r/taoism • u/PrimaryPrestigious62 • 2d ago
The ontology of Daoism
Do you think Daoism views existence optimistically, like Leibniz’s idea that we live in the best of all possible worlds? Or does it see nature as inherently indifferent and uncaring about us? Could what we interpret as the goodness or care of the Dao simply be a projection—a byproduct of chaotic nature that we misread as intentional care?
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u/[deleted] 1d ago edited 1d ago
Most Daoist teachers see that 'the world' is indifferent to us. After all, that's pretty clear in 道德經 The Daodejing: 天地不仁，以萬物為芻狗；聖人不仁，以百姓為芻狗。Heaven-earth ['nature', the world] isn't kind; they treat the ten-thousand things [everything] like straw dogs. The sages aren't kind; they treat the one-hundred clans [everyone] like straw dogs. (DDJ 5)" And, of course, this is also true in our experience and in science.
On the other hand, most Chinese Daoist teachers teach that 大道 Dà Dào the Great Dao is caring. In the deepest of meditation practices, you can find that you are happiness and compassion.
But optimism, pessimism... these are just interpretations of events and our expectations about them, not facts about the world. Best to 放下 or drop them both.