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THE
ABDUCTION OF MODERNITY
Part 4: Taoism and modernity
By Henry C K
Liu
Part 1: The race toward barbarism
Part 2: That old time religion
Part 3: Rule of law vs Confucianism
To Taoists, modernity is a meaningless concept
because truth is timeless and life goes in circles. In
post-modern thinking in the West, much of the awareness
that Taoists have entertained for centuries is just now
surfacing. Even in military strategy, Sun Tzu's On
the Art of War (Sunzi Bingfa), an ancient Taoist
military treatise (500 BC), is now much in vogue in this
modern age of weapons of mass destruction and
remote-controlled precision bombs.
Historians
are uncertain of the historical facts regarding Laozi,
founder of Taoism. The name itself casts doubt on
Laozi's identity. Ad verbum, it simply means "old
sage". Colloquially, the term laozi in modern
Chinese has come to mean an arrogant version of "yours
truly". The earliest documented information on Laozi
appears in the classic Records of the Historian (Shi
Ji), written by historian Sima Qian in 108 BC during
the Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 220). It describes Laozi as a
person named Li Er (born around 604 BC) who worked as a
librarian in the court of the State of Eastern Zhou
(Dong Zhou) during the Spring and Autumn Period
(Chunqiu, 770-481 BC).
Laozi was reported to
have met only once the young Confucius (Kongfuzi,
551-479 BC), who was 53 years his junior. If
intellectual exchanges took place at that celebrated
meeting, Confucius had to be at least in his late 20s,
thus placing Laozi in his 80s when the two sages
purportedly met. Confucius did not become widely known
until 500 BC at the age of 51, which would put Laozi's
age at 104 if they met as two intellectual celebrities.
No wonder the pundit was called "old sage".
Laozi is generally accepted as author of the
Classic of the Virtuous Path (Daode Jing),
although evidence has been uncovered to suggest that it
was actually written by others long after his time,
albeit based on ideas ascribed to him. The Book of
Virtuous Path is written in a style that is both
cryptic and enigmatic. The true meanings of its messages
are difficult to elucidate definitively. Its main
attraction lies in the requirement of active reader
participation for receiving the full benefit of its
mystic insights. Each reading solicits new levels of
insights from the reader depending on his or her
experience, mood, mental alertness and preoccupation. It
asks questions rather than provides answers. It is a
book of revelation with an effect similar to what the
Bible has on devoted Christians.
Zhuangzhou, a
Zhou Dynasty skeptic and mystic who lived in 4th century
BC, in his classic Zhuangzi expounded on many of
Laozi's doctrines with original insight, ingenious
construct, incisive witticism and delightful charm.
Drawing on Taoist concepts, Zhuangzhou opposed and
ridiculed the moral utilitarianism of Confucius.
Tao or Dao, a Chinese word meaning "way" or
"path", delineates an enlightened perception of the
mysterious ways of life. The path of life is revealed
professedly only through spontaneous insights and
creative breakthroughs. The alternating, self-renewing
and circular phenomenon of nature such as day following
night following day is an illuminating Taoist paradigm.
The life-regenerating cycle of the seasons is another
example. Taoists believe all in life to be inseparably
interrelated. Taoists consider conventional wisdom
illusionary. They point out that concepts are merely
cognitive extremes of a consciousness continuum.
Extremes exist only as contrasting points to give
distinctive meanings to the unthinking, but in truth,
these extremes are inseparable interdependent
polarities. There can be no life without death, no
goodness without evil and no happiness without tragedy.
Light shines only in darkness. We only know something
has been forgotten after we remember it. There is no
modernity without tradition. Behind this dualistic
illusion, a unifying, primary principle of life endures.
It is called Tao.
To Taoists, the essence of
life can be appreciated by observing the flow of water.
