, not long ago, they were one and the same; the emperors, kings, pharaohs all held the chief religious role in most every culture’s politics.

Are things so different in this current era of democracy? Scratch the surface and you will see the same tribal instinct driving people’s behavior on both branches of the tribal tree—the fervent political and religious branches. Politics and religion are both social hot spots when it comes to truth vs. instinct.

By instinct, I refer to the emotional ties we have to the story we feel portrays reality. Our own personal needs and fears (desires, worries, and insecurities) provide the emotional energy that locks us into our beliefs… our version of reality. As social animals, we feel a deep need for fairness, which urges us to be on the righteous side of life, so to speak. This generates our sense of good and evil, morality and justice, and even love and hate.

By truth, I refer to the balanced view chapter 16 describes… Knowing the constant allows, allowing therefore impartial, and perhaps even Buddha’s Right Comprehension of life’s actuality. Such actuality always conforms to the changing ebb and flow of nature we experience… and usually resist. Obviously, this definition of truth challenges every dogma that both political and religious ideology requires. In short, any truth that appeals to the bias of emotion can’t be a constant truth! As chapter 32 says, The way constant is without name… or as chapter 55 hints, Knowing harmony is called the constant. Knowing the constant is called clear and honest.

Science and Buddha

Science comes closer to revealing the impartial truth of actuality when compared to anything else we do. In my view, Buddha’s four truths qualify as genuine science. Their elegant simplicity allows us to prove them empirically, wholly or in part, through our personal experience. This means proof here lies in our life’s pudding, not in a lab’s double blind experiment. The evidence is abundant and clear, so all one needs is the courage to see the actuality of ‘what is so’… or at least an interest to look. The only prerequisite required is the grist of life experience, and what you discover often defies what passes for common sense. As chapter 40 suggests, In the opposite direction, of the way moves. Loss through death, of the way uses. All under heaven is born in having, Having is born in nothing.

 So, Why Isn’t Everyone a ‘buddhist’?

I have wondered sometimes why more people weren’t small ‘b’ Buddhists, similar to the idea of Small ‘t’ Taoist. (p.154). Sure, I understand why the Taoist worldview doesn’t resonate with most folks. The Tao Te Ching is particularly revolutionary. It is also too obscure and unstructured to excite and support tribal instincts. One can’t really be a proud Taoist. On the other hand, Buddha’s core views are as clear as day, and not the least metaphysical or philosophical, although I suppose they are also revolutionary.

In view of this, I have tried over the years to understand why my old friend Andy isn’t able to get on board with Buddha’s truths (see Letters to Andy). I’ve dreamed up various hypotheses, but none ever held up. Now I think I know. In discussing life recently, he said, “I never inspect my life the way you do”. This struck me as very odd because he is very curious and science minded about life in general.

I suppose this means Andy is not innately introspective enough to notice subtle internal changes over time. This may help explain why he just doesn’t seem to “get” Buddha, as he says. What has become so obviously true for me over my lifetime doesn’t ring true for him because he has not gathered a long-term sense of his inner experience of life. This sense is certainly essential for verifying Buddha’s truths.

So, what does Andy see instead to make sense of life? External facts and knowledge inform more of his sense of the world, while I rely on my experience mostly and scientific knowledge only secondarily for clues. In a way, he looks to an authority for truth, while I look inwardly for truth. I guess I am an anarchist, but in the most basic sense of the word: “Medieval Latin anarchia, from Greek, from anarchos having no ruler, from an- + archos ruler”. I simply don’t look to any authority or ‘rule-r’ for truth.

Of course, this is not a matter of choice. People don’t choose to be extrovert or introvert, extrospective or introspective. Neither one is the constant way, in truth. Andy is innately the way he is, just as I am innately the way I am. This exemplifies the complementary aspect of our relationship. As chapter 2 puts it,

Hence existence and nothing give birth to one another, Difficult and easy become one another,
Long and short form one another, High and low incline to one another,
Sound and tone blend with one another, Front and back follow one another

Andy uses external authoritative data extensively to resolve existential questions. Perhaps most people do. We are a social species, which means tribal hierarchical instinct pulls people to follow the “masters” whether or not they truly comprehend the “message”. It is more political than spiritual, in the simplest and most natural sense of those words. Then there are outliers, which probably means you if you’re still reading this.

The Taoist Devil

Where then does the Taoist point of view lie in all this? Is it political, as some might say? Is it religious, philosophical, or perhaps scientific? Certainly, Taoist views can apply to all these spheres. Although ultimately, the Taoist point of view can’t qualify as religious, political, or scientific. Its reverence for the emptiness, unnamed and unspoken, and for a pre-thought and pre-language mystery, puts it outside the box of normal human ideas. Naturally enough, this makes it unpalatable to most. As chapter 39 hints, The high take low as the base. This, and so rulers call themselves solitary, scant, pathetic. Is this not taking the lowly as a foundation of heresy? No. Extreme fame is without fame.

