Death: A Law of Nature (A Reflection on Taoism's Philosophy)

As I comprehend the heart of Taoism’s philosophy, it tells us that Nature has its own way. The way to achieve harmony in the world is to follow the course of Nature. If one has mastered how nature works then he will accept this; he will live his life according to the workings of nature. He will be prepared then during times of hardship and ever ready to face the realities of life, even the saddest reality, for he knows that nature works in that way. He will accept that the universe unfolds itself as it should, and he will admit that he cannot do anything about it, but only to live according to it.

Relating it to the Western philosophy, I can compare it to the philosophy of Heidegger about being-towards-death. For him, in every living human person, death is inevitable. It is a law of nature that all human persons will die. By understanding this natural reality, one can achieve authentic existence. For knowing that one will die, that is, one’s existence will come to and end in due time, he will realize that he must live his life meaningfully for he will live forever.

Most of us are afraid to talk about death, especially our own death. It is something that most of us avoid to discuss for we see death as a sad and negative reality in life. Many people are afraid to die for living is much better than dying, that is why they tend to shun away the notion of death in their mind. Many of us are afraid to accept this unavoidable reality that we will all die in due time. However, if Lao Tzu and perhaps Heidegger would speak to us, the two would probably say, “Why fear death? It is the way of nature and we cannot do anything about it.”

The paradox is this: when we talk about death, we not are really talking about us in the future when we turn into a cold cadaver lying in a coffin, which our family members will bury six-feet under the ground; but, when we talk about our death, we are really talking about life itself. Our knowledge of our finitude will give us the wisdom that we must live our lives to the best meaningful living that we could possibly have. Thus, when our death comes (which will surely come) we will not be afraid to die; rather, we will smile and we could say I have lived my life beautifully in this world and the time has come for me to say goodbye. As what Mitch Albom had learned in his teacher Morrie in his renowned book Tuesdays with Morrie, “Once you learned how to die, you begin how to live.

Knowing that we are just finite beings (being-towards-death) is something that we must not fear. Knowing the Way of the Nature that we will all die in due time will give us a harmonious living rather than fearful living for we cannot do anything about it but to go with the nature’s way. Knowing Nature’s Way is having a foresight of the future, thus being prepared to whatever Nature will unfold unto us and accept it joyfully and wholeheartedly. Only a fool will not prepare to an event that he is sure to come. The knowledge of the inevitability of our death must drive us to prepare for this inevitable by living our lives meaningfully as long as we exist in this world, so that when the time is ripe, we will be ready to embrace death, our own death.

May I end this reflection with a famous adage: “When you were born, you cried and the people around you smiled. So live your life meaningfully, so that when you will die, the people around you will cry and you will smile.”

EVIL VS. EVIL = GREATER EVIL

Xunzi said that man is naturally evil. He argues that if our xing were truly good, then there would be no need for the institutions that the sages founded in order to bring order to human societies. That we require these institutions to interfere with people's natural tendencies is supposed to show that these tendencies are originally bad.

The government is one of the institutions that I know which is founded solely to bring order to the society. Legal authorities are vested with power mainly to promote the common good of their citizens; and this includes the safeguarding of her citizen’s rights from any factor that could be detrimental to one’s rights.

Relating it to the Western philosophy, Thomas Hobbes also said that man by nature is evil. He believed that a man is a wolf to another man. That he will do everything to outdone his fellows just to satisfy his desires, that is why there is a necessity to create a Great Leviathan (a government) that would protect the people from one another.

If Xunzi and Hobbes were correct in their philosophy that man is basically evil, we really need institutions (especially a government) that would interfere to our evil tendencies. This government would be very vital factor in creating a better society. The main task therefore of this government is the creation of a more humane society where each men, even by nature evil, can live in harmony and peace. This only means that the government must diminish or even suppress the evil that is in men. Government, therefore, must be contra evil.

As we look our political arena, we see the opposite of what we expect our government must do. If we said above that government must promote what is good, our government seems to promote what is evil. This institution must interfere to suppress the evil nature of men but instead of suppressing the evilness that is in men, the government adds to the evilness of men for what it contributes to our society is also evil. Our government is suppose to rule in the name of truth, justice, charity and liberty, but our political leaders seems to do what is contrary to this values. It is an indubitable reality that our present government is filled with lies, cheating, injustices, oppression, war, and deceit. It is not understatement for us to say that our government is already an illusive guarantee anymore in building a better place for us to live in.

Maybe this is also the loophole of Xunzi’s pronouncement that man is by nature evil because if men were by nature evil, even our institutions that interfere to our natural evil tendencies are also composed of men which are also basically evil. It follows then that there is no great assurance that these institutions that interfere to the natural evil tendencies of men would be suppress the evil that is in men. How can you suppress an evil with another evil? Evil can only be conquered by good. As they say, a fire cannot be put off by a fire.

Perhaps, Xunzi is wrong. Man, perhaps, must be basically good! Man by nature can love and I think this is an enough reason for me (and for all of us also) to believe that man is by nature good!

