The Tao of Kung Fu #23

Change and Find the Truth

Learn more about this philosophy here..... This video is from the "Dream within a Dream" episode, from the 1970's TV series "Kung Fu". Here we see Master Kan (Philip Ahn) and Young Caine (Radames Pera) discuss the Truth that can only be know through personal change. You may believe you are already open to the Truth, but unfortunately most of us are prevented from obtaining the Truth by our ego. From the perspective of ego everything we encounter is judged from the extremely bias position of self. Therefore everything we hear, see or experience is filtered through the barriers of desire, pride, jealousy, regret, self-centeredness, guilt, resentment, self-importance and superiority; and these are extremely difficult obstacles to surmount. We witness these egocentric barriers on a daily bases. Many people find it difficult to admit fault even when they are undoubtedly in the wrong. Others can't accept the injustices committed by their own nation, even in the face of overwhelming evidence. Numerous people are unable to see any redeeming qualities of an opponent of any description, whether it be a political group, another nation or a sporting adversary. Many of us lack the humility to accept there are many things beyond our understanding and belligerently dismiss anything that doesn't fit our established paradigms. Finally there are still many of our number that in spite of all the evidence of equality, still harbour sexist, racist and homophobic attitudes. Unless these people are able to change and overcome these most basic of prejudices, the Truth will always be an unattainable goal. It is only when our ego is no longer the dominate factor in our life that we can embark on a quest to obtain the Truth. However, be warned that the Truth is not always beautiful and comforting. A major part of being a Truth seeker is accepting the Truth regardless of what it is. This means accepting the things you wouldn't ordinarily consider and opening your mind to new, unfamiliar and possibly very confronting concepts. We find the Truth by developing our knowledge of life and observing the world around us. You may recall in "The Tao of Kung Fu #17", Caine was asked where his knowledge came from. Caine replied, "From my teachers and the days I have lived." Unfortunately we can't all be lucky enough to have Master Kan and Master Po as our teachers. Nevertheless with the advent of the internet we can easily make ourselves acquainted with the greatest interpreters of Nature's wisdom. Many of these great teachers feature predominately on my website and Youtube channel. I hope you find these resources useful. Over time you will develop a disposition where Nature can reveal her lessons to you directly. Simply allow yourself time to watch the world around you without identifying and judgment. Most importantly, allow yourself to experience things as they truly are and not how you wish them to be. Many people believe the ancient Taoists were opposed to knowledge, citing chapter 48 of the Tao Te Ching, "In the pursuit of learning, every day something is acquired. In the pursuit of Tao, every day something is dropped." However, this simply means those on the path don't acquire knowledge in order to control and manipulate, as is often the goal. Instead knowledge is used to change oneself from within and become one with all things. Once this has been achieved, the knowledge that got you there is no longer required and can therefore be dropped. The ancient Taoist sage Chuang Tzu explained it this way, "The fish trap exists because of the fish; once you've got the fish, you can forget the trap. The rabbit snare exists because of the rabbit; once you've got the rabbit, you can forget the snare. Words exist because of meaning; once you've got the meaning, you can forget the words. Where can I find a man who has forgotten words so I can have a word with him?"