Luyện nói tiếng Anh bằng Shadowing qua video: The Taoist Cure for a Crowded, Stressful Mind
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“It is easier to carry an empty cup than one that is filled to the brim.” Lao Tzu We often fail to realize how essential emptiness is. Perhaps it is because we instinctively value something over nothing.
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We tend to cherish sound more than silence, life more than death, and certainty more than the unknown. Likewise, we often prefer filling our minds, expressing our thoughts, and staying busy over stillness, silence, and simply ‘being’. To the modern human, what’s emptiness but a deficiency to be filled? But the ancient Taoists saw emptiness very differently. They believed emptiness has inherent value. In fact, they saw it as one of the most important principles of life, which shouldn’t be avoided but cultivated. The ancient texts provide various examples of how emptiness is important and how it can benefit our lives in profound ways.
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This video explores the underrated power of emptiness, based on ancient Taoist philosophy.
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My name is Stefan. If you enjoy my work, you can subscribe to my newsletter on Substack.
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You can also support me on Patreon, and my books are available on Amazon. Thank you, and I hope you’ll enjoy this video.
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Imagine walking through a large, beautiful, bustling city like Paris, Rome, or perhaps Singapore. Since Taoism is very much present in Singapore, it seems like a fitting place for our thought experiment.
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So, you’re walking through Singapore. What do you see? You see skyscrapers in the distance, a Hindu temple on your left, a coin laundry on your right, and a subway station in front of you. You see people walking around, trees and plants decorating the sidewalks, and cars driving on the insanely clean streets. There’s much to see in Singapore. It’s a colorful, diverse place. But as you walk through its streets, are you paying attention to what isn’t there? Are you aware of the spaces around and within everything you see? These questions may seem strange, but the Taoists argued that emptiness is as much a part of things as their physical form. In fact, it is often emptiness that makes them useful.
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Thirty spokes are joined together in a wheel, but it is the center hole that allows the wheel to function. We mold clay into a pot, but it is the emptiness inside that makes the vessel useful.
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...according to the Tao Te Ching. When we think about it, without emptiness none of the things we observe in our world can really exist, as the ancient Greek philosopher Parmenides already suggested. We need empty space. We need it for movement, for separation between objects and beings, for making anything functional. Take a house, for example. We may put great emphasis on the materials used to build it, such as its concrete walls, wooden doors, or soundproof windows. We want the foundation to be strong, the roof to be durable. But, as Lao Tzu suggested, isn’t the emptiness inside that makes it livable? Sure, we use the materials to put the house together, but it’s mainly the empty spaces between them that we use.
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The same goes for anything in a city, like Singapore: it’s the empty space within subway stations that allows us to enter, walk to the platforms, and board trains.
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It allows these trains to move within the tunnels in the first place.
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So, emptiness turns out to be highly essential for our existence.
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Okay. That’s a nice observation. But how could this notion help us in our daily affairs? The ancient Taoist texts show that the significance of emptiness isn’t limited to the mere functionality of objects in the world; it also applies to the workings of our minds and how we feel.
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From a Taoist perspective, the problem with many people is that their minds are simply ‘too full’. Let’s take a look.
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Give up intellectual learning and you will have no worries. Agreement and disagreement, are they really so different? Good and evil, are they really so far apart? What others fear, must I also fear?
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This nonsense is unending! In this translation by author and qigong teacher Solala Towler, is Lao Tzu advocating for full-blown anti-intellectualism?
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Not really, at least not the kind of anti-intellectualism we often see today, where people reject institutional systems of knowledge, sometimes for understandable reasons, only to replace them with influencer slogans, simplistic worldviews, and conspiracy narratives that lack evidence and reinforce personal biases. That, too, is a form of “intellectual learning,” but a pretty poor one. Lao Tzu does seem wary of intellectual pursuits, though. Gaining knowledge and immersing ourselves in countless categories, ideas, and theories is all fun and games, but these also occupy our minds. They can lead to worry and overthinking.
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We become attached to distinctions and conceptual frameworks, while reality itself may be far more fluid than our concepts suggest. Over time, we may begin to mistake our interpretations for reality itself. We develop strong opinions about what is good and evil, right and wrong, whom we should fear and whom we should welcome. Inevitably, these belief systems clash with those of others, something we can observe in many parts of the West today.
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When our minds are full and closed off, there is little room for new insights or different perspectives. But what if, even just temporarily, we’d empty our minds of existing beliefs? What if we’d just let go of what we know? What if we create space to see reality without immediately filtering it through the lens of what we already believe or assume to be true?
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From a Taoist perspective, this space creates a sense of openness, or xū (虚), a receptive state of mind that allows us to perceive reality more clearly, without being overly constrained by prior interpretations. “The empty apartment is filled with light through it.” ..said Zhuangzi.
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Like an empty room illuminated by light, an empty mind becomes more receptive to reality and direct experience. There’s another aspect to ‘emptiness of mind’; not so much the absence of knowledge, but the absence of all kinds of discursive activity.
