When we think "Technology" we often get an image of flying cars zooming through a teeming skyline sparkling with the eerie shimmering lights and perfectly shaped edges of buildings sprouted from man's grandiose achievements.
But could Technology also be something as mundane as the pencil you hold in your hand, the sheet of paper that you use to design the metallic titans one envisages as a looming presence watching over a city's landscape?
Animals make use of tools to better their lives. Crows have been observed shaping leaves from trees into different shapes according to the crevice that they are trying to extract a grub from to eat. Different birds have different sized and shaped beaks according to the specific needs of their life activities to be used as effectively as possible - a kind of 'built in' Technology, one could say if the meaning is extended to encompass the forms that lifeforms naturally manifest to match the pressures of the environment.
Technology is not just something that we make or something that is naturally fashioned as a built-in feature. It is also the application of certain principles as observed in nature in order to improve our lives.
An example of this type of technology are Daoist methods of self-cultivation. They are designed based on fundamental principles of nature in order to refine one's natural in-built senses and sensitivity to manipulate and refine the movements and activities of Qi. Harnessing the power of Qi is harnessing the movements powering the intimate life-activities of one's being. How is this done? Through certain body movements, done in a specific way (requires specific guidance and instruction).
This type of Technology cannot be seen or touched. It is like a secret toolbox that one carries with them at all times ready to use when needed. It cannot be stolen because the effectiveness of the tools is purely dependent on the individual's ability to learn, understand and use them - one can be taught what the tools are but that is only the very first step. It's hard enough to learn how to use a complicated tool without instruction, let alone a tool that you cannot see and must learn how to feel/sense.
The body movements/exercises are not the technology themselves, but rather the wisdom behind them and how to do them properly to unlock the required effects and results.
This is Daoist Technology.
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