In any Philosophical discourse the answer is only as relevant as the question. Originally I wanted to express the idea that Culture is not relevant from the Taoist point of view. But the more I read and thought about this it dawned on me that one of the main principals of Taoism is to refute nothing therefore the question had to change with the answer.

Real words are not vain,
Vain words not real;
And since those who argue prove nothing
A sensible man does not argue. Chptr81

Concepts are fluid, and to use a Taoist approach is to be nonabsolutist . Of themselves things are meaningless only our words give them substance. It is from here I would suggest that Cultural Identity is valid to the extent that it gives us a skeleton upon which to flesh out our personalities but is not valid when we allow them to exclude ourselves from everything else. 'Cultures are like toothbrushes, you may not want to use the other fellows but, it's nice to know he has one'. That we all possess a skeleton and they all look much the same is our commonality not the distinction.

For the purposes of this discussion we have to make a distinction between Philosophical Taoism and Religious Taoism. Philosophical Taoism is based on a book called the Tao Te Ching, it is of Chinese origin and according to legend written by Lao Tzu some 2000plus years ago. Religious Taoism still exists today and plays an important part in the everyday lives of Chinese people. It consists of venerating various deities, placating Hungry Ghosts, Feng Shui and the correct observance of funerary procedures. Often there are no clear boundaries between, Religious Taoism, Confucism and Buddhism as practiced in China. We will deal only with Philosophical Taoism.

The Tao Te Ching is short and simple. It consists of some 5000 words and 81 chapters, which could be more accurately described as verses. Its premise is that existence and nonexistence are undifferentiated, and that this undifferentiatedness is expressed as Tao. Te is that is what preserves it i.e. the force that holds chaos in check. The Tao Te Ching advises that one lead a quiet life, is part of the Universe rather than exterior to it, inaction is as vital as action and virtue is it's own reward. Although there are, I am sure, several dozen translations into English, I have chosen two for reference .Ren Jiyu's A Taoist Classic- The Book of Lao Tzi and the other is The Way of Life --According to Lao Tzu by Witter Bynner. Ren Jiyu's version was originally published in China in 1985 and Witter Bynner's in the U.S. in 1944. Ren Jiyu's translation takes a more pragmatic approach, views the writing in a historical context and throws a political slant on it. Bynner accepts Taoist thought as 'truth' and writes in a poetic style, totally immersing himself in the Spirit of the work. Having compared both I was satisfied to find that neither work 'literally'contradicts the other.

According to my dictionary,'Culture is the totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns characteristic of a people'. From the individuals perspective it is the sum of our predecessors. Culture is the template from which we are formed but it limits our individuality because it lacks spontaneity and imposes unnatural limitations on us. National borders ,religious intolerance, and believing in cultural superiority are some of it's delusions. Culture is social vanity.The Tao Te Ching advises us that 'one who knows his lot to be the lot of all other men is a safe man to guide them, one who recognizes all men as members of his own body is a sound man to guard them'chptr13. Are not these borders imaginary? Is not the Muslim who forgives his enemy more a Christian than the Christian who doesn't? The tiger does not doubt that he is a tiger, nor does the forest deer that it is a forest deer, the deer does not desire to become a tiger or vice versa. Everything in nature is mutually supportive. The natural world is boundless. Culture is not. By fencing ourselves in we are fencing other things out. Nature is not 'self conscious' as it has no concepts of itself. When we conceptualize ourselves as being a part of a group we remove ourselves from the whole and create an abstraction in which we believe ourselves to be participants. But this is an illusory perception because by alliancing our participation in life with only a fragment of it, is to not to participate in the rest of it which goes on regardless of what we wish to be true or think.'Life goes on within you and without you'according to the The Beatles. . What is a Taoist approach? Taoism sees the unity of the many in Nature by identifying with the whole. The Tao does not compete or seek to impose itself on Nature nor does it coexist, but like water when coming into contact with a fabric is soaked up and absorbed. By seeing both sides of the coin it takes no side at all.'The sages amuse themselves with these variety of opinions but do not quarrel with them, instead they stand in the center of the circle to meet the infinite varieities'Fung Yu Lan writing on Chuang Zi.

Most people think of culture as being part of an ethnic, religious, or national group. But very often people define their culture by what they are not; giving little thought to whom they are. Ask many people what it means to be of a certain nationality and you will find few can give a coherent answer but ask them why they hate their neighbor, they are surprisingly articulate and specific. Therefore the Taoist identify themselves with every thing by identifying with no particular thing.