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We tend to fill our minds with problems, seeking solutions, planning, plotting, sometimes in a very repetitive manner. Our minds become crowded and tense. And the more we try to force a good idea, the less we seem to succeed. Many of our best ideas emerge when we stop trying so hard. They arrive during a morning walk or in the shower. They come up when our minds are spacious; when there’s room for ideas to appear naturally. It is often the ‘emptiness of the mind’ in such moments that allows ideas to arise, rather than discursive thought trying to force them into existence. But there’s another dimension of mental emptiness that could benefit us, according to the ancient Taoist texts, which we’ll explore right now.
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Someone asked the Taoist philosopher Lieh-tzu why he valued ‘emptiness’. He answered as follows: “Most people like to be praised. They feel good when their accomplishments are acknowledged.
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However, I feel we would be better off if we were empty of attachments and not imprisoned by recognition, approval, and disapproval. In the long run, we’d have fewer things to worry about.
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That’s why I value emptiness.” End quote.
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Lieh-tzu saw what many spiritual traditions and philosophers have observed as well: a mind preoccupied with worldly concerns, described in the original text as “fame and profit,” or míng lì (名利), is not a very pleasant mind. It’s a mind full of worry; a mind that generates suffering.
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And let’s face it: pursuing fame often means constantly trying to please an audience. We end up doing and saying things with other people’s approval in mind.
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Obtaining praise usually takes a lot of effort. And most people want to keep the praise coming; they fear falling out of favor, so they keep watering it, hoping people will continue to adore them. And so, they have built themselves a prison; one based on “recognition, approval, and disapproval”. What’s even worse is that people’s opinions aren’t in their control, and they might fall out of favor anyway despite their efforts. So, there’s always the fear that they’ll lose the recognition and approval they spent so much time building, which, as we know, could happen in a heartbeat. A mind occupied with profit is another path to ongoing worry and anxiety. When we view life primarily through the lens of gain and loss, our well-being becomes tied to circumstances beyond our control. Success leads to satisfaction, while failure brings disappointment. And so we spend our days pursuing profit and guarding against loss, as our happiness depends on it. Often, that’s a stressful way to live.
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So, Lieh-tzu felt people would be better off if their minds were empty of such attachments.
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Pursuits of fame and wealth are worthless anyway, he claimed. And our so-called accomplishments rely so heavily on external circumstances that we might ask ourselves whether taking credit for them and parading them around is even fair. Better just let them go and quiet down, says Lieh-tzu. And by doing so, we might even reach the ultimate form of Taoist emptiness, which we’ll explore next.
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If you can empty your mind of all thoughts your heart will embrace the tranquility of peace. Watch the workings of all of creation, but contemplate their return to the source. When we’ve contemplated the value of emptiness, calmed our minds, and let go of desires for fame and profit, we could engage in the process Zhuangzi called the ‘fasting of the heart’. In ancient Chinese thought, the heart, xin (心), was seen as the center of both thinking and feeling, which is why Zhuangzi’s term is often translated as either “fasting of the heart” or “fasting of the mind.” In Chinese, it is called xinzhai (心齋). When our modern lives usually revolve around ‘gaining,’ such as gaining knowledge, gaining experiences, gaining money, or gaining power, the idea of the fasting of the heart is more about losing or forgetting. Instead of trying to get more, we take the weight off our shoulders, until there’s nothing left but… emptiness.
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In the Zhuangzi, Confucius describes the process as follows: “Don’t listen with your ears, listen with your mind. No, don’t listen with your mind, but listen with your spirit. Listening stops with the ears, the mind stops with recognition, but spirit is empty and waits on all things. The Way gathers in emptiness alone. Emptiness is the fasting of the mind.” End quote.
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The fasting of the heart is more than letting go of desires for success or reputation. It means letting go of outcomes, beliefs, ambitions, and even our sense of self. Rather than constantly judging things as good or bad, right or wrong, we remain open to a world that is always changing.
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This kind of mental clarity, so to speak, allows for spontaneous action. We can observe what is happening without distortion from preconceptions, expectations, or desires, and respond to what arises. It is an openness, an emptiness, that allows us to experience reality more directly. And this may even enhance our performance in certain situations.
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We can find an example of this in the Zhuangzi, which tells about a skilled archer who could easily hit the target when nothing was at stake. But when he competed for a prize, his thoughts about winning interfered with his ability to shoot. His mind was filled with desire, anxiety, and thoughts about the future, whereas before it was clear, allowing him to shoot with ease. From a Taoist perspective, the fasting of the mind brings us closer to the Tao, which lies at the very heart of Taoism.
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The Tao cannot be fully understood through concepts or intellectual analysis, yet it is ever-present and underlies all things. As we let go of our attachment to ideas, concepts, and discursive thought, we become more attuned to the greater process of which we are a part.
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Or as Sinologist Woei-Lien Chong wrote in her book about Taoist philosophy: “one with the breathing of the cosmos.” If you’re interested in Taoist philosophy, I’ve compiled a book of my ramblings inspired by ancient Taoist texts, titled Taoism for Inner Peace.
