For Taoist instructions on spiritual warfare, look at Matthew 5:3-12 in the Christian Bible. Taken superficially, the Beatitudes look like affirmations for polite society. But Jesus didn’t seem concerned with social etiquette nor preventing hurt feelings. The teachings sound more Zen, more Sufi, and certainly Taoist.
The Taoist mindset involves minimizing violence and striving to avoid it altogether, in the context of a world of opposites. We ourselves brim with clashes – conflicting feelings, thoughts, behaviors and attitudes. We also project what we don’t want to see in ourselves onto others to make it seem the opposite is “out there.” Some of the worst social experiments have investigated whether eliminating people deemed “the enemy” can create utopia. Since this has been tried many times, the idea has certainly by now been empirically proven false. The Beatitudes are what to do instead.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” — Matthew 5:3
“Blessed” implies that I didn’t make the world. I don’t know how to make a tree. I can plant a pepper seed, but I didn’t design the way that seed makes a plant and produces stunning fruit. I want to live well and abundantly, so I try to understand how to live in accord with the extravagance of creation. But what’s my part to do?
“Poor in spirit” means that I need to do shadow work. When I encounter an unflattering truth about myself, I feel crestfallen. I might feel ashamed, guilty, regretful, or helpless. While I strive to take responsibility for the unflattering news, I’m poor in spirit. If it doesn’t diminish egocentrism, then I’m doing nothing transformative.
If I hear unflattering news and identify where I make the error, and then say, “Oh I get it. Now I see it and I won’t do it again,” then I’ve just pulled the wool over my own eyes. I then forget the issue, thinking I’ve done my work, but have done almost zero to transform myself. It’s only if I’m emotionally impacted by the news – and this means beyond both insight and anger – that change of personality structure happens.
“Heaven” is what Carl Jung called the Objective Psyche. Earlier he called it the Collective Unconscious. I sometimes call it “the inner world.” For practical purposes, consider “heaven” the psychological realm. I relate to it as a place, whether it is or not. I imagine it as vast, complex, and mysterious. It includes the archetypes, the psychological interior of humans and other creatures.
“Kingdom” implies order overseen by a wise and benevolent leader. In the morass of instincts, thoughts, feelings, complexes, archetypes, desires, good and evil, a “kingdom of heaven” creates a sense of well-being. An inner environment that resolves conflicts between opposites by doing work on my own shadow gives me peace. It promotes goodwill. When I don’t project problems onto others, my relationships have much greater potential.
In the next post, I’ll talk about the next Beatitude: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”