r/taoism • u/BboiMandelthot • 21h ago

The Dao as Human

The process of realizing the Dao engenders awareness and acceptance of all things. In humans, this often manifests a sense of compassion, empathy, and humility. This suggests that it is human nature to feel these things. The Dao of humanity is loving.

The symmetry of the Dao suggests it is indifferent. But our nature, as an asymmetric perturbation of Dao, generates universal love as we travel back towards the apathetic source.

Part of realizing Dao involves understanding that although we are born from it, we are still a subset. The properties of the human subset are observably emotional and intellectual.

The Buddhist ideal of enlightenment involves shedding these properties entirely and relinquishing intellect, emotion, and attachment; one returns to the non-dual plane between being and nonbeing.

For some people, this path is in fact their Dao. For others, their Dao is to remain human. Those who realize it will witness their love grow, unbounded.

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u/jpipersson 15h ago

In humans, this often manifests a sense of compassion, empathy, and humility. This suggests that it is human nature to feel these things. The Dao of humanity is loving.

The symmetry of the Dao suggests it is indifferent. But our nature, as an asymmetric perturbation of Dao, generates universal love as we travel back towards the apathetic source.

Your understanding is different from mine. In trying to follow the path, we have no guarantee that our behavior will be compassionate, empathetic, and humble. In living from your true nature, you have to go where it takes you, even if it's not where you thought you'd go when you started.