Luke
Skywalker:
I do not believe it.
Yoda:
That is why you fail.
(The Empire Strikes Back)
Taoism
Studying
taoism is not appealing to some people.
The
texts are poetic in nature and require the
student to be intuitive rather than rational.
Another way of approaching this material is to consider movies or books that
touch upon similar material.
This offers a means of encountering the subject without being put off.
Books
Many authors have employed the principles of
tao,
zen and
tai chi in a variety of books across the years.
These books have very little to do with the formal study of tao.
Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff is a widely known example.
In The Complete Idiot's Guide to Taoism by
Brandon Toropov, the author uses the Star Wars movies as a way of illustrating
taoist concepts in a contemporary manner.
The Tao of Star Wars by John M Porter takes this much further.
Movies
The Last Samurai never once mentions taoism, tao or zen -
yet these matters lie at the very heart of the movie.
A person can get a pleasant sense of what
bushido means without wading through Nitobe's Bushido book.
There are many such movies that offer a similar opportunity.
Solaris is an extremely good film because it challenges the human habit
of labelling everything in the belief that the name denotes some measure of
understanding.
The movie offers the unknowable and watches how people struggle to comprehend
that which cannot be measured, categorised and exploited.
Another noteworthy movie is The Matrix.
This film seems to have absolutely nothing to do with tai chi but has everything
to do with the question of reality.
Our brain processes the information received by the senses and it is our
interpretation of this data that provides the basis for our interaction with the
world around us.
The Matrix asks whether we can trust what we think we see.
Star Wars
The Star Wars
films offer a lightweight introduction to abstract concepts that exist
at the root of tai chi and taoism.
Going with
flow, trusting your
feelings, letting
go - are all explored in the Star Wars
movies.
Even a child can follow the events in a Star Wars film, so this is an ideal
way to softly open your mind and use fantasy creatively.
The Empire Strikes Back is particularly relevant.
When Luke Skywalker trains with Yoda, a variety of tai chi and taoist
concerns are mentioned.
You do not need to be a fan of the film or an enthusiast to gain some insight.
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Page created 10 October 2003