The Tao Of Daniel: ESSENCE

The Tao often hints at that thing called ‘essence’; it seeks to find and experience the ‘essential’ things in life.

What might an example of that be?

Perhaps an old married couple at the dinner table - everything’s already been said, and so what remains is the food and silence only.

This is not happiness or even something to be chosen for per se, yet it reminds us of where all things are heading: towards death, emptiness, boredom, decay.

The most essential thing in life is death; to die whilst living, one might say.

The Tao invites you to subtract, to simplify and to concentrate on your work, your relationships, your responsibilities and your ‘self’.

It wants to bring an end to all those exciting dreams of yours; the identities and roles and chores you feel you must endure. To reduce you to nothing and observe what more is left.

This is the ‘empty cup’, as described in Zen Buddhism. Only when the cup is empty can the essential things be seen and felt.

It is like a clear blue sky containing only a single cloud. With such spaciousness comes clarity, comes awareness and comes peace of mind.

In this way, practically speaking, Tao is about doing the simple, fundamental things well. Even supposedly complex or highly emotional tasks are done with confidence and care by truly ‘Tao’ individuals.

Then, and only then, might the supreme quality of sincerity be felt throughout our conscious experience of the world.

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