Essentially, a Taoist worldview seeks out untruth. Truth, as this Taoist sees it, is ‘not this’ and ‘not that’. It is a way that flows through, behind, above, below, left and right. It encompasses both beauty and ugliness, good and evil. You can’t put your finger on it, as chapter 1 points out. At best, you can only put your finger on what it isn’t. You can think of this as a devil’s advocacy for what isn’t the truth. What else can it be, given chapter 10’s question, When understanding reaches its full extent, can you know nothing? (1)

Realizing we can’t know truth is impossible to learn and store away as just another educational fact to retrieve when needed. This act of realizing requires constant tending to, like tending a garden or parenting an infant. Turn your back for an instant and realizing slips out of sight. The only way to keep comprehension alive is to re-verify it continuously. For me, that means seeking out untruth. This is easy to do and just boils down to this: If you can put your finger on it, it isn’t the truth. If it stirs up any emotion, it isn’t the truth. As chapter 71 reminds us,

Realizing I don’t’ know is better; not knowing this knowing is disease.
Man alone faults this disease; this so as not to be ill.
The sacred person is not ill, taking his disease as illness.
Man alone has this disease; this is because to him there is no illness.

(1) I find life to be a process of pursuing one thing after another toward what promises to be the answer. Each dead-end then pulls me yet deeper into what chapter 14 describes as, Unending, it cannot be named, and again returns to no-thing. Ironically, seeking truth only ends up finding untruth. As chapter 1 reminds, “The way possible to think, runs counter to the constant way”.

 

May 31, 2013 by Carl Abbott
Filed Under: Observations

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Monthly Chapter 67 (pandemic era)

See previous chapter postings

Search

Overview

Is Taoism a Religion?   Read more...
What is Taoist thought?   Read more...
What is the root of thought? Read more...

Who is CenterTao?

CenterTao is a non-profit corporation founded in 1982.     Read more...

Subscribe via Email

Tags

addiction balance belief bio-hoodwink Buddha children civilization consciousness desire ego emergent property emotion expectations fairness instinct family fear food freedom freewill future happy hunter gatherer imagination independance instinct knowing language learning mind mysterious sameness need parents pleasure v pain religion responsibility science stress symptoms point of view tai chi tao thinking understanding what is tao worry yoga

Recent Comments

  • Carl Abbott on Alleviating the Hoarding Disorder
  • Carl Abbott on Instinctive Free Will
  • Cindy Givogue on Taoist Thought
  • Erin on Alleviating the Hoarding Disorder
  • Carl Abbott on Small ‘t’ Taoists
  • J on Small ‘t’ Taoists
  • Carl Abbott on Buddha’s Truths Pertain To All Life
  • NoahPayne95 on Trump and the Mandate of Heaven
  • Peter on Buddha’s Truths Pertain To All Life
  • Ariel Avalos on The best tao? (road, way, principle, speak, think)

