Tao and Oneness With the World - Ernie Stanley

Tao Te Ching, 67 (as translated by Ch’u Ta-Kao):
“All the world says to me: 'Great as Tao is, it resembles no description (form).' Because it is great, therefore it resembles no description. If it resembled any description it would have long since become small.

I have three treasures, which I hold and keep safe: The first is called love; The second is called moderation; The third is called not venturing to go ahead of the world.

Being loving, one can be brave; Being moderate, one can be ample; Not venturing to go ahead of the world, one can become the chief of all officials.

Instead of love, one has only bravery; Instead of moderation, one has only amplitude;
Instead of keeping behind, one goes ahead: These lead to nothing but death.

For he who fights with love will win the battle; He who defends with love will be secure.
Heaven will save him, and protect him with love.”

I find this poem to be one of the greatest illustrators of the paradigm differences between Eastern schools of belief, such as Taoism and those of Western religions in the treatment of the world. Whereas Western religions contend that man, as the implicit favorite of the divine, is the ruler of nature and and even above it, Eastern religion often merely contends that man should be one with nature and the universe.

Within this Taoist poem, the path for being one with the Tao lies not in the domination of the world, but instead in loving it. In a sense this is not radically different than religions such as Christianity which demands foremost for love and worship of God, the transcendental force. Taoism asks for the very same thing, love of a transcendental force. However, Tao, the transcendental force, is not above the world and universe as God is, but rather the constant driving order behind it. In order to be in tune with Tao one must be in tune with the world and not above it or beyond it.