Give up and you will succeed, Laozi

I opened the book Tao by Timothy Freke. Page 50-51, I let go of adding anything to it.

The Taoist masters teach that, paradoxically, the best way to succeed at something is not to be attached to the outcome, but to let things evolve naturally in the way they want to. Laozi writes, “The Ancients said: Give up and you will succeed.’ Is this empty nonsense? Try it. If you are sincere, you will find fulfillment.”

Rather than struggling to fulfill our goals, the Taoist masters counsel us to do what we intuitively feel is right and then let go. Zhuangzi warns, “If we are not completely detached from the results of our actions, they inevitably result only in the undesirable.”

The Taoist way is to live in a state of detached equanimity in which we allow the transitory things of life to come and go as they will. It is attachment that causes suffering. Indeed, the more attachment, the more suffering. Confucius explains, “When people wager a piece of pottery they feel composed. When they wager money they become nervous. When they wager gold they completely lose their head. Their ability to function depends on freedom from distraction caused by attachment. Attachment to the outer troubles the interior.”

In encouraging us to be detached, the Taoist masters don’t mean that we should become indifferent or unloving. In fact, being detached and equanimous allows us to be more caring. Attachments trap us in our separate self and it is only when we are free of attachments that we fully express the natural compassion of our deeper nature. Non-attachment is not about being unfeeling. It is loving without expectation. Confucius teaches, “Perfect virtue is compassionate detachment.” Taoism is about being a detached and loving expression of Tao, rather than an anxious and attached egotistical person. Zhuangzi tells us plainly, “if you want union with Tao, let go of all your attachments.”

Are you trying to achieve something, but standing in your own way by being too attached to the outcome? Try doing whatever needs to be done and then trusting life to lead your endeavors to the appropriate outcome.

Be careful not to make letting go a strategy you adopt to try and manipulate life into fulfilling your agenda. Letting go in order to succeed is not the same thing as discovering that if you truly let go, things turn out for the best.