Philosophy, as demonstrated in Ancient Chinese Philosophy by Lao Tzu,
is a method of understanding better the natural laws present in the universe. This is observed in the way he gives the
assumption of a solution to the philosophical problem. This
solution is living according to the Tao.
The phrase “living according to the Tao” means understanding Nature,
the reality of the opposites, the Tao as the law of Nature, the origin and the
way of Nature. The reluctance of individuals to recognize these essential concepts
of Tao is the root of the absence of natural harmony. In the individual, there are circumstances and
experiences which led him to a variety of realizations. Realizations must not be taken at face value.
Instead, one must probe deeper into the explicit and implicit meanings of that
realization. The presence of opposites in
all things is natural. It propels one’s
realizations of him being significantly confronted with the basic and necessary
as explicitly recognizable in things of life.
The first step of knowing them is through their physical presence
realized through the senses. But beyond
their physicality or explicit presence, there is something deeper and
implicit. Thus, each thing in life has
two sides: positive and negative,
external and internal, and explicit and implicit.
Applying this in terms of being
able to realize the natural laws governing the universe, one must not stop on
that point of realization. Rather, he
must use this as a starting point to come up with something deeper. He must use such realization as a starting
point for a solution. To be able to do
this requires deeper reflection. Deeper reflection is a process where one
refines his knowledge of things by understanding their places in the natural
scheme of the universe. He removes
assumptions and prejudices and let things flow naturally. It is in this refinement of understanding
that one can be able to have a clearer view as to how he would proceed from the
realization he made.
In reading a philosophical text, for example, one cannot grasp the main
point of it unless he reflects. This reflection is the initial step to proceed
deeply to the heart of all things. Here,
the so-called critical thinking is realized through comparing and contrasting
and analyzing and synthesizing. This is
the same principle when one tries to deepen their understanding about the
natural laws. Just remaining on the external
aspect of things denies a person of an opportunity to discover new out of what
is there. In deeply reflecting about
one’s experiences on something, he can discover new things. He can discover the “nature” or essence of
concepts and realities. By deep
reflection one can be able to extract the basic essences which can lead him
into enlightenment. In this case, one
gets to realize a particular way of movement, the way of the Tao. One can be able to see the Tao as the origin
and the natural way.
In deeply thinking about the natural laws, one can get to see its
movement. This happening can be
comparable in trying to catch a prey in hunting. In catching a prey, one observes his prey. He does
not only stop on realizing that the animal is a carnivore or an herbivore. He takes the time studying its favorite
places, foods and tendencies. Eventually
this hunter sees a pattern, a movement that can give an individual knowledge
about the said animal. This movement
then leads him to understand the nature of the animal and its essence in the
animal kingdom. As a result, he discovers some patterns of movement,
some principles of survival, thus guiding the hunter on how to fashion his plan
and gets the said animal into his catch-trap.
It is also the same with an encounter with a person. In the
first meeting, one does not immediately conclude on the person’s quality. He takes time to know the person in the
second and third meetings or in some more meetings. Reflection on the meetings
is done consistently. There are positive
and negative things being discovered which give one an essential understanding
on the nature of the person. Eventually,
he learns to value the person and transcend one’s tendency to become assuming
and bias. By this, one sees the natural
order of existence through his realization of the importance of every person he
meets in life. He then creates harmony between
himself and others. He becomes an
instrument of unity, a value that reflects the Tao.
Philosophizing is also similar to these. In deeply reflecting about one’s life, he can
get to see a pattern or a movement in which can guide him into correcting his
previous mistakes or enriching what he has been doing. Deeply
reflecting makes one see the big picture.
It makes one realize deeper implications and internal meanings that lie
in all things. Nature, in the general
sense, seems to have a confusing movement. In one day the sun is shining brightly, and
then an hour later heavy drops of rain falls.
In one week the country is spared from a typhoon, then, at the start of
the following week came a new typhoon.
It may seem like a bit of a trouble for most people, but if they deeply
reflect about these trends, then surely they will realize something. They will realize that these phenomena follow
a specific flow or order. This means
that everything follows a purpose.
