Lao Tzu - The Art of Not Trying

[Aldous]

It sounds something like laissez faire, a term used in modern economics.

Lao Tzu - The Art of Not Trying
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lsYJrLrEAM

Einzelgänger sounds similar to doppelganger. Ein = one.

[Goldcup7]

Love Lao Tzu. The Tao is very similar to Non-Duality, in that if we describe it with words that's not it. It is imperceptible yet permanently present.

The Art of Not Trying is similar also. In Non-Duality there is nothing to achieve. The self realisation we seek is found by not seeking it (it is permanently present). 'Not trying' would be a good way to describe non-dual living. In Non-Duality nothing is done, and to think or believe that we are doing or controlling is a misunderstanding.

There is a recognition that the seeming duality of the world is a oneness. The world flows. Oneness remains. There is no need to control or resist what is. It is what it is anyway. There is a letting go that allows the flow whilst recognising the stillness that remains. Resting in stillness, the motion of the world is witnessed with peace and the inner harmony of oneness.

[Aldous]

What is non-duality?

[FallingLeaves]

well 'acting without acting' (or not trying like you've said it here)

is a being able to relate to the world while taking an ingredient most people find essential out of the picture. that is where the 'not' comes from.

it is sorta along the lines of being able to do stuff, without getting the 'ego' or whatever you want to call all the bad behavior we get when people are doing stuff for reasons trying to get beneficial results (for themselves) involved.

A more natural kind of behavior, that doesn't involve manipulating people/life endlessly in an attempt to achieve whatever goals the being has set for themselves.

Some might call it an attempt to relate more honestly...

[FallingLeaves]

nonduality is the art of not using swords to cut life into pieces.

For example if I say 'this is true OR that is true' I've made a sword, cut life into two pieces, and in this case said only one part of life can be true at a time. Generaly any time I'm supposing there are two things and then comparing/contrasting them for the purpose of figuring out which is 'better', I've drawn a line between the two things and made a 'sword'.

Usually at this point I might go on to make pretty arguments how one part of life is better than another, with the end goal of saying people SHOULD do one thing and SHOULD NOT do the other. In other words I want to deify one side of the sword and proclaim the other so lousy that people are banned from being there.

in pure nonduality you don't cut things up that way, and don't go down those paths, just everything kinda coexists.

Of course there are feelings involved in all this and if you look at it that is what I'm normally seeking, the 'correct' feeling that will 'last for all time'. But that idea is bogus too as it turns out...

[Goldcup7]

Originally Posted by Aldous

What is non-duality?

Non-Duality is a teaching primarily from the Hindu religion but also affecting Buddhism and current 'thought'. There are teachers from modern-ish times, such as Ramana Maharshi, Nisargadatta Maharaj, Mooji, Rupert Spira, and Eckhart Tolle. Those are the ones I like anyhow.

As mentioned in the comments above, Non-Duality core teaching is that there are 'not two'. Although the world appears as an interplay of opposites, Reality is an infinite and indivisible One. The apparently separate self we believe we are is not truly defined or separate from the Oneness or Beingness that is all there is. But imo, as in Taoism where the real Tao is not the one that can be spoken of, words cannot really define Non-Duality.

Non-Duality is often described as Oneness, Beingness, Presence, Consciousness, the Self, God, the Supreme Being, Stillness, Isness, the Absolute. But non of these terms suffice.

[Aldous]

OK, thanks.

[Still_Waters]

Originally Posted by Aldous

It sounds something like laissez faire, a term used in modern economics.

Lao Tzu - The Art of Not Trying
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lsYJrLrEAM

I'm so glad that you initiated a thread on Lao Tzu and Taoism though it probably belongs in the Taoist section.

Your post brought back fond memories of a meeting I had with a Taoist Master in Chengdu, China, many years ago. Through my interpreter, I asked a lot of questions to the monks and their responses were okay. Then the monks said that I should speak with the abbot, and his responses were okay. The abbot then said that I should really speak to "the Master" but added that I could NOT take my interpreter with me. I asked if the Master spoke English because I certainly didn't speak Chinese. The abbot responded that language would not be a barrier.

Three hours later ... yes, three hours later ... I emerged from the meeting and my interpreter asked how the meeting had gone. I simply responded that all of my questions had been answered .... without words.


To get back to your post, there is one saying from the Taoist writings that has always resonated with me: "In utter emptiness and complete SILENCE, simply watch the return (to original nature)".

In that SILENCE ... free from thoughts and mental activity ... one intuitively knows what to do in each and every moment ... as if being guided by an expanded consciousness which sees the Big Picture more clearly. Essentially, it seems like the "Art of Not Trying" of which you wrote.

Thanks again for the great post.

NOTE: The "Art of Not Trying" is indeed consistent in many ways experientially with non-duality as some members have pointed out.... but I don't feel any urge to go there now.

[Gem]

My philosophy is do your best, try as hard as you can.