[Tao] – Why No One Can Tell You The Way

In my morning meditation time, I’m reading the Tao Te Ching, a classic Chinese text about conscious living. As a way of going deeper into the book, I’m jotting down my notes here on MadeByMark.com.

If you like these entries, why not join me in reading the book? (And if you don’t like these entries, just skip reading any posts that have [Tao] in the title!)

* * * * *

“The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name.” (from Chapter 1)

In other words: the way someone can tell you about is not The Way.

Even now, as I’m sharing my impressions about the Tao Te Ching, impressions are all I’m sharing. These shouldn’t be confused with the The Way (“Tao” means “The Way”), any more than a map should be confused with the terrain it describes.

The only way to experience the authentic Way is to live it for yourself.

When you go out looking for The Way, you’ll find many people eager to tell you all about it. The Tao Te Ching reminds us that any way that can be spoken about is not The Way.

Applying that to faith: it’s healthy to remember that anyone telling you God’s Word — what God wants, what God says — isn’t sharing God’s Word, but his or her interpretation of it.

Applying that to work: anyone telling you how a task has always been done is sharing the company’s traditions. These traditions may or may not represent the best way to get things done.

Applying that to life: once you decide to lose weight, or repair a broken relationship, or start exercising, or write your novel, ten thousand experts will appear, ready to tell you The Way. All they have to offer, though, is their way — not The Way.

Does this mean we meet all all sermons, traditions, or advice with scorn or contempt? Of course not! That’s another, equally dangerous, kind of trap: mistaking our own way for The Way.

Instead, I’m providing a gentle reminder that there is always a difference between the way that can be spoken and The Way. There is always a difference between a story and The Truth behind it.

Imagine how different the world would be if everyone remembered the difference between The Way and interpretations of The Way!

The way that can be spoken is not The Way.

But don’t take my word for that — because my word, despite my best intentions, is just another interpretation of The Way.

Instead: I’d invite you to contemplate the Tao, and come to a first-hand knowledge of The Way for yourself.