Neither patience nor persistence are regarded as virtuous in Taoism. Lao-Tzu would have been puzzled by people who wait for a long time for something good to happen when all signs are pointing in the opposite direction.
Similarly, Yang-Tzu would never have persisted on a course of action that, time and again, has proven counterproductive. It is incomprehensible for Taoists to see someone try to achieve a goal that common sense shows to be unattainable.
Chuang-Tzu wrote stories in which people, blinded by their pride or ignorance, keep doing something that obviously does not work, until one day, they collapse. Exhaustion, physical or financial, puts an end to their story.
Chapter 48 of the Tao Te Ching enunciates the Taoist view on patience and persistence. “In the pursuit of knowledge, we learn a little bit more each day, but in the pursuit of the Tao, we need to let go of something everyday.”
The Tao Te Ching calls for “letting go”
While many religions and philosophies regard patience and persistence as virtues, Lao-Tzu recommended the opposite. We should let go of things that do not work. It’s foolish to continue on a path that clearly leads nowhere.
If we have invested substantial resources in a bad venture, it is hard to acknowledge that we have made a mistake. Feelings of shame, guilt and despair come up frequently in situations of failure, especially if the failure is publicly known.
Nonetheless, it is better to face our mistakes than to pretend that everything is fine. That’s what Lao-Tzu described as “to let go of something everyday.” He was referring to stubbornness, self-inflicted blindness, and narrow-mindedness.
Chapter 57 of the Tao Te Ching points out that the path to great leadership consists of following the Tao; the same applies to the path to making great decisions, achieving prosperity, and recovering one’s health.
The key to all beneficial things is to follow the Tao, not to be patient and persistent. What is the essential difference? The philosophy marks the difference in each case, that is, whether we adopt an objective or a subjective philosophy.
Taoism and ethical objectivity
Let me elaborate the definition of philosophical objectivity because it possesses crucial importance. Taoist virtues revolve around the pursuit of the Tao, which is tantamount to nature. It is a hundred percent objective standpoint.
In contrast, when people speak of patience and persistence, they mean subjective virtues. We could categorize individual A as patient if he withstands adversity for a long time instead of walking away.
Similarly, we can categorize individual B as persistent if he keeps trying to achieve a difficult goal, for instance, getting a certain job or professional accreditation. We all know stories of people who have achieved success against all odds due to their remarkable persistence.
Both patience and persistence, as formulated above, refer to the qualities of a certain person in a certain situation. We could conceive that, in the same situation, other people would do the same and fail to achieve the desired result. We are talking first and foremost of a psychological trait of the concerned person.
Why does Taoism not consider patience and persistence as virtues? Because they are too subjective. Taoists do not see the point of praising individual A for suffering a long time quietly, or praising individual B for pushing forward regardless of the circumstances.
Taoists endorse patience and persistence only when they are rooted in objective facts. What does objective mean in our two examples? It means that individual A is patiently withstanding adversity because he has objective grounds to expect the tide to turn in his favour in the near future.
As for individual B, objective grounds mean that he knows, based on facts, that the odds are in his favour if he stays on the same track and keeps trudging forward.
His hope to achieve a certain goal is not subjective (“I want to achieve this goal”) but objective (“I am confident that I can achieve this goal because I know that individuals C and D have done so, and I am following their method.”)
Lao-Tzu employs the water metaphor in Chapter 78 of the Tao Te Ching to praise flexible and adaptable people. Water is, metaphorically, the opposite of blind patience and persistence.
Taoism regards it as pointless to beat one’s head against the wall. Why keep trying to achieve a goal that, objectively, does not seem attainable? Neither Lao-Tzu, Yang-Tzu or Chuang-Tzu consider blind faith as a trustworthy adviser.
Analysis of two historical examples
In history, should we regard individuals such as Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) and Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) as examples of subjective patience and persistence?
Absolutely not. Those two persons exemplify an objectively grounded pursuit of goals, not subjective faith. Edison made a large number of experiments before he succeeded in producing an incandescent bulb, but he was not operating blindly. He was relying on sound scientific principles.
What about Christopher Columbus and his endless attempts to find support for his venture? He was only twenty-four when he conceived the idea of sailing westwards to India, but did not obtain financial support until his forty-first birthday.
Truth be told, Columbus only started to look for supporters when he was already thirty-four, but still, he devoted seven full years to that purpose. He travelled around Europe many times to make presentations to potential backers, but it was all to no avail until 1492. Afterwards, Columbus made history.
His patience and persistence relied on objective facts, which were essentially correct, but not hundred per cent accurate. The energy and determination deployed by Columbus were backed by sound theories, not by wishful thinking.
The Taoist views on patience and persistence correspond to the strategies employed by Edison and Columbus. Both relied on facts. Both were fully aligned with the Tao, with nature, not solely based on subjective expectations.
Lao-Tzu himself didn’t become a great philosopher through patience and persistence. On the contrary, he achieved success as a thinker because he quit his employment at the Zhou royal court, and walked away.
If Lao-Tzu had deployed the virtues of (subjective) patience and persistence, Taoism might not have existed; all attempts by Lao-Tzu to improve the Zhou royal court were clearly doomed to failure. On that occasion, it was wise of Lao-Tzu to let go of patience and persistence.
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