Untroubled Limericks about Taoism and the Tao

According to legend, there was once a wise old bearded philosopher from China, by the name of Lao Tzu. Some time in the 6th century B.C., he recorded a collection of pithy aphorisms that we know as the Tao Te Ching. I hesitate to call it a holy book, but it is basically the handbook of Taoism.

The Tao

Lao Tzu’s teachings have played an instrumental role in my own spiritual development. I still remember my first exposure to his enigmatic philosophy. As pimply 13-year-old, I read Benjamin Hoff’s light-hearted little book, “The Tao of Pooh”. It wasn’t exactly the flip of a switch, but more like the beginning of a slow and steady, never-ending process; the first drop in a bottomless well. Because the themes of Taoism run throughout my thoughts and writing, it was difficult to pick out just six limericks about the Tao.

Tao Te Ching
There’s a luminous legend Lao Tzu
With disciples like Winnie the Pooh
Let go of desire
Your soul will lift higher
The Tao’s not a thing to pursue

The Mystery

The Tao Te Ching looks like such a small and simple book at first glance, but it’s filled from cover to cover with pithy, paradoxical aphorisms. You could literally spend a lifetime reading and re-reading the short text, turning its ideas over in your mind.

From the first page, Lao Tzu makes it clear that the Tao is no ordinary belief system. It is not like other faiths or doctrines. “The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name. The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth.” The Tao cannot be touched.

Presence
You want to live better you want to know how
Ask me the way and I’ll show you the tao
The core of this teaching
Is not about reaching
But learning to listen and dwell in the now

Emptiness
At the center of everything sits a deep void
Peek at the darkness and keep your sangfroid
A truth is contained
But loath to be named
By the labels and fables we’ve learned to avoid

The Way

“The Tao” translates literally as “The Way.” The fundamental idea of Taoism, to me, is that life flows like a river, and the proper way to live is to go with the flow. Sometimes it will carry you upward, and sometimes it will bring you down, but it will always carry you forward. Any attempt to resist it will be fruitless.

In the Flow
From the fountain of time we all dip
For each moment a succulent sip
Holding water in hand
Like an hour of sand
It will never succumb to your grip

On the Wave
Life is a journey, each day is a test
Take what you need and let go of the rest
Be patient, be wise
And soon you will rise
For behind every trough there awaits a new crest

The Way Forward

I’m not sure how the Taoist philosophy will fare in the era of scientific certainty and concrete materialism. But regardless of public opinion, I’ll hold the torch.

The Spirit Under Siege
Hermits and searchers are beaten and battered
See how the scientist Tyson gets flattered
Praise the molecular
Worship the secular
Who can remember when Taoist Lives Mattered?