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Freethought
Association of West Michigan
Meeting Minutes for March 27, 2002; #111
Upcoming
topics and events to take note of:
March 31 at
10AM: Annual Board Meeting @ Don's Hansen's Jenison home. 616-662-9326
for directions.
April 4 at
7PM: "Perspectives on Evolution & Creation; Implications
for Science, Religion & Faith" at the GVSU Allendale
campus, Kirkhof Center, Grand River Room. Dr. Greg Forbes and
Dr. Michael Pape will present views on these issues from their
different perspectives.
April 7 at
10AM: Freethought Breakfast at Wolfgang's Restaurant, 1530 Wealthy,
SE (Eastown area of G.R.); tel. # (616) 454- 5776. Coordinated
by Joe Duba. Joe welcomes any ideas for other social get-togethers.
April 10 at
7PM: "Distinguishing Religions & Cults" to be presented
by Dr. Greg Forbes at our regular meeting space in the Yankee
Clipper Library.
April 24 at
7PM: "Secularism is the Religion of Humanity." Presented
by Roger Greeley, author of The Best of Robert Ingersoll, Thomas
Jefferson's Freethought Legacy, and the Best of Humanism. Greeley
is our first special guest speaker of this year.
April 27 at
10AM: Our first Adopt- A-Highway cleanup for the year. This is
a Saturday and we meet at the Citgo gas station on Plainfield
between 5 Mile and E. Beltline. There is a social time afterwards.
It was announced
that we will have a change of venue for the May 22nd meeting day.
There is a conflict with the Yankee Clipper Library for that regular
meeting day, so we are instead gathering at 7PM at Kurley's Korner;
750 Michigan. NE. This is west of Fuller, toward downtown G.R.
An informal
pre-meeting talk time is still available at 6PM on regular meeting
days, an hour before the scheduled official meeting.
If you are
able to bring in refreshments for our meetings, contact Charles
LaRue @ 616-458-2992 or calart@hotmail.com. Thank you!
Channel 41
News contacted group chairman, Jeff Seaver for a report on how
the events of September 11 have affected atheism. More on this
when the information becomes available.
It was announced
that long-time FAOWM member, Charley Moore is recovering well
from a rather severe accident. He can talk now and his number
at the Kent Community Hospital is #459- 7853; room #611.
Group member
Walt VanDam was going to present this meeting's topic "A
Skeptic's Bible Study" but he was unable to do this due to
deaths in his family. Our condolences are offered to Walt at this
time.
In lieu of
this topic, Jeff Seaver presented "A Finger Pointing at the
Moon; An Introduction to Philosophical Taoism." Jeff, a self-proclaimed
"newbie" in Taoist philosophy, found it an approach
that offers a balance to his more strong rationalist sensibilities,
without sacrificing his non-theistic worldview. Taoism appeals
more to the emotional, sensual, experiential aspects and makes
room for intuition, the mysterious, awe and wonder. For Jeff,
it is compatible with his secular humanism and intellectually
appealing.
Taoism, also
spelled Daoism, is translated as "The Way" or "The
Path" and is sometimes referred to as the "Watercourse
Way." This last reference deals with concepts of water flow:
water always returns to its source, is gentle yet can wear away
the hardest of things, when it is obstructed, it will cut a new
path, if you contain it, it will overflow and to resist the flow,
one must not do anything. This is the principle of Wu Wei. Loa
Tse wrote in this regard: "Be still like a mountain and flow
like a great river."
Taoism, being
more experiential and reflective, is not amenable to hard definition.
According to Tao Te Ching: "The tao that can be told/ is
not the eternal Tao/ The name that can be named/ is not the eternal
Name." Some ways of comprehending the way in which Tao is
understood are to reference it with a power that envelops and
flows through all things, regulating natural processes and balance
and embodying the harmony of opposites. This last sentence can
be related the Taoist Yin-Yang symbol; the circle with curved
teardrop shapes of black and white juxtaposed and interlocked,
yet not merged into homogeneity. In the black shape a white circle
is seen and conversely in the white shape a black spot is depicted,
further extending this "harmony of opposites." In Taoism
there can be no love without hate, no light without dark, no male
without female. Taoism is seen as the infinite source of all things
and first cause-yet there is no God concept and therefore no prayer
(there is nothing to pray to). There is also no concept of salvation.
Alan Watts said of the Tao that it is never achieved, because,
to the Taoist there is no separation between the journey and the
destination-so by simply being on the sojourn it is implied that
you have attained your destination.
Jeff's title
for this presentation comes from a quote saying that Taoism is
"like a finger pointing to the Moon." This concept can
be seen in other phrases such as Yahweh saying "I am what
I am", the quote: "The map is not the territory"
and "The menu is not the meal."