The word "alive" (huo) in the Chinese language is
composed of the root sign representing "water"
(shui) and the modifying sign representing
"tongue" (she), suggesting that flowing speech is
the essence of living. Water, that fluid substance with
no shape of its own, is capable of assuming the most
intricate shapes of its containers. Any substance with a
rigid form becomes prisoner to that form, unable to
adopt to changing surroundings. Humans, whose lives are
subject to infinite constraints, should attempt to adopt
the flexibility of water to accommodate the intricate
dimensions of the containers of life. Water, always
taking the path of least resistance and most natural
flow, seeking rest at the lowest point, preserving a
level surface over irregular bottoms, overcoming
stubborn obstacles, smoothing rough surfaces and
rounding sharp edges of hard materials, provides a
Taoist model for an enlightened man's approach to life's
imperfections. In moderate amounts, water is a
life-giving substance. In excessive amounts, it can be
cataclysmic and it can drown life. Like water, life
reacts violently and becomes destructive when forced. It
can be peaceful and good when guided gently.
According to Taoist precept, roushu
(flexible method) is an approach to be preferred over
violent confrontation, which tends to be self-defeating
and counterproductive. Meditation and calm contemplation
are the means to spiritual liberation. They are the true
instruments to man's salvation from obsessive fixations
and from illusionary and distracting agitations of the
physical senses. To attain without effort is nature's
way. To attain with forced effort is an unenlightened
man's folly which will always be self-defeating. Judo,
the Japanese art of physical combat that seeks to turn
the opponent's own strength against himself, is derived
from a Tang Taoist fighting style called roushu.
The US "war on terror" has yet to understand the
effectiveness of roushu, and until it does, it
will remain self-defeating. Force produces counterforce.
The use of fear as a deterrence operates like a
concentric mirror, reflecting fear back on the point of
initial radiation.
Every action reduces the
range of one's options. Not taking premature or
unnecessary actions keeps all of one's options open, so
that the most appropriate action remains available.
Actions always elicit reactions. Each action taken
provokes reactions from all quarters that, taken
together, are always more powerful than the precipitous
action itself. It is the ultimate definition of the
inescapable law of unintended consequences.
To
follow the dao (path) of life is to go with the
natural flow of life and to avoid going against it. The
ethical theories of Taoism lean toward passive
resistance, believing that evil, by definition, will
ultimately destroy even itself without undue
interference.
Yet it would be a mistake to
regard Taoism as fatalistic and pessimistic, instead of
the ultimate sophistication in optimism that it is.
Controlled quantities of the bad can be good. Excessive
amounts of the good can be bad. Poison kills. But when
handled properly, it can cure diseases. Without poison,
there can be no medicine. To employ poison to attack
poison is a Taoist principle, which is validated in
modern medical the practice of vaccination, the use of
antibiotics and chemotherapy treatments.
Only by
not applying effort can one achieve that state in which
nothing is not attainable effortlessly (wu-wei ze
wu-suo-bu-wei). Every Taoist knows this famous
Taoist assertion, although none can fully explain it.
Translated, it reads literally: Only by avoiding effort
can one achieve that state in which nothing is not
attainable effortlessly. This well-known Taoist
assertion, the inherent paradox of which defies logic,
is still effortlessly driving modern students of Chinese
philosophy insane.
A person's role in modern
economic life, when observed with detached insight,
illustrates the truth of the famous Taoist dilemma of
aiming to be effortless.
Before one chooses a
profession, one has the option of a wide range of
endeavors with which to satisfy one's interest and to
enable one to be useful in life. One can become a
philosopher, an artist, a politician, a teacher, a
scientist, a lawyer, a doctor, etc. As soon as one
decides to be a lawyer, for example, then one can no
longer afford to spend much time on other fields of
endeavor, thus greatly narrowing one's options. If, in
order to be the best in one's field, one devotes all of
one's time and effort to the study of law and nothing
else, one ends up being ignorant of other aspects of
life. One can therefore end up aimlessly as a useless
expert. Thus the exclusive study of law may neutralize
one's original purpose which is to lead a useful life by
promoting justice. For a specialization to be truly
useful, it needs to be defined so inclusively that
excessive specialization itself becomes a pitfall to
avoid. The corollary: the desire for one's objective
will block one's attainment of it. This is so because
the distracting impact of one's desire will obscure
one's focus on the objective itself.
It is
better not to act unless and until one is certain such
action will not foreclose other options, rendering one
paralyzed. But fear of action is paralysis itself.
Unenlightened persons seek fame and fortune to achieve
happiness, only to find that through obsessive seeking
of fame and fortune, they destroy the very chance for
happiness. They mistakenly regard fame and fortune,
superficial trappings of happiness, as happiness itself.
