T'ai Chi Ch'uan Home

A Common Link and Practical Exercise
that Leads to the Realization of Human Potential

Taoism dates back to the earliest stage in the strong human drive to understand and develop our relationships to nature and society. Like the wise men of the New Testament, early Taoists saw in the stars, a correspondence between nature and human events.

Early Taoists saw spiritual illumination in a spirit that flowed through creation and the course of events. This spirit also linked to and answered the question of what was the state of the universe before creation or any existence at all. Before existence, the Taoists believed there was necessarily in non-existence a state of harmony which was perfect in and of itself. There was no need for anything to improve non-existence. This was understood to be a perfect state of emptiness or selflessness. It was referred to as The Grand Quiescence. St. Thomas Aquinas came to the same understanding of God as a state of perfection with no need of anything in creation to improve on perfection.

Both Taoists and Christians understand creation as a selfless act of the perfect state of selflessness. Through this perfect state of selflessness, the opposing but complimentary forces of nature came into existence to work with each other to develop the universe. Through correspondences nature could adapt, develop, and sustain itself by means of natural principals. Such corresponding opposites as light and dark, hot and cold, positive and negative, wet and dry, water and land, male and female could interact, compliment one another, and develop what we know as creation.

How do we grow to understand this process of creation? Both Taoists and Christians believe spiritual illumination comes through exercises and acts of selflessness that leads to a closer relation to the spirit that runs through creation and connects to perfect harmony.

Christ strove to eliminate the distractions of the world by first entering a desert alone to confront the illusions of worldly power and control as well as the illusions of commanding supernatural powers to our own selfish needs and self-importance. Only after mastering himself in an honest relationship between himself and creation, could he begin his ministry. He taught the same to his disciples, whom he took to the desert to teach how to empty themselves of themselves. Elijah, Buddha, Bodiharma and all great spiritual teachers pointed to the same necessity of emptying ourselves of ourselves to find harmony in the world or as Taoism put it in yin convergence. Yin is the mastery of the inner self and the convergence is merging inner harmony with the outer.

Taoists saw salvation as a mental state free from disturbing thoughts in a universe we could not comprehend. Through their meditative exercises, they saw salvation in union with a spirit of harmony and peace beyond the limited rational explanation of such puzzling questions as to why apples sometimes unfairly fall on our head instead of the next person's head. Obviously, the apple is an impersonal force similar to the rain or misfortune spoken of in the Western Bible as falling impartially on the just and unjust.

How can we assume this perfect spirit cares for creation and is a source of harmony if this spirit is throwing apples at us and trying to drown us with rain? Why doesn’t this spirit protect us from these impersonal forces? For one, it would make sense to glue these apples to branches so they just stay in their trees and leave us alone. Why couldn’t they have been created with vocal chords, so they could at least shout, “Look out below!” Then we could get out of the way. But then what if the apples started talking to each other and started a rebellion when it came to harvest time! Maybe this plan would be shortsighted since the rational mind cannot see the future in a comprehensive fashion. There appears to be some complex plan beyond our rational explanations and our limited tunnel vision. If there isn’t a plan, why should there be any apple at all or any existence at all? Is there some meaningful interdependence between the impersonal forces?

For the question of any meaningful order in the universe, the Taoists wisely concluded there was no easy answer in words. Words were by nature simplified abstractions and not the actual existence it tries to poke and prod at. As the New Testament says, human precepts and utterances come far short of explaining the universe, much less God, The Creator. It is obviously absurd for fragile insignificant man to expect to define how The Creator should create.

The Taoists wisely avoided the trap of human arrogance and pride in deciding The Creator should have done it this way or that. They sidestepped the issue altogether by noticing simply enough that there is no issue of separation from creation. We exist in creation. The Taoists concluded the mind is not separate from the body and the body is not separate from the stars, the apples, another human, or the selfless spirit of creation. Through the acceptance of the will of creation, we can fully realize our relationships with nature and act in concurrence with nature, a powerful ally that has influential connections to everything in creation. Such acceptance opens up our hearts and minds. It allows us to think in terms much larger than ourselves. It awakens us to all the possibilities in life so we can realize our potential.

What do we call this creator? Shouldn’t we give him or her a name so we can tell everyone we know the creator? We could feel important and enlightened. Then we could condemn anyone who misuses the name. Or if someone uses the wrong name, we could go to war to straighten them out. The Taoists understood what lay hidden behind existence is beyond naming, or understanding on human terms alone. This is similar to the concept of Yahweh in the Old Testament. Yahweh was a word that meant there was no word for God and that God is beyond rational explanation. However, God exists throughout all existence as “I Am Who Am.” God could not be subject to a word, which is no more than a series of marks on a page or vibrations from some insignificant and frail human vocal chords.

