[TAO] Here for a Ritual

“Heaven and Earth are impartial
And regard myriad things as straw dogs.
The sages are impartial
And regard people as straw dogs.”
— Tao Te Ching, Chapter 5

At first, I didn’t care much for today’s Tao te Ching chapter.

I can imagine how Heaven and Earth — so massive and ancient — might see the 10,000 things of this world as “straw dogs.” By definition, the distractions of this life are impermanent.

But the next line stings: “The sages see people as straw dogs.”

What? Our wisest and best see other human beings as impermanent and disposable? Just the idea made me angry. I was reminded of the exercise from “A Course in Miracles” that encourages students to look at another person and say, “This person means nothing.” After coming across that exercise, I stopped reading that text.

Then, I read the commentary by translator Derek Lin, who explains straw dogs are ritual items. They’re treated with great reverence before and during the religious ceremony they’re created for, then discarded.

From the perspective of Heaven and Earth, the 10,000 distractions of this world have a ritual purpose. They’re designed for reverent use. When they have fulfilled that purpose, they’re set aside.

And from the perspective of the sages, our bodies (and, perhaps, even our personalities) are ritual tools. Life is the ceremony. During our lifetimes, our bodies and personalities serve a purpose, allowing us to experience the world and interact with each other. When the ritual of life is over, we set our impermanent features aside.

Today, you’ll interact with many other people: the barrista behind the coffee shop counter, that annoying woman at work, the homeless man on the corner, the partner you love, the children you cherish.

All of these people are here only briefly. All of these people serve a purpose. All of these people are part of the brief and beautiful ceremony we call life.

Treat them, and treat yourself, with reverence, and you’ll begin to see the world as sages do.