Manifestations of Tao

The marks of great Character
Follow alone from the Tao.

The thing that is called Tao
   Is elusive, evasive.
Evasive, elusive,
   Yet latent in it are forms.
Elusive, evasive,
   Yet latent in it are objects.
Dark and dim,
   Yet latent in it is the life-force.
The life-force being very true,
   Latent in it are evidences.

From the days of old till now
Its Named (manifested forms) have never ceased,
By which we may view the Father of All Things.
How do I know the shape of the Father of All Things?
   Through these (manifested forms)!

(Tao Te Ching, chapter 21, Lin Yu Tang trans.)

Where we live- the physical plane, has been called many things. For many in Buddhism and other practices, it is an “illusion.” This has confused people for hundreds of years. People ask, “How can this be an illusion? If I get hit by a bus, that hurts!”

They say that because we perceive the “real world,” or, as Lao Tzu calls it, the manifestation, with our minds, egos, and senses. The problem is that we are not our minds, egos, and senses. We are our true selves.

We must meditate and shut off the mind to find our true selves. That way we can see the secret of all life. While it is necessary to still the mind to know the secret, the real world does exist and we live in it all the time.

In the Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu explains that the Tao has two natures—the secret of all life and the manifestation. They have the same nature but are perceived differently.

He adds that the secret is known “without passion,” and the manifestation is known “with passion.” “With passion” means with our minds, bodies, and senses.

Lao Tzu says that knowing the manifestation is important. He states that the manifestation is as much a part of the Tao as the secret. Read Chapter 21, quoted above. It is clear that the Father of all things is the manifestation and that to know the Father of all things, we must know the manifestation.

We use our minds and senses to experience and “know” the manifestation. This is the only way for us to experience it. Of course, we live in the manifestation whether we like it or not. We eat, work, and do everything related to our daily lives here.

As I have said, we (our true selves) are not our minds, egos, or bodies. These are tools we get when we come here. The true self uses them to navigate through the manifestation and gain the experiences it has come here for.

The problem is that at a young age, “we” forget our true selves. As our minds grow and learn, they quickly take over, creating an ego that is “us.” We live like that for decades, or even our whole lives, not realizing the presence of our true selves.

Those on a path to knowledge, however, learn of the true self and begin the process of “reawakening.”

Regardless of where one is on the path, the manifestation remains as it always has. Many true selves have worked on understanding the manifestation. We call them scientists.

Pure science disregards metaphysics because it is outside the scientific world. Science tries to explain the universe using natural laws and mathematics. It believes that nature can be explained without relying on a god or gods.

People on a path to knowledge (at first) believe in a spiritual force. They call it many things, but I  know it as the Tao. As they develop on the path, they come to know this force.

Yet, science says it aims to explain the universe without relying on the Tao. So, how is this reconciled?

This is not a complex problem. As I said, Lao Tzu explained that the Tao has two forms: the Secret (unnamed) and the manifestation (named). He explains that both are the same in their nature. The named can be seen with passion, and the unnamed without passion.

Science lives in the manifestation. It is not concerned with the Secret. As such, it is entirely compatible with the Tao. Science can examine and explore all aspects of the manifestation, develop all sorts of theories to explain it and define it mathematically. In doing all that, it does not remove the Tao.

Science has brought us many things from the manifestation, including electronics and computers, that allow me to write and post these blogs. There are “bad” things here in the manifestation, but they are a part of the Tao as much as the “nice” things.

We cannot eliminate the “bad.” It is part of the fabric of the Tao. Lau Tzu calls the manifestation “the father of all things.” We cannot forget that.

So, in the end,  it is not a waste to dwell in the manifestation and experience it. It is part of why we are here. We can embrace both the secret and the manifestation and gain from both.

Don’t worry about knowing the manifestation with your mind and senses. It is how we interact with it. My experience will be different from yours. That is life. We should not try to make the manifestation something it isn’t.

The secret is equally essential. Practicing meditation is the only way to know and experience the secret. Knowing both is the way to progress towards enlightenment.

Remember the Zen saying, “Before enlightenment, chopping wood, carrying water. After enlightenment, chopping wood, carrying water.” Enlightenment does not free us from living in the manifestation.

Enlightenment is simply the full activation of our true selves to see and experience the manifestation fully.

Namaste,

Michael Tavella, author of

“Break Through To Your True Self”

Yourtrueself.blog