They slave after fame and fortune without realizing that
it is that very slavery that will rob them of their
happiness. Incidentally, "happiness" in the Chinese
language is expressed by the term kuai-huo, which
literally means "fast-living".
It is a Taoist
axiom that intellectual scholarship and analytical logic
can only serve to dissect and categorize information.
Knowledge, different from information, is achieved only
through knowing. Ultimately, only intuitive
understanding can provide wisdom. Truth, while elusive,
exists. But it is obscured by search, because purposeful
search will inevitably mislead the searcher from truth.
By focusing on the purpose, the searcher can only find
what he is looking for. How does one know what questions
to ask about truth if one does not know what the elusive
answers should be? Conversely, if one knows already what
the answers should be, why does one need to ask
questions? Lewis Carroll's Alice in Alice's
Adventures in Wonderland (1865) would unknowingly be
a Taoist.
Taoists believe that the dao
(path) of life, since it eludes taxonomic definition and
intellectual pursuit, can only be intuitively
experienced through mystic meditation, by special
breathing exercises and sexual techniques to enhance the
mind and harmonize the body. They believe that these
mind-purifying undertakings, coupled with an ascetic
lifestyle and lean diet, would also serve to prolong
life. Taoist philosophy is referred to as
Xuanxue, literally "mystic learning".
Taoists consider the duty of a ruler to be that
of protecting with minimal interference his subjects
from harm, often from themselves, thus avoiding the
overriding injury that excessive intervention would
bring. A truly wise ruler should act in the way nature's
unseen hand gently protects the good, the definition of
which is complex and philosophical. The word
"governance" (zhi) in Chinese is composed of the
root sign of "water" (shui) and the modifying
sign of "platform" (tai), suggesting that to
govern is similar to preserving stability of a floating
platform on water. Excessive and unbalanced
interference, even when motivated by good intention,
does not always produce good results. Periodic, mild
famines may be considered good in the long run because
the people will learn lessons from them on the need for
grain storage. Excessive prosperity may be considered
bad because it leads to wasteful consumption with
environmental and spiritual pollution that eventually
will destroy the good life. Present-day economists would
come to appreciate the desirability of sustainable
balanced moderate economic growth over the alternative
of fluctuating booms and busts.
Taoists consider
Confucian reliance on the Code of Rites (Liji) to guide
socio-political behavior as oppressive and
self-defeating. The Code of Rites is the ritual
compendium as defined by Confucius to prescribe proper
individual behavior in a hierarchical society. Taoists
regard blind Confucian penchant for moralistic coercion
as misguided. Such coercion neglects the true power of
roushu (flexible method). Taoists think that
ultimately, great success always leads to great failure
because each successful stage makes the next stage more
difficult until, by definition, failure inevitably
results. To Taoists, the assertion that nothing succeeds
like success is false. In truth, nothing fails like
success. Success is always the root of future failure.
Since the only way to avoid the trap of life's
vicious circle is to limit one's ambition, why not
eliminate ambition entirely? Would that not ensure
success in life? But a little ambition is a good thing.
Total elimination, even of undesirables, is an extreme
solution, and it is therefore self-defeating. Besides,
the paradox is that eliminating all goals is itself a
goal, thus guaranteeing built-in failure. An example of
this is the futility of a compulsive organizer who makes
a list of ways to relax. From the traveler's point of
view, no matter how many times he changes direction, he
always ends up where he is heading. Life is a prison
from which one can escape only if one does not try to
escape. It is the desire to escape that makes a place a
prison, and the desire to return that makes it a home.
Home is not where one is, it is where one wants to
return.
Taoism as religion is generally regarded
by intellectuals as a corruption of its essence as
philosophy. Having evolved originally from a mystic
search for truth, Taoism has gradually degenerated into
practices of secular alchemy aiming to achieve the
transformation of commonplace metals into gold, and to
discover cures for diseases and formulae for longevity
and secrets to immortality.
The historical
justification for this censorious view of Taoism as
religion gone awry comes from Taoist movements such as
the Yellow Turbans Disturbance (Huangjin Huo). It is so
labeled by the contemptuous Confucian establishment.
