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| Legend has it that the great sage Lao Tzu resigned his
official government post and headed for the western desert, sick at heart
at the ways of men. A gatekeeper convinced him to write down his wisdom
in the form of the Tao Te Ching. Having done so, he left the known world
forever, never to be seen again.
Lao Tzu's world was a very violent and chaotic one. This was the Warring States period in China, and myriad petty kingdoms competed for power. Being a man of peace, he undoubtably found this distressing. Our world is not quite as violent as Lao Tzu's world, but it more than makes up for that in environmental disasters, human hubris, and general greed and disregard for the natural order. If modern society is not an ancient Taoist's conception of Hell, it is pretty darn close. If Lao Tzu walked out of ancient China, he would run from the United States or much of the industrialized world. The ancient Taoist would not be alone in his dismay of the modern world. The Hopi Indians are perhaps more direct in this than anyone: long before our technological society had taken over this planet, they warned of a coming time of disorder called koyannisqatsi: life out of balance. There are no doubt some that downplay the lack of natural balance in our lives and the impact of human rapacity on the world. Even some Taoists say that industrial plants are just as much part of the Tao as forests, convienience stores as natural as quiet ponds. This goes against the vast majority of the teachings of the Tao Te Ching, the Chuang Tzu, the Wen Tzu, and other Taoist texts. Man cannot destroy the Tao, but going against it can destroy himself and others. There is nothing natural to my nostrils in the smell of
burning asphalt. No gentle breeze is this smog that catches my throat.
Perhaps in the final analysis, all we can do is what Lao Tzu did: leave. Go somewhere far from the works of Man, and hope that such places can remain safe from the all-consuming hunger of the great machine. |
