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About Several Meanings of the Word "Tao"
Western authors make many mistakes when they want to explain what is Tao to their readers. Let's give an example: Quote:
The Tao's definition always slips around words because how we see life is also constantly shifting. This means the Tao is both indefinable and yet by living our life fully we can then discover our own Personal Tao…
(From a Personal Tao).The first mistake is to think that the Tao can not be defined, that its definition "slips around words".
One can find a clear definition of this term in I-ching (Book of Changes).
A gifted warrior may have his personal tao referring to his skill |
"Tao" is a concept explained by Taoists and Confucians alike.
Taoists named it the root and mother of creation (according to Tao-te ching, chapter 1).
Another mistake is to think that by living our lives fully, we can discover a kind of "personal tao", as stated in the quote above.
It is true that the Chinese greatly appreciated talented people who have wonderful exceptional achievements, for example a good archer, cooker, fisherman, warrior etc.
Their ability was called a "tao".
So let's stress that there is a Tao with reference to the genesis of the universe, that is, a philosophical one, and one that designates some personal skills.
The second one has nothing to do with the Great Tao...
There is also another definition that refers to the Movement of Heaven, the Tao of Heaven, a concept explained in our introductory course into Taoism,
level 1.Let's conclude that the word "tao" has many unrelated meanings that depend on the point of view from which we analyze it and that there is nothing such a "personal Tao".
The mistakes made by the author of the above quote may be explained by the fact that he does not refer to the Chinese Tao because he has in mind a vague idea of living in fusion with Nature, the dearest concept of disciples of New-Age ideology.
This ideology, much appreciated by Westerners, has nothing in common with Taoist's Tao.
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Paper by Jhian
See also:
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