The Tao Te Ching and Dorothy L Sayers

Some might ask, "If there is no good or evil in the long run, then what's the use or the point of trying to be good?" It's a valid question. The point is that when we are fully present in the now, or as the New Testament calls it, "being led by the Spirit", then we know in that moment what action is right for that moment. It does not mean that we should do whatever we feel like in this life, regardless of consequences. To say that only spirit matters and this material world is useless is Gnosticism. While on one hand, that is true, at the same time, it's not true. This is the paradox. It is both true and not true at the same time.

But this kind of worldview that says, "spirit good, material world evil" is just another form of Dualism. Dualism can be helpful in trying to understand the physical world; hot and cold, good and bad, dark and light. I mean, learning to not put your hand on a hot stove is helpful, or learning to not put your tongue on a frozen pole is useful. But people who never mature beyond good v bad, black v white, hot or cold, yes or no can never really understand that everything is interconnected. It is both AND, hot and cold, good and bad.  As the Tao Te Ching points out, light and dark are the same. You cannot know one without the other. Of course, as we talked about before, these are just words and judgments.  As the Tao Te Ching says, “All the world knows and recognizes the beautiful.  Herein lies ugliness.”  In other words, in naming something good or bad, we have fallen into the old egoic trap of mental labels, forms, and judgments.

This brings us back to the interconnectedness of both form and formless. So, we do not take a dualistic worldview that only the formless dimension counts and that all forms are evil. They are both integrated.  Formless begets form, while form begets formless. This is the mystery within mystery. They are the same. Two sides of same coin. Temporary and eternal. Experience and mental concepts. 

Dorothy L. Sayers, Anglican apologist, called this intersection or juxtaposition of spirit and carnal, form and formless, spiritual and physical world "Incarnational living". She describes it as how an artist may be inspired to create a work of art. In and of itself, the creation (artwork) has a form that is inspired by the artist's spirit. In a sense, the artist imbues this piece with a bit of him/herself. But it truly becomes incarnational when another human interacts with it and finds something transcendent in their experience of this work of art. It's not just something the viewer gets from the art, but it is also something they bring to the art when they experience it.

What do we mean by transcendence? Transcendence is not a thing (though we try to give it a name). Transcendence cannot be a goal, otherwise it becomes an object. If I make it my goal to be transcendent or enlightened, then I am operating from my egoic mind, as though true spirituality can be something I use to define myself. This is why the term "holier than thou" really points to an egotistical trait rather than true holiness. Transcendence cannot be an object or goal of the ego. Rather, transcendence only comes in the now. It can only be experienced deeply now.  The path to transcendence is only in the now. It cannot be a future aim or a past glory. It is present moment experience of the one spirit, one life, one consciousness, or communion with God.

It's the deep, experiential knowing without words, beyond labels.

Paul in 1 Corinthians 2 wrote that he did not come to you with eloquent or persuasive words, but in a demonstration of the spirit's power, so that what you understood was not because of human wisdom or understanding. NLT

"When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn't use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God's secret plan." (1 Cor 2:1) He goes on…

From the NIV- 1 Cor 2:4-7 "My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God's power.  We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.  No, we declare God's wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began."

True spirituality defies words. True spirituality cannot be understood with the human, limited, finite mind. The person who goes on and on about how spiritual they are has lost the plot. They are unspiritual. Spiritual things cannot be discerned by the egoic mind, or the person controlled by their human understanding. They can, however, be understood on a deeper level, an experiential level of understanding that does not need words.  Even this explanation cannot really get through, because I am limited by words, constructs, and finite forms when trying to describe something which is infinite.