Tao Te Ching - The Path of Darkness

 "Mystery and manifestations arise from the same source. This source is called darkness.  Darkness within darkness, the gateway to all understanding." -Tao Te Ching, Chapter 1

Many of the metaphors of Christianity focus more on light than darkness or light in opposition to darkness. I attended a church youth camp many years ago where the entire theme was "stand in the light." The Gospel of Matthew teaches to "let your light shine before others." The "light at the end of the tunnel" is a common phrase to express hope of a better, less dark world. Darkness, on the other hand, carries negative connotations of something evil, cold, cursed by God, something to be avoided.  "Outer darkness" in Mormon theology is where the devil, his demons and the worst of humanity will dwell. 

Within this context, I found the Tao Te Ching's metaphors around darkness and emptiness to be "enlightening." In the very first chapter of the Tao Te Ching, it speaks of mysteries and manifestations of the Tao, which all stem from a source called darkness - "darkness within darkness, the gateway to all understanding." The Tao is described as "dark and unfathomable" "like the eternal void: filled with infinite possibilities" and "like a bellows.. empty yet infinitely capable."

This idea of "empty yet infinitely capable" reminds me of the famous Zen parable where a student asked the Zen master to teach him the principles of Zen. The master suggested they have tea.  He began to pour a cup of tea and once it was full, continued to pour so that the tea spilled onto the table - to which the student exclaimed, "Stop! The cup is full already. Can't you see?" "Exactly," the Zen master replied with a smile, "you are like this cup. So full of ideas that nothing more will fit in. Come back to me with an empty cup."

Similarly, the Tao Te Ching teaches, "The Master leads by emptying people's minds and filling their cores, by weakening their ambition and toughening their resolve. He helps people lose everything they know, everything they desire, and creates confusion in those who think that they know" (Ch 3).  Chapter 16 admonishes to "empty your mind of all thoughts. Let your heart be at peace." And in chapter 59, "the mark of a moderate man is freedom from his own ideas." 

Darkness and emptiness seem to be portrayed not so much as evil and something to avoid but a blank slate full of infinite possibilities that could not have been perceived of when we are too attached to our pre-existing ideas and beliefs.

I see these teachings as an invitation to never stop learning and to always stay humble and willing to acknowledge where our beliefs and convictions may be wrong or incomplete. I think this can apply to our religious beliefs, our political ideologies, or any other broad worldviews we may hold. This is also very difficult to actually apply as our natural inclination is to seek to confirm rather than continuously challenge our beliefs - to convince others why we are right and they are wrong rather than staying intellectually curious and willing to shift when our beliefs may not be as perfect as we perceive them to be. Most people intellectually acknowledge that some of their beliefs may be wrong but at the same time can think of very few actual examples of where they changed their mind on a significant matter. (See this great Ted Talk and book on the subject of being wrong)

Thus darkness and uncertainty do not have to be seen as enemies of light but darkness forms a path toward light and light may form a path toward darkness. "The path into the light seems dark, the path forward seems to go back." (Tao 41)

Excerpts from the Tao Te Ching (Stephen Mitchell translation) on darkness, light, and emptiness:

"The Tao is like a well: used but never used up. It is like the eternal void: filled with infinite possibilities." (Tao 4). Reminds me of John 6:35 "whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty."

"The Tao is like a bellows: it is empty yet infinitely capable. The more you use it, the more it produces; the more you talk of it, the less you understand" (Tao Ch 5)

"The Tao is called the Great Mother: empty yet inexhaustible, it gives birth to infinite worlds. It is always present within you. You can use it any way you want." (Tao 6)

"Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill." (Tao 9)

"We shape clay into a pot, but it is the emptiness inside that holds whatever we want. We hammer wood for a house, but it is the inner space that makes it livable" (Tao 11)

"Empty your mind of all thoughts. Let your heart be at peace" (Tao 16) - John 14:27

"The Tao is dark and unfathomable." (Tao 21)

"If you want to become full, let yourself be empty... If you want to be given everything, give up everything" (Tao 22)

"He who tries to shine dims his own light." (Tao 24)

"There was something formless and perfect before the universe was born. It is serene. Empty. Solitary. Unchanging. Infinite. Eternally present." (Tao 25)

"The world is formed from the void" (Tap 28)

"The path into the light seems dark, the path forward seems to go back." (Tao 41)

"Seeing into darkness is clarity" (Tao 52)

"Not-knowing is true knowledge. Presuming to know is a disease." (Tao 71)