The recent announcement of a White House summit next month to address hate-fueled violence brought to my mind these lines from Chuang Tzu (369 B.C.-286 B.C.):
...When the heart is right "For" and "against" are forgotten. No drives, no compulsions, No needs, no attractions: Then your affairs Are under control. You are a free man.
In an time when "for and against" has become a frighteningly common tactic to undermine a united sociability and basic human to human respect, Chuang Tzu's ancient philosophy gives a key to understanding: "When the heart is right, for and against are forgotten". The heart he speaks of is not about the circulation of blood, but rather the concept of heart in ancient China that includes both our feeling nature and our thoughts, each feeding the other. But how do we set our hearts "right"? Here we enter the spiritual realm. For Chuang Tzu there is a naturalness to this that comes with giving way to the flow of life and the Tao as the underlying principle of life. (See link below for the complete poem) This is an intuitive process, muddied by cultural pressures, schooled intellect, and a sense of separation. Taoism is a holistic response to the shifting sands of life--not piece-meal. Such an intuitive practice has it's own stops and starts and misfires. With practice, we find our way and even "for and against" struggles are simply forgotten.
This reflection reminded me of a case presentation I heard in a Mental Health conference on the impact of Covid. The patient was an older man who wasn't doing what he wanted to do as Covid restrictions faded. He was paralyzed in depression, with various health and aging issues complicating things and slowing him down. He perceived his life as worthless and meaningless, developing the attitude of "a countdown" to final incapacitation and death. The therapist, rather than directly tackling his despair, encouraged him to list the various ideas that had occurred to him that he kept rejecting-- things that he would like to do if only he wasn't old, ailing, and depressed. They were not extravagant fantasies of high adventure, but did involve interacting with others and risks of one level or another. They included visiting family out of state, going to dinner in a nearby town at new restaurant he had read about, taking a stab at writing and submitting an article on his philosophical musings, reading newly released books that pulled at some corner of his mind with a sense of intrigue. In therapy, he considered the activities that he had previously dismissed with "why bother, it's impossible". Now, he saw they did actually hold appeal; part of him wanted to try and part of him felt hopeless. He began to see that his failure to act created further hopelessness. As he actively engaged in planning the steps he would need to take for each item on his list, each step considered by itself was do-able. Bit by bit, he set new activity in motion, gathering momentum through positive experiences. Despair faded away. His heart became right. Impossibility and hopelessness were forgotten.
While the forces of hate are clearly exploited by larger undermining, anti-social agendas, we are more susceptible to them when we are personally frustrated, saddened and hopeless about our lives. Consider this Sunday, your own right heart and new ways to follow it. (Susan Nettleton)
For Chuang Tzu's complete poem (trans. by Thomas Merton) see: https://www.ayearofbeinghere.com/.../thomas-merton-when...