Philosophy, as demonstrated by
Lao Tzu in Ancient Chinese Philosophy, is a way to live in harmony with Nature.
This is observed in the way he characterizes the sage. As one deeply reflects all of his
realizations and profound understanding about realities, he begins to see a
much deeper implication of all things he encounters in life. Through critical
thinking, this deep implication leads one to realize the practice of virtue
in his way of living.
Philosophizing, therefore, must
not be treated as a mental exercise to showcase intellectual advancement or
prowess. Rather, it must be used as a way
to embody learning and wisdom gained from experiences by deep reflection and
critical thinking. Through these, one lives in harmony with nature.
Merely realizing and deepening
one’s understanding of Nature still does not cut out from truly applying it in
one’s life. Ideas and realizations are nothing
unless they are translated into action.
Actions based on learning from realities are the true manifestations of wisdom,
the ultimate purpose of philosophizing.
Theories about justice, for example, do not have any value unless the
individual realizes their connection to his way of living. Philosophizing helps one to understand
insights, find wisdom in the insights and transform his life out of that
wisdom. With these, the problem of
disharmony with Nature can be resolved. One
has the right direction for his life. He
understands his place and purpose in the world.
This solution is going back to the Tao, to the
ways of Nature. This reflects the
characteristics of the sage and the so-called Taoist virtues. What are these Taoist virtues? The Taoist virtues are humility, humaneness, selflessness,
contentment, simplicity, charity and sincerity.
All of these point to Nature. All
these are the characteristics of a sage.
Becoming a sage is a realization of the Tao. The task or responsibility of one is to
practice them in his life so he will become a sage. The difficult part in one’s life is the
practice of these characteristics. But
this difficulty, when not addressed properly, becomes a philosophical problem. When one does not do something much better
for his life out of what he is and what he has, he is blind of reflection and
critical thinking. These two are
instruments philosophizing and the ways towards the realization of
virtues. His life becomes chaotic and he
is always against Nature.
So when one philosophizes, he
recognizes realities, reflects on these realities, finds his place in such
realities and unites himself to where he should be. For example, one stopped drawing for a long
time, and later he decides to go back doing it again. The proper way of is to refresh with the
basic strokes and find it a re-learning and a re-living of what has been. This re-learning and re-living of experience,
however, must not be done in just a few hours.
One must completely dedicate himself into going back to the basics in
order for him to capture the essence of the art of drawing. In going back to the basics, one can know
what to do and how to go about it without making things more complicated and
hard for him. In going back to the basics,
one can develop the right attitudes to keep his equilibrium.
Taking into consideration the
previous example, the possibility of drawing again after a long time will be
meaningless if one does not detach himself from his biases and
presumptions. These steal him away from
new insights; thus, making him a narrow-minded and negative-driven
individual. He fails to learn because he already
restricted his actions based on the biases or presupposed knowledge that he
has. In this way, he fails to embody
the essence of drawing as a skill. Then,
he fails to give justice to drawing as an art.
This principle is also the same in going back to Nature. One must look into himself with sincerity and
humility. He has to learn how to pick up
the painful and not so pleasant experiences in his life and realize wisdom out
of them. This is not easy yet
possible. This depends on one’s
attitudes towards life.
The Tao lets one realize that there is always
new in usual things, people, activities, roles and choices one deals with every
day. That out of them, one can draw out the necessary from the unnecessary
things. The necessary things are the
manifestations of Nature, the ways of the Tao.
It is through reflection and critical thinking that one can discard the
unnecessary things. Another way of understanding this is in terms of attitude
towards material things. It is a common
tendency among individuals to have that inclination to possess something he is
attracted to or more interested about.
It happens when one comes across a very
beautiful watch or a very interesting product.
As one gradually collects information about the price and benefits of
these objects, the inclination to possess it becomes intense to the point that his
usual routine or functions are disturbed.
The said object is not necessary to him given the reality that he has
still a very functional watch. He is too
much driven by impulse not by reason.
This causes the problem of being away from what he should be, a problem
of disunity with what should be, according to Tao.
As Fung Yu-Lan stated in his
book, A Short History of Chinese
Philosophy, “With increasing knowledge people are no longer in a position
to know how to be content and where to stop.”
1
Fung’s statement tells that too
much desire for something, whether material or not, leads him to evil
things. This can drain him of his sense
of self-knowledge and sense of care and concern for others who will be affected
with his attitudes. This will also breed
chaos in his family and community because his motivations are no longer humane
and selfless. He becomes a cause of conflict and chaos in
society.