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Thank you for watching.
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Bối cảnh và Nền tảng
Trong video này, diễn giả khám phá triết lý Đạo giáo về sự trống rỗng và cách nó ảnh hưởng đến tâm trí của con người. Qua những quan sát tinh tế về cuộc sống hiện đại, diễn giả khuyến khích người xem nhận ra giá trị của sự trống rỗng trong cuộc sống hàng ngày. Điều này không chỉ liên quan đến không gian vật lý mà còn đến cách mà chúng ta suy nghĩ và cảm nhận. Sự trống rỗng được nhìn nhận như một yếu tố cần thiết giúp chúng ta có thể trải nghiệm thế giới một cách trọn vẹn hơn.
5 Câu Nói Hữu Ích Trong Giao Tiếp Hàng Ngày
- “Chúng ta cần không gian trống rỗng để chuyển động.” - Nhắc nhở về tầm quan trọng của sự trống rỗng trong cuộc sống.
- “Đừng để tâm trí quá đầy.” - Khuyến khích việc giải phóng tâm trí khỏi những suy nghĩ không cần thiết.
- “Sự nhận biết đến từ sự trống rỗng.” - Nhấn mạnh rằng một tâm trí trống rỗng giúp chúng ta nhận thức rõ hơn về thực tại.
- “Thả lỏng bản thân để ý tưởng tự nhiên xuất hiện.” - Khuyến khích sự thư giãn và thoải mái trong suy nghĩ.
- “Thực hành là chìa khóa để nâng cao kỹ năng ngôn ngữ.” - Đề cao tầm quan trọng của việc luyện tập thường xuyên.
Hướng Dẫn Luyện Nói Bước Từng Bước
Để cải thiện khả năng giao tiếp tiếng Anh của bạn qua video này, hãy làm theo hướng dẫn dưới đây:
- Nghe kỹ từng câu: Bắt đầu bằng cách nghe video mà không cần nhìn phụ đề. Cố gắng nắm bắt ý chính từ thông điệp của diễn giả.
- Ghi chú lại các câu quan trọng: Trong khi nghe, hãy ghi chú lại những câu hay, từ vựng mới và cách diễn đạt mà bạn thích. Điều này sẽ giúp bạn tập trung vào những điểm chính.
- Thực hành shadowing: Khi đã quen thuộc với nội dung, hãy thử phương pháp shadowing tiếng Anh. Lặp lại theo diễn giả ngay lập tức, cố gắng bắt chước cả âm điệu và nhịp điệu của họ.
- Ghi âm và so sánh: Ghi âm lại phần luyện nói của bạn và so sánh với video. Chú ý đến phát âm tiếng Anh chuẩn của diễn giả, từ đó điều chỉnh cho phù hợp.
- Thực hành thường xuyên: Đừng quên rằng việc thực hành hàng ngày là rất quan trọng. Tích cực luyện nói tiếng Anh mỗi ngày sẽ giúp bạn cải thiện nhanh chóng.
Bằng cách áp dụng những lời khuyên này, bạn không chỉ nâng cao khả năng giao tiếp của mình mà còn khám phá được giá trị của sự trống rỗng trong việc tạo ra không gian cho ý tưởng mới và sự sáng tạo. Hãy bắt đầu luyện tập ngay hôm nay để thấy được sự tiến bộ rõ rệt trong khả năng của bạn!
Ngữ pháp trong video
Những cấu trúc người nói dùng nhiều nhất, kèm đúng cụm từ trong video:
| Cấu trúc | Trong video |
|---|---|
| Câu bị động be + quá khứ phân từ — nhấn vào việc xảy ra, không phải người làm | is filled · be filled · are joined |
| Thì hiện tại hoàn thành have/has + quá khứ phân từ — việc đã xảy ra nhưng còn liên quan đến hiện tại | have observed · have built · we've contemplated |
Phương Pháp Shadowing Là Gì?
Shadowing là kỹ thuật học ngôn ngữ có cơ sở khoa học, ban đầu được phát triển cho chương trình đào tạo phiên dịch viên chuyên nghiệp và được phổ biến rộng rãi bởi nhà đa ngôn ngữ học Dr. Alexander Arguelles. Nguyên lý cốt lõi đơn giản nhưng cực kỳ hiệu quả: bạn nghe tiếng Anh của người bản xứ và lặp lại to ngay lập tức — như một "cái bóng" (shadow) đuổi theo người nói với độ trễ chỉ 1–2 giây. Khác với luyện ngữ pháp hay học từ vựng bị động, Shadowing buộc não bộ và cơ miệng phải đồng thời xử lý và tái tạo ngôn ngữ thực tế. Các nghiên cứu khoa học xác nhận phương pháp này cải thiện đáng kể phát âm, ngữ điệu, nhịp điệu, nối âm, kỹ năng nghe và độ lưu loát khi nói — đặc biệt hiệu quả cho người luyện IELTS Speaking và muốn giao tiếp tiếng Anh tự nhiên như người bản ngữ.