Taoism, China’s ancient and mysterious indigenous philosophy, like much that is traditional in the Chinese world, is little understood in the West. The word Tao; most commonly translated as ‘The Way’, although the original pictograph can also mean ‘Teaching’, is an elusive concept to come to grips with. Tao is the First Principle, that which gives rise to all appearances and phenomena and to which all things eventually return. To follow the Tao requires an enlightened understanding of the primordial source of all being. Since all things return to the Tao, to follow or live in the manner of this principle is to follow the natural order of the universe; a being at one with the Cosmos. The essence of Nature is seen as being one of never ending transformation that requires no action on the part of man. So we come to the concept of wu-wei or non-action.
In pursuit of knowledge, Everyday something is added. In the practice of the Tao, Everyday something is dropped. Less and less do you need to force things, Until finally you arrive at non-action. When nothing is done, Nothing is left undone.
Tao Te Ching 48
However, living in the Tao is not just an intellectual exercise. It is very much an experiential insight and requires considerable intuitive understanding on the part of the adept.
A cautionary word against attempting any definition was given by the writer who is thought to have first penned a treatise on the subject.
The Tao that can be told Is not the eternal Tao The name that can be named Is not the eternal Name. The unnamable is the eternally real. Naming is the origin of all particular things Free from desire, you realize the mystery. Caught in desire you see only the manifestations. Yet mystery and manifestations arise from the same source. This source is called darkness. Darkness within darkness. The gateway to all understanding.
Tao Te Ching 1
Look and it can’t be seen. Listen and it can’t be heard. Reach and it can’t be grasped.
Tao Te Ching 14
Those who know don’t talk. Those who talk don’t know. Be like the Tao. It can’t be approached or withdrawn from, Benefited or harmed, Honoured or brought into disgrace. It gives itself up continually. That is why it endures.
Tao Te Ching 56
This is how Lao-tsu the first and perhaps most commonly recognized writer in the West on the subject of the Tao, explains it. Legend has it that he wrote the Tao Te Ching at a border post on the then western edges of China as he left to head even further westward. A border official, recognizing him as the great master insisted he at least write something of his teachings before he departed. The eighty one verses we know today as the Tao Te Ching was the result. (Lao-tsu or ‘The Old Master’ is often depicted riding on the back of a water buffalo, laughing and playing a flute as he disappears from view, never to be seen or heard from again.)
Lao-tsu rides towards the West
“Lao-tsu taught, ‘One should live anonymously and in obscurity.’ In response to a question about the rites put to him by Kung-fu-tsu (Confucius 551 – 479 BCE) he responded:
The bones of those whom you speak have long since turned to dust; only their words have been preserved for us. In any case if time and fortune favour a person he will travel to court in a carriage. If they do not favour him, he will roam about in unpretentious attire. I have heard it said a good merchant will conceal his wealth and act as if he were poor. A noble person with sufficient inner virtue may give the appearance of a fool. Therefore, give up your high-handed manner, your desires, your vanity and your zeal – for they are of no use to you.
Kung-fu-tsu then withdrew and told his disciples:
I know that birds can fly, that fish can swim, and that quadrupeds can roam about on the earth. Roaming animals may be caught in a pit or cage, fish with a net or rod and birds can be shot down with an arrow. The dragon however, cannot be caught by such cleverness. It wings towards heaven on wind and clouds. Today I have seen Lao-tzu. He is like a dragon!’
Since Kung-fu-tsu was obsessed with politics and trying to find a ruler who would apply his formulas on the populace, this was a sharp rebuke. The Tao Te Ching admonishes those in leadership thus:
If you want to become a great leader, You must learn to follow the Tao. Stop trying to control. Let go of fixed plans and concepts, And the world will govern itself. The more prohibitions you have, The less virtuous the people will be. The more weapons you have, The less secure people will be. The more subsidies you have, The less self-reliant people will be.
Therefore, the Master says: I let go of the law, And people become honest. I let go of economics, And people become prosperous. I let go of religion, And the people become serene. I let go of all desire for the common good, And the good becomes as common as grass.
Tao Te Ching 57
It is now thought that Lao-tsu cannot have written the Tao Te Ching and that it must have been compiled somewhere between the 3rd and 4th centuries BC. Modern scholarship suggests that the Tao Te Ching may be a composite of several authors over successive periods rather than the work of any single man.
There is something of an arbitrary division between the chapters. The first is referred to as the Tao, as that is what it talks of, whilst the 37th chapter discusses Te or the Power or Virtue of the Tao - Tao Te Ching or The Way and its Power. Whatever its origins, it is a remarkable work and makes for rewarding study.
Some commentators pointing out that much of what is contained in the 81 chapters is centered on instructions to politicians (Emperors) on how to rule and thus suggest its relevance to modern man is less than is popularly perceived. The fact remains however, it contains great wisdom for the common man and continues even today to be a little book that may be picked up, read and contemplated at will, with many relevant insights for our modern lives.
Extracts quited from Patricia Ebrey’s Chinese Civilization: A Sourcebook, 2d ed. (New York: Free Press, 1993), pp. 28-31