Jeffrey LaPorte H01
Lao Tzu
Tao is a difficult
word to translate. Literally it means ‘the way’ as in a path but it also can
mean the way to live, the way to govern, and the way of the entire cosmos. The
search for Tao is at the heart of Chinese, and possibly all, philosophy but it
is most associated with China’s first philosopher the mystical poet Lao Tzu.
The historic
details of Lao Tzu’s life are difficult to pin down. Some historians are not
even sure he ever really existed and those that do debate even the most basic
details like his real name (Lao Tzu is a title meaning Old Master). Most agree
he was born around the year 570 B.C. and served as some kind of scholar where
he read many texts including those of the legendary yellow emperor. At an
advanced age Lao Tzu gave up his position and rode on a water buffalo out to
the wilderness to live as a hermit leaving behind the Tao Te Ching (or the way
of the Tao and its changes). According to legend he eventually reached India
and was a teacher of the Buddha.
Lao Tzu on
a water buffalo
According to the
Tao Te Ching the core principle to finding Tao is to pursue a course of wu-wei
or non-ado. To not take any action is to never oppose the tao. If people want
happiness they should only seek to be kind to others and contemplate nature. He
said morals and laws were merely a secondary substitute to having a truly wise
and enlightened populace who would embrace the tao and simply go with the flow.
Much of the Tao Te Ching is concerned with
proper governance. Much like his prescription for life Lao Tzu’s advice for
rulers is to rule with as little action and self-interest as possible. He says
that the greatest ruler is one who accomplishes things while the people think
they have done it themselves and that “only one who is willing to give his life
for the world would be fit to rule it.”
Lao Tzu’s
relatively simple work combined with traditional Chinese beliefs about the
after life to form the religion known as Taoism. Taoism involves the worship of
Lao Tzu as a divine figure and the use of rituals and ceremonies to try to
maintain a state of union with the eternal Tao. Another core piece of religious
Taoism is the belief in the eternal opposing forces of Yin and Yang which gave
birth to the universe and represent how all opposites are united.
Yin and
Yang
"the core principle to finding Tao is to pursue a course of wu-wei or non-ado. To not take any action..." The pragmatist in me resists this, but the procrastinator loves it! Still, and seriously, harmony and balance are good but so is engaged activity to change what's inharmonious. Plenty is, in our world. Obviously.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure I probably already mentioned this, but "The Tao of Pooh" by