Effortless Living by Jason Gregory

Author:Jason Gregory
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Spirituality/Eastern Thought
Publisher: Inner Traditions/Bear & Company
Published: 2018-01-25T05:00:00+00:00

6

Natural Government Born of Tao

Some of the greatest leaps for humankind will be taken when we face the dire dilemma that binds us to a mechanistic world. Drastic measures are needed to reorient our awareness back toward the natural world of the cosmic unfolding. From a sage’s perspective, the answer to humanity’s plight is not, how do we rid ourselves of these unnatural systems, but instead, how radical are we willing to be?

Taoist teaching emphasizes that if we understand the spontaneous function and unfolding of the universe (Tao), then we will not fight this process; if we live effortlessly, with wu-wei, the natural harmony of the cosmos will prevail.

We cannot eradicate the established governmental apparatus by governing more. This was one of the major differences between Confucianism and Taoism: Confucian ideology built a strict system whereby one should govern one’s life both within and without in accord with its philosophy. Lao-tzu, on the other hand, would have deemed this perspective absurd, because the fundamental aspects of any external form of governance—control, force, and a search for power—actually put one out of sync with the natural harmony of the universe. As a result, we feel as if we do not belong here.

To govern is to control, and control is built from the experiences of the past and a plan for the future. Nature in all its glory is locked out, which is why a different system of government cannot be the way out for us. If we can be sincere in living wu-wei, we will allow the course of Tao to run its path back into harmony through our own nonaction in regard to the dilemma at hand. Revolutions and protests do not change anything, because they are still reacting out of human conditioning and seeking to control life. To govern is to control, to control is to destroy life, and this is what needs to be reversed through the way of nature and wu-wei.

Human beings have the intelligence to comprehend the nature of wu-wei. Yet many people do not have the knowledge of wu-wei naturally, through their experience, unlike all other organisms, which would seem to jeopardize our claim to being the most intelligent species on this planet.

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