The Taoists saw God as a Spirit beyond rational comprehension, but always present in creation and the impersonal forces of nature. The impersonal forces in an isolated view may seem to be complicated, puzzling, troublesome or outright destructive, but the impersonal forces are efficiently and effectively used in a complex creation of which we are a small part.

For whatever reason, creation started and continues with the interaction of such forces as gravity and weightlessness; centripetal and centrifugal forces; rain and sun; hot and cold; man and woman; Adam and Eve. Through their interaction, the universe exists and we are a part of it whether we like it or not.

So what good is this knowledge of something or some spirit running through creation making it possible for apples to fall on our heads? Why should anyone care? Let's just go about our business of sacking and pillaging and laying waste for a decent day’s wage! If God is impersonal and we are so unimportant, why bother?

Wait a minute; Taoists never said God was impersonal or uncaring! Only the tools of creation are impersonal, like a plough or a sword.

In the West, there is the understanding that God personally cares for creation and the salvation of mankind through the blessings of The Holy Spirit. According to Christians, God cared so much; he gave mankind Christ to show man the human face of God. Christ pointed the way through meditation, prayer, and selfless acts. He went so far as to willingly sacrifice himself so we might better understand God’s concern that humans lose their connection to God with their contrary acts of inhumanity to man. Violence perpetuated by man leads man away from the salvation found in our personal relationship with God.

The only reason to care about the perfect state of the God of Creation is if this perfect state is truly selfless, a good definition for love, which can truly enrich our lives by revealing the blessings of creation and our personal connection to the source of all happiness.

Maybe I could be happier if I wasn’t so inhumane, but I am busy sacking and pillaging to make a living for my family! This just doesn’t seem practical to waste time on selfless acts and meditation. It’s a dog eat dog world! Let’s be practical!

There's a practical side to Taoist practices. This practical side is the Everyday Tao, which is relevant to all religions or non-religious. A Taoist takes time away from the disturbing distractions of life to sit quietly or practice meditative movements to calm the mind and relax the body to find harmony with the spirit of creation. By these practices, the adept can develop the selfless spirit which permeates all creation and connects all creation in a healing, nurturing love. Not only does this approach help one think and act with better clarity and effect, but it helps in relations at home and work. If one gets so tense and irritable that you can’t do anything anyway, practicality does not lead to anything but heart attacks.

One might well consider the Taoist Classics as well as The Bible, meditation and prayer as remedies for runaway stress, anger, and other self-destructive emotions and behaviors. One such classic is Practical Taoism attributed to a seventh-generation master of the Northern Branch of the Complete Reality School of Taoism, known as the Preserver of Truth. Here is an excerpt that is even more applicable today:

"The Taoist Master Ziyang noted, 'To preserve basic harmony, nothing takes precedence over detachment from emotional consciousness.'

"The reason things sprout in spring and not in summer, fall, or winter is because of harmony. When people are free from emotional consciousness, then their energy is harmonious. When energy is harmonious, it mellows and expands, and the harmony of heaven and earth also responds to it. Would it not then be possible to extend life?

"Nowadays people's desires and emotions get excited in the midst of daily activities, so the action of their energy is flighty, unstable, suffocated, and depressed. It is as if the weather were suddenly cold and then suddenly hot, scorching in winter and frosty in summer - is this basic harmony? Since it is inharmonious, there is the possibility of aberration and illness, destructive to life - how then could one hope for longevity, eternal vision, and attainment of the Way? So it is said that to preserve basic harmony, nothing takes precedence over detachment from emotional consciousness." - From The Taoist Classics, the Collected Translations of Thomas Cleary, Volume Two, Copyright 2003, Shambhala Publications, Inc.

Excited in the midst of daily activities, flighty, unstable, suffocated, and depressed -- sounds a lot like the stress of daily life in 2007.

Okay, we take care of our inner harmony, not unlike Christ's retreats to the desert, sea, mountains... What about making a living and dealing with other people who are not so harmonious?

The Taoist first and foremost finds the spirit of all creation in meditation exercises. This then leads to the development of human potential. Christian monks such as the Trapists and Jesuits use similar exercises to penetrate "The Cloud of Unknowing" or distracting thoughts that keep us from a better understanding of God and nature. Jesuits sit in meditative silence. Some Christian Monasteries have incorporated Zen Meditation, a form of meditation that evolved from Taoism and Buddhism.