Nothing in this world is purposeless.
In the way of the Tao, everything in this world is united to anything by
purpose of the natural order. Each
thing, reality and person is important in the natural movement of the world.
The real problem lies in the attitudes of a person towards what is
natural. He tends to go against the pattern of
nature. When he sees the positive aspect
of things, he feels fine. But when he
sees the negative aspect and finds a variety of such, he is overpowered by
them. His tendency is to react too much
and become extreme in dealing with them.
However, the way of the Tao is unlike this. The way of the Tao is an attitude of letting
things be without overdoing in the process.
One needs to act according to what is necessary. One must pursue only the necessary things.
The pursuit of necessary things is the first principle of unity with
nature. The flow of things following
the Tao only manifests the necessary. So
a person must seek only what is necessary. The presence of the opposites is a natural
manifestation of the Tao. The opposites
are necessary so that a person can sharpen his value of choice and his search
for wisdom. This means that opposites
are essential opportunities for one to realize his essential purpose in
life. The opposites should not ruin
him. They are like examination questions
which need deep reflection so that a student will find answers that he can
consistently connect to his own life.
Humility is a requirement in philosophizing. When
one is humble, he rids himself of extremes and acts according to what he is. Conceit and pride lead one to his fall. These
lead to “delusion of grandeur,” a psychological tendency where one believes
that he is great even if he is not (based on what he is and what he has). He
makes a breach to what is just necessary and goes beyond the line of what is
natural. For example, an athlete does
not bother to do a warm-up before a game due to the confidence that one is
already an expert in that sport. Later
on, he experienced a leg injury because his muscles were not prepared through a
warm up. This unfortunate event happened
because of an athlete’s conceit and pride that made him forgot the fundamentals
or basics in sport. In my case as a
student, preparation by daily studying is necessary. It is a duty rather than a role. Wherever my daily studying takes me, I always
inculcate it in my mind and heart that my daily studying is necessary and
expected in this stage of my life. It
will develop my sense of valuing everything that I do in life. When I become a professional, my daily study
will be in another field or necessity and so on and so forth. This means that in the way of the Tao, whatever
I do should be within my means and capacity.
Going beyond will trap me to the extremes and lead me to misery.
When one is humble, he can truly philosophize. Humility breeds sincerity, peace, and unity
with others. Having these values, one is
in the way of the Tao. These are
necessary because the Tao is open and empty.
He needs to follow the natural order of things. He is sincere every time he speaks. Either as a person or as a leader, he becomes
a friend to all. He shows deep concern
or empathy to every person he meets. He
respects himself as he respects others and objects in the world.
Since Tao implies openness and emptiness as reflective of the
characteristics of the natural state of things, it is necessary for one to
prepare his self to plunge into this. It
is only in humility that he can fashion his life along with the way of the
Tao. Emptiness here does not mean
complete void, like how Western philosophy sees it. In the philosophy of Lao Tzu, emptiness is
actually the natural state of things. It
is “empty” of any unnecessary factor that can make a “natural” thing
“unnatural”. This means that the natural
way is devoid of any assumption and biases.
It just flows without disturbance.
The duty of one is to obey it without resistance. This implies that one
lives according to it.
