Truth is never expressed in words
A blind man can become an expert about the physics and the laws of light and fire, but he will never understand what it ismetaphor
Taoism
The tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao
Chuang Tzu’s story of the wheelmaker who tells the Duke that the books of the sages are simply the baggage that they left behind. The wheelmaker explains that he cannot teach even his son how to make wheels. Wisdom cannot be conveyed in words.
The Tao is unnamable, we could see it as the life force of nature
- Truth is never expressed in words → Words, concepts can give a direction, but eventually need to be dropped if we want to experience reality
Link to original“This is Lao Tzu’s basic attitude: that truth cannot be told and truth cannot be taught. The moment you say something about truth, it is no longer true, the very saying falsifies it. You cannot teach it. At the most you can indicate it. And that indication should be your very being, your whole life – it cannot be indicated by words. He was against words. He was against language”. Osho
Osho
Through words you avoid communication
through words communication is not possible; just the opposite is possible – you can avoid communication. You can talk, and you can create a screen of words around you so that your real situation cannot be known by others. You clothe yourself through words.
- Words are the language of the mind, you can only reach truth by dropping the mind. That’s why words can never express truth.
No Experience can be communicated
The second reason that truth cannot be expressed is because it is an experience. No experience can be communicated – leave truth aside. If you have never known love, when somebody says something about love, you will hear the word, but you will miss the meaning. The word is in the dictionary; even if you don’t understand you can look in the dictionary and you will know what it means.
- Words can, however, create a thirst for the truth, they can motivate to look for the truth
Created on: 2020-08-26 Inspired by: Anthony DeMello | Lao Tzu Topics: Enlightenment | Buddhism Related to: the map is not the territory - misplaced concreteness - Resources: