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.”
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.”
posted by Franklin at
7:23 PM
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