I think that everybody should know the negative aspects of religions and philosophies before considering adopting them. It is easy to get acquainted with the benefits, but relatively few people will speak openly about the drawbacks.

Let me speak out my mind about the drawbacks of Taoism, after having studied it for a long time and practised many of its principles. My comments represent my personal view: nothing else and nothing further, but newcomers to Taoism might find them illuminating.

I must start with the warning against indifference, which is linked to Lao-Tzu’s considerations in Chapter 5 of the Tao Te Ching. I am referring to the words “Heaven and Earth show no preference, and will ignore our personal choices.”

When people criticise Taoists for being indifferent to local, national and international events, they point to Chapter 5 of the Tao Te Ching. Did not Lao-Tzu affirm that we should not care about doing the right thing because Heaven and Earth will not care anyway?

No, Lao-Tzu never said that it doesn’t matter what we do or refrain from doing. His statement about indifference refers to natural law, that is, to the Tao.

The question of indifference

Lao-Tzu noted that the Tao will continue to operate without pity, compassion or remorse because it works automatically. If we perform good deeds, the Tao will generate a good outcome; and if we perform harmful actions, the results will likely prove disastrous.

I must acknowledge that, for the uninitiated, it is fairly easy to misunderstand the Tao Te Ching in this respect. I consider it crucial to counter such a misunderstanding from the beginning. If we fail to do so, the perception of Taoism will be distorted.

Taoism revolves around objective ethics, whereby rewards and punishments are dished out according to natural law. Lao-Tzu, Yang-Tzu and Chuang-Tzu are sophisticated moralists in their theories and illustrations, but in contrast to other systems of ideas, they advise people to think in advance, rather than do things quickly and then ask for forgiveness in case of disaster.

I must warn newcomers against the latter interpretation of Taoism. Indifference is the opposite of ethics, not an ideal. We should all stay away from any philosophy that condones moral indifference. That’s why it is so important to understand the concept of natural law in Taoism.

In fact, Lao-Tzu criticised all actions that inflict harm on third parties. He also criticises any actions that entail harshness and disharmony. His call for smoothness, softness and balance is the opposite of indifference.

Down-to-earth expectations

I must also warn against the belief that Taoism promises any magical solution to problems, or that it creates expectations of getting things done without thoughtful, steady work. Where do people get those ideas? Clearly, from Chapter 73 of the Tao Te Ching.

In Chapter 73, Lao-Tzu notes that the Tao accomplishes its goals without hurry, without striving, without speaking a word, and without even having a plan. Indeed, I understand that the uninitiated may interpret this wording as magical promise, but it is nothing of the sort.

Chapter 73 is simply stating that the Tao, that is, natural law operates automatically. It doesn’t need elaborate public notices, announcements or threats. It doesn’t care whether people have understood it or not. The Tao will do what needs to be done in all cases.

I must warn against the belief that cause and effect entail any kind of magic. No, they do not. Their workings are natural and automatic, just as Aristotle (384-322 BC) described almost two centuries after Lao-Tzu had written the Tao Te Ching.

Conversely, Lao-Tzu was conscious that some relationships of cause and effect are hard to discern. When Chuang-Tzu said that the Tao often works in mysterious ways, he meant that we cannot always figure out the thread of causality.

Some aspects of the situation might not become known until later and only then will we be able to get the full picture. There are always risks and uncertainty in life, and we need to address them as effectively as possible.

Effectiveness rests on rationality, not on magic. It would be foolish to categorize risks and uncertainty as supernatural and expect Taoism to magically protect us against them. Let’s steer away from any kind of magical thinking because it will freeze our initiatives and undermine our mental strength.

Stay in the centre

My warning must be extended against the expectation that good results can be achieved without steady, thoughtful work. I am referring to the quotations from the Tao Te Ching favouring Wu Wei, that is, the non-action principle, and implying that we can obtain what we want by just doing nothing.

Wu Wei should not be understood as a ticket for a free meal, whereby the Tao will make us healthy and prosperous without having to exert ourselves. Please discard any expectations of free meals, free victories and free achievements because the Tao Te Ching never promised any unrealistic outcome.

Taoist stories reflect exactly the opposite principle, that is, a correlation of causality; our good deeds today will lead to good consequences tomorrow; our commitment to avoiding harmful actions will prevent disasters down the road.

There is a medieval Taoist story about bamboo trees, which will grow very quickly after they have emerged above ground, but before doing that, bamboo needs a long preparatory below ground. The preparatory period underground provides the basis for later growth.

How do we avoid falling for the fallacies about Taoism? Is it possible for the uninitiated to avoid distorted beliefs? Yes, it is possible to adhere to the truth provided that we heed Chuang-Tzu’s advice. He told us to stay in the centre instead of falling for the unlikely extremes.

If someone tells you that Taoism leads to moral indifference and that it relies on magic, please stay in the centre and don’t give credence to those accusations without checking the facts.

I recommend reading the Tao Te Ching in its totality instead of relying on isolated quotations. We should not let a tree block our view of the forest, and we should not let a quotation distort a sophisticated, profoundly moral and realistic philosophy.

If you are interested in applying effective ideas to all sorts of situations, I recommend my book “Consistency: The key to permanent stress relief.”