I am sure that neither Lao-Tzu (sixth century BC) nor Yang- Tzu (fourth century BC) were expecting anyone to learn the principles of Taoism in five seconds, but the sophistication of Taoist philosophy will not prevent me from presenting briefly its key principle: its preference for the natural over artificiality.

However, I must hasten to clarify that the Taoist conception of “natural” does not mean primitive or crude. It refers to every lifestyle element, tangible or intangible, that has developed in an organic manner, by trial and error, and has been adopted by people voluntarily, just because they regard it as advantageous.

Chuang-Tzu used a little story to illustrate the dangers of an unnatural lifestyle. Like in most philosophical fables, Chuang-Tzu employs animals to symbolise nature, and confronts them with misguided human decisions. I have slightly rewritten the fable to fit modern literary standards. The story goes like this:

Chuang-Tzu: story of the caged bird

Once upon a time, a wealthy man was told that it would suit him well to have a beautiful caged bird in his living room. He went to the market, examined various birds, and purchased the most beautiful and most expensive.

When he arrived home, he placed the bird in a golden cage and instructed his servants to treat the bird as they treated him, that is, by giving the bird only the best of the best.

The servants obeyed the instructions and gave the bird the best food they had, that is, the most delicate meat and fish, and the most delicious cakes. To drink, they supplied the bird with black tea and with liquor made from fermented rice.

A few days later, the wealthy man invited his friends home to show them his beautiful bird, but when his guests arrived, he realized that the bird had just died.

The wealthy man was very disappointed and punished his servants for not having followed his instructions. He concluded that the meat, fish, cake, black tea and liquor supplied to the bird must have not been of the best quality.

Chuang-Tzu presented the bird’s early death as the outcome of an unnatural lifestyle. It did not matter if the food and drinks supplied to the bird were expensive and the best of the best.

The servants had followed the exact instructions given by the wealthy man. They had given the bird the most expensive and delicious food and drinks. The problem is that those do not match the natural nutritional requirements of birds.

In his fable, Chuang-Tzu says that the bird had been given honey and meat to eat. I have added fish, cake, black tea and liquor to drive this point home. When we talk about our own lifestyle, what are the equivalents of unsuitable food for birds?

Lao-Tzu: doing the right thing

Chapter 19 of the Tao Te Ching had enunciated the principle that, two and a half centuries later, Chuang-Tzu illustrated with the caged-bird fable. I find Chuang-Tzu’s formulation superior to the one in the Tao Te Ching because it compares the lifestyle dictated by nature directly with misguided human action.

In contrast, Chapter 19 of the Tao Te Ching speaks against holiness, morality, wisdom and industry to preserve our ability “to do the right thing.” The wording is unfortunate because it is obvious that Lao-Tzu meant to condemn fake holiness, fake morality, fake wisdom, and unproductive work.

In my attempt to explain Taoism in five seconds, I would simply praise a natural lifestyle and reject artificiality, but what does “natural” mean nowadays? The distortions of this concept are as numerous as the bird feathers in Chuang-Tzu’s stories.

Chuang-Tzu offers the best Taoist definition of “natural” by equating it to integrity. Natural means consistent with its goals, and with the requirements of its health and self-development.

What’s natural will often appear as imperfect in the eyes of other people because they do not know the goals to be pursued. In Chuang-Tzu’s story, the wealthy man had failed to give any thought to what’s the natural food for birds. In this respect, he wrongly regarded meat as superior to seeds and insects.

Chapter 39 of the Tao Te Ching condemns all artificialities because they are misaligned with the Tao. If we do not stick to naturalness, we will end up covered in filth and exhausted. Our decay will continue until we are eventually wiped out.

Chuang-Tzu: metaphor of the crooked tree

In today’s intellectual chaos, Taoists can rely on Lao-Tzu’s call for naturalness in all areas. It doesn’t fundamentally matter if their pursuits make them look imperfect in the eyes of third parties.

As long as those pursuits are driven by integrity, harmony, and truthfulness, they should lead, step by step, to solid skill development and success, as defined by one’s personal goals.

Chuang-Tzu used the metaphor of the crooked tree to speak in favour of natural, organic development. It’s meant to convey the superiority of pursuing one’s goals with integrity instead of trying to emulate other people’s ideals. The metaphor goes like this:

When men go into the forest to cut trees, they look for tall, straight trees, those that seem the most appropriate for making furniture or beams for home construction.

In doing so, they will tend to ignore crooked trees because they look less than perfect. They will leave crooked trees alone and refrain from cutting them.

As a result, the crooked trees will enjoy a long life, one that is much longer and pleasurable than their tall, straight peers. If the crooked trees had pushed themselves to be tall and straight, they would have behaved artificially and suffered the negative consequences.

The Tao Te Ching established the principle of naturalness in all areas, but it took two and half centuries until Chuang-Tzu came up with fables where birds and horses suffer the frightful consequences of artificiality.

I think that, for living our lives, the key message of Taoism is fairly clear. It takes five seconds to convey, but its practical implementation requires steady dedication day in and day out. The respect of this major Taoist principle, I believe, can bring vast rewards, and its inobservance, painful repercussions.

If you are interested in putting effective strategies into practice in all sorts of situations, I recommend my book “The Philosophy of Builders.”