Forum Post: Be Like Water if You Want to Make Change- Chapter 78 - Tao Te ching
Posted 12 years ago on Nov. 18, 2011, 2:39 p.m. EST by WarmItUp
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The following chapter of the Tao Te Ching reminds me so much of the Occupy Movemnt! We must continue to be like water, we are already creating change.... soft water always wins over the hard rock, it just takes time and persistence.
"Under heaven nothing is more soft and yielding than water. Yet for attacking the solid and strong, nothing is better; It has no equal. The weak can overcome the strong; The supple can overcome the stiff. Under heaven everyone knows this, Yet no one puts it into practice. Therefore the sage says: He who takes upon himself the humiliation of the people is fit to rule them. He who takes upon himself the country's disasters deserves to be king of the universe. The truth often seems paradoxical."
OCCUPY LIKE WATER OCCUPIES
Wu Wei ...
Don't forget how water cracks rocks as ice.
It seeps into its crevices.
Then once it freezes, it expands and... crack.
Yes, I hadn't thought of that. We must seep into the crevices as well, and then expand in numbers and bust apart those rocks in a most elegant way that only expanding ice can do. Nicely stated. I think we are well on our way to doing that. You can't push against water it will always yield with no damage to itself, only it will have absorbed the energy that was pushed into it and diffuse it. Go ahead push back all you want it is a futile effort. We are not going anywhere. Use all that force to close down an encampment and we will surge up like a geiser with 32,000 people go ahead keep directing your energy at trying to stop water we will continue to absorb it.
Of course the ice is just a metaphor of getting the employees of certain big corporations to side with us.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Z9WVZddH9w
water is bi-polar
Well the water at the far polar ends of our planet are frozen solid, perhaps a metaphor for our current political system too much polarization can make for frozen politics.
stays a liquid over a broad temperature range
because it is polarized
Ha Ha, nice one. Touche' my friend :) A point for you. I guess my metaphor breaks down on the molecular level but if I remember (it has been a while) the polarity of water is also why it sticks together so well....uh oh wait now you've got me making arguments for polarity darn maybe Lao Tzu should have used non polarized liquids to describe his metaphors. Ha Ha!
VERY interesting! And I say this as a lifelong disciple of Lao Tzu... :)
The "Tao Te Ching" teaches patience, and I sense that it is through its very patience that OWS is gradually winning the battle for the hearts and minds of the American people.
If he is patient and clever, the DAVID of OWS can overcome the GOLIATH of the corrupt-to-the-core Establishment.
As for Jesus, he recommended to his disciples to be "as gentle as doves" but also "as cunning as snakes" (Matthew 10:16).
As I go back and re-read the Tao Te Ching this week (it has been a while) I am seeing so much great advice that could be applied to this movement. It is really beautiful to be part of something where you can watch the Tao in practice the nature of a large mass of people with similar intentions is so powerful and so beautifully perfect. There are so many parallels this is a very "taoist" movement, especially when it comes to the concept of trying not to have one simple polarizing message. Lao Tzu would say... The Occupy movement that can be defined is not the true Occupy Movement. The moment at which we try to label and categorize the movement under political terms is that taoist moment where we create duality and polarization where we begin to name the thousand things. We must stay united and avoid polarization at all costs. So far we are really embodying the spirit of the Tao creating change through avoiding divisive left vs right political issues as best as humans can. This is what drives the media so crazy, there are very little labels which they can cling to since the 99% really includes "the thousand things" all working in harmony as best as I've seen humans do in many years. I encourage all occupiers to read the Tao Te Ching it is so relevant for pointing out how we have strayed from the natural course of things by trying to force our own selfish needs before the greater whole.
A M A Z I N G... You should be recognized as one of the thinkers of this Movement.
Thanks Tiouaise, but I can't take credit for all my ideas I am only applying what I learned from Lao Tzu a truly eloquent man with ideas so simple and perfect and easy to understand it makes you wonder why we fight the course of nature so much, it takes so much less energy to just do the "right " things. You can not fight against the true nature of the universe. It has a way of always finding balance. OWS is that balancing force that spontaneously sprung up as the yang to a yin imbalance, as we learn in the Tao Te Ching, absolute yang becomes yin again and absolute yin becomes yang. It is an ever evolving constantly self balancing universe and to think humans are somehow removed from that natural order really only goes to ensure we waste a lot of energy tyring to find balance in society.
"...but I can't take credit for all my ideas.." I have to laugh, "WarmItUP", because I knew you would be answering in that way. A true Taoist never takes credit and never wants to lead. "Never be first" is one of the central teachings.
What can I say except that it is PRECISELY the fact that you have no wish to be recognized as one of the thinkers of this Movement that makes you admirably suited to be just that! :)
"Water, water, everywhere!"
I think if it were me, I would have advocated Sun Tzu, were I to post a thread on the topic of Taoist philosophy.
There are those who, without reason, fear us. I would have them explore the depths of that fear, where they will either be forced to confront what is true, or perish beneath lies.
And there it is - polarity.
It exists. There are those adept at dividing and subdividing the social structure into separate and opposing ideological pieces.
I am angry. It is a weakness that I have. Yet I say, if we can heal these various divisions within the social structure, we will find automatically - without ever resorting to labels, though I often do - we will find those who remain in resistance to that healing process.
These are those who have profited from division, from enmity. They will choke on truth.
Let them choke.