Seaver gave
us the historical framework for Taoism as being formulated originally
by a legendary Master named Lao Tsu, Lao Tse, or other derivations
upon the name. It is debated whether he ever actually existed,
however, though his time was given as 604-531 BCE. Taoism began
as a combination of psychology and philosophy. This philosophical
system, adopted by the aristocracy, was devoid of deities but
as it became popular among the masses and adopted as a state religion,
it became intermingled with nature worship, tribal deities and
shamanism. Later, it was also associated with practices such as
divination, alchemy, the search for immortality and so forth.
Lao Tse, himself, became venerated as a deity among the masses.
Jeff espouses the original, philosophical, rather than religious
or mystical interpretations of Taoism. Taoism, along with Confucianism
and Buddhism, became one of the three great religions of China.
State support for Taoism ended in 1911.
Seaver spoke
of Taoist texts including the Tao Te Ching, or the Way of Power,
which reads like a poem and is second only to the Bible in being
the world's most translated book, the Art of War, the Chuang-tzu
(named after its author and containing additional teachings, and
the I Ching, or the Book of Changes.
Some of the
concepts of Tao involve detachment, a cyclical, rather than linear
sense of time, the pairs of opposites seen throughout the universe,
nurturing the air or breath (Chi) given to each person and the
ethical Three Jewels of Compassion, Moderation and Humility. The
Tao Te Ching speaks of these ideas in the following excerpt: "The
Master does his job and then stops. He understands that the universe
is forever out of control, and that trying to dominate events
goes against the current of the Tao. Because he believes in himself,
he doesn't try to convince others. Because he is content with
himself, he doesn't need others' approval. Because he accepts
himself, the whole world accepts him."
Jeff mentioned
the go with the flow approach of Taoism. This is illustrated by
the Wu Wei- the art of non-action, effortless action, or authentic
action, and conforms to the natural way of things, letting nature
take its course and resisting by doing nothing, as the rock resists
the current in the stream. "Let go of fixed plans and concepts
and the world will govern itself. The more prohibitions you have,
the less virtuous people will be. The more weapons you have, the
less secure people will be. The more subsidies you have, the less
self- reliant people will be…Let go of the law, and the people
become honest…let go of economics, and the people become
prosperous…let go of religion, and the people become serene…let
go of all desire for the common good, and the good becomes as
common as grass." Two other excerpted quotes taking on this
view are: "she has but doesn't possess, acts but doesn't
expect. When her work is done, she forgets it. That is why it
lasts forever." And: "Practice not-doing and everything
will fall into place."
Throughout
his presentation, Jeff interspersed the poetic writings of Taoism.
Here I will take bits and pieces from longer stretches of thought
from the Toa Te Ching but try to retain the overall sense and
concepts of the Tao. "Free from desire, you realize the mystery.
Caught in desire, you see only the manifestation." "Being
and non-being create each other. Difficult and easy support each
other. Long and short define each other. Before and after follow
each other." "If you over-esteem great men, people become
powerless. If you overvalue possessions, people begin to steal."
"The Tao is like a bellows: it is empty yet infinitely capable.
The more you use it, the more it produces; the more you talk of
it, the less you understand." "Hold on to the center."
"The Master stays behind; that is why she is ahead. She is
detached from all things; that is why she is one with them. Because
she has let go of herself, she is perfectly fulfilled." "Each
separate being in the universe returns to the common source. Returning
to the source is serenity." "When you realize where
you came from, you naturally become tolerant, disinterested, amused,
kindhearted as a grandmother, dignified as a king. Immersed in
the wonder of the Tao, you can deal with whatever life brings
you, and when death comes, you are ready." "He who has
power over others can't empower himself. He who clings to his
work will create nothing that endures." "A good artist
lets his intuition lead him wherever it wants." "For
every force there is a counterforce. Violence, even well- intentioned,
always rebounds upon oneself." "Therefore the Master
concerns himself with the depths and not the surface, with the
fruit and not the flower. He has no will of his own. He dwells
in reality and lets all illusions go." "Governing a
large country is like frying a small fish. You spoil it with too
much poking." "All streams flow to the sea because it
is lower than they are. Humility gives it its power." "When
they lose their sense of awe, people turn to religion. When they
no longer trust themselves, they begin to depend upon authority."
"The hard and stiff will be broken. The soft and supple will
prevail." "Nothing in the world is as soft and yielding
as water. Yet for dissolving the hard and inflexible, nothing
can surpass it."
Jeff discussed
how the Taoist philosophy provides food for thought and a fresh
way to look at various aspects of life, including business. He
fights fewer battles now and finds he accomplishes his goals more
by letting go than by struggling toward specific gains. When he
is ultimately shown to be wrong in a decision, he has more humility
and is not personally wounded; when he is ultimately correct in
his decisions, he has allowed others to perceive the given course
as the best by their own lights and all share in the benefit.
Sometimes we invest so much in being right or having our say prevail
that we have more to lose in relinquishing an idea, even when
we ourselves perceive it as losing the way toward truth or value.
Secretary:
Charles LaRue
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