Given the choice of all the dead people in the history of mankind, with whom
would you chose to speak? A favorite grandparent? A famous leader? Carol
O'Connor? Or maybe even Jesus Christ? The possibilities are literally endless,
but I knew exactly whom I wanted to question: Lao Zi, Chuang-Tzu, and Kuo
Hsiang. Wouldn't it be wonderful to corner these three ancient Chinese
philosophers who are credited with founding Taoism over 2500 years ago and
question them from beyond the grave about the truth behind the natural mystery
of the universe? Unfortunately, even the hardest-working mediums have great
difficulty holding the attention of the wandering spirits, so oftentimes one
question is all you get. Of course when my chance came on a recent trip to
Osore-zan, I skipped right over all that metaphysical crap and asked them about
the one thing that matters most, SNOWBOARDING!
My medium waved me into a dark shed, her 'office,' where she urged me to be
patient. After half an hour of waving her arms slowly up an down like an
autistic albatross, and humming like an angry cat, her face went stiff and she
pointed an urgent finger at my face indicating that I should ask my question.
"Three
ancient Chinese wisemen known for their superior snowboarding ability and the
founding of Taoism"
I was completely unprepared. "So, uh, how can I, er, improve my
boarding?"
The medium's head rolled back in a slow arc. In a slow husky voice she
identified herself as Lao Zi and said: "It is best for one to know that he
does not know; it is an illness to pretend to know when he actually does not
know."
After a very long pause, in which I thought the medium had died, she spurted
back to life and announced that Chuang-Tzu would speak. He said:
"Let your mind make excursions in the pure simplicity. Identify yourself
with the non-distinction. Follow the nature of things, and admit no personal
opinion. Then the world will be in peace."
"The perfect man has no self."
"Do not listen with the mind, but with the spirit."
Huh? Thankfully I had my tape recorder rolling because this was going to take
some analysis!
Finally the medium announced that Kuo Hsiang had some advice:
"The feet can walk, let them walk. The hands can hold, let them hold. Hear
what is heard by your ears; see what is seen by your eyes. Let your knowledge
stop at what you do not know; let your ability stop at what you cannot do. Use
what is naturally useful; do what you spontaneously can do. Act according to
your will within the limit of your nature, but have nothing to do with what is
beyond it. This is the most easy matter of non-action. When you are in
accordance with the principle of non-action, your life cannot but be perfect.
Life in perfection is nothing but happiness. Happiness is the perfection of
life, and needs no external thing to be added to life."
Dude, what? I listened to the tape recording of my visit to Osore-zan for days
after I got back to Tokyo trying to make sense of all this 'beyond the
void'nonsense. I thought the medium had ripped me off and fed me a bunch of
cosmic jibber-jabber. But the more I listened the more I came to understand
that my three wise snowboard instructors were warning me to protect myself from
the interference of the conscious mind!
"Hey Fool! That's just a
bunch of confucianist reactionary jibber-jabber!
"It is best for one to know that he does not know; It is an illness to
pretend to know when he actually does not know." Lao Zi was telling me
that it is futile to believe that I can 'know' how snowboarding works. My body
understands it but my mind does not.
"Follow the nature of things, and admit no personal opinion." Chuang-Tzu
was just saying that I must keep my ego out of the way and let my body handle
the board. He emphasized this by saying, "The perfect man has no
self." Genius!
Kuo Hsiang was most clear of all, "The feet can walk, let them walk. The
hands can hold, let them hold. Hear what is heard by your ears; see what is
seen by your eyes." Even without focusing on your eyes, ears, feet or
hands, they still constantly take in information that the unconscious mind
effortlessly interprets so the body can react instantly.
"Let your knowledge stop at what you do not know; let your ability stop at
what you cannot do. Use what is naturally useful; do what you spontaneously can
do." Again, trust your body, your senses, and your unconscious mind to
make the right decisions without your conscious interference. Of course!
Think about it. Haven't you ever had a perfectly wonderful run spoiled by some
intrusive conscious thought? I remember flying down a slope last year having
the time of my life when some old mother hen in my awareness plucked up and
said, "You're going way to fast, you know." Fear overtook me so my
mind vainly tried to take control of the wheel and promptly drove my ass right
into the snow. Too fast? Too fast for what? I would have come to a peaceful
stop eventually if my mind hadn't insisted on barging in. The body reacts to
what is happening on the slope long before the mind ever figures out what is
happening.
We all know the human body is required to fulfill several tasks every second
just to keep itself alive. Our conscious minds could never handle the burden of
making multiple split-second adjustments on a life or death basis. Heart and
lung operations would be slowed to a disastrous halt if our conscious thoughts
became involved, just like pondering a turn will bring any snowboarder to his
knees. The body can handle everything just fine, if we would just let it
happen. Of course, my ancient instructors are ingenious!
Finally, on Osore-zan excited for the chance to ask another question, without
consulting the medium I blurted, "How can I find true love?" I don't
know if the medium heard me or if the three sages were responding to my
original question but, after a long pause, Lao Zi croaked, "Whatever you
do, don't look down." Then he laughed, and you can just go ahead and
interpret that any way you like...
"Just don't look down! Ha
ha ha ha."
