Tao

The watercourse way. 

I believe I may have had the this wrong all along. Being that I understood this to mean the path of least resistance and to some this may hold true, but my new take is this. 

It's the path of least extremes or the path that allows for the most compromise, a word I have always regarded as derogatory, and while getting in touch with this new take I've come to some even more telling concepts. 

If my axiom is valid it allows me to no longer regard it as religion, and I'll explain why. 

Religions are extreme. 

Buddhism as a religion requires one to seek enlightenment. 

Enlightenment is an extreme. 

So it's possible for me to follow the teachings of the Buddha without the extreme of seeking enlightenment and as such avoid failure. 

Failure is an extreme. 

I believe now that following the the watercourse way is an intellectual exercise rather than any kind of devotion. 

Now whether or not this has plagued the minds of others is unclear but I think I can finally put it to bed. I can stop resisting it as a religion and begin embracing it as a way of life and an exercise in bettering myself.