Past Observations

  • Taoist Thought
  • The Tradeoff
  • Buddha’s Truths Pertain To All Life
  • Trump and the Mandate of Heaven
  • Refreshing Redundancy
  • The Year Is 1915
  • We All Know We Don’t Know
  • Who are you? (Part V)
  • Who are you? (Part IV)
  • Who are you? (Part III)
  • Who are you? (Part II)
  • Who are you?
  • The Word Trap
  • Stressors of Comfort and Security
  • “Right state of peaceful mind”
  • What Climate Catastrophy?
  • Straight Poop on the Paleo Diet
  • Fear & Need Born in Nothing
  • Science Proves Buddha Right!
  • Alleviating the Hoarding Disorder
  • Amazon mother
  • Cultivating Character
  • Cultivating Ego
  • Passing judgment is healthy if…
  • Necessity is the Mother
  • Practice what you preach
  • Of Mountains, Molehills and the Supernatural
  • Civilized Insanity
  • Ancient Signs Of Modern Behavior
  • The Good Old Days
  • Modus Operandi
  • Alone with Thought
  • A proper sense of awe
  • CenterTao Group Anyone?
  • Loving Your Eco-System
  • Where does the fault lie?
  • Taoist secrets
  • Laws as Symptoms, not Solutions
  • Loss Aversion Management
  • Mind Over Milkshake
  • Flow Triggers
  • Naturally Racist
  • BRAIN
  • Managing Our Disorders
  • Bono & Musk on Creativity
  • The Harmless People
  • Born Again Taoist
  • Free Willers Anonymous
  • Instinctive Free Will
  • Stupidly Intelligent
  • The Proof is in the Pudding
  • A Wealth of Happiness
  • Natural Happiness
  • Is Happiness In Your Choices?
  • Profound Connections Enlighten
  • Religion… an Opiate?
  • Is Gen Y Unhappy?
  • Remember the Disease
  • The Pendulum Swings
  • You are Immortal!
  • A Rose By Any Other Name
  • Emotion Speaks… Literally
  • I Look, But Do I See?
  • Just like Us, Just like Them
  • Science’s Baby Steps
  • Worthy of a Noble Life?
  • Who says chickens are stupid?
  • Seeking Out Untruth
  • Earn It to Learn It
  • Counterbalancing I.Q.
  • Mind Run Away; Run Away Mind
  • “The rich suffer in comfort”
  • Self-Predation
  • Finding Your Original Self
  • Feeding the Worry Gene
  • Hold the Knowable
  • Good Enough Is!
  • Ponder Between the Lines
  • Soaking in Inspiration
  • A Tao of Parenting
  • Buddha’s Work
  • Insatiably Curious at 70?
  • Breathe Into It
  • Tao of Government
  • Will-to-Live, Free or Otherwise
  • Begin New Years with a smile
  • The Why Of It
  • The Truth vs. The Middle
  • Dumbfounding
  • A Taoist Creed
  • Of Free Will, I Am
  • Discomfort and Pain
  • Undecided? You bet!
  • Siren’s Song of Politics
  • “It’s the Economy Stupid”
  • Networks of Networks of….
  • Can we pull the plug?
  • Yamaguchi San
  • “Fixation on same same”
  • Beware: the Blind Spot
  • And Then There Was Fire
  • Tao and Democracy
  • What’s Not the Elephant?
  • Upping the Ante
  • A Word to the Wise?
  • A Bee with Personality
  • Necessity, the Mother
  • Guilt, Shame and the Name Game
  • The Secret to Happiness!
  • It Began Now
  • I am foolish of human mind also?
  • Seat of Consciousness
  • What Follows Loss of the Way?
  • Placebo Effect
  • Imagining a Better Way
  • Who or What Do You Trust?
  • Giving Your Life a Gift
  • The Only Safe Escape
  • Use Non-Responsibility
  • Be Careful What You Wish
  • Jack of All Trades, Master of None?
  • We only understand what we know
  • Two Paths
  • The Trans Tribal Tao
  • Resistance is Futile
  • A Brother is a Brother
  • Really, Have We No Clue?
  • Why?
  • Gone Fishin’, Back Soon
  • Check One Off the Bucket List
  • Opiate of the Masses
  • The Wealthy Poor
  • Dreaming the Way
  • Sobering up!
  • Oh My Aching Bones
  • The Utility of Knowing What You Don’t Know
  • Naturally Unnatural, Naturally!
  • Naked Thought
  • Success Thru Failure
  • I, Amoeba
  • Why Man is King
  • Ethics as an Emergent Property
  • Loss is Gain; Gain is Loss
  • “… Strive On Diligently”
  • Is Pain the Constant?
  • Ants Are Us
  • Feeling Animal-ness
  • Pleasure Isn’t Well Being
  • Is Rock Conscious?
  • See No Evil
  • Keep ’em guessing?
  • Thou Shalt Not…
  • You Are What You Own
  • Priorities
  • We!
  • You Know
  • Who You Are Determines Who I Am, & Visa Versa
  • An Improper Sense of Awe
  • Thoughts and Ducks Quacking
  • The poetry of it all
  • So, I’d like to ask…
  • Don’t trust anyone under 60
  • Imagination knows no end
  • In Praise Of Nothing
  • It’s Simply Nature’s Way
  • The Truth About Lies
  • It’s Time We Changed Our Name
  • Fear Rules
  • Nothing’s Certain but Death and…
  • Reward, Fear & Need
  • He Who Conquers Self
  • Democracy as Myth
  • So, You Want Enlightenment, Eh?
  • When Is Attachment Good?
  • Let Sleeping Dogs Lie
  • The Story Trumps Truth
