Opinion
Force only
increases resistance.
Tai chi people are like the small child.
We ignore the categories established by the rational mind and the ego.
We do not care if the person is black or white, rich or poor, liberal or
conservative, Christian or Muslim, capitalist or communist.
We ignore all these walls of separation.
(John Lash)
Opinion
What is opinion?
Opinion is a fixed
idea about a subject.
It is an attitude or approach.
When inquiry has finished and a conclusion reached, opinions are often
formed.
This is not the
tai chi way; in
taoism, there is always the possibility of change.
Life is not static and cannot be held in place by an idea, opinion,
philosophy or perspective.
Change is continual and we must move with that change.
If we choose not to change, we are resisting what is
happening and that is not tai chi.
Once the planet earth was believed to be flat and people were killed for
suggesting otherwise.
Now, the idea is considered ridiculous.
Like/dislike
If five people are served a meal and one person does not like the
food, how many people are affected?
Just the one.
That lone individual did not like the food.
This is commonplace.
Tastes, values and opinions are entirely subjective, and stem from a wide
variety of influences.
But what you personally like or dislike does not especially affect other
people.
Unless you choose to impose it upon them.
In the example given, the lone individual could order a different meal next
time round. Or they could seek to turn their own dislike into something
public.
Good/bad
If a couple have sexual intercourse, this is not good or bad. It is simply a
natural, healthy act.
We attribute values to the act because society seeks to create stability and
fixity in human affairs.
It makes people easier to control.
Sexual intercourse is not good or bad. It just is. Rain is rain. Day is day.
An apple is an apple.
Whether you like it or not is your concern.
Society is made up of people. And people have applied their likes/dislikes
to everything they can.
Now, sexual intercourse is subject to a whole series of rules, guidelines,
formal relationships and law.
Fidelity is invented.
Evil or sick?
Was Adolf Hitler evil?
This is a good question. He certainly was responsible for acts that were
horrendous and caused untold suffering and death.
But was he evil or sick?
We are told that evil must be fought, must be crushed. Must be destroyed.
But what about sickness? Should we not cure sickness?
Or at the very least care for the sick? Stop them from harming themselves or
other people?
Are the acts of abuse and harm in our society performed by sick people?
By people who fail to understand the nature of their actions?
You may say that people do not care about the consequence of their
actions... but is not that very callousness a sure sign of mental illness?
Surely a healthy person would care?
Right or wrong?
If you perform tai chi in the appropriate manner, it is neither
right or wrong. It is simply tai chi.
Should you make mistakes, it would not be wrong.
It would not be tai chi.
See the difference?
If you bake a cake and it comes out as a charred lump of burned inedible
substance, then it is not a wrong cake. It is not a cake at all.
The individual
Thinking is the product of memory, experience, conditioning
and desire.
You plot, plan, compare, extrapolate.
You seek to shape reality to suit your own agenda.
But does that mean that you are right?
Taoism is about seeing, not about thinking.
Seeing entails being aware of what is. No bias. The rain is simply rain. It
is not good or bad. It is not necessary to like or dislike it.
What you think is your affair.
Does it extend to reality?
If you were to die right now, surely the world will continue?
Seeking to impose your own beliefs concerning right and wrong upon
the world is common.
Everyone does it.
But does that mean that what you think matters?
The state
If an opinion is widely held, it may be legitimised by the state. It
becomes law.
Consider personal relationships, ownership, individual conduct - these are
all subject to the law.
By making an opinion the property of the state, the like/dislike or good/bad
is given greater significance.
It means more. It is official.
Ignoring it may have major consequences.
But it is still only an opinion.
The divine
Attributing an opinion to god is the most powerful way of
legitimising a particular value.
God represents the highest authority, the divine perception...
This takes like/dislike and good/bad out of the hands of mere petty mortals
and makes it the concern of a higher being.
Humans can be absolved of responsibility.
Who can argue with god?
Maturity
As we proceed through life, we don't really grow-up.
Adults are becoming increasingly immature; consider: mobile phones, sports
utility vehicles, consumer lifestyles and the quest for novelty...
'Growing-up' is a questionable concept; as it suggests maturity toward
wisdom and insight; a blossoming in old age.
There was once a time in the world when 'elders' were respected and senior
citizens possessed agile minds and valuable experience.
In these times of television, politics, mass media gossip, pollution, war,
greed, debt, boredom and depression - the wisdom of the ancients is no
longer apparent.
Our forefathers have left a world in crisis and a population as restless as
children.
Unchanging
As people age, they often become rigid and unyielding.
Opinions provide the illusion of security; the myth that the world will
remain the same.
Tai chi encourages you to remain flexible, sensitive and receptive to
change.
What is the actual value of an opinion?
What benefit does it bring?
What purpose does it serve?
Taoism offers the analogy of water; fluid, changing, adaptive, mobile...
If your mind continues to learn,
change, contemplate and reconsider - it stays young as you grow older.
Meditation
Meditation is concerned with seeing the
world
as it is.
Not how you think it is or want it to be.
We are simply aspects of the whole - reality encompasses us - it does not
revolve around us.
Tai chi is designed to root your mind in reality and end conscious thought.
Increased awareness and feeling bring you closer to reality.
Instead of imposing your opinion upon what you encounter, you remain open
and move in relationship with what is happening.
Opinion is the act of standing still and refusing to change.
It simply serves no purpose.
Page created 24 February 1999