Understanding The Tao

The wise student hears of the Tao and practices it it diligently.

The average student hears of the Tao and gives it thought now and again.

The foolish student hears of the Tao and laughs aloud.

If there is no laughter, the Tao would not be what it is.

The Tao Te Ching 41, Lao Tsu

Lately, I've been reading these comic books by some publishers who call themselves Taoists.

Now, when I picked these things up I was under the mistaken impression that the Tao was some ass kicking Chinese guy in a black mask and cape beating his foes into submission and dragging them off to some deep dark dungeon. I was wrong.

Then I found these two characters called Yin and Yang and thought maybe they were some tag team crime fighting duo like Batman and Robin and maybe the Tao was their base. Nope.

Perhaps the Tao was a starship with Yin as its captain and Yang as its first officer. Wrong again.

Then I remembered how many religions there are out there founded by people who didn't have the courtesy to draw us frame by frame pictures and use speech balloons so we could figure out just exactly who was saying what. They call these people prophets and sages, yet they couldn't even put their words into pictures or explain it through a television series with great special effects; thereby making it a little easier to comprehend for those of us from the modern day world.

The Tao Te Ching does have a few pictures unlike the comic books known as the Holy Bible, the Torah, and the Quran.

But compare this:




To this:


I think it's clear which of these contains the Truth. After reading the Tao Te Ching, I'm left wondering if this Tao is source of knowledge or if it's just another pen name for the Riddler.

Take this verse for example (Tao Te Ching 3):

Not exalting the gifted prevents quarreling.
Not collecting treasures prevents stealing.
Not seeing desirable things prevents confusion of the heart.

The wise therefore rule by emptying hearts and stuffing bellies
by weakening ambitions and strengthening bones.
If people lack knowledge and desire,
then intellectuals will not try to interfere.
If nothing is done, all will be well.


I feel like I'm watching Anime. Any minute now a little girl with pigtails is going to pop out of these pages, say something cute in Japanese, and then unload a .45 on me- which might actually provide some relief at this point.

What we need is a president who won't tolerate this kind moral relativism. There's right and there's wrong, good and evil. There is the JLA and there is the Legion of Doom. There's the Federation and there's the Dominion.

Right= what we say.

Wrong= what everybody else says.

I don't really think it can get much plainer than that. It's not too late for you to give up whatever comic books your reading, pick up a copy of Batman Confidential, and step into the light.


Tags:
The Tao, Yin, Yang, Non Action, Harmony, Strife