People nowadays often complain that life is too complicated and stressful. There are too many electronic systems to be used and they are constantly being changed; and there are too many requirements for doing everyday tasks, and those requirements are constantly being modified.
No wonder that many admire the Taoist serenity and want to follow the advice in Chapter 44 of the Tao Te Ching, namely, to avoid the traps of the world, to stay within their own range of action, and enjoy every moment of their lives.
However, unless they take it seriously, I fear that their wish for serenity is not going to be fulfilled. Why? Because it takes sustained effort to avoid the traps of the world and stay within one’s range of action.
For starters, we need to learn to detect the traps of the world before we fall into them. How can we increase our capacity to detect those traps? How can we increase our sensitivity in this area? As proven by the daily news, that’s easier said than done.
Excessive food and alcohol consumption, imprudent driving and drug abuse are omnipresent. Aggressive and inconsiderate behaviour can be observed all over the place; and far too many people display an abusive, solipsistic attitude.
Feasibility
I would not give any credence to individuals claiming that it is impossible to behave ethically in today’s world. They affirm that they would be able to behave ethically if they lived in a simple society like Ancient China, but that they cannot do it in today’s context.
Their statements of potential virtue are equivalent to desires of potential purity after having voluntarily besmirched oneself. Such statements are as useless as checks issued by a bankrupt saving bank. If you try to cash those checks, they’ll never clear.
Happiness and virtue signalling are incompatible. The more virtue signalling is done, the less happiness will ensue. Energy can be spent on beneficial or detrimental activities, but not on both at the same time. This simple truth stands uncontested.
I acknowledge the fact that virtue is difficult to practice, but this has been a constant in history. It is illusory to argue that, in the times of Lao-Tzu, Yang-Tzu and Chuang-Tzu, it was easier to do the right thing as it is nowadays.
No, let us not attribute superhuman abilities to the Ancient Taoists. They did not have an easy life, neither materially nor spiritually: their standard of living was appallingly low and the sheer effort of food production consumed most of their energy.
Nor did the Ancient Taoist live in a friendly environment. In their lifetimes, there were constant wars between Chinese lords and dynasties; and peasants were ignorant, illiterate and brutish like those in the European Middle Ages.
Lao-Tzu, Yang-Tzu and Chuang-Tzu did not live in the land of milk and honey, nor did they ever consider it necessary to be happy. A key advantage of their philosophy is that it works in all circumstances, favourable or unfavourable.
Better results
The non-action principle is the tool employed by Taoists to thrive in adverse circumstances. It enables them to circumvent issues that other people find overwhelming, nullify opposition, avoid waste, and achieve satisfying results.
While other people exhaust their resources complaining and longing for societal change, Taoists calmly cross the desert and attain their chosen destination. While many remain paralysed by noise and misrepresentations, Taoists filter those out, so that they can perceive the truth.
Specifically, they employ the non-action principle to further their happiness in six distinct manners: to reduce risks, to steer away from bad people, to let go of losing propositions, to say no to manipulations, and to avoid stagnation and sickness.
Chapter 9 of the Tao Te Ching spells out the best strategy to get things done without waste, conflicts and delays: just get the thing done and move on. It means that we should ignore side issues and focus on the essentials, and that we shouldn’t do too much or too little.
The non-action principle calls for systematic risk avoidance and risk minimization. It is not enough to become aware of the risks and pray for the best. Nor to request other people to help us out and blindly trust their promises.
Taoists are ruthless when it comes to avoiding and reducing risks. They will unapologetically walk out from any discussion as soon as they perceive any sign of dishonesty, inconsistency, or ulterior motives. Life is too short to hold such discussions.
Promptness
The same abrupt promptness applies to avoiding bad people and bad organizations. While other people look the other way when confronted with malevolence, Taoists will walk away on the spot. They don’t want to invest their time and energy in any enterprise involving bad individuals.
Taoist non-action is also displayed in acknowledging errors as soon as they are detected. Lao-Tzu, Yang-Tzu and Chuang-Tzu were not omniscient and sometimes made mistakes. What sets them apart is their commitment to calling a spade a spade.
The non-action principle calls for immediately stopping all efforts in ventures that have revealed themselves as hopeless. I mean literally cutting all actions to zero, or liquidating those assets on the spot even if it means taking a loss.
If we do so, we’ll free up our time and intellectual abilities to work on better projects in the future. Lao-Tzu had realized that every moment devoted to a losing proposition is a wasted moment. Happiness is increased by letting go of rotten apples as soon as humanly possible.
Taoists will equally employ the non-action principle to avert manipulations, stagnation and illness-producing habits. It may take a while to disentangle ourselves from those situations, but there is no reason to put any extra effort into them.
Happiness is more easily attained if we adopt the non-action principle in all areas of our life. Taoists have internalized every feature of the principle and will apply them unhesitatingly day after day. Are we willing to imitate their strategy?
If you are interested in putting rational ideas into practice in all sorts of situations, I recommend my book “Against all odds: How to achieve great victories in desperate times.”