It is extremely easy to compare Taoism to religion. In fact, I can do it in just two sentences. In the first sentence, I’ll explain the key commonality between Taoism and religion; and in the second sentence, I will point out what keeps them apart.
First, the commonality between Taoism and religion is that both maintain that the world is governed by a higher force. For religious people, this higher force is “God;” and for Taoists, the higher force is the “Tao” or “natural law.”
Second, the difference between Taoism and most religions, is that religious people trust that God will guide them, and care about them. They pray to God for favours and miracles, or they offer sacrifices to God to obtain his support in difficult or risky undertakings.
In contrast, Taoists don’t expect the Tao to help them or care about them. They regard the Tao as a self-standing force that is as old as the universe, and that only obeys its own designs. For Taoists, prayer doesn’t make any sense because, no matter how hard we pray, the Tao will invariably follow its own course.
Miracles and divine intervention
There is no pleading and supplicating in Taoism because the Tao is impervious to human requests. Similarly, there is also no expectation of miracles, divine intervention, and good luck in Taoism. The Tao will just do what natural law dictates, nothing more and nothing less.
Like Nike, the ancient Greek goddess of justice, the Tao has objective standards. If we align our actions with the Tao, good things will happen to us. Prosperity and happiness will ensue if we respect the Tao. If we don’t, the punishment can be lethal.
In Chapter 6 of the Tao Te Ching, Lao-Tzu underlines the intangible nature of the Tao; natural law is always there even if we sometimes fail to perceive its presence; it’s the source of all things in the universe.
The Tao welcomes the artists’ attempts at creating stunning beauty, but will not guide their hands. If the creation is aligned with natural law, people will draw the correct lesson when they examine it; and if the creation is misaligned, it will only lead to confusion and mayhem.
In the 4th century BC, Chuang-Tzu wrote short stories that illustrate the workings of the Tao. At first sight, the Tao’s effect seems magical, superhuman and deterministic. It resembles the all-powerful Will depicted by Schopenhauer (1788-1860), for example in his book “The World as Will and Representation.”
However, if we examine Chuang-Tzu’s short stories, we will arrive at the opposite conclusion. We will come to realize that the Tao is natural, organic and flexible; to exert justice, the Tao uses elements that remain invisible to untrained eyes; but later, after justice has been done, everybody will acknowledge that it was long due.
Smoothness and natural law
Let us take for instance Chuang-Tzu’s story of cook Ding, a man who was, not only a great cook, but a remarkably skilful butcher. According to tradition, Ding was capable of slicing an oxen into pieces quickly and smoothly.
Ding used his knife for hours without breaking or damaging the blade. He was faster than other butchers, Chuang-Tzu said, because he would cut the oxen by going in the direction of the muscles. Ding did not exert pressure or force. He didn’t plunge his knife blindly, expecting things to fix themselves.
The great skills of cook Ding come from his alignment with the Tao. Ignoring what other butchers were doing, Ding looked at the oxen and asked himself “what am I supposed to do here in order to perform this task in accordance with natural law?”
When cook Ding demonstrated his remarkable skills, did he earn a reward from heaven? Did he hear sacred music when he had accomplished his task? And while he was cutting the oxen to pieces, did he pray to the Tao for enlightenment?
No, cook Ding did nothing of the sort. While he was cutting the oxen, he was in a state of flow. He did his work smoothly, quickly and softly. He had figured out how to perform his tasks with minimum effort, while obtaining the best possible results.
I find it important to underline that cook Ding had no hopes of obtaining any reward from heaven. Why not? Because, if we align our actions with the Tao, good results will ensue on their own. Things will fall into place automatically, and cook Ding will enjoy one benefit after another.
Taoists rituals and ceremonies
Chapter 5 of the Tao Te Ching reminds us that the Tap “does not have any preference.” It is not a benevolent deity that cares for cook Ding, and that will do everything possible to make the cook happy. No, the Tao does not care particularly about Ding, nor about anyone else.
Some translators prefer a less emotional wording: “the Tao loves nobody, and hates nobody.” Religious people may regard such a statement as cold-hearted, but does it not reflect the real world? Does it not convey the essence of natural law?
What about the rituals and ceremonies performed in Taoist temples? They attract visitors who want to purify themselves at minimum cost. Instead of embracing the exacting lifestyle of a Taoist, those visitors just want to scratch the surface, feel good about themselves, and show off their alleged virtues.
Despite the beauty of those rituals, Lao-Tzu, Yang-Tzu, and Chuang-Tzu categorized them as worthless. One does not grow wise by lighting candles and sitting on the floor for hours. Nor do we become enlightened by showing off our Taoist attire and parroting meaningless mantras.
The Tao follows its own clock and its own calendar, and no one has the power to interfere with those. To make things even more complicated, Chapter 48 of the Tao Te Ching reminds us that the Tao can operate through action or through non-action.
A particularly egregious violation of natural law may lead to severe punishment, but not necessarily through violence. It’s in the nature of the Tao to settle the accounts smoothly and often indirectly. Instead of punishing the culprit, the Tao may opt for letting the culprit make mistake after mistake, and cause his own demise.
Chapter 13 of the Tao Te Ching categorizes wrong pursuits as recipes for “endless afflictions.” Let us commit ourselves to aligning our actions with the Tao without showing off, without pretending to possess sacred knowledge, and without praying for the Tao to change the course of events.
If you are interested in putting effective insights into daily practice, I recommend my book titled “Rational living, rational working.”