The dissolution of the identity is essential in Taoism. It is when we forget ourselves that we begin to know true freedom. True freedom is the act of letting go and letting be, nature’s way of noninterference, wu-wei. When we pursue our identity, building more layers upon it, we will likely never know or abide in our true free nature.
The sage allows life to be, so they are one with the Tao. The river of the Tao continues to flow with or without your acknowledgment. If we fight the river in trying to hold on to ourselves, then we will suffer. But if we genuinely let go and let be, then the river is our nature, because all that there is truly is the river. Fighting the current and holding on to the banks of the river are deviations from the truth, and the truth is the river continues to flow.
As one with the river, the concept of freedom disappears. Freedom itself is a concept in the linguistic framework to discern a state beyond being bound. But when you are one with the river, then you are naturally what freedom is pointing to. We forget the concept of freedom and aimlessly roam without any borders within or without. This is not individual freedom, but rather an awakening to the Tao in all life.
From the lofty vantage point of Tao, all things are free. This is the fundamental truth. Everything is nondual in oneness; there is actually no separation. This true freedom is beyond the concept of freedom. A sage’s real freedom is not becoming free from barriers placed upon them but rather a reflection of their heart-mind grounded in the original nothingness of Tao. They are a reflection of that nothingness and so the concept of a border or boundary has no meaning. Hence, freedom from “something” is an illusion bound to those who suffer from the border of their identity.
Excerpt from my upcoming book, 'The Tradition of Natural Taoism.' Pre-order now: amzn.to/4aD3X6B
Jason Gregory
The dissolution of the identity is essential in Taoism. It is when we forget ourselves that we begin to know true freedom. True freedom is the act of letting go and letting be, nature’s way of noninterference, wu-wei. When we pursue our identity, building more layers upon it, we will likely never know or abide in our true free nature.
The sage allows life to be, so they are one with the Tao. The river of the Tao continues to flow with or without your acknowledgment. If we fight the river in trying to hold on to ourselves, then we will suffer. But if we genuinely let go and let be, then the river is our nature, because all that there is truly is the river. Fighting the current and holding on to the banks of the river are deviations from the truth, and the truth is the river continues to flow.
As one with the river, the concept of freedom disappears. Freedom itself is a concept in the linguistic framework to discern a state beyond being bound. But when you are one with the river, then you are naturally what freedom is pointing to. We forget the concept of freedom and aimlessly roam without any borders within or without. This is not individual freedom, but rather an awakening to the Tao in all life.
From the lofty vantage point of Tao, all things are free. This is the fundamental truth. Everything is nondual in oneness; there is actually no separation. This true freedom is beyond the concept of freedom. A sage’s real freedom is not becoming free from barriers placed upon them but rather a reflection of their heart-mind grounded in the original nothingness of Tao. They are a reflection of that nothingness and so the concept of a border or boundary has no meaning. Hence, freedom from “something” is an illusion bound to those who suffer from the border of their identity.
Excerpt from my upcoming book, 'The Tradition of Natural Taoism.' Pre-order now: amzn.to/4aD3X6B
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