Learning the Good Life

Wisdom from the Great Hearts and Minds that Came Before

Jessica Hooten Wilson, Jacob Stratman

• Publisher: Zondervan Academic
• Year: 2022
• ISBN:
  9780310127970
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

Discover the Good Life as you learn from the wise voices of the past.

We've lost ourselves. Disconnected from the past and uncertain about the future, we are anxious about what our lives will be and troubled by a nagging sense of meaninglessness. Adrift in the world, many Christians have their identity completely wrapped up in work, and their definition of the "good life" is financial success. Fewer of are staying committed to the Christian faith, finding it difficult to reconcile their experience with their longings and desires. With so much uncertainty, where can we find a true vision of "the Good Life"?

Learning the Good Life speaks to this malaise with a curated collection of voices from the past, inviting Christians into an ages-old dialogue with some of history's wisest and most reflective minds. Featuring thought-provoking writings from a diverse lineup of over 35 writers and thinkers:

• From the classic—including Confucius, Augustine, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Henry David Thoreau, andFrederick Douglass;
• To the modern—including W.E.B. DuBois, Flannery O'Connor, T.S. Eliot, and Simone Weil;
• To the contemporary—including Wendell Berry, David Foster Wallace, and Marilynne Robinson.

Together these sages, writers, philosophers, and poets address important issues such as virtue, beauty, community, wonder, suffering, and meaning.

Each of these texts are introduced by experts from a variety of Christian colleges and universities to help provide a richer narrative in which Christians can participate. Each text is also accompanied by discussion questions to provoke further thought and contemplation and to facilitate discussion when used in groups.

Learning the Good Life is ideal for any Christian seeking a deeper connection to the wisdom of the past and wanting a more cohesive vision of the good life. Though not all these writers were themselves Christians, they all have a message for you. All of them are calling you to die to yourself, to your habits of indulgence, to your pride and ambition—and to dedicate your time to learning, thinking, and loving.

Part 1

450 BC to AD 600

CHAPTER 1

Lao Tzu

Introduction to Tao Te Ching

PAUL J. PASTOR

The Tao Te Ching is an influential classic of Chinese philosophy and one of the most translated books of world literature. Although the book is traditionally attributed to a sixth-century BC sage called Lao Tzu (“Old Master”), scholars debate the its exact date of writing and its authorship. What is beyond argument, however, is the originality and insight of the work. Besides forming a significant expression of Taoist philosophy, the book has inspired generations of artists, writers, and thinkers worldwide.

As presented in the Tao Te Ching, the Tao (pronounced dow and usually translated “Way”) is the plain but ultimately indescribable essential process of the universe—observable in nature, human life, and society. A person who lives in harmony with this Way enters a paradoxical flow state of both simplicity and sagacity, something like swimming with the current of a strong river rather than against it. To find this harmony, a state of intentional surrender allows the wise to return to an immediacy and purity similar to that of children.

Qualities such as unreflective hurry, grasping for power, arrogance, or the thoughtless use of force all run contrary to the Tao and tend to carry their own exhaustion and undoing within them. Composed of eighty-one brief poem-chapters observing principles of this Tao from nature, human behavior, and social life, the Tao Te Ching is a literary embodiment of the simple/complex principles it describes. Though short enough to be read in a quick sitting, it can reveal fresh insights for many years.

Embracing that sense of unifying paradox is essential to appreciating the Tao Te Ching. Though the Tao Te Ching may initially seem foreign to many Westerners, Christians have a head start here—one of the key virtues of Christian learning is the mature ability to hold diverging ideas in tension. After all, our tradition is steeped in the wisdom tradition of the Hebrews, including the biblical books of Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes, and James, which contain enigmatic contemplations that would have delighted Lao Tzu. Likewise, while Taoist and Christian teachings are different in many important ways, the subversive parables of Jesus are complemented beautifully by many of Lao Tzu’s observations, and with essential discernment they are profoundly enriching.

In reflecting on Lao Tzu’s Tao and Christ’s Way, we are challenged to consider that our world may not be ordered quite as it first appears. Up is sometimes down. Becoming like a child is the spiritual ideal. Waiting can be action. The defeated is the one who wins. You can gain the world but lose your own soul. The poor in spirit might be the true owners of everything. We need to lose our lives to find them. In these radical statements we hear a resonance with the good news that in Christ this world’s “very good” order is being restored and even magnified.

The Tao Te Ching provides an important counterbalance to many strictly analytical modes of learning or knowledge. It is a deep reminder that becoming “sage” is the true goal of human understanding and that education and learning might not always be the same thing. The reflections of Lao Tzu should prompt us to ask not only what we are learning but what kind of humanity our learning is cultivating in us. It is the way of lowly love that the Sage recommends to us—a kind of knowledge that releases a need to control and finds in that surrender an immense, counterintuitive power to cultivate virtue and the common good.

Excerpts from the Tao Te Ching¹

TRANSLATED BY LIN YUTANG

From Chapter 1

The Tao that can be told of
Is not the Absolute Tao;
The Names that can be given
Are not Absolute Names. . . .
Therefore:
Oftentimes, one strips oneself of passion
In order to see the Secret of Life;
Oftentimes, one regards life with passion,
In order to see its manifest forms.
These two (the Secret and its manifestations)
Are (in their nature) the same;
They are given different names
When they become manifest.
They may both be called the Cosmic Mystery:
Reaching from the Mystery into the Deeper Mystery
Is the Gate to the Secret of All Life.

From Chapter 2

. . . Being and non-being interdepend in growth;
Difficult and easy interdepend in completion;
Long and short interdepend in contrast;
High and low interdepend in position;
Tones and voice interdepend in harmony;
Front and behind interdepend in company.
Therefore the Sage:
Manages affairs without action;
Preaches the doctrine without words;
All things take their rise, but he does not turn away from them;
He gives them life, but does not take possession of them;
He acts, but does not appropriate;
Accomplishes, but claims no credit.
It is because he lays claim to no credit
That the credit cannot be taken away from him.

