This
book uses the children’s book character Winnie the Pooh to
explain the principles of Taoism, or as the author explains, the
book is about how to stay happy and calm under all circumstances.
Pooh
has a certain way of looking at the world that is Taoist in
nature. The author gives the example where Piglet asks Pooh what
he says to himself when he wakes up in the morning. Pooh replies:
“What’s for breakfast?” Pooh asks Piglet what he says in the
morning. Piglet says: “I wonder what’s going to happen
exciting today?” Pooh nods thoughtfully and then says: “It’s
the same thing.”
Pooh’s
approach to life, which consists of him asking silly questions,
going on adventures without ever accumulating intellectual
knowledge or loosing his “simpleminded sort of happiness”, is
used by the author to explain the principles of Taoism.
The
How of Pooh
The
painting “The Vinegar Tasters” explains the main differences
between the major teachings of China. The painting depicts three
men tasting vinegar.
The
first man has a sour look on his face and he represents Kung Fu
Tse (Confucius), who believed life is rather sour. Earth is out
of harmony with heaven, and Kung Fu Tse developed a complex system
of rituals that addressed these imbalances.
Buddha
is represented by the second man, and he has a bitter look on his
face. Buddha believed that suffering is caused by attachments and
desires. In order to find peace of mind you must transcend “the
world of dust”.
Lao-tse,
the author of the oldest book on Taoism, is represented by the
third man who is smiling. Lao-tse believed that the
earth runs according to natural laws. He saw these laws as
reflections of the laws of heaven. When man interferes with the
natural state of things, he moves further away from harmony. By
imposing rituals and laws, life does become sour. Rather than turn
away from the world of dust, he encouraged people to join it.
Lao-tse
is smiling when tasting the vinegar. Life itself, when understood
for what it is, is sweet.
The
Tao of Who?
The
most important principle of Taoism is actually named after Pooh.
It is P’u, or the “Uncarved Block” -- things in their
original simplicity contain their own natural power. This power is
easily spoiled or lost when complexity is introduced.
Pooh
is the hero of the Winnie-the-Pooh books, not the thinkers such as
Owl or Rabbit. Pooh accomplishments come about because he is
simple minded.
Pooh,
Piglet, and Rabbit were lost in the woods. Every time they tried
to find their way home they went around in circles and ended up
back at the sand pit.
“How
would it be,’ said Pooh slowly, ‘if as soon as we’re out of
sight of this pit, we try to find it again?
"What’s
the good of that?” said Rabbit.
“Well”,
said Pooh, “we keep looking for Home and not finding it, so I
thought that if we looked for this Pit, we’d be sure not to find
it, which would be a Good Thing, because then we might find
something we weren’t looking for, which might be just what we
were looking for, really.”
And,
once again they found their way home.
Spelling
Tuesday
In
the Winnie-the-Pooh stories the Owl represents the scholar, and in
China scholars are usually Confucianist. Scholars are often
rushing around analysing things and not actually living or
experiencing life. From the Taoist point of view, deeper and
broader matters require more than scholarly intellect.
Lao-tse
wrote: “The wise aren’t not learned, the learned are not
wise.”
As
Rabbit says about Owl, you can’t help respecting someone who can
spell Tuesday, but there are days when spelling Tuesday simply
doesn’t count.
Often
the scholarly use big words to intimidate us and stop us from
understanding things.
While
scholars can be very useful, and can provide us with a lot of
information, there is something more. And it’s this “Something
More” that life is really about.
Cottleston
Pie
Cleverness
is limited because it can't help you with the deeper things in
nature and with inner nature. In Winnie-the-Pooh, Pooh sings a
song called Cottleston Pie which points to some important
principles in human nature, which include:
- People
ignore the clear reality that things are as they are. They get
stuck in the wrong job, or the wrong marriage, and try to be
something they’re not.
- Everyone
has limitations, and you should be aware of what yours are.
The wise know their limitations, the foolish do not.
- Science
tries to answer all the questions, but often all it does, is
to raise more questions. What we need to do is to recognize
Inner Nature and Work With Things as they are.
