Obscurity

Writings about Tao are purposefully obscure.
Why? Because the writers cherish Tao.
The path is difficult to ensure worthiness.
The lazy look elsewhere,
The persevering find riches.

There was once an eccentric calligrapher who said, “When the ordinary person likes my work, I shudder. If they find me obscure, then I am delighted.”

Writings about Tao are not always easy to understand. Many times in the past, even monks in long training were still helpless to properly interpret the scriptures. Some have therefore accused followers of Tao of being coldly elitist. In fact, those who write about Tao are obscure only because they cherish Tao so much. They only want knowledge of Tao to go to those who will appreciate it. They do not want to pollute Tao by exposing it to the idly curious. If everyone in the world could appreciate Tao, then the knowledge of Tao would be given freely.

Actually, the masters have already babbled away all the secrets. In their compassionate determination to pass on their insights, they have worn themselves out trying to get their messages across to us. The secrets of life are already written repeatedly in all the holy books. They are only secrets because we do not take the time to truly read.

Can you see jewels in the mud?

Deng Ming Tao, 365 Tao

The wise student hears of the Tao and practises it diligently.
The average student hears of the Tao and gives it thought now and again.
The foolish student hears of the Tao and laughs aloud.
If there were no laughter, the Tao would not be what it is.

Hence it is said:
The bright path seems dim;
Going forward seems like retreat;
The easy way seems hard;
The highest Virtue seems empty;
Great purity seems sullied;
A wealth of Virtue seems inadequate;
The strength of Virtue seems frail;
Real Virtue seems unreal;
The perfect square has no corners;
Great talents ripen late;
The highest notes are hard to hear;
The greatest form has no shape.
The Tao is hidden and without name.
The Tao alone nourishes and brings everything to fulfillment.

— Tao Te Ching 41

As the yogi read the Gita aloud for awhile, the king become very interested, exclaiming, “That is really fascinating.” After some time, the yogi put the Gita away and said, “Now the crest jewel can be found.”

They both stood up and walked toward the pond. Because the yogi had been reading for quite some time, the mud in the water, which had been stirred up by the servants looking for the crest jewel, had had time to settle. The water was now clear, and as the yogi looked into the calm pond he could see the fish swimming around. He could also see the footprints the servants had made. And in the clear, still water he could see a little round hump of mud.

The yogi said to the king, “Look! You can see all that is in the water. You can even see the contour of the bottom of the pond. And from the mirrored surface of the pond, you can even see the sun above.” He then reached into the water and pulled the hump of mud out of the water. It was the king’s most precious treasure, his crest jewel.

This simple story, like all yoga stories, is didactic. It illustrates, symbolically, that the mind is a pond and that the crest jewel is our self-awareness that we lost. In the thrust to quell our thirst, our desires, we have lost our most precious treasure! Thus, we immediately throw our servants—our thoughts, our emotions, and our will power—into the pond to find it. These servants activate and disturb the mind. Then we throw in more thoughts and more emotions arise, which only muddy the water more.

— Goswami Kriyananda

“Whoever knows he is deep, strives for clarity; whoever would like to appear deep to the crowd, strives for obscurity. For the crowd considers anything deep if only it cannot see to the bottom: the crowd is so timid and afraid of going into the water.” — Friedrich Nietzsche

“I’m afraid of losing my obscurity. Genuineness only thrives in the dark. Like celery.”
— Aldous Huxley

“There are two kinds of light – the glow that illuminates, and the glare that obscures.”
— James Thurber

“The great work must inevitably be obscure, except to the very few, to those who like the author himself are initiated into the mysteries. Communication then is secondary: it is perpetuation which is important. For this only one good reader is necessary.” — Henry Miller

“Be obscure clearly.” — E. B. White

“The obscure we see eventually. The completely obvious, it seems, takes longer.”
— Edward R. Murrow

I don’t find the Tao obscure, especially the 81 verses. I find them rich, though, in that they can be read over and over and each time you will find new meaning in them. Perhaps what we think of as obscure is merely that which requires thought. Or perhaps, we simply don’t want to take the time to really examine what we read. I certainly don’t intend for my own writings to be obscure, although some people might find them so. Maybe what seems hidden, like the grasshopper, is really not so hard to see at all, but merely obscured by the background of our thoughts.