Beginning around AD 170, shortly before the final
collapse of the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), roaming
bands of disaffected peasants mounted a decade-long
disruption of the peace in the provinces. Eventually, in
AD 184, exploiting aggravating dislocations caused by
floods along lower Yellow River (Huanghe), a messianic
mass movement of social revolution developed in areas
between modern-day Shandong and Henan provinces.
Historians call the movement the Yellow Turbans
Peasant Rebellion (Huangjin Minbian) because its peasant
members identified themselves by wearing yellow turbans
around their heads. It was the first major peasant
revolt in Chinese history. The leader of the rebellion
was Zhang Jiao, chief patriarch of the Taoist sect of
the Way of Celestial Peace (Taiping Dao). Zhang Jiao had
been an unsuccessful candidate in keju (public
examinations) for officialdom. While gathering herbal
medicine in the mountainous wilderness, he allegedly met
an old sage named the South China Ancient Sage (Nanhua
Laoxian) from whom he received the three-volume
Celestial Peace Methods (Taiping Yaoshe). A
talented propagandist and messianic faith-healer, Zhang
Jiao proclaimed himself pope of a new religion based on
a synthesis of Huangdi (Yellow Emperor), primeval
mythical sovereign, and a deified Laozi, founder of
Taoism.
Huangdi is the ritual appellation
adopted by the first monarch in Chinese history, a man
named Gongsun, allegedly born on the celestial star
Xuanyuan. Legend has it that Huangdi established the
first kingdom in history at Youxiong, around Zhengzhou
in modern-day Henan province. During his reign,
language, costume, architecture, money, measure,
medicine and music were professedly invented.
All Chinese consider themselves descendants of
Huangdi. Huang (yellow) is the color of ripe
wheat. The concept of "yellow" commands a mythical
meaning in Chinese culture, signifying regality,
prosperity and civilization, all symbolized by the color
of golden harvest.
The Yellow Turbans, with a
theocratic organization of more than 500,000 zealous
cadres leading an army of 360,000 at the height of its
influence in AD 184, were ruled with supreme power by
Zhang Jiao and his two brothers. The three brothers, as
the Trinity of Lords of Heaven, Earth and Men
respectively, were supported by a hierarchy of
militarized clergy. Communal living was practiced with
regular public confessions, mass participation in
spiritual trances and orgiastic ceremonies in which men
and women engaged in prolonged kisses to "balance their
vital vapor (luoji)". Diseases were considered
consequences of sin and were believed to be curable by
healing amulets applied to affected parts of the body
and therapeutic charms worn around the neck or waist.
The Yellow Turbans Rebellion was finally
suppressed by renegade army commanders of the falling
Han Dynasty who became independent warlords and who kept
China fragmented for three more centuries, after AD 220,
before Yang Jian reunited the country by founding the
Sui Dynasty in 581.
Near Luoyang, 65 kilometers
southeast, in Songshan, epicenter of Chinese Buddhist
geo-cosmology, is situated the legendary Shaolin Si
(Young Forest Temple). Shaolin Si (aka Shaolin Temple)
is the birthplace of Chan Buddhism and the epic cradle
of Chinese martial arts. The warring skills of the
sengs of Shaolin Si have been famous since the
4th century AD. Even in modern times, tourists from the
world over flock to this monastery to visit this center
of wushu, the martial art known popularly as
gongfu (commonly referred to in English as "kung
fu"). Shaolinquan (Shaolin-style Boxing) is the
illustrious style of martial arts that traces its origin
to Shaolin Si at the time of its founding. Shaolin Si
was founded by an Indian prince of Persian-Samarkand
roots named Boddhidharma (Da'mo in Chinese) during the
Bei Wei Dynasty (Northern Wei, 386-534) in the 4th
century. Boddhidharma was the founder of a sect
(zong) of Buddhism known as Chan, later known as
Zen Buddhism in Japan and the West.
Chan is a
Chinese transfiguration of the Sanskrit word
dhyana, meaning "contemplation for truth", while
Zen is its Japanese pronunciation and Yoga is its
equivalent in Sanskrit. Chan precepts assert that
intellectual effort, good work, performance of rituals
and other traditional Buddhist practices are not only of
little inherent merit but also are often hindrances to
the quest for true insight into the enlightened meaning
of reality. Spiritual salvation can only be found by
introspective inquiries into one's inner soul. Purity
surpasses all.
