I will bend like a reed in the wind.
(Dune)
Who were the vinegar tasters?
Lao Tzu, Confucius and Buddha.
Chinese philosophy and culture stems from a blending of these three
traditions.
The vinegar tasters
In this
painting we see the three men standing around a vat of vinegar.
Each has dipped his finger into the vinegar and tasted of it.
The expression on each man's face shows his individual reaction.
The painting is intended to be allegorical and each of the three men
represent one of the three teachings of China.
The vinegar they are tasting represents the essence of life.
The first man has a sour look on his face, the
second wears a bitter expression, but the third man is smiling.
Why the difference?
To Confucius (left), life seemed
rather sour.
He believed that the present was out of step with the past and that the
world would be a much better place if there were strict rules.
Confucius emphasized a strict order which ruled the affairs of all in his
land.
Anything that did not fit into the established order was considered bad.
The second figure (middle) in the
painting - Buddha - considered life on earth to be bitter.
He saw this world to be filled with attachments and desires that led to
suffering; a setter of traps, a generator of illusions and a
revolving wheel of endless pain.
In order to find peace, Buddha maintained that it was necessary to transcend
this world.
The Buddhist sees the path to happiness constantly being interrupted by the
bitterness of this world.
Lao Tzu
is the third
man (right) in the painting.
According to Lao Tzu, the world was governed by the laws of nature, not by
those of men.
He maintained that the more man interfered with the
natural order of
things, the more out of balance the world became.
As things became
unbalanced, trouble followed.
Lao Tzu is smiling because sourness and bitterness comes from the
interfering and unappreciative mind.
Life itself, when understood and utilized
for what it is, is sweet.
That is the message of The Vinegar Tasters.
Page created 15 August 2000