Balance means being in harmony with our environment. How we are inside reflects how things are around us and vice versa. Here in the West, we find it hard to believe we are one with our environment. Individualistic, separate, and dualistic are our favorite ways to think.
But in many ancient cultures, our belief system was different. We were believed to be one with nature, humans, and animals surrounding us, one in one great energy field, living together in a balanced way. Today we still find these beliefs in shamanistic practices.
Taoism also stems from shamanistic practices and beliefs.
In the story below we see a beautiful and inspiring example of Taoism. This story was told by C. Jung who heard it from R. Wilhelm, the great translator of the I Tjing and writer of The Secret of the Golden Flower.
As a missionary in China Wilhelm witnessed an event that took place during a drought lasting for months in a Chinese village he was visiting. This story dates back to the beginning of the 20th century.
“Catholics were holding their processions, the Protestants giving prayers, with the local Chinese burning joss sticks and shooting off guns to frighten away the demons of drought, but with no result. Finally, the Chinese villagers declared: we will fetch the rain-maker. After a time from another province a dried-up old man appeared humbly dressed.
His only request was a quiet little house somewhere, and there he locked himself in for three days. On the fourth day, the clouds gathered, and the heavens opened with rain and even a great snowstorm at the time of the year when no snow was expected, an unusual amount. The town was so full of rumors about the wonderful rainmaker that Wilhelm went to ask the man how he did it.
In true European fashion, he approached the rainmaker and asked: Will you tell me how you made it rain and snow? The little Chinese said: I did not make the snow or rain, I am not responsible.
But what have you done these days? Oh, I can explain that, I come from another province where things are in order. Here they are out of order, they are not as they should by the ordinance of heaven. Therefore the whole country is not in Tao, therefore I also am not in the natural order of things because I am in a disordered country. So I had to wait.
Three days until I was back in Tao and then naturally the rain came”.
A story for our time.
Source : Tai Chi Chuan and the code of life – G. Horwood