The solution to this problem is
selflessness. This means that one is
truly accepting and appreciating who he is and what he has. This implies humility and sincerity. Self-knowledge is basic in understanding
Nature and virtues. Without it, one
cannot move forward to see the bigger and much prettier picture of life. In living with simplicity and contentment,
one begins to learn to do only what is only necessary and nurture it in life. This is because in being simple and content,
one begins to have a realization that doing too much can only give the opposite
effect in things. Much worse, it can
bring harm to both the individual and the people around him. Doing only what is needed of a situation
prevents one from injuring himself in the process. This is because his strength is not exhausted
and is put to good use. In this way the
individual freely exercises his natural talents or skills, which in turn can
make him enjoy the moment and make him happy.
If he deeply reflected about himself and reunited with his nature, then
surely it will be a profound experience. Being simple and content makes one
realize his natural capabilities and find happiness in these capacities.
This is because in being simple
and content, one gives primacy on doing what he can do in the most natural way
possible. The natural way is concerned
with being spontaneous. Being simple and
content rids one of any restrictions imposed by superficial things such as
pride and desire. This is because the
individual now has his attention to the things that are essential in making his
life happy and away from injury. Having
the value of focusing to what one has and what one is prevents him from evil
things. He remains humane and charitable
to himself and others. He never exalts
himself even if he has done something great.
Whether big or small, pleasant or unpleasant, he is never ruined by
these opposites. Instead, he finds the
balance of these opposites by being faithful to what he is and what he has.
This is living in harmony with Nature and the way of Tao.
Philosophizing through critical
thinking and deep reflection, one understands more the principles and
manifestations of Nature in relation to one’s realization of a happy life. With humility, he appreciates everything, and
does not make any distinctions. He lets
things flow as they are. He resolves the
problem of disorder in the world. He
becomes a friend to all, whether enemy, stranger, or friend because he gives
the same treatment to such people. In
being humble, one embodies Nature. When
one speaks, he speaks with sincerity. He
lives more in silence rather than in words.
His right attitudes towards himself, others and the world are in
themselves the measures of his deep self-knowledge. When one knows himself, he is never blinded
by deceptions and extremes. He opts to
be unnoticed by many but still finds a connection with them in the
process. Whether he is a ruler, a teacher,
a student, a lover, an employee, a parent, a brother, a sister or in whatever
role of function, he remains rooted to himself and to the laws of Nature. He does not go against these laws as they are
revealed in his daily experiences of life. Humility brings one closer to his
nature, because it makes him appreciate himself and what he has. In this way, he is lead back to the way of
Nature, and becomes a sage.
Philosophy, as demonstrated by
Lao Tzu in Ancient Chinese Philosophy, is a way to live in harmony with Nature,
follow its laws and live in harmony with others and the world. This is the way of the sage. These sage-like
characteristics are said to be not having too much knowledge and too much
desire, doing only what is necessary and spontaneous with humility rooted in
what he is.
Upon philosophizing, one begins
to embody Nature. This is because in
deep reflection, one instills Nature’s characteristics in his own being. This then makes him live in harmony with it. In
deeply reflecting about something, he begins to see its relation to his self,
and thus makes him willing to learn from life. Philosophizing does not only make one see the
greater scheme of things. It can also
make one realize his ultimate purpose in life. It helps him find the right
values of living. It helps him find
himself and discover the essential lessons of Nature or the Tao in the ordinary
events in life.
Philosophizing liberates
one from pride and conceit. It brings
out one’s self through being transformed by events in life. Deeply reflecting makes one appreciate others
and accept the things that come along the way. He develops such humility, for he focuses
more on nurturing what he has and what he is. It is in this way that he is transformed into
a better person. Moreover, being simple
and content, doing what is needed of a situation, being spontaneous, and being
lowly are all essential characteristics which initiates one into the ways of
Nature. Simplicity and contentment
embodies Nature. They preserve and
nurture life.
This is how Lao Tzu gives
importance to Philosophy. This is how
his Philosophy of the Tao or Nature becomes a solution to the philosophical
problem of disorder. This is how Lao
Tzu’s philosophy leads one to virtues, the ways of the sage.
Observing today’s world, we are
confronted with both pleasant and unpleasant events. For example, the peace talks between the
government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front leaders are good. But the massacre of the 44 Special Action
Force policemen in Mamasapano, Maguindanao last January 25, 2015 disturbed us
all. Here, we can see the two sides of
realities, the positive and negative.
