While recently sifting through Taoist studies I came across this quote, what are your thoughts? I personally think it is very true and in tune with Buddhist teachings...
“We put thirty spokes to make a wheel: But it is on the hole in the center that the use of the cart hinges. We make a vessel from a lump of clay; But it is the empty space within the vessel that makes it useful. We make doors and windows for a room; But it is the empty spaces that make the room livable. Thus, while existence has advantages, It is the emptiness that makes it useful”
- Lao Tzu -
2006-09-25 05:55:13 · 6 answers · asked by Shinkirou Hasukage 6 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
icarus62: yes, lao tzu does love paradoxes, doesn't he?
2006-09-25 06:02:09 · update #1
Helga-J: Good point, but the donut is not built around emptyness, it is just made ring shaped, the hole was not meant to have a purpose. That is how I interpret this quote: we make things that rely on emptyness for their usefullness, not that the emptynss in everything is usefull...
2006-09-25 06:07:49 · update #2
Sonyack: I believe that it reveales the essence of Bardo, the emptyness that makes the concrete usefull.
2006-09-25 06:21:45 · update #3
Yes, I find that so interesting! I have also found that that is the most peaceful time in meditation, when you have these moments where thoughts cease....that's total peace...I think there is allot to be learned from that thought process....Taoists and Buddhists have much to share I think! :)
2006-09-25 06:13:45 · answer #1 · answered by Joeygirl 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I'm not sure that these cases are the same thing as the Buddhist concept of Emptiness, or Voidness.
Buddhist emptiness signifies that nothing has an essence, a permanence, a self-nature [a nature-in-itself]. Everything is inter-related, dependent, has no independent existence.
These concepts mentioned are a reflection of Lao Tzu's sort of libertarian-pacifist concerns.
2006-09-25 13:15:20 · answer #2 · answered by sonyack 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I've always found quotes attributed to Lao Tzu more interesting in what they focus on, i.e. what average minds overlook, than what is said. I've been doing a lot of reading in cosmology lately and getting caught up on physics and all that's been learned since I graduated college in the seventies. I think Lao Tzu would be pleased to learn that emptiness is merely a gap in our senses, and not in existence, and that all the universe is full and vibrant in ways we can scarcely imagine. I also think he would explain that, in his teaching, emptiness mostly means teachable and open to learning, devoid of prejudice and preconceptions, able to receive and perceive without fear. The whole Tao Te Ching is filled with viewpoint challenging observations like the one you quoted, and I'm always surprised that they seem new every time I read them. Thanks for sharing that one.
2006-09-25 13:06:29 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
As always, there are two sides to the coin - if you applied this logic to donuts, you'd be pretty disappointed...
2006-09-25 13:00:18 · answer #4 · answered by Helga J 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
...too...early....to....think...scotty!
Seriously, great quote. Made me stop and think, and now my brain hurts. I come here to escape thinking!!! Its the religion section for Christ's sake! LOL!
2006-09-25 12:59:23 · answer #5 · answered by YDoncha_Blowme 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Not sure it's particularly profound...
2006-09-25 12:57:36 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