The Sufi teacher, Shaykh Al-Akbar (Abu Ibn Bakr Al Arabi) has said, 'There is nothing but totality, there is no split in existence'. I know I am being repetitious by emphasizing this point of viewing the world in an undifferentiated sense but this is one of the lynchpins of the Taoist thought. It is a simple concept that refutes nothing and validates everything. The Tao Te Ching states that by utilizing emptiness we therefore can create a window; 'Thus we are helped by what is not, to use what is' chptr11. The Little Prince said that 'What is most important is not visible to the eye'

But how does this relate to finding the meaning and validity of our identity? It is not reasonable to assume that what we believe ourselves to be is simply a reflection in the eyes of others others. This does not mean by rejecting fellowship with other humans and becoming self centered, so to speak, that we find our true selves but rather by choosing to listen to other points of view with an open mind you participate in that shared viewpoint. All the participants in the Philosophy Café are Taoists even if they don't know it. This way you gain understanding. Since understanding implies neither agreement nor disagreement you can stand in any culture and function in it. When you no longer see yourself in a cultural context, you are freed from the baggage of history, and old grievances. Bruce Springsteen aptly put it 'we are born into this life poisoned /with the sins of someone else's past'

Seeing yourself as part of everything. John Muir said that,'you cannot pick a single leaf, without finding it connected with the rest of the Universe'. How can it be otherwise in human relationships? Individuals are leaves attached by cultural branches to the same tree. Every leaf draws nourishment from the same source.

Some anecdotes. Last year I went to view the closing of the only open road crossing between Pakistan and India at a place called Waggah. Everyday late in the afternoon the gate is closed with much ceremony, pomp and just general huffing, puffing and gnashing of teeth. Both sides made a great show of fierce close order drilling goose stepping up and down the parade grounds, grimacing at one another which culminated in the two sides slamming their two gates shut at precisely the same moment. That these two sides hated one another was obvious, what was not, was that, they were exactly the same. Their parade ground movements mirrored each with eerie accuracy. The dance was the same but their hats were different. Meher Baba has said, hate is a kind of love. That we hate because we wish to protect something we love. Although I don't 100% agree with his example he said, that Hitler hated the Jews because he loved Germany. But perhaps his undiluted hate was a reflection of his love of the Aryan race. Most despots love power more than their countries. Sometime ago I met a couple with a trekking group in Thailand. The man was Greek the woman was from Denmark; both were living in Athens. They both expressed a dislike and distrust for the Turks. The man was quite honest in stating that although he didn't know any Turks, he was raised with this attitude and given their shared history of animosity this was understandable. But what did surprise me was the Danish woman shared his point of view. She had absorbed his prejudice by cultural association. I used to go to China a lot. This is the source point for the first writings on Taoist thought. The people I did business with on the Mainland told me they didn't like HK Chinese because they acted as if they were better than their Mainland counterparts even though they were Chinese. When doing business with HK Chinese they told me they didn't like American Chinese because they acted better than their HK counterparts even though they were Chinese. This time it was the same hat and the same dance.

'In harmony with the Cosmic Sea /True love needs no company' Bob Dylan. In the Natural World, the world beyond our cultural considerations, you find companionship.

'Flowers all round
One pot of wine
Solitary
drinking without a friend
I raise my cup
to invite
the bright moon
With my shadow
We make three.'
Li Po as translated by C.H. Kwok and Vincent Mc Hugh.

We are never alone in the Natural World, if you do not compete with it. Amidst the sky land and sea we find our place and reckon ourselves to be tenants, and not landlords. If you are seeking loneliness go to a big city, if you seek companionship, go to the countryside.

Why is it there is no such thing as 'Human Culture'? Because civilization destroys it by trying to impose order on the Natural World, but by trying to impose order it is really creating chaos. By differentiating ourselves into cultures, we become owners of intangible territories with biological imperatives unfettered by Natural needs. A shark will stop feeding when it is full; there is nothing in nature that can match the ferocity of a group of humans with a point to prove.

A realm is governed by ordinary acts,
A battle is govern by extraordinary acts;
The world is governed by no acts at all.
And how do I know?
Act after act prohibits everything but poverty,
Weapon after weapon conquers ,everything but chaos,
Business after business provides
A craze of waste,
Law after law breeds,
A multitude of thieves. *('a multitude of lawyers ' -- my contemporary interpretation)
Therefore a sensible man says:
If I keep from meddling with people, they take care of
themselves
If I keep from commanding people, they behave
themselves
If I keep from preaching at people, they improve
themselves
If I keep from imposing on people, they become
themselves. Chptr57

Getting back on track .As long as there is an 'us'(Culture) there will be 'them'(everyone else), as long as there is a 'me' there will be a 'you'. The Taoist acknowledges the duality but does not differentiate. By this it means that he views the world and it's inhabitants with equanimity.

It is generally accepted that historically Lao Tzu never existed and that the Tao Te Ching was probably written by at least three people although who they were has never been proven. I find comfort in this. Lao Tzu's most popular pearl of wisdom is 'the wise man knows but doesn't say, the fool says but doesn't know'. If he really did exist he probably who have never written the Tao Te Ching.