My First Impression of the Tao

Before I was done with the first chapter, I was already loving the Tao Te Ching. I really like texts like these because I reflect on my own life and on my own beliefs and behaviors. This type of things are what get me excited about loving life and looking at it from different perceptions. It's fascinating to see how everything develops in the Tao although there is no apparent plot. Every chapter has a set of ideas that lead up to a conclusion and, in the end, everyhting makes sense because of the last phrases that make up the conclusion.


"Under heaven all can see beauty as beauty only because there is ugliness. All can know good as good only because there is evil.
Therefore,having and not having arise together.
Difficult and easy complement each other.
Long and short contrast each other.
High low rest upon each other.
Voice and sound harmonize each other.
Front and back follow one another."

(Tao 3)

While I was reading this, I kept thinking about Job. This man kept cursing God and yet God felt sorry and gave him everything back. I kept thinking what would God have done he had this mentality instead of the one he judged Job with. If Job had looked at his punishments as an opportunity to grow and evolve maybe he would have acted differently. Job reminds me of a spoiled child but this mentality described in the Tao is ideal. If everyone thought that "Long and short contrast each other" or that "Difficult and easy complement each other", then we wouldn't be where we are today.


"Work is done, then forgotten. Therefore it lasts forever." (Tao 2)

It took me a long time to figure out what this meant so what I got out of it is worth sharing. When people receive too much recognition, then it might go to their heads. However, when people do things quietly and help on a small scale, the impact is much greater. It might not be helping out in the community but clearly,any type of work creates an impact on somebody else. These impacts are what gets remembered in the long run and the lack of recognition or popularity avoids their destruction.

There was one thing though, that I didn't agree much with. "Not seeing desirable things prevents confusion of the heart" (Tao 3) I think that "seeing desirable things" is what pulls you to wake up every morning. If you don't have anything you want, yes, you might not be confused with what you want, but you won't have something to live for either. "Desirable things" go from wanting the best for your family to having the latest, hottest, car. It is important to differentiate "desirable things" from ambition.


"In dwelling ,be close to the land.
In meditation, go deep in the heart.
In dealing with others be gentle and kind.
In speech, be true.
In ruling, be just.
In daily life, be competent.
Inaction, be aware of the time and season.
No fight: No blame" (Tao 8)

This is one of the parts I liked best. These are such wise words written so poetically. What I like most of them is the simplicity and the clarity in which honesty is explained. I think that all of this explains what honesty can make of you. A part from this being a literary piece, it is also a great handbook on how to be better people. The final phrase, "No fight: No blame" is very significant because if there's no fight no one is blamed and nobody loses.

Finally! There's women in the picture! I'm not a feminist and I'm not defending men either, but I do think that the "women over men or men over women" mentality is absurd and stupid. However, I do think that the Tao describes women in a very appropriate yet peculiar way. It is the first time that I see women described as being the "gateway to heaven and earth." This definition of a woman was very confusing at first, but comparing it to the ridiculous definitions in the Bible and the Analects, this is a much more acceptable version.
"The valley spirit never dies;
It is the woman, primal mother.
Her gateway is the root of heaven and earth.
It is like a veil barely seen.
Use it; it will never fail" (Tao 6)
"Opening and closing the gates of heaven, Can you play the role of woman?" (Tao 10)
It also took me some time to understand this interpretation for women, but it was only until I reached chapter 10 that I understood. When the narrator asked the reader, "Can you play the role of woman?" the impression I was given was how the narrator was letting the reader know it isn't easy to be a woman, therefore, women should not be taken for granted.

I really liked all of chapter 10. I agreed with all that it said and these would actually be principles I would follow. When the Virtue appeared I thought about Confucius and I wonder if these texts will be similar. I liked the definition of Virtue because it gave you a reflective question afterward the principle. So far, Taoism is what I've liked best and I feel identified with what it says so I find it both interesting and effortless to reflect about it.