How has Taoism helped change you for the better?
As a father to a developmentally disabled child I’ve had to come to a lot of terms with things that are not within my control and have been looking through some teachings to put my mind at ease with what I cannot control.
I’m wondering what those that practice Taoism have found for themselves to better understand difficult situations.
I meant ” your ” life…
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The exercise part of it, Thai Chi, is a form of meditation.
I also found the idea of The Way being empty and meaningless allowed me to be more flexible as events happened in my world.
The world is what it is not what we want it to be, and it is easier to deal with it as it is than trying to force it to be what we expect it to be before dealing with it.
Your child is that child in front of you.
Not a developmentally challenged child.
Just that child in front of you.
I was going to write something about the way Taoism has changed my life, but have decided to share this story instead.
There is a Taoist story of an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. “Such bad luck,” they said sympathetically.
“Maybe,” the farmer replied.
The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. “How wonderful,” the neighbors exclaimed.
“Maybe,” replied the old man.
The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune.
“Maybe,” answered the farmer.
The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son’s leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out.
“Maybe,” said the farmer.
Taoism has changed my life by remembering that I should not force anything, I must remain aware of the No-Thing instead of the somethings.
And I think most importantly as told in the story is to have faith in the Universe, we just never know how things will turn out, how we perceive events isn’t as they actually are. We make something good or bad by defining it as such, those ideas and concepts only exist in our minds.
But then it is no good if I simply focus on the nothing or the removing of labels thus making everything equal, all things arise naturally, love, laughter and tears, this is the way it is, and should be accepted without hanging on to any one thing. This is the Universe witnessing and experiencing itself, and there is no point where I end, and the rest of the Universe begins.