MEDITATIONS: TAO TE CHING CHAPTER NINE

pull an archers bow past the limit of its construction
fill a gallon jug with two gallons of water
hone a knife to an excessively sharp edge
stretch overly a muscle towards achievement

all that you get is a
strained
dulled split
and broken
deformation of the miraculous

if you judge yourself by material things
that are temporarily in your possession
you will always be worried about who will take possession
of them next

if you are too proud of these material things
then you are courting personal disaster

the tao source of life has some advice for you

pause activity
enjoin with it
engage poise and relaxation

—Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching; An authentic Taoist translation. translated by John Bright-Fey

It is not unreasonable to dub Taoism a form of Chinese Stoicism. Both philosophies are concerned primarily with ethics and the teleology of human existence. Both rest on metaphysical principles of a transcendent, objective Nature, universe, or world. Both advise that humankind bring their desires and aversions—their wills—in line with the way things are as opposed to the way we would prefer things to be. Likewise, both forewarn of the inevitable consequence of aspiring differently than who we have the potential to be.

If the Tao is the Way by which one can bring into being the miracle of his potential self, and if indeed the Tao is like water, then lofty desires can only become stumbling blocks on the road and clogs in the river. An eye on the goal is an eye off the path. Fixation on that which is currently beyond one’s capability can only pervert the divine spark that lights meaning and interest. The light in one’s eyes becomes the fires of ambition—energic, expanding, and moving—yet fires must consume. Whether one’s ambition is for status, prestige, material wealth, or honorable achievement, they are all destined to become ash. Social hierarchies change, memories fade, people age, rot and corrosion take possessions away, and there will always be some new contender to render irrelevant one’s achievements.

The only constant amidst the ever-changing chaos is one’s character. His attitude, where he chooses to place assent and dissent, the choices he makes—these are the only things which truly belong to him. These are the only things which cannot be stolen away, either by time or human hands.

So pause for a moment and notice your place in the universe. Be like water. Find poise in equilibrium by assenting to your condition. Stand beside yourself as your own companion. Engage in what you’re doing as an act of creation, even if the only thing you’re bring into being is the potential you of each sequential moment.

Lao-tzu. “Chapter Nine”. Tao Te Ching; An Authentic Taoist Translation, translated by John Bright-Fey, Sweetwater Press, 2014. p.18