Another is the influence of technology in our society and life. Technology is useful as it conquers distance
and time and makes things easier and faster.
On the other hand, if not properly guided by values, it can ruin one’s
life. Success motivates one and failures
usually demoralizes him. At one time,
one laughs but later he cries. The
principles of Nature embody these opposites.
But they are there to show the balance of life. If one does not discover this balance through
the principles present in Nature, he will never realize the natural way. Lao Tzu teaches us to be reflective and critical
thinkers as we realize these natural flow of the opposites. By philosophizing, one can remain a good
person despite the opposites. He is never ruined by them because he knows which
to take.
In my life as a student, I cannot
deny that there are times that the flow of the opposites have great effects in
me. There are times that I cried and
felt desperate because of some frustrations.
Sometimes, I want to reach the ideals.
But the ideals are not possible.
They are just there to motivate me to do better.
Honestly, I have a habit of treating
my realizations as mental exercises for me to gauge how far I have learned. I
always treated them as self-achievements which I treat as a prize to myself for
attaining such level of thinking.
Little did I know, with all the accumulated knowledge that I have, I
began building up a sort of ego. This
ego made me push myself to the limits, to the point that I deprive myself of
sleep whenever I do assignments and other school projects. Although at first I treated such ego as a
motivational tool for me to do my best, eventually I began developing bad
attitudes. The ego I developed made me desire for something. It made me desire of perfection. It did not make me contented of anything I
do. It completely affected my daily
routines, and even my hobby in drawing.
Every time I finish a sketch and inspect it for the second time, I
always ended up throwing it, even if I spent a long time coloring and shading
it. That was because I was not contented
of the details I’ve drawn. I threw away
the sketch because I felt so awful not to perfectly draw what I had in
mind. Such attitude gave me trouble at
times, because I abuse my hand in the process.
I abused my hand to the point
that even if it my fingers hurt from holding the pens and the pencils, I still
continue. In terms of academics, I spent
less hours of sleep just to study lessons.
All of these abuses that I have done to myself were all rooted from my
ego desiring more perfection. It
eventually developed into a kind of masochistic tendency. It made me have that thinking that if I
cannot be deprived of anything, I cannot assure myself that I have done it
perfectly. In desiring too much of
perfection, I became blinded of the things that really matter. I became unaware of my health, I worry
people, and I bring myself to misery every day.
And then one day, I lay on my bed
after such a stressful day in school. My
got headache and I became sick with common cold. While resting for a while, I
thought about many things. I thought about my family worrying about my health.
I thought about the efforts that I have done so far to satisfy my insatiable
thirst in attaining perfection. I came
to the point that all this time, it never done me any good. It made me forget an important thing in my
life. And that is contentment and
appreciation. In that moment, I had the
realization that true perfection does not rely on having the best performance
or the best output, but rather on the right values one developed out of the
daily functions and things in life. I
realized that true perfection is attained on appreciating one’s effort and
realizing one’s improvement along the way.
In that moment I felt ashamed for desiring too much, to the point that I
actually shed a tear for it. But my
tears liberated me from that something which is not right.
After that day, I began to appreciate my frequent blogs and papers about
Lao Tzu's philosophy. It helped me a lot
in such difficult times of my youth. It
made me take gradual steps in fashioning my own student life in relation to
Nature, even in the simple ways of appreciating what I have done, taking care
of my health, and being content with whatever score I got. The most important is that I become a much
better and values-driven student and person.
All those realizations out of my reflections proved to me that philosophizing
can help me become enlightened with things in life. Philosophizing gave me the best gift that I
can have. It helps me realize simplicity
and contentment. Much more, I learned
humility every time I do things because I simply do what I can. It made me go back to my nature, and become
happy with what I am. It equipped me
with the necessary attitudes to transform my self-centeredness and pride into
good values. But, of course, it still
takes right attitudes to nurture these values.
Lao Tzu’s teaches us to simply
follow Nature and faithfully abide in the principles governing it. With philosophizing, each of us has a chance
to discover ourselves and the ultimate purpose of our lives through
Nature. Then, we develop virtues and
become like a sage. When
we realize all of these, we become part of the solution to the problem of
disorder in the world.
Source:
1.
Fung Yu-Lan, “Lao Tzu”, (New York: The Free
Press, 1948.), In A Short History of
Chinese Philosophy, 101.
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