The
Pooh of Tao
-Ted
Mancuso
"There
were giants among us in those days."
The
Twenties and Thirties of this rapidly devaluing century, were indeed
days of giants. It was a time when a hardy America began finding
it's distinct artistic and spiritual tones. And there was a need
for someone with a steely eye and a fair heart to comment on the
scene. So of course there arose... a woman; Dorothy Parker, (not
to be confused with the abominable movie of that title) a
"constant reader" and commented on the passing scene.
The possessor of a clinical but never cold eye she made quips about
all the quacks.
Oh, to have her back again.
What
a pleasure it would be to read her commentary on the non-assimilation
of so much undigested philosophy working its way into American consciousness;
especially on the advent of so many "Tao's". We now have
"The Tao of Golf", "The Tao of Crockpots", the
"The Tao of Crossword Puzzles", "The Tao of Jones"
and other such tomes. It seems that the word "Tao" has
replaced "... For Dummies" as a sure-fire selling book
title.
Actually
I think it's a good trend. I can see it leading to such enlightening
works as "The Bible of House Plants", "The Torah
of Dental Hygiene", "The Pentateuch of Stock Options",
The Veda of Pet Care".
Worthy
concepts and perfectly free to anyone out there who wants to take
a crack at them.
But,
less seriously, one might suggest that the word TAO has become another
mindless symbol for something quite different from it's actual meaning.
Of course everything actually has a Tao, a "Way" if you
will. But the word Tao has now acquired some sense of esoteric knowledge
which will allow the reader to do anything he or she wishes. In
other words the Tao is another form of "getting what you want
out of life".
But
there's a bit of a leap between "the pursuit of happiness"
and the "guarantee of happiness". To embrace a Tao is
not always an easy way to knock two strokes off your game. The first
and most difficult aspect of pursuing a "Way" comes through
in a healthy dose of self-criticism. To understand where the Tao
resides you have to understand where you reside. As in any religious
practice the Tao offers a criterion for emulation. When Woody Allen
is criticized in Manhattan, "You act like you're God or something."
He rightly responds, "I have to model myself after someone
!" The Tao, rather than being an easy path is one of constant
self-assessment. In the martial arts, for example, the easiest way
would be to not practice at all. In fact the better you get at martial
arts the more difficult they become. So it takes a long time to
achieve ease, grace and serenity. As the old martial saying goes,
"Ten thousand times answers all questions"; squarely reminding
us that a Tao, any Tao, comes from a real live practice, a mindful
application of nose-to-grindstone and, of course, a certain humility.
Hardly
the "license to lie" or the "go with the flow"
attitude of the eternal dilettante, the pursuit of a "Way"
can move one along a road that is long and sometimes uphill, but
always enhancing. It can, indeed, be a line of work, or a vocation;
an art or a profession. But it is rarely easy and never caught between
the covers of a book for the assimilation of those who have not
yet "paid their dues". That's why, when we stand at the
book shelves and see all these makeshift "Taos" we share
the same gut-queasy reaction of the inimitable Ms. Parker confronted
with a saccharine piece of writing, "And that's when this repworter
thwoded up !"
Ted
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