Openness, on the other hand, pertains to impartiality in the philosophy
of Lao Tzu. Being open means that
everything is in it. This characteristic
is true of Nature. The only thing expected of an individual is to experience
it, reflect on it, find the truth in it and become wise. Nature has all but it does not have
everything to satisfy one’s greed and self-centeredness. All insights and the elements of becoming a
sage are in it. But one has to discover,
analyze, reflect, criticize, appreciate and synthesize all insights, lessons,
realizations that come along with the openness and emptiness of nature. It is only in these that he is united with
nature. These profound realizations and
insights from deep reflection then points to an even bigger picture of the law
of Nature. This is the implication that
it is in going back to the origin of oneself, which is the Tao, that one can
truly develop himself into a sage or a wise man. It is only in referring to the Tao that one
can prevent himself from being trapped with the extremes or the unnecessary
things. It is only in recognizing
Nature that one can fashion himself with values. As Fung Yu-Lan stated in his book, A Short History of Chinese Philosophy,
“According to Lao Tzu, Tao is that by
which all things come to be. In this
process of coming to be, each individual thing obtains something from the
universal Tao, and this something is
called Te (virtue).” 1
Fung’s statement tries to say that it is only when one recognizes
Nature that he can realize the “natural” values inherent within him. These “natural” values are values that are
not imposed, but rather are values which no forceful effort is required to
accomplish it. It is said that the Te of an object is what an object really
is. It is the state of an object which is free from any imposed rule or
influence. This is true when one thinks
about it. Indeed, when one recognizes
Nature and its laws, he becomes a man of virtue. He becomes virtuous because in his constant
reflections about the ways of Nature, he learns to temper his actions and his
desires. He learns to be himself, learns
contentment and maintains unity with all beings in the world. In this way, he does not contribute to the
problem of disunity or disharmony or disorder in the world. He
becomes a solution himself. In this way
he is led to his natural character, that is, himself being united with what he
is and what he should be.
As demonstrated in Ancient Chinese Philosophy, for Lao Tzu, Philosophy
is an instrument for one to understand more profoundly natural laws present in
the universe. The essence of which is a person taking a stance to unite himself
to nature by simply being in union with himself and with the world and everything
in it. There is nothing more and nothing less in this. But the challenge lies on how a person
realizes this stance and becomes consistently along with it. Philosophy is a guide for him to be
reflective, critical, humble, sincere and contented as he realizes his life
through his relations with others and the world. Every person is a purpose in his self. Every being in the world has an important
contribution to the natural order of things.
This is what philosophizing should do to every person. That in the natural state of things, no one
and nothing is without purpose. Through
philosophizing, man should realize his worth.
Nature is his origin and, therefore, he has a duty to realize it, search
its wisdom and live its emptiness and openness rightly. With these, he avoids injuring himself and
others. He deeply develops contentment,
peace, sense of others and devotion to Nature.
Through Philosophy or philosophizing, Lao Tzu wants us to realize that
each one has a capacity to become a sage by simply living in harmony with
Nature. All the acts of discovering,
reflecting, analyzing, criticizing, comparing, contrasting and so on are
capacities of persons. Realizing them
with humility and all other values related to it will make us wise. We become persons of virtues. We begin to realize that the ultimate purpose
of life is the realization of virtue, in the essence of the Tao.
In the modern world, Nature is slowly being forgotten by the society. Different researches on finding out how to
re-animate dead organisms and lengthening human lifespan are ongoing. Technologies are now producing artificial
things, may it be organs, plants, or food. Anything that one deems to be “natural” before
seemed to be drowned in the quick-paced innovations made by science and technology.
Although there are some benefits in
these innovations in making one’s life comfortable, it cannot be denied that
these technologies break one away from his natural characteristic. This is because in being provided with lots
of technology, one begins to desire more comfort. An example would be, desiring to have the
latest model of a certain smartphone when one still has a phone. This action results
to overspending, which can never give any benefit to anyone.
Technology, instead of being used as something which can help us
discover and nurture Nature, it becomes an instrument which begins to destroy
it. Different machines and factories in
need of natural resources almost drain forests and seas. Even worse, these even pollute rivers and seas.
This can yield to poor resistance
against sudden heavy rains and tsunamis which can kill millions of people. This can even affect the economy of a
state. All of these bad effects are
results of not understanding Nature and its course. This is going beyond what
Nature is. Modern technologies are not
bad in themselves. It is always the duty
of one to remain in what is natural.
This principle also applies in one’s daily life, not just in terms of
technology. Processed milk cannot
replace natural breastfeeding. The
enjoyment of playing with friends and getting sweaty under the sun cannot be
replaced by video games. These are prevalent
practices of people and students these days. With so many online materials presented by the
internet, many have become slaves to these.
