a pilgrim’s trace

THE DAO SPURS COURAGE, BUT IT ALSO TAMES A MAN.   

Albeit its being a metaphysical principle, Lao Zi’s Dao stands clear to the Chinese psyche insofar as it is not an idea that would just trigger the mind.  Speaking of the Dao entails a direct appeal to humanity, to the concrete, to the practical. 

            The Dao, for its plurisignificance can be deemed in varied though connected and even ironic ways.  As that which describes (and not define) reality and guides how this reality should be lived by, the Dao may be deemed as a spontaneous principle which admits both command and surrender.    Command, insofar as it does not deprive man of the chance to exude his creative powers (owing it to fact that it is the same principle that spurs it) – that such spontaneous principle allows us go beyond ourselves, project that we have much more than ourselves to work on.  This thought soon enough admits the necessity of surrender – not essentially to spontaneity, but to the idea that reality comes as an external fact.  It is not a principle that we formulate in the mind.  Reality is not concocted by the mind, but is embraced by man (in his holistic self) as it unfolds unto him.

            The Dao as a metaphysical principle leads us to the realization that we may not conquer the world, but we can operate along its predicaments.  This entails courage and humility; courage to work on the things that we have and project to its fullest, since what man beautifully does will always be a spur of nature and humility by accepting the fact that man cannot take his lead at all times, that things can be more beautiful if we allow this external principle not to work on its own, but to help us as we project and actualize what we have.  Along with this man has to bear that the Dao practically does not lead man to passivity and moreso definitely not to sloth.  The Dao for its externality is an aid, it is a guide by which man may operate, may express himself both with freedom and total self-giving.  Its externality then can be taken as an internal principle, a clear vision towards a not-so-certain path, but towards a single end, that is the realization of reality.  The thought of the Dao as the principle of everything and by which everything abides makes us appreciate the authenticity of experience while at the same time making us realize that  there will always be a clear path in terms of human resolves.