Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Look not out your window,
And you can see the tao of Heaven.
The farther you leave [in pursuit of knowledge],
The slighter your knowledge will be.
Therefore, the sage
Travels not, yet knows
Sees not, yet understands
Acts not, yet accomplishes.
What is the point of all this? These paradoxes and observations are
interesting and compelling in and of themselves, but there is a larger
purpose behind them, an epistemological purpose. (Epistemology
refers to the study of knowledge and how it is obtained, or simpler
yet, it is the study of how we know what we know.) The intent was
not simply to delight and perplex readers, but to convince them that
another way of learning was available to them: they could get in touch
with their feelings and apply them to understanding the tao.There
were real limits to what their intellects alone could comprehend;
if they applied only their intellects in their observations of the world,
they would eventually come up against these types of paradoxes.
The larger point of these passages was perhaps to point out that a
deeper, more profound type of knowledge and understanding was
available, one that involved the heart and intuition and feeling. It
was precisely this type of intuitive approach that would enable one
to grasp the tao in its fullest and most profound sense. The tao was
somewhat mysterious and was not to be understood simply through
intellectual means because it was much greater than our finite powers
of reasoning. We must grasp the entire meaning of the tao with our
feelings and our hearts, rather than just with our minds. Intuition
rather than intellection was the most important key to comprehending
the tao of the universe. The tao was to be taken directly into the heart or
soul and appreciated there rather than being dissected and analyzed
in the intellect. Ultimately, there was a real and practical purpose for
introducing this new epistemology; if people could learn to learn this
way, their fuller understanding of the tao would change their lives.
That would lead to a reordering of society and governance, and, in
turn, lead to the peace and tranquility craved by the Eastern Zhou
Chinese. There was plan and purpose in the seeming madness and
mystery of the Tao-te ching.
Once people understood the tao they would not talk or write much
about it, because they would know that it was beyond words. They
would, nevertheless, be able to act well and within the guidelines of