THE MYSTERY OF GOD AND THE FAITH

THE MYSTERY OF GOD AND THE FAITH
(A Reflection on the ‘Human Person and Absolute’)

Bertrand Russell, an atheist, once said, “Unless you assume a God, the question of life’s purpose is meaningless.”
Throughout our life, we incessantly search for meanings. We question the meaning of everything especially the meaning of our own existence. In our quest for meaning, we realize that we are just finite beings and not capable of our own existence. Unless we find our origin, our quest will never be meaningful. We attribute then our origin to a Transcendent Being who is beyond our humanity.

They say that we, human persons, are religious beings by nature. All of us have the inkling to know Someone Who is Transcendent to us. We call this Transcendent Being in different names such as God, the Absolute, the Supreme Being, the One, etc. This truth is very evident in the world. In every corner of this planet, even in the remotest tribe, people assume a Being who is beyond all things. Even the atheists who deny the existence of God cannot deny the idea of God, for how can they deny something that they do not know?

Human person’s quest for meaning for Being is forever, for no one can know the totality of reality. It is a fact that there are things that are so rich that will remain veiled to us all. We call them, “mysteries.”

The mystery of God is one of the greatest mysteries if not the greatest mystery in this world. People are perennially searching into the true nature of God but they come up incomplete and dissatisfied. Does God hide Himself?

The thrill of life is in its mysteries. As Antoine de Saint-Exupery had written in his book Little Prince, “The desert is beautiful because somewhere there is a well that is hidden.” When we already know all about the reality that there is no more left to exhaust, there is no more excitement to live life. Therefore, all we can do is to succumb to life’s mysteries.

We surrender to the great mystery of God by the act of believing which we call, “faith.” Faith is our ultimate response to the mystery of God. As Gabriel Marcel said, “Faith is a gift, a call, to which I am free to respond and yet demands of me to respond.” God somehow hides Himself but He gave us something we could use to somehow know Him---faith. Faith is a gift that we are free to accept or to reject. The acceptance of this gift entails a responsibility to the receiver to take care of it and to share it with others.

Why does God somehow hide Himself to us? Perhaps, it is for the reason that we must seek for Him. Because if God were very evident to us, we would only take Him for granted; He would just be subject of oblivion. It is really a great challenge for us to search for God and eventually to know Him. To know God is really difficult; but if we truly yearn for Him, we would do our best to know Him. It truly takes a great amount of perseverance, dedication and sacrifice. Great things are not so easy to achieve but their reward are fulfilling. Unless we have a God in our lives, we cannot find the meaning or the purpose of our existence.

HOW DO WE MEASURE LOVE?

HOW DO WE MEASURE LOVE?
(A Reflection on the ‘Human Person and Fellowman’)

We, human persons, are created by God out of His love; thus, we share in the essence of our Creator, who is Love Himself. This just implies that we are born from Love and for Love. Therefore, it is our nature to love. We can never deny this nature; and, all we can do is to act according to this nature. Love therefore is innately implanted by God in the very heart of our being. Created in His own image and likeness, we become bearers of love. This great gift of love calls for a great responsibility. It is our mission therefore to share this love to others.

Love is both giving and receiving. There is no such thing as “selfish love” because, love is never selfish. It is really very fundamental to love ourselves first and foremost for we cannot give what we do not have. But it doesn’t mean that our act of loving stop from there. There is a need for us to share this love to others. It is our task as human persons, as bearers of love, to spread this love that we are receiving from our Creator. Without other people, we are not capable of showing our nature as beings who are capable of loving. It is only through them that we can fully realize ourselves. Other people need our love as much as we need the love of others.

We love other people in different ways and to different extents. We say that we love someone more than any other persons. How do we measure love then?

In my own reflection through my personal experiences, love can be measured by the sacrifice that we can give to our object loved. The measure of sacrifice that we can bear for a certain person can manifest the immensity of love that we can give. We have this famous expression in our own language: “Hanggang saan ang kaya mong ibigay sa ngalan ng pag-ibig? That is why it is said in the Scriptures that there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for a friend. It is the greatest sacrifice to give up one’s existence for the one that we love. God showed this truth when He sent His only Son to be crucified for His great love for the world. This greatest sacrifice, God humbled Himself and took the form of a slave and died for our sins, gave the greatest love that the world has ever known.

Another useful yardstick to measure our love is the pain that we feel when we love somebody especially when our love is unreciprocated. The measure of the pain that we feel manifests the measure of love that we give.

When do we love the most? We love the most during the times when it is very difficult for us to love. It very easy for us to love those persons who also love us, but to love those who persecute us is easier said than done. What profit can we get if we only love when it is very easy for us to love? Our love is far greater when our hearts feel pain, hurts and aches but we love no matter what! As what Mother Teresa said, “Love until it hurts.”

The deep longing of the human heart is, indeed, love. Our origin is love; our nature is love; our end is love. St. Ignatius says, “At the twilight of our life when all is said and done, what matters most is how much we loved.”