After its import to China from
India, Chan Buddhism in Tang China derived an
anti-scholastic, anti-textual and anti-exegetical bias
from the mystic teachings of Taoism (Dao Jia
xuanxue).
Shortly after his death,
Boddhidharma was reportedly seen in person at Mount Cong
(Congling) of Songshan by Song Yun, an official of the
court of Bei Wei. The disciples of Bodhidharma excavated
their master's grave after the miraculous incident, only
to find his discarded burial clothes sans body.
Something similar happened to a man named Jesus.
Ascension to heaven for the pure of soul while alive is
an ancient notion in Taoist concepts, although ascension
after death is more a Christian notion than a Taoist
one. The Virgin Mary is declared by Pope Pius XII's 1950
bull Munificentissimus Deus, as an article of
faith, to have been "assumed" directly into heaven in
the body. Imperial Prince Jin, a Taoist holy prince, the
pious son of Emperor Lin of the ancient Zhou Dynasty
(1027-256 BC) who ruled from 571-546 BC, was reported to
have ascended to heaven before death, riding a white
crane.
Chan (Zen) teaching stresses spontaneous
oral instructions, Socratic in style, through the use of
mystical paradoxes to reach beyond the rigid limits of
deductive logic. It also derives from Taoist mystical
teaching a love of nature and a preference for the
rustic, ascetic life. Simplicity and purity are the
highest goals of Chan spiritual attainment. The key
concept in Chan philosophy is xu (void). Voidness
is the fullest attainment from existence. Nothingness is
all and all is nothingness: the ultimate nihilism.
Chan Buddhism in time split into the Northern
and Southern sects, headed respectively by Chenxiu and
Hui'neng. Chenxiu and Hui'neng were both disciples of
the late Master Hongren, the fifth patriarch after the
founder of Chan Buddhism, Boddhidharma (Da'mo) of
Songshan. When quizzed by the late Master Hongren at his
deathbed, in a test to select the master's successor,
about the extent of their respective enlightenment,
Chenxiu, the master's protege, proclaimed that his
enlightenment was comparable to the sacred banyan tree
and his heart was as calm as an alter mirror. To his
fellow monk's flowery assertion of having attained an
immaculate state of xu, Hui'neng dispassionately
proclaimed the famous counter-remark: "Fundamentally,
there is no significance in the banyan tree; and there
is no magic in a mirror. To be truly enlightened, these
material things ought to have no meaning."
After
the death of Master Hongren in 647, Chenxiu went south
to Jingzhou, in modern-day Hubei province, leaving their
master's legacy at Xiaolin Si in Songshan to his more
enlightened fellow seng (Buddhist monk). But
Hui'neng, in keeping with true enlightenment, elected to
retire farther south with his counter-culture sect to
Shaozhou, in modern-day Hunan province, to shun the
undesirable pollution of unsolicited celebrity, thus
becoming known as the Southern Sect (Nanzong). Headed by
Chenxiu, the Northern Sect (Beizong), so named because
Hui'neng's sect had gone farther south, placed emphasis
on teachings and gradual, incremental enlightenment.
By contrast, the Southern Sect, headed by
Hui'neng, places emphasis on inspiration rather than
teaching, and emphasizes insightful flashes in place of
gradual understanding for attaining enlightenment. The
Southern Sect spread widely in subsequent centuries
without organized evangelism.
After Hui'neng,
master of the Southern Sect (Nanzong), settled at Shao
Mountain in Shaozhou, legend has it that all the wild
tigers and leopards, which previously had roamed the
wilderness and menaced the nearby population,
miraculously disappeared, causing his reputation of
holiness to spread. Modern-day wildlife preservationists
would not have found Hui'neng's achievements admirable.
Chenxiu repeatedly invited Hui'neng to court,
but the Master of the Southern Sect, true to his Chan
(Zen) principles, declined each time. Chenxiu finally
wrote personally to Hui'neng to implore him to come to
court, but Hui'neng continued to decline steadfastly and
is reported to have said dispassionately to the
messenger sent by Chenxiu: "My form is ugly. When the
northern soil sees it, I am afraid no respect for my
methods would be forthcoming. Besides, my master felt
that the Southern Sect and I are of the same destiny. It
should be not altered." Hui'neng died without ever going
north.
