3. The Dao of Human Life
This form of the Dao is mainly
concerned with the truth of
human existence and the code
of social conduct.
This has also profoundly influenced
the martial ethics in Tai Chi
Chuan.
In most cases it is demonstrated
through the wisdom as exposed
in "the three treasures"
advocated by Lao Zi: The first
is "kindness." The
second is "frugality."
The third is "to dare not
be ahead of the world."
It is proclaimed that "With
kindness one can become courageous;
with frugality one can become
generous; and with not daring
to be ahead of the world one
can become the leader of the
world" (Ch. 67). The whole
idea is closely connected with
Lao Zi's viewpoint of "retreat"
that seems to be defensive and
passive. Nevertheless, Lao Zi
maintains that only the ability
to fall back is bravery, the
ability to shrink is to stretch;
and avoiding prominence and
precedence makes one the first.
He is convinced that the breach
of these three rules of wisdom
will bring about complete failure.
Moreover, it is generally acknowledged
that "the three treasures"
were recommended as solutions
to social problems such as harsh
human relations, insatiable
desires and keen competition
among people in general and
the rich and powerful in particular.
The wisdom of life is also reflected
in the sensibility and awareness
of the necessity of "being
contented," which is assumed
to yield "constant happiness,"
(Ch. 46) and the necessity of
"being modest" that
is believed to create advantages.
Furthermore, it is also contained
in the consciousness of the
relativity and mutualism in
respect of the interactions
between the beautiful and the
ugly, the good and the evil,
gains and losses as well as
between fortune and misfortune.
According to Lao Zi "When
people in the world know the
beautiful as beauty, then arises
the recognition of the ugly.
When they know the good a good,
there arises the recognition
of the evil" (Ch. 2). In
our social and daily lives the
beautiful and the good are what
we expect while the ugly and
the evil are what we reject.
They are set side by side as
antithetical categories, and
come into being in mutual contrast
as a consequence of value judgment.
Lao Zi is usually interpreted
as intending to completely deny
and eliminate the distinction
between the above-mentioned
categories. I hold that he attempted
to advocate a rather indifferent
stance to the distinction as
such. That was because he found
it impossible to improve the
situation of his harsh time,
when power and wealth spoke
far more louder than anything
else, resulting in the turning
of social values upside-down.
As to the dialectical interaction
between gains and losses, Lac
Zi inferred from his principle
of "reversion" as
the movement of the Dao that
"an excessive love of fame
is bound to cause an extravagant
expense; a rich hoard of wealth
is bound to suffer a heavy loss"
(Ch. 44). Throughout the history
of human society what people
have always desired and pursued
are chiefly fame and wealth.
They may go so far as to be
alienated or enslaved by "the
fetters of fame and the shackles
of wealth" as the Chinese
metaphor goes. Hence Lao Zi
advised people to be contented
with what they have on the one
hand, and on the other, warned
the avaricious and ambitious
not to go to extremes.
As is known to all, good fortune
or happiness is what people
like to embrace whilst misfortune
or misery is what they try to
avoid. Yet, people mostly do
not realize that the two opposites
go hand in hand. "Misfortune
is," as Lao Zi remarks,
"that beside which fortune
lies; fortune is that beneath
which misfortune lurks."
This again reveals their interrelationship
of change or transformation
at a certain point as they slant
toward each other. This thought
naturally corresponds to Lao
Zi's generalization that "Reversion
is the movement of Dao."
(Ch. 40)
Above all, the Dao or wisdom
of human existence is fundamentally
exemplified via the attitude
toward life itself and its natural
end -death. Almost all living
beings are afraid to die, especially
human beings. The love of life
and fear of death seem to be
connected with natural instinct
in the case of mankind. Lao
Zi observed that what hinders
human freedom could be a double
complex related to life and
death. He then pronounced that
life and death as phenomena
are as natural as anything else
in the world. "Man comes
alive into the world and goes
dead into the earth. Three out
of ten will live a longer time.
Three out of ten will live a
shorter time. And three out
of ten will strive for long
life but meet premature death.
And for what reason? It is because
of excessive preservation of
life. Those who don't value
their lives are wiser than those
who overvalue their lives"
(Ch. 50). This entire statement
is noticeably a presentation
of Lao Zi's attitude toward
life and death which are considered
as natural phenomena from his
Daoist naturalist perspective.
Its implied message is aimed
at reminding people (1) to live
their lives as naturally as
possible so that they can enjoy
them; (2) not to be crushed
by the tragic sense of death
that befalls all men alike;
and (3) not to overvalue life
because it is in vain to strive
for a long life by means of
excessive preservation. Derived
from the Dao of living is then
a practical approach that lies
in less clinging to life-consciousness,
since only by so doing can one
be "out of the range of
death," according to Lao
Zi.
In conclusion
these concepts can be easily
retrieved in Tai Chuan, where
one's should always struggled
against "excess" in
his "martial" attitude:
- one's should seldom attack
first (kindness),
- no excessive use of its wait
(knees never beyond the vertical
of your toes),
- during focus one's mental
activity in "vacuity",seeking
complete adaptability towards
opponent's offensive, and not
focusing on purely "victory/defeat"
(life/death) issues...
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