The Time is Now
When the best seeker hears of Tao he strives with great effort to know it.
When an average seeker hears of Tao he thinks of it now and again.
When the poorest seeker hears of Tao he laughs out loud.
Tao is always becoming what we have need for it to become.
If it could not do this
it would not be Tao.
There is an old saying,
The clear way seems clouded.
The straight way seems crooked.
The sure way seems unsteady.
The greatest power seems weak.
The purest white seems stained.
The abundant seems empty.
The stable seems shaky.
The certain seems false.
The Great Square has no corners.
The Great Vessel is never filled.
A beginner may be clumsy,
but after practice – what talent!
A large drum may sit silently, but when banged – what noise!
Tao lies hidden,
yet it alone is the glorious light of this world.
The Tao Te Ching, Chapter 41, trans. Jonathan Star
Dear Friends,
It has been awhile since I communicated and I apologize. I have posted a few blogs on Taoist Living since the election, but have pretty much kept myself in a winter hibernation mode, doing the things that nurture me and waiting to see what might come next on my path of Tao. Needless to say, I am dismayed at the new “face” of this country but have gradually come to realize that it is really the face we have worn for many decades, albeit often well disguised. In that sense I am grateful for the election. It is a clear alarm bell that alerts me that the American Dream has become a nightmare and it is time to wake up. If Hillary Clinton had become President I would have sighed, turned over, and gone back to sleep. That would have been a tragic mistake.
Some have been sounding this warning in various ways for decades, even centuries. But we have been too deeply asleep or too distracted to pay much attention. Some have heeded and joined the chorus of writers, healers, seers, philosophers, farmers, poets, scientists, and public figures who have tried to raise the alarm to little avail. I don’t know what the addition of my voice will do, but it seems to be what is mine to offer at the moment. I know I have written of the need for a revolutionary transformation of our society in books and essays over the past three or four years, but I confess that, honest as these writings have been, they have emerged from a half-awake, half-asleep state, as if I were mumbling the truth in a somnambulant trance, saying things but not really listening to myself.
I am waking up, still a bit groggy, but waking up. The crisis point of our world is no longer a vague date in the near future that we might be able to avoid by voting for the right government, enacting the right laws, or marching in the right protest. It is here; it is real; and it is now. It is no longer some “future generation” that is at risk, but our very own children and grandchildren, even our own selves. We can no longer wait for leaders to emerge and save us. We must do it ourselves. Lao-Tzu suggests in The Tao Te Ching that such is the way it has always been.
I am not calling for armed rebellion or violent confrontation. To take that path would be to accept the premise that solutions can emerge from the very paradigm that has caused the chaos in the first place. I’m thinking of action that is far more radical, far more transformative, and far more difficult than picking up an automatic weapon. Our lives, my life, must be reformed on a radically new economic, social, educational, and spiritual basis. I don’t know the details. More visionary and creative people than I will have to step up. All of us will have to combine our ideas, gifts, courage, and sacrifices if a viable future is to be formed. I do know some beginning steps that I am going to take and see where they might lead.
I’m returning to my spiritual practices with renewed commitment and willingness to connect to the Reality of Life. I call it Tao, for lack of a better word. Tao means “Way” and it is a mysterious, even mystical Way, that involves a spiritual connection with the entire cosmos. Like its more austere cousin, Zen, Taoism can be practiced as a somewhat sterile philosophical system that skims over the deeper ecological and spiritual truths. I have often fallen prey to this surface intellectualism, happy to stay locked in my mind pondering the imponderable and scrutinizing the inscrutable. I am thankful that the Tao Te Ching does not let me get away with this for it contains ample corrective verses that remind me to sink into my Source, return to my Origins, and become One with the Mother Tao. Lao-Tzu’s mysticism and earth-centered spirituality continually remind me to connect my mind, my heart, and my spirit; to let the energy of the Cosmos flow into and through me, uniting me with the Mystery in which I live and reminding me of my fundamental identity as a child of the Mother Tao. This identity will be essential to remember in the coming days.
Nancy and I have shifted to a plant-based diet for three reasons. Reason one is to disengage from the meat industry – perhaps the most environmentally destructive, health degrading, and cruel industry in existence. Every second of every day a football field sized area of rain forest is destroyed to allow grazing for livestock. That meat is exported to the United States. One hamburger requires the permanent destruction of 55 square feet of rain forest. It is this rapidly diminishing rain forest that is the primary weapon we have against global climate change. It is the source of the biodiversity upon which all of life depends.
The second reason for this dietary shift is health care. It seems evident that the government is going to back away from any health care responsibility so we will have to create new models of personal and community care. Most chronic illnesses, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer can be best prevented, treated, and even reversed by a shift in diet away from animal products. Kaiser Permanente is the largest HMO in the United States with 182,000 employees, including 17,000 physicians. It has now endorsed a plant based diet as a vital part of total health care. Here is an excerpt from the Spring 2013 Kaiser Permanente Journal:
“Research shows that plant-based diets are cost-effective, low-risk interventions that may lower body mass index, blood pressure, HbA1C, and cholesterol levels. They may also reduce the number of medications needed to treat chronic diseases and lower ischemic heart disease mortality rates. Physicians should consider recommending a plant-based diet to all their patients, especially those patients with high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or obesity”
Kaiser has published a helpful booklet on the subject. link: https://share.kaiserpermanente.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/The-Plant-Based-Diet-booklet.pdf
The third reason is compassion. Two years ago I easily ignored the reality of the “factory farms” that produce most of the beef, chicken, and pork we consume in this country. Something has shifted within me and I now see that cruelty to any living being hardens the heart in such a way that cruelty, violence, and torture of human beings becomes more and more a part of “the way things are.” These three connections: environment, health, and compassion are not easy to make because we are so conditioned to use meat without conscious thought. I’ve included some good resources at the end of this essay you might consider.
Health care has caused Nancy and me to make some other changes. Both of us have experienced the healing effects of Qigong – the Chinese system of “energy work” that has been used for thousands of years by Chinese healers, including modern hospitals. Nancy is also trained as a Reiki Master. Reiki is essentially the Japanese version of Qigong – the use of “universal energy” as a healing force. We are rededicating ourselves to the use of these practices, both for ourselves and for our community in whatever way we are able. We will also rely on alternative medical care and use western medicine only in cases where no other option exists.
These changes are modest and simply the tip of the iceberg of the coming transformation. It will be a revolution in which the cultural lifestyle undergoes radical change. Nancy and I are working on changes in spending, housing, and driving that will dramatically shift our way of life. A transformation in the understanding of simplicity and the good life is the most effective tool we have at our disposal. This transformation will disempower the dysfunctional systems of our culture by removing our participation, energy, and money. Without these, such systems cannot survive.
There is no possibility of return to business as usual. The Tao is leading us into an unknown future, full of peril and possibilities. A new way of life is possible, but not inevitable. The choice is up to us and the future will be based on the decisions we make today. I’m serious. I can’t prescribe exactly what you should do, but you must do something – something radical, courageous, and now! Up the revolution!
Bill
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Sample Resources:
The Happy Herbivore
Kaiser Permanente Booklet on Plant-based Diet
A Different Kind of Luxury
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