The Southern Sect of Hui'neng flourished
in succeeding centuries while the Northern Sect of
Chenxiu, despite imperial sponsorship, withered into a
minor, esoteric cult. The history of these two sects
illustrates that glory is ephemeral while enlightenment
endures.
Hui'neng's Southern Sect was later
divided into Qingyuan (Pure Spring) and Nanyue (South
Mount) movements. The Qingyuan movement evolved into
three branches, Cao'dong (Cave of Cao), Yunmen (Gate of
Cloud) and Fayan (Method's Eye). The Nanyue movement
further evolved into two branches: Linji (Reach Charity)
and Weiyang (Active Respect).
Chan (Zen)
Buddhism was introduced to Japan by Japanese monks who
had visited China, particularly Eisai (1141-1215), who
brought back the Linji sect (Rinzai in Japanese) in
1191, and his disciple Dogen (1200-53), who imported the
Cao'dong sect (Soto in Japanese) in 1277.
In
Japan, Zen emphasis on personal character and
discipline, combined with commitment on worldly
activism, became the spiritual ideals of the medieval
Samurai class. Zen monasteries such as those in Kyoto
and Kamakura became religious, intellectual and artistic
centers. Zen Buddhism was suppressed in Japan after the
Meiji Restoration (1867-68), when nationalistic Shinto
religious movements were officially encouraged.
Nevertheless, Zen Buddhism remains the most popular
Buddhist sect in Japan today.
US General Douglas
MacArthur compelled Japanese Emperor Hirohito to disavow
divinity in the historic 1946 New Year rescript,
temporarily dismantling the fundamental foundation of
state Shintoism. The deification traditionally implied
in the title of Heaven Emperor (Tianhuang), in use since
the 7th century by all Japanese monarchs, and the same
title originally used by the High Heritage Emperor
(Gaozong) of the Tang Dynasty of China, is now forsaken,
though the use of the title itself is preserved. To many
traditional Japanese, despite intellectual disavowal,
the Heaven Emperor is still a godly figure, as the title
literally suggests.
MacArthur also forbade
occupied Japan to use public funds for the support of
state Shintoism, which had been identified with Japanese
militarism. In less than a decade after the defeat of
Japan by the Allies, Shintoism experienced a revival in
Japan, particularly in right-wing politics, while Rinzai
Zen (Linji Chan in Chinese) gained considerable
following in the United States after World War II,
largely because of the devotion of returning Americans
favorably exposed to the ascetic sect.
Chan
Buddhism became influential in China only after the 10th
century, together with the other popular Buddhist
movement known as the Pure Land (Jingtu) sect, which
practiced the invocation of the name of Amita Buddha
(Amituofo) as an expression of the acceptance of fate
and the rejection of futile secular anxiety. Amita
Buddha (Amituofo) was the supreme master of a class of
Mahayana deities who supposedly resided in the Western
Paradise known as Jingtu (Pure Land). Along with other
Mahayana sects, the Jingtu sect believed that any
individual, if he or she devoted his or her life to
doing good, could become a Boddhisattva, a deity
worshipped in Mahayana Buddhism who, having achieved
enlightenment, compassionately refrains from entering
nirvana in order to save others.
However, the
Jingtu sect, with branches named Shandao (Good Way, Jodo
in Japanese) and Ci'min (Merciful Union, Shin in
Japanese), promised a heavenly salvation in Jingtu, the
Western Paradise of Amita Buddha, for the devotee of
unshakable faith, which supersedes good works in
importance. The true believer could even eat meat,
indulge in sexual pleasure and maintain secular families
without compromising his holiness, a practice condoned
by the Japanese Shin sect for its priests in modern
times.
While in its most vigorous form, Jingtu
Buddhism encompasses the ultra-sophistication of the
Taoist concept of the necessary function of temptation,
the absence of which negates the possibility of virtue,
it is also a concept most vulnerable to unprincipled
abuse by those less than vigorous in piety and by
outright charlatans. For while the ordeal of temptation
may provide the opportunity to manifest commitment to
holiness, the surrender to temptation itself cannot be
proof of having achieved holiness.