In the context of philosophizing, they are not wrong in themselves. However, how a person or a student uses them
is what matters most. There are tutorial
videos that can help a student in his research or course assignments. There are many online references from
different schools and universities. Even
books are viewed and downloaded online. However,
nothing can replace real books. Nothing
can replace the real-time feeling of studying in a “natural” manner.
Computers and other technology can be corrupted by viruses and can be
useless without electricity but actual books remain accessible. Books can give more information than online
references that can be manipulated so easily. A student or any person should know how to
deal with them without violating what is natural and necessary. He has all the capacity to know and
understand things. He knows what to do
and what not to do. This is the message
of Lao Tzu. Nature is open and
wide. It is empty but filled with
everything. The task of philosophy and
the one who is philosophizing is to truly understand Nature and become wise. One must see that out of such, despite the
presence of so many unnecessary things in the world, one remains in the way of
the Tao by choosing the necessary, living with the necessary and practicing
what is necessary. Whether a student, a
leader, a ruler or anybody, he is certain that his life is lived in
virtue. In this way, chaos, disorder or
disharmony among men and other beings in the world is avoided. This problem is conquered by true
philosophizing anchored in Lao Tzu’s letting things be.
In my life, I always consider myself a constant learner, a student in
this school of life. Lao Tzu’s way of
the Tao and all other wisdom related to it struck me deeply. I’ve always been inclined to animated
characters and video game NPCs. I prefer
watching movies or animations about friendship, teamwork, and many other things
related to daily life. I spend most of
my time typing papers on my laptop. Artificial
products seemed to give me happiness until such time that I got sick because of
these. I lack sleep and exercise. I did not have time to go outside and have a
whiff of fresh air. Also, spending too
much time in the digital world lessens my ability to socialize. It makes me anti-social in the process
because of the superficial ideals that I get from the animated movies that I
watch.
In that moment it came into my
senses that I was starting to lose my nature. Deeply
reflecting about it, I realized that I missed a lot of things in my life that
could have been good memories to keep. I also realized that this “happiness” from
artificial things was nothing but just a mere insignificant and short-lived
enjoyment. When I got sick, I learned to reflect why I
was in that condition. I realized that
I have been away from what I am. The
digital world cunningly traps me from the real beauty of the actual environment
where I am. There is nothing wrong with
the digital things around me. The
problem was my attitude towards all these objects. They seemed to replace the necessary in my
life.
Then one day, I went out to spend time with my peers. I felt a kind of
liberation. I was simply happy. I gave myself a day wherein all I did was to
sleep and drink my sugar-free coffee. In
these simple actions, I felt I got back to myself again. I realized that taking a break wouldn’t be so
bad after all. In the end, I realized
that I’ve never been so happy in my life.
Laughing and sharing silly stories in real time gives an unexplainable
feeling that is not similar in simply watching such scenes in my computer or
tablet. I can say from these experiences
that I became happy because I was able to exercise my natural capacity as a
person and as a student. I became happy
because I began to deeply understand that what is natural for a student or a
person is to relate to real people and to the environment. I became happy
because understanding Nature led me back to what I really am. Doing a lot of unnecessary things can cause
misery and insecurity. Nothing
supersedes what is natural. It gives us
everything that is worthy and long lasting.
What is natural does not lie. The
happiness I feel from doing what is natural is equivalent to a lifetime. Nothing replaces what is natural.
Lao Tzu is right. The ultimate purpose of philosophy or
philosophizing is to prepare every person to discover, know and understand the
widely open and deeply empty essence of Nature. Whether a student, a ruler or
anyone, the ultimate purpose of one is to learn and practice virtues. Since each person has the capacity to
understand Nature, the way of the Tao, he has all the opportunities to become a
sage or a wise one. In this way, he is
one with Nature. Despite that Nature
presents all the opposites, a wise man knows which to take.
Source:
1.
Fung Yu-Lan, “Lao Tzu”, (New York: The Free
Press, 1948), In A Short History of
Chinese Philosophy, 100.
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