Tao Te Ching - Lao Tzu

Lao Tzu, attributed with the writing of the Tao Te Ching, is an amorphous shape in Chinese history--many legends record his life and philosophies, but there is little real evidence that he existed or composed his most famous work. He is said to have been employed in the Imperial Library as an archivist and a contemporary of Confucius. According to legend Lao Tzu and Confucius met in the library as the latter was furthering his study. They discussed their ideas of ritual and social duty, Lao Tzu arguing vehemently against what he thought empty practices, and Confucius defending what he believed would preserve the social order. Frustrated with his perceptions of the declining kingdom, Lao Tzu decided to leave the city and wander alone. He was traveling on a ox when he reached the guarded Han Gu Pass. The keeper of the pass, who had heard of Lao Tzu as a great philosopher, asked him to write out his philosophy, so that people could still access his thought once he was gone. Lao Tzu wrote the Tao Te Ching and continued on his journey.

Tao Te Ching roughly translates to "The Great Book on the Way and Virtue." Lao Tzu's verses are a guide to understanding nature and the self. They are the cornerstone of Taoism and very influential to Confucianism and Chinese Buddhism. Consisting of 81 "chapters," the first 37 relating the Tao (Way) and the rest concerning Te (Virtue), the Tao Te Ching is now a source of inspiration and guidance to an audience spanning the globe.

"The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao.
The name that can be named is not the eternal name.
The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth.
The named is the mother of ten thousand things.
Ever desireless, one can see the mystery.
Ever desiring, one sees manifestations.
These two spring from the same source but differ in name;
this appears as darkness.
Darkness within darkness.
The gate to all mystery."

(Feng and English, trans., 1972: Chapter One)

This first chapter of Lao Tzu's book reveals his idea that man attempts to limit the illimitable by naming it. Man cannot comprehend this eternal truth, and by trying, he cages it with words and human philosophy. Only when man resigns himself can he understand that this mystery is to remain unknown. If man is perpetually seeking the truth, he will only find himself further embedded in darkness, further removed from truth because he believes he understands. The man who can admit to ignorance is closer to wisdom, for he is free of false knowledge. It is this philosophy which fuels the Taoist stoic acceptance of evil, harm, and what man cannot understand. The following is another example of Lao Tzu’s ideas of acceptance and personal removal:

“In the pursuit of learning, every day something is acquired.
In the pursuit of Tao, every day something is dropped.
Less and less is done until non-action is achieved.
When nothing is done, nothing is undone.
The world is ruled by letting things take their course.
It cannot be ruled by interfering.”

(Feng and English, trans., 1972: Chapter 48)

This yielding to the infinite and unnamed also underlines the Taoist ideas of the powerful feminine. Masculine traits are hard and unbending--they snap or shatter when the force upon them becomes too great. Feminine traits, however, are soft and quiet, they are symbolized by the water which flows into the crevices of stone. Man needs to be complete with both traits to survive however; this dualism is natural and inescapable--here the philosophy of yin and yang are born.

The above image is of Lao Tzu wandering on an ox. It can be found here.