Thursday, November 24, 2016

OH, POOH!


“Do you really want to be happy? You can begin by being appreciative of who you are and what you've got.” 
― Benjamin Hoff, The Tao of Pooh



Nothing is easy Not even TAO. Especially not TAO. Laozi in The Tao Te Ching says that the Tao is not a name of something but the natural order of the Universe and, since the essence of the Universe is evident but cannot be conceptualized in our state of being, we have to become a beginner, blank, a block of wood not yet carved and discover the Tao on our own terms.

P'u (pronounced POO) is literally the "uncarved wood" or "uncarved block."  The metaphor suggests we're born with a personality like an uncarved block of wood.  All that we experience and all we are taught begins to carve away pieces of that original simplicity. Taoists attempt to regain that early sense of unlimited possibility by trying to "unlearn" things until everything becomes a new experience.

We may feel that we must hold fast to a sense of history so that we don't "repeat the mistakes" of our ancestors or at least our own mistakes.  We have an alternative though.  We can use our instincts to make a correct choice in each situation.  And we can do it without an unnecessary burden of past experiences which may or may not be applicable to the new one.

We have  to start within. And discovering the Tao is connected to journal writing. We don't need to concentrate on the definition of the Tao because this will come to us later quite naturally. Instead, we need to understand that Taoism is more than just a philosophy or a religion. Taoism needs to be understood as a system of belief, attitudes and practices set towards the service and living to a person’s own nature.

The Tao is about healing, not about striving for perfection. Therefore, we can drop expectations. A Taoist lives life without expectations, living fully in the here and now.

In The Tao of Pooh  The Tao of Pooh.  Benjamin Hoff uses Winnie the Pooh as an example of Taoist simplicity.



The book starts with a description of the vinegar tasters, which is a painting portraying the three great eastern thinkers, Confucius, the Buddha, and Laozi over a vat of vinegar. Each is tasting the vinegar of "life," Confucius finds it sour, the Buddha finds it bitter, but Laozi, the traditional founder of Taoism, finds it satisfying. Then the story unfolds backing up this analogy.


The true path of understanding Taoism is simply accepting the self, living our lives, and discovering who we are. Since our nature is always changing and yet is always the same, there's no need to try to resolve the various contradictions in life.

Instead we must strive to learn acceptance of our own nature. We must learn how to trust our own intuition, let go of judgments that hold us back, remove conflict and anger from our relationships, and be kind to our selves and pace life to match our essence.

Pooh, of course, is the very epitome of the Uncarved Block. Without arrogance, complexity, and other complications, this silly old bear represents a simple, childlike innocence. Life is filled with joy, acceptance, and fun. Being spontaneous, things work in surprising and serendipitous ways.  As Piglet says in Winnie-the-Pooh, "Pooh hasn't much brain, but he never comes to any harm. He does silly things and they turn out right."




We humans can learn from Pooh. Practicing Taoism is going with the flow of life. Taoism is many things to many people and there are hundreds of variations, some philosophical in nature, others religious. We are each a blend of many truths. The truth taught in Taoism is to embrace life in our actions that support who we are and to live according to our heart or inner moral code or values. 

Quite simply:

Taoism is acceptance of your life.
Taoism is following your breath to find peace.
Taoism is opening up a smile to enable possibility.

By embracing these three concepts, everything else follows in Taoism. Some people start with these three simple ideas. Others take a longer and more circuitous path. There is no wrong way since it’s about experiencing life.




Remember to breathe. Remember only YOU are YOU. Remember to let go and be.