The Dao of Dr. Faust

The Dao of Dr. Faust

Kind of building off of Mike's post, I find this notion of "nonbeing," "non-contention," "nonaction," etc. confusing.

First, we've got the motif of the newborn child: cf. 20 "I alone differ from others / in that I cherish my nurturing mother," 52 and 55. It seems that the "Dao," or "nonbeing," much like the empty space inside a vessel or the "formless matter" of Genesis, is the "mother" of existence, and by cleaving to that, the sage finds weakness (in a good way (in his opinion)).

Second, we've got the motif of the weak conquering the strong, even if "the world" doesn't recognize it: cf. 43 ("The softest of the world / overide the hardest of the world /.../ the world can rarely grasp these"), 41, 61 (the "great countries must yield" one), and so on and so on; there are many good examples. For Lao Tzu, even great things are struck down, and it is better to engage in this idea of "wu wei."

A quote from 46 enlightened me a little to his possible goal in all this: "of misfortunes, none is greater than discontentment." Certainly, an attitude of submission and inaction is an excellent path to lack of discontent, if that's where you want to go.

I think it might be worthwhile to contrast this philosophy to that in Goethe's Faust. If you know anything about the relentless activity with which Goethe lived his life, you would be predisposed to find his views in contrast with those of Mr. Tzu; but Faust will confirm it: "If I ever recline, calmed, on a bed of sloth," says Faust, "You may destroy me then and there" (Goethe, Kaufmann, p. 183) And again: "For restless activity proves a man" (p. 187) and again: "This is the highest wisdom that I own, / The best that mankind ever knew: / Freedom and life are earned by those alone / Who conquer each day anew" (p.469), and of course, the excellent passage which reads:

The reeling whirl I seek, the most painful excess,
Enamored hate and quickening distress.
Cured from the craving to know all, my mind
Shall not henceforth be closed to any pain,
...
And thus let my own self grow into theirs (mankind's)
Till as they are, at last I, too, am shattered (p. 189).

Even looking at each of those quotes in context, I think it will come out pretty clearly that Goethe is pro-"life embracing," pro-"getting Faust out of the lab and into the sunlight." Faust's dive into discontent ends with his "veritable paradise" (p. 467), a much more poignant moment than his ascension later on. Whereas here, with Lao Tzu, we have someone interested in finding contentment, and seeks to achieve it through some kind of submission, yielding, a refusal to contend.

Maybe there is something I don't quite understand in Senor Tzu's teachings: my translator admonishes me in a footnote, "Nondoing or Nonaction is a key dictum of Laocius. It means not doing something based on selfish grounds. To view it as inaction, indolence, inertia, laziness, or escapism is to misunderstand him altogether... That the sage is active rather than passive, positive rather than negative is seen throughout the book." But I think the difference between the two modes of thought is striking: Lao Tzu seems very "anti-being," "anti-this life," and not just in an Augustinian "we're all pilgrims here" sense, but in an "emptiness is superior to existence" sense, whereas Goethe seems very life-affirming. The chasm is as wide as between a rock eroded to nothing beneath a waterfall, and one tempered into steel in flames.

In contrasting him with Goethe, I'm trying to paint Lao Tzu as someone who is seeking some kind of contentment or comfortable path of living or understanding of or with the cosmos (my translation actually uses the word "macrocosm" at one point) by embracing this idea of "wu wei," which seems to me to be a defiance of the very meaning of existence itself. Is this a correct charge to make? Do his views on government and ruling change the matter?

P.S. 75: "Yes, only one who overlooks life is wiser than one who overvalues life."