Axiom: Self-evident Truth

There is no need to prove that the moon exists.  It is self-evident.  It comes out every night in varying shapes for about 28 days and then it’s gone for the remaining three days or so.  Its cycle is so regular, I can calculate my menses to it.  The tides are affected by the moon.  Animals time their routine activities around moon cycles.  Indeed, some animals actually use the moon cycles to have moonlight sex, so in a sense, they have a sexual relationship with the moon.  We can say that there is a Moon Axiom.

ax·i·om
1. a self-evident truth that requires no proof.
2. a universally accepted principle or rule.
3. Logic, Mathematics . a proposition that is assumed without proof for the sake of studying the consequences that follow from it.  ~  Dictionary.com

Axiom
An axiom is a premise or starting point of reasoning. As classically conceived, an axiom is a premise so evident as to be accepted as true without controversy.^[1] The word comes from the Greek ἀξίωμα ‘that which is thought worthy or fit,’ or ‘that which commends itself as evident.’^[2][3] As used in modern logic, an axiom is simply a premise or starting point for reasoning.^[4] Axioms define and delimit the realm of analysis. In other words, an axiom is a logical statement that is assumed to be true. Therefore, its truth is taken for granted within the particular domain of analysis, and serves as a starting point for deducing and inferring other (theory and domain dependent) truths. An axiom is defined as a mathematical statement that is accepted as being true without a mathematical proof.  ~  Wikipedia.org

Given that the word ‘axiom’ means ‘self-evident’ without the need for proof, mathematical or otherwise, it is quite amazing to me that it would be found in the last line of Chapter 14, from an extremely literal translation of the Tao Te Ching written by Derek Lin.

Tao Te Ching – Chapter 14

Look at it, it cannot be seen
It is called colorless
Listen to it, it cannot be heard
It is called noiseless
Reach for it, it cannot be held
It is called formless
These three cannot be completely unraveled
So they are combined in to one

Above it, not bright
Below it, not dark
Continuing endlessly, cannot be named
It returns back into nothingness
Thus it is called the form of the formless
The image of the imageless
This is called enigmatic
Confront it, its front cannot be seen
Follow it, its back cannot be seen

Wield the Tao of the ancients
To manage the existence of today
One can know the ancient beginning
It is called the Tao Axiom  ~ Lao Tzu

So what does Tao Axiom mean?  And is the Tao of the ancients the same as the Tao of the modern-day Taobabes?  Can we really wield the Tao of the ancients?  Were the ancients’ scientific knowledge so vast that they didn’t even bother to have to go through the proof work of the Tao, and simply said, ‘eh, it’s theTao Axiom.  It’s so self-evident, why would we even bother to try and explain it?”

But that’s like saying to one of my ancestors from four-thousand years ago, “Eh, no worries.  The moon is just a satellite that revolves around the Earth due to gravitational forces which keeps it circling around us—no biggie deal.  It’s just a Moon Axiom.”

Lacking a broader knowledge base to draw further conclusions from, I imagine they would simply shake their heads and think I am an ignorant and crazy witch for not understanding the truth about the moon goddess, Hằng Nga. Hadn’t anybody told me about the story of that beautiful courtesan who lived in a castle far above the skies, out in the endless depths of space?

Her days were endless delights.  She roamed about the sky palace, doing wonderful things, learning about the heavens, playing with other courtesans, and serving the Royal Sky Emperor.

Unfortunately, Hằng Nga was not just quick-witted, she was also quite mischievous, and one day, she did something that so sorely displeased a superior officer, she was sent down to Earth to redeem herself.  As a space-faring member, she was different from the locals, both physically and mentally.  Her great beauty and unique ideology caught the eyes of a mortal king.

He married her, but in the course of their marriage, she did something which enraged him.  She swallowed a single immortality pill, the only one that the king had, which he had gone to great pains to acquire.

There ensued a great chase, which caused Hằng Nga to jump out of a window at the top of the castle turret.  However, instead of falling to the ground, she flew upwards and was captured by a bright orb which took her to the bright full moon above.

She is said to be currently residing on the moon.  But who knows…

In any case, I still need to answer those questions I posed earlier.  Those questions will be addressed in my post Axiom of the Tao.