Chapter 4 - Use

The Tao is empty
When utilized, it is not filled up
So deep! It seems to be the source of all things

It blunts the sharpness
Unravels the knots
Dims the glare
Mixes the dusts

So indistinct! It seems to exist
I do not know whose offspring it is
Its image is the predecessor of the Emperor

What does this mean?

How does one "use" the Tao?

Look at the examples.

• If you are using something sharp, what is the force that dulls the edge?  Nature.
• If you are tying something together, what force either breaks it or loosens it?  Nature.
• If you shine something, what force stops it from being shiny after a time.  Nature.

The most natural thing we do all the time is breathe.

You don't have to think about breathing, it just happens.  Unitl you think about it.

Thinking about each breath is breathing is without Tao.

Your thoughts have to be empty of breath to breathe with Tao.

Using Tao is using natural action.  We cannot define it like the rest of the Tao, but we can give some examples.  Let's look at martial arts.

Before martial art training, if one gets into a fight, the actions come naturally.  You don't even have the capacity to think about it because the action is simple: fight or flight.

If you are just learning martial arts and get into a fight, you think about the position of your fist, the pivot of your hips, the stance you take.  Your mind searches for the right move or technique to win.  Unfortunately, once aware of the knowledge, it is not natural.  You throw the wrong block, you're thinking to long to react, you try something out and get punched in the face.

In other words, what happens to the untrained, unthinking fighter is something we'd all have: beginner's luck!

Once you are a master, actions become integrated into your body as muscle memory.  Those techniques become as natural as breathing.  The important distinction is you do not think and you just do.  The primordial nature comes back.

How to Apply It to Every Action

Just do it.

If you think about doing it while you do it, you will not do it naturally.

Sure, to be really skilled at something, you need practice, understanding and talent, but you don't need skill to live in the Tao.

In fact, the closer you are to the Tao in your mind, that practice will be forgotten and just incorporated naturally.

So just do it.