Wednesday 23 June 2010

The Uncarved Block

Balanced rock in Arches State Park Utah - photograph by Tim Pearce

used under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic licence

One of the basic principles of Taoism is P'u, the Uncarved Block. The essence of the Uncarved Block is that things in their original simplicity contain their own natural power, power that is easily spoiled and lost when that simplicity is changed.

Everything has its own place and function. When you know and respect your inner nature, you know where you belong. You also know where you don't belong.

From the state of the Uncarved Block comes the ability to enjoy the simple and the quiet, the natural and the plain. Along with that comes the ability to do things spontaneously and have them work, odd as that may appear to others at times.

As Piglet put it in Winnie-the-Pooh, "Pooh hasn't much Brain, but he never comes to any harm. He does silly things and they turn out right."

"Just How do you do it, Pooh?"

"Do What?" asked Pooh.
"Become so Effortless."
"I don't do much of anything," he said.
"But all those things of yours get done."
"They just sort of happen," he said"

Benjamin Hoff - The Tao of Pooh

ISBN-10: 0140067477
ISBN-13: 978-0140067477

1 comment:

  1. Taoism and Winnie the Pooh in one post? That's my kind of philosophy x

    http://wonderland.starma.co.uk

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