Feodor
Dostoyevsky (1812-81) asserted in a fearful warning: "If
God does not exist, everything is permitted." To that,
Jingtu Buddhists would respond: "Only if God exists
everything is permitted." Voltaire was right when he
said that if God does not exist, man (both Dostoyevsky
and the Jingtu Buddhists) would have to invent him.
The atheists' denial of the existence of God,
maintained with equal disregard for rationality as their
believer opponents, is not as dangerous as their
corollary claim of God's irrelevance. Atheists would
suffer the penalty of being the sure loser of Pascal's
wager.
Blaise Pascal (1632-62), French
mathematician, scientist, founder of the theory of
probability, and religious philosopher, was an
anti-Jesuit Jansenite who, following Antoine Arnauld of
the Sorbonne, ran afoul of the Church for his
controversial predestinarianism. Pascal argued that
while the inadequacy of reason cannot resolve questions
of divinity, it is safer to bet on the possibility of
the existence of God, because the penalty for error
would be minor and the reward of being right would be
infinite. Believing in a non-existent God would do us no
harm, and believing in an existent God would grant us
the grace of heaven. Conversely, denying a non-existing
God would win us nothing, while denying an existent God
would land us in hell. Pascal offered the world a
perfect hedge.
One could argue, however, that
believing in something not true is not harmless, and
God, being omnipotent and all-knowing, would sympathize
with an intelligent man's honest obligation to reject
blind faith, and would discount a calculating faith
based on opportunism. So a Cartesian doubt appears an
intelligent option for an unknowable question. It led
Rene Descartes (1596-1650) to his famous conclusion,
cogito ergo sum (I think, therefore I am), which
proves the existence of the thinking mind but leaves the
question of God not satisfactorily answered. Descartes
inverted claim made three centuries earlier by Thomas
Aquinas that the experience of God is implied by the
general facts of the universe, by claiming that these
facts could not be known without a knowledge of God.
The less-than-satisfactory assertions of both
Aquinas and Descartes issued an invitation two centuries
later to agnosticism, a term coined by Thomas Henry
Huxley (1825-95), English biologist and educator.
Aspects of agnosticism are in fact classic Taoist
prepositions, certainly the parts concerning doubts, if
not the parts placing faith in rational inquiry and
scientific methods. Thomas Huxley, grandfather of Aldous
Huxley (1894-1963) of Brave New World fame,
doubted all things not immediately open to logical
analysis and scientific verification, and held up truth
as an ideal state, scientific methods as the tools of
truth and evolution as the fruit of truth. Ironically,
Aldous, the grandson of Thomas, after three generations
of conspicuous Huxleyan scientific piety, wrote an
earth-shaking novel on the horrors and futility of
scientific progress. The Taoist notion of life going in
full circles is once again demonstrated in the Huxley
saga.
Confucian scholars throughout the ages
remained ambivalent toward Chan Buddhism. Liu Zongyuan
(773-819), the neo-Confucian author of a classic apology
for feudalism titled Discourse on Feudalism (Fengjian
Lun), composed a famous poem titled "Studying Chan
Sutra" (Du Chan Jing), expressing his skepticism
of Chan mysticism and his admiration for Taoist
enlightenment (inadequately translated by this writer):
Drawing from a well to rinse cold chattering
teeth,
With a pure heart casting off secular
trappings;
Leisurely holding the Buddhist
sutra,
Pacing from the east den while studying.
The fundamental truth not being
understood,
Absurd claims become society's
pursuits;
Wishing for depth from past
writings,
Can
nature be affected by memorizing?
The garden of the Taoist is
placid,
Green moss links verdant bamboo;
The sun
pierces through the morning mist,
The green firs
appear coated with ointment,
Insipidly hard to
verbalize,
Sanguine perception replenishes a heart
self-gratified.
Taoist enlightenment is the
diametrical opposite of the West's notion of
enlightenment as presented during the Age of Reason,
also known as the Age of Enlightenment, hailed by
Western scholars as the root of modernity.
Next: The Enlightenment as modernity
Henry C K Liu is chairman of the New York-based Liu Investment
Group.
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2003 Asia Times Online Co, Ltd. All rights reserved.
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