From Chapter 5

. . . How the universe is like a bellows!
Empty, yet it gives a supply that never fails;
The more it is worked, the more it brings forth.
By many words is wit exhausted.
Rather, therefore, hold to the core.

From Chapter 7

. . . the Sage puts himself last,
And finds himself in the foremost place;
Regards his body as accidental,
And his body is thereby preserved.
Is it not because he does not live for Self
That his Self is realized?

From Chapter 8

The best of men is like water;
Water benefits all things
And does not compete with them.
It dwells in (the lowly) places that all disdain—
Wherein it comes near to the Tao.

From Chapter 9

Stretch (a bow) to the very full,
And you will wish you had stopped in time.
Temper a (sword-edge) to its very sharpest,
And the edge will not last long.
When gold and jade fill your hall,
You will not be able to keep them safe.
To be proud with wealth and honor
Is to sow seeds of one’s own downfall.
Retire when your work is done,
Such is Heaven’s way.

From Chapter 13

. . . he who values the world as his self
May then be entrusted with the government of the world;
And he who loves the world as his self—
The world may then be entrusted to his care.

From Chapter 15

. . . Who can find repose in a muddy world?
By lying still, it becomes clear.
Who can maintain his calm for long?
By activity, it comes back to life.
He who embraces this Tao
Guards against being over-full.
Because he guards against being over-full,
He is beyond wearing out and renewal.

From Chapter 19

. . . Reveal thy simple self,
Embrace thy original nature,
Check thy selfishness,
Curtail thy desires.

From Chapter 22

To yield is to be preserved whole.
To be bent is to become straight.
To be hollow is to be filled.
To be tattered is to be renewed.
To be in want is to possess.
To have plenty is to be confused.
Therefore the Sage embraces the One,
And becomes the model of the world.
He does not reveal himself,
And is therefore luminous.
He does not justify himself,
And is therefore far-famed.
He does not boast of himself,
And therefore people give him credit.
He does not pride himself,
And is therefore the chief among men. . . .

Chapter 24

He who stands on tiptoe does not stand (firm);
He who strains his strides does not walk (well);
He who reveals himself is not luminous;
He who justifies himself is not far-famed;
He who boasts of himself is not given credit;
He who prides himself is not chief among men.
These in the eyes of Tao
Are called “the dregs and tumors of Virtue”;
Which are things of disgust.
Therefore the man of Tao spurns them.

From Chapter 27

A good runner leaves no track.
A good speech leaves no flaws for attack.
A good reckoner makes use of no counters.
A well-shut door makes use of no bolts,
And yet cannot be opened.
A well-tied knot makes use of no rope,
And yet cannot be untied. . . .

. . . the good man is the Teacher of the bad.
And the bad man is the lesson of the good.
He who neither values his teacher
Nor loves the lesson
Is one gone far astray,
Though he be learned.
—Such is the subtle secret.

From Chapter 28

He who is familiar with honor and glory
But keeps to obscurity
Becomes the valley of the world.
Being the valley of the world,
He has an eternal power which always suffices,
And returns again to the natural integrity of uncarved wood. . . .

Chapter 29

There are those who will conquer the world
And make of it (what they conceive or desire).
I see that they will not succeed.
(For) the world is God’s own Vessel
It cannot be made (by human interference).
He who makes it spoils it.
He who holds it loses it.
For: Some things go forward,
Some things follow behind;
Some blow hot,
And some blow cold;
Some are strong,
And some are weak;
Some may break,
And some may fall.
Hence the Sage eschews excess, eschews extravagance,
Eschews pride.

Chapter 33

He who knows others is learned;
He who knows himself is wide.
He who conquers others has power of muscles;
He who conquers himself is strong.
He who is contented is rich.
He who is determined has strength of will.
He who does not lose his center endures.
He who dies yet (his power) remains has long life.

From Chapter 36

He who is to be made to dwindle (in power)
Must first be caused to expand.
He who is to be weakened
Must first be made strong.
He who is to be laid low
Must first be exalted to power.
He who is to be taken away from
Must first be given,
—This is the Subtle Light.

Chapter 45

The highest perfection is like imperfection,
And its use is never impaired.
The greatest abundance seems meager,
And its use will never fail.
What is most straight appears devious,
The greatest skill appears clumsiness;
The greatest eloquence seems like stuttering.
Movement overcomes cold,
(But) keeping still overcomes heat.
Who is calm and quiet becomes the guide for the universe.

From Chapter 46

. . . he who is contented with contentment
Shall be always content.

Chapter 47

Without stepping outside one’s doors,
One can know what is happening in the world,
Without looking out of one’s windows,
One can see the Tao of heaven.
The farther one pursues knowledge,
The less one knows.
Therefore the Sage knows without running about,
Understands without seeing,
Accomplishes without doing.

From Chapter 52

. . . He who can see the small is clear-sighted;
He who stays by gentility is strong.
Use the light,
And return to clear-sightedness—
Thus cause not yourself later distress.
—This is to rest in the Absolute.

From Chapter 54

. . . Cultivated in the individual, character will become genuine;
Cultivated in the family, character will become abundant;
Cultivated in the village, character will multiply;
Cultivated in the state, character will prosper;
Cultivated in the world, character will become universal.
Therefore:
According to (the character of) the individual,
judge the individual;
According to (the character of) the family,
judge the family;
According to (the character of) the village,
judge the village;
According to (the character of) the state,
judge the state;
According to (the character of) the world,
judge the world.

From Chapter 55

Who is rich in character
Is like a child.

From C...