Living Truthfully, Roaming Naturally

A Taoist perspective on autonomy and three ways of living.

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This is the 7th post in the “Self-discovery” series. I still have some source materials at hand, so I can probably write a follow-up piece to conclude this article series. Before finishing up, I’ll need to revisit the previous pieces and rearrange details to make this series more coherent and more digestible.

I’m also re-reading the posts in the section “Conversations with Chuang Tzu.” I’ve realized that there’s still much to unpack. So, I expect to organize the written and future pieces into theme-based articles. That way, we can all easily find and refer to them when needed.

In addition, I’m revising the early letters in “The Wisdom of Lao Tzu” section. The idea is to make this a stand-alone section, with 81 letters devoted to the original text, which is composed of 81 chapters. This will become a research file for accessing the Tao Te Ching. I’ll write an update email when the maintenance work is done.

So, before then, I hope you enjoy this post. Let me know if you have any ideas or suggestions on the topic of self-discovery.

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Worth lies within yourself, and no external shift will cause it to be lost. And since the ten thousand transformations continue without even the beginning of an end, how could they be enough to bring anxiety to your mind? He who practices the Way understands all this. 

Chuang Tzu

We often speak of “autonomy,” yet rarely do we pause to reflect on its deeper meaning in our lives. In the modern world, autonomy is frequently associated with the rights granted to citizens within a particular society. From a different angle, someone’s rights are someone else’s responsibilities and obligations, leading to policies and structures designed to protect the space in which we can exercise this form of autonomy.

However, when we contemplate the origins of this autonomy, we may realize that it is, in essence, artificial and depends on chance. An individual born in a free and open society has a considerable degree of autonomy for creative endeavors and self-realization. Such an exercise of autonomy is usually unwittingly practiced. It is silently shaped by the overall cultural, social, economic, and political conditions of this particular society.

To be more specific, these conditions include the basic rule of law, protection of private property, institutional guardrails on the exercise of political power, coded rules on how money and capital flow in and across society, predictable patterns of how public and private institutions operate, and formal and informal rules and norms that influence people’s behaviors.

Nevertheless, living in such a society, we know the substance of autonomy is subject to change, and its scope primarily focuses on safeguarding us from arbitrary control. This prompts the question: Is there another form of autonomy, one more inherent to our nature?

Spiritual autonomy

Beyond external autonomy lies the concept of spiritual autonomy, which centers on the dominion of the spirit, mind, and heart over how we interact with the world.

Spiritual autonomy is the freedom that emerges from within—a spontaneous and intrinsic liberty. It encompasses an expansive mind capable of embracing the external world, managing its influences, and remaining unshaken by them.

Unlike externally acquired autonomy, this deeper form is inborn. It is ours to claim through cultivated awareness.