  • Water in Mind
  • Why God?
  • Playing With Dolls
  • Belief in Nothing is Dangerous
  • Illusions, Everywhere I Think
  • Wandering Mind Is Unhappy Mind
  • Love
  • Small ‘t’ Taoists
  • Beyond Spooky
  • My Battle With Tobacco
  • John Cleese, a ‘Taoist’?
  • The Nutty Things We Do
  • A Symptom’s Point Of View
  • Fear Is The Bottom Line
  • Change we can believe in?
  • Science, Religion, Truth
  • Children Know What Adults Forget
  • The Spirit of Yoga
  • The less I think, the more I know
  • Exquisite Balance
  • Skullduggery is rampant in nature
  • What Shapes How You Think?
  • Tao As Emergent Property
  • Balancing Difference With Similarity
  • Thinking clouds consciousness
  • Where Is Freedom?
  • Decisions Decisions
  • Poor Thais And Rich Swedes
  • Time’s Arrow
  • Desire and Contentment
  • Learning What You Know
  • We’re Not So Different After All
  • Chairs: One of Our Big Mistakes
  • Gossip, Hysteria, News
  • The Family Purse
  • Swarm Savvy
  • SETI… Quixotic SETI
  • The Worry Gene
  • Odds Are, It’s Wrong
  • Bathtub Tai Chi
  • How the Hoodwink Hooks
  • Omega-3 and Vitamin D
  • He Who Speaks Does Not Know, but…
  • Hunger: A Natural Stimulant
  • Know Truth, Live True
  • Why Not Protest To Raise Taxes?
  • Self Integrity, Slime, and Karma
  • A How-To for Extinguishing Self
  • Significant Others
  • Headstands and Apes
  • The Future Takes Care of Itself
  • Teachers and Students
  • Are You As Happy As You Should Be?
  • Keeping Birthday Happy
  • Why Do Idiot Savants Run Things?
  • Trust But Verify
  • Are You A Beliefaholic?
  • Sage Advice from Wall Street
  • Of Course It’s Alive!
  • What Am I Doing?
  • I understand, but do I know?
  • Just In: We’re All Nuts!
  • The Future is Now!
  • Peeking Through the Covers
  • Innately Ethical
  • Can You Believe What You See?
  • Suicide Just Doesn’t Work
  • A Hypochondriac’s Miracle Cure
  • An Essential Taoist Secret
  • Just How Big Is The Gap?
  • The Theory of God
  • Who is Right?
  • You Are Who You Are By Default
  • Cave Man Shakuhachi?
  • Into the Jungle?
  • Swimming Tai Chi Spermatozoa Style
  • Are you out of touch with nature?
  • It was a dark and stormy night…
  • Cease Treading Water and Just Sink
  • Enjoy What You Do – or – Do What You Enjoy?
  • The Glare Hides ‘Out There’ From View
  • The illusion of ‘moment’
  • Consciousness Physics
  • A Taoist Solution to Gay Marriage
  • Emotion Clear-cuts Perception
  • Right Mindfulness, Attentiveness, and Concentration?
  • The best tao? (road, way, principle, speak, think)
  • The trick lies in not believing, yet believing
  • What is ‘the Tao’ actually?
  • Think what you believe? Believe what you think?
  • Yin Yang, Nature’s Hoodwink
  • Public Tantrums
  • Understanding Understanding
  • Wealth plays out in odd ways
  • Peaches and Pleasure
  • Looking Through the Looking Glass
  • Even a little progress is freedom from fear
  • Religion: The best placebo?
  • Correlation’s ‘Prime Directive’
  • The Cost of Compassion
  • Can you say what you think?
  • Grinding Out Correlations
  • “Do you believe in angels?”
  • The Amazonian ‘Taoists’
  • Is Enlightenment Something or ???
  • Family Life
  • Who’s a Sage?
  • The Gifts Given – Paid In Full
  • King Kiwi
  • Blowing with the sea
  • In praise of kale
  • Always be a beginner
  • It’s Like Magic!
  • How do we know what is true?
  • Am I Bored or Just Content?
  • Do Good Christians Make Good People?
  • PS
  • The Decider
  • Peeking in on Nature’s Hoodwink
  • How to Know You’re Happy
  • It Is Spooky
  • Of What Is The Taoist Model Symptomatic?
  • Is ‘Free Will’ the Only Option?
  • Butterflies have wings; we have minds
  • Mind in Body in Mind in Body…xin
  • Such Synergy
  • Where There’s Passion (fire), There’s Blindness (smoke)
  • Seeing the world ‘out there’
  • Schrödinger’s cat
  • Tai Chi Video
  • Life Is Struggle, Happiness Is Contentment
  • What’s With All The Hair?
  • Tao Views of the Dow
  • Biology’s Blinders: WYSIWYG
  • Those Who Speak Do Not Know. So, Why Speak?
  • Welcome to CenterTao.org 2.0!

Postscript

Here is 2022’s Postscript.

My 80-year-old mind continues poking deeper; however, I’ll not be updating this website any longer… There’s enough already… who needs more?

For those seriously interested, see Taoist Thought (which sells at cost). I intend to continue updating this book with my latest observations and revisions until I draw my last breath.

2004-2015 Forum Archive

Click here to browse a read-only archive of all discussion that took place on this site between 2004 and 2015; over 3000 posts!

Copyright © 2023 Carl Abbott · Log in