Such exercises have practical benefits in such human activities as business. The Benedictine’s have an enduring and most successful track record of a business model in the Rule of St. Benedict written in 530 A.D. The Benedictine influence can still be seen in the international banking system, the preservation of ancient documents, the great medieval universities that became the models for higher education in the Western world, advanced farming and construction techniques, modern hospitals, and the treatment of noncombatants in war. Benedictine communities still produce famous liqueurs, ceramics, corn, apples, sweet breads, beer, clothes, wine, and books. They manage hotels and conference centers, private universities and elementary schools, hospitals and nursing homes, and libraries and museums. For further information see The Benedictine Rule of Leadership, Classic Management Secrets You Can Use Today, by Craig S. Galbraith, Ph.D., & Oliver Galbraith, III, Ph.D., Adams Media, Avon Mass., Copyright 2004.

In Western Science we have practical examples of this correspondence with God affecting the potential of scientists.

Albert Einstein, best known for his theory of relativity, put it this way, "Science without religion is lame and religion without science is blind." He also wanted to see as God sees. He said he wanted, "to know how God created the world. I am not interested in this or that phenomenon with spectrum of this or that element. I want to know His thought, the rest are details."

James Prescott Joule, who discovered the First Law of Thermodynamics, said, "It is evident that an acquaintance with natural law means no less than an acquaintance with the mind of God therein expressed."

Louis Pasteur, who was the father of microbiology and developer of pasteurization, wrote, "The more I study nature, the more I stand amazed at the work of the creator." "Science brings men closer to God."

It could have been a Taoist writing when Johannes Kepler, astronomer and mathematician who discovered three laws of planetary motion, wrote, "God is the kind Creator who brought forth nature out of nothing."

The above are examples from Western Science of the correspondence of spiritual illumination and human potential. More importantly, The Western Bible records the corresponding development of morals and psychological insight necessary for the development of human civilization.

Moses literally recorded in stone the basics of natural moral law necessary for any civilization to develop. Christ expanded on these with his Sermon on the Mount and the Beatitudes. His new commandment was to love our neighbors as ourselves and God.

Quite naturally, we see the same development in Taoism. Chang San-feng was one of the greatest masters of later Taoist history and legend. The development of the health/martial art/meditation exercise known as t'ai chi ch'uan is also attributed to him. Below is his essay on moral and psychological understanding. It is titled, Loving People.

"Humans are the most intelligent of living beings. Because they are intelligent, we should love their life

"Don't connive to encompass people's downfall, don't injure people with weapons, don't poison people with chemicals.

"Don't oppress people with authority and power.

"Actions that are harmful to people are eventually punished in some way or another, outwardly or inwardly. Ultimately it is impossible to escape the consequences of deeds.

"People like talking birds, they like beautiful and fragrant plants, they like tame animals, they like pet fish -- are not other people as important as these creatures?

"Just look at the way people despise each other and treat each other cruelly, even as they multiply and congregate.

“Whatever you do, you should think of caring for people's reputations and fostering their reputations, caring for people's merits and fostering their merits, caring for people's work and fostering their work, caring for people's benefit and fostering their benefit.

“Fostering the good name of others is the way to foster your own good name. Fostering the merits of others is the way to foster your own merit. Fostering the work of others is the way to foster your own work. Fostering the benefit of others is the way to foster your own benefit. It is all love.

"In fostering people's reputation and merit, work and benefit, don't conceal the loyalty of loyal people, don't usurp the achievements of meritorious people. Don't slander the virtuous, don't cast aspersions on the chastity of virgins.

"Don't envy the able, don't borrow the ability of others either. Don't resent the talented, don't be blind to people’s talents either.

"Don't conceal goodness, and don't appropriate the goodness of others. Don't elevate evil, don't imitate the evil of others.

"Don't secretly inhibit the advancement of others, don't ruin the flourishing activities of others, don't foil the good deeds of others, don't destroy the good plans of others.

"Don't lessen the life or wealth of others, don't fool with others' goods.

"Don't help evil people usurp the position of good people, don't collaborate with petty people in seducing the offspring of good families.

"Don't defame the worthy. Don't defraud the destitute. Don't separate parents and children, don't come between relatives. Don't destroy others' marriages. Don't slight the handicapped.

"Save people from difficulty, help them in times of need. Take pity on those who are alone. Forgive people's faults. Help people when they are sick or suffering, feed and clothe them when they are hungry and cold.

"Support your relatives and help out your neighbors. Have compassion for the orphaned and widowed. Respect the aged and care for the poor. All this is love for people.

"Heaven gives birth to the millions as a ground for kind people to exercise kindness, as a place for good people to accumulate goodness; as a result they can broaden their minds to protect and take care of large numbers of people.

"Those with wealth and status who love people will surely enrich their descendants; the poor and lowly who love people will surely be able to attain success.

"For Heaven helps the good. God enriches people. Therefore to those who want to know the way to deal with the world, I suggest, Love People." - From The Taoist Classics, the Collected Translations of Thomas Cleary, Volume Three, Copyright 2003, Shambhala Publications, Inc.