Tao Te Ching is something. At the beginning of the book I was a bit discouraged, annoyed even, by the tone in which the narrator read the book.
But after a while I began to like it. In fact, I understood.
Much like in the teachings of the Tao, softness is preferred, I believe that the rather soft diction was intentional. Listening to it was a meditation of the sort.
Tao… instead of God?
I could not help but notice that it would not change all that much if “Tao” were replaced by “God”.
From my agnostic/atheist perspective, it was describing more or less the same. Some abstract unphantomable concept. Beginning and everything. Infinity. From the Tao began the universe. Isn’t it really just a different way of expressing the same?
I mean it’s really interesting like there is almost the same thing at the very core of various different teachings (be it religion or philosophy) that have developed independently of each other all around the world.
Stoicism, existentialism, pantheism et al
There are actually many similarities between Taoism and other “isms”, such as stoicism (accept the world as it is), existentialism (what we are is all there is) and pantheism (Tao/God is in everything and everywhere, much like the force in Star Wars).
But I particularly like this philosophy for its non-invasiveness.
Opposites, yin yang
I think that use of the opposites in order to express a point is very essence of taoism (I’m humbly presenting this observation from my layman’s perspective).
What is good without evil. Doing by not doing. It makes sense, we need the opposites for us to know the meaning of anything in the first place.
Tao Te Ching is profound. One time reading (listening) is not enough. I will have to get back to this again…and again.
