Have been having issues where all of my content is deleted when I publish my post.
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I found this website with a table that pretty accurately describes some of the main differences between Eastern and Western thinking. Although the information in the table is sort of bias, it gives a pretty good idea of what distinctions can be made. The way I like to think of it as is the East is the monk in the forest or the thru hiker on the PCT, and the West is the American family in the suburbs or the businessman in New York, or something. Neither are good nor bad- just different. However, when you can put yourself in the "Eastern mindset," you can more easily understand Taoism.
http://www.1000ventures.com/business_guide/crosscuttings/cultures_east-west-phylosophy.html "Broadly, speaking, Western society strives to find and prove "the truth", while Eastern society accepts the truth as given and is more interested in finding the balance. Westerners put more stock in individual rights; Easterners in social responsibly." [I was going to copy and paste the table in here, but the format got all funky. I have the link as a reference, though. EAST = INTRINSIC , WEST = EXTRINSIC] ![]() Today in Psych class, we were talking about motivation and its place in what some psychologists call the "Human Condition." Before Abraham Maslow (1908-1970), psychologists were concerned with was why things went WRONG in the human brain and to human behavior. Maslow, however, desired to figure out how and why things went right. Upon this, he created a little pyramid which is now called "Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs." It looks like this: Essentially what it means is that you must meet basic needs before you can meet the other psychological and cognitive needs on the chart. You may move up the chart once you've "completed" (so to speak) one level, and you can swivel back and forth at any given moment in time. Transcendence is what I'd like to talk about though. Essentially, when you've reached transcendence and self actualization, you are at your "maximized potential," or so to whatever you see fit as that definition. Happiness. It's when you are living an authentic life and a life for you. He characterizes these people as problem-solving oriented (for self and others), able to accept the good and bad within themselves and others, able to laugh, autonomous, and valuing privacy. Sounds a lot like Taoism, right? Another thing Maslow emphasized was spirituality. Not in a religious way, but rather knowing where your place in the universe. That also sounds a lot like Taoism. And I think that's such an important point that I'd like to make in the end- know your place in the universe. Whether that be through religion, through traditions, through passions, through X, Y, or Z. It is indeed possible to reach self-actualization and to live a thriving life. I hope one day I am able to say, hey man, I am "self-actualized" and it feels great. Or whatever it is you're supposed to say you're not seventeen anymore and are actually able to claim that sort of thing. The great thing about Taoism is it relates to everything and everybody, and you can make cool connections like this one. I have put a lot of thought as to where I want to go with this. As I said before, this topic for me is mostly internal, and it's not easy to explain or share. However, I hope I am able to get the point across to people. I want to emphasize the fact that you cannot think about Taoism in a western mindset, and I also want to emphasize how influential it can be to every day life. I am really hoping that after these last few weeks of cold, slow February trickle out I am able to begin really going in depth with some of the books and lectures that got me into Taoism. I think those will be the most helpful in my preparation for presentating. Overall, I think I have become more in-tune with this topic. Taoism is super rad and super important to me, so I am very happy to be able to spend my free time listening to lectures and reading books about it- and it counts for something, too!
The past few weeks have been very hectic, and I have been struggling to find the time for appropriate research... So I have compiled a list of things I'd like to analyze and read and re-read and what not during the next few months:
Alan Watts- The Game of Black and White Benjamin Hoff- The Tao of Pooh West vs. East Wu Wei Taoism and Confucianism Intertwined The Real Self "Am I Real or am I just a Puppet?" Alan Watts ![]() As I research more and more about Taoism, I have compiled a list of its uses. This is a pretty granola and “bohemian” list so to speak… But, nonetheless: As a Path to Peace: The core of Taoism is to reject hatred and intolerance and to live with balance, harmony, and a perspective of compassion. By increasing self awareness and reducing ego, it promotes inner and outer peace. For Reduced Worry: Worry and anxieties keep your body in a constant heightened state, which can cause some pretty serious health problems in short-term and long-term aspects. Peace and tranquility overcome worry in Taoism, and it contends that worry has absolutely nothing to do with the outside world. It’s a product of imagination, but practicing Tao gives you the “tool-kit” to live in each moment as it is, in the present. On Morality (For Lack of a Better Term): The Three Treasures of Taoism are as follows: be charitable, be thrifty, and do not push ahead of others. Taoism focuses on being humble and being seen as average (so to speak) by the outside world. In a sense, they refuse to pursue wealth and power. On Going With the Flow: In Taoism, one strives to go with the flow and accept life as it happens. I don’t have a source for this quote unfortunately, but I wrote it down awhile ago: “Taoism can best be described as like a willow tree. Rather that standing erect and resolute against the winds like an old oak tree, the willow bends and goes with the flow, just as Taoists go with the gentle flow of the universe.” ![]() "Let the state [remain] small with a few people. Tools and other [artifacts] are numbered in tens and hundreds yet people won’t use them. Life is valued high, and nobody ventures far to risk it. There are boats and chariots yet people have no desire to ride on them; there are arms and weapons yet people have no reason to marshal them. Let us revert to the knot-string method for recording. Enjoy the tastiness of your food, admire the beauty of your clothing, delight yourself with your home and its environment, and be happy with your culture. The neighbour states are so near that people can see each other and hear each other’s chickens and dogs yet people reach old age and death without interaction." (Tao Te Ching, Chapter 80) I think this quote is really interesting, considering when it was written. It's like throughout history we've had the same sorts of people and the same sorts of issues. Really, though, I think it speaks to a sort of mindset in which one takes things for granted. What it's saying is the most distinct aspect of Taoist thought: be pleased with every day life. I think the most difficult aspect of Taoism is emphasizing the fact that it’s more of a way of life. It’s not a religion, you know? Or, maybe it is in an eastern sense, but certainly not in a western sense. And that’s difficult to get across to people. We’ve all been conditioned that inner being and outward world are two separate entities, and Taoism completely defies that. I get it, and I understand it, and I feel it, and it’s so important to me to remind myself of Taoist philosophies especially when life gets confusing. I will, of course, be talking about Taoism in the end, but I want to get the idea across to people that you don’t get affiliated with Taoism, and you certainly don’t have to call yourself one to live a peaceful life and be happy. It’s so much more than that. Just as you don’t need to be a vegetarian to be healthy, or just as you don’t have to buy name-brand clothing to look nice. Taoism is really a means of generating happiness through the most every-day and simplistic experiences. And that is important to me. Perhaps those ideas are too abstract, perhaps not. As I get the message across to myself, I want to likewise get it across to other people: there are things to be happy about, and life is beautiful!
"Certain Chinese philosophers writing in, perhaps, the -5th and -4th centuries, explained ideas and a way of life that have come to be known as Taoism - the way of man's cooperation with the course or trend of the natural world, whose principles we discover in the flow patterns of water, gas, an fire, which are subsequently memorialized or sculptured in those of stone and wood, and, later, in many forms of human art. What they had to say is of immense importance for our own times when in the +20th century, we are realizing that our efforts to rule nature by technical force and "straighten it out" may have the most disastrous results."
Alan Watts, Tao: The Watercourse Way |