The
Pooh Way
An
important element of Taoism is Wu Wei. It means without being
meddlesome, combative or egotistical. The efficiency of Wu Wei is
like water flowing around rocks in its path, rather than going
over them.
When
we learn to work with our own Inner Nature and the natural laws
operating around us, we reach a level of Wu Wei. When you practice
Wu Wei you don’t have to try very hard to work things out, you
just let them. Thinking too hard about things and trying too hard
to make things work out right just gets in the way.
For
Eeyore’s birthday, Pooh gets him a jar of honey and Piglet gets
him a balloon. On the way to Eeyore’s house, Pooh accidentally
eats the honey and Piglet accidentally bursts the balloon.
When
they arrive, they give Eeyore what remains of his gifts. Eeyore
discovers that the burst balloon easily fits into the empty honey
jar.
Pooh
tells Eeyore he is very glad he thought of giving him a useful pot
to put his things in. Piglet tells Eeyore he is very glad he
thought of giving him something to put into the useful pot.
Meanwhile, Eeyore isn’t listening, he’s taking the balloon out
of the jar and putting it back in again, as happy as he can be.
Bisy
Backson
Rabbit
visits Christopher Robin, only to find a note “BISY BACKSON”
(busy back soon).
You’ll
find a lot of people out there always in a hurry, always trying to
get something done. If you want to be healthy, relaxed and
contented, just watch a Bisy Backson and do the opposite.
Bisy
Backson is always on the run because he is looking for the reward
that is always around the next corner or above the next step. This
attitude works against the natural order of things and makes it
difficult to be happy.
This
obsession for saving time has one main problem: you can’t save
time, you can only spend it wisely or foolishly. Bisy Backson has
no time because he is so busy saving it. In the end he wastes all
the time he has.
That
sort of Bear
It
sometimes takes time for us to recognize our own value. We need to
believe in the power within us, and be happy to use it. When we
stop imitating others and competing against them, things begin to
work out.
Play
it safe pessimists never accomplish much of anything.
For
example, when Roo falls into a stream during an expedition to the
North Pole, Eeyore half-heartedly dangles his tail into the stream
to save him. He never really thinks it will work, but at least
nobody can say he didn’t try.
Ineffective
Owl instructs Roo to keep his head above water. Panicky Piglet is
too busy panicking.
It
is only Pooh, who is
able to look calmly around him to see what is needed to be done.
He finds a large stick and places it across the stream for Roo to
climb out with.
This
brings us to one of the of the most important terms in Taoism: Tzu,
which means “caring” or “compassion”. Lao-se wrote “from
caring comes courage”, and we might also add that from it also
comes wisdom.
Nowhere
and Nothing
Christopher
Robin was telling Pooh that the thing he likes doing best is
nothing.
“How
do you do Nothing?” asks Pooh.
Christopher
Robin explains it’s when people ask you what you’re going off
to do, and you reply “oh nothing” and you go off and do it.
To
the Taoist, Nothing is something.
What many people consider to be important is really
“nothing” at all.
This
is called T’ai Hsu, the “Great Nothing”. Many people are
afraid of emptiness. It reminds them of loneliness. Everything has
to be filled -- appointment books, hillsides, vacant lots. But
when all the spaces are filled, the Loneliness really begins. We
join classes, groups and turn on the TV to make it go away. But it
doesn’t.
Lao-tse
said: “To attain knowledge, add things everyday. To attain
wisdom, remove things every day.”
The
Now of Pooh
In
each of us there is an Owl, A Rabbit, an Eeyore and a Pooh. Most
of us have followed the way of Owl and Rabbit, and complained like
Eeyore when we didn’t get to where we wanted to go. That
doesn’t achieve anything. If we are smart, we will follow
Pooh’s example.
The
most important principle of Taoism is actually named after Pooh.
It is P’u, or the “Uncarved Block” -- things in their
original simplicity contain their own natural power. This power is
easily spoiled or lost when complexity is introduced.
Pooh
is the hero of the Winnie-the-Pooh books, not the thinkers such as
Owl or Rabbit. Pooh accomplishments come about because he is
simple minded.
Pooh,
Piglet, and Rabbit were lost in the woods. Every time they tried
to find their way home they went around in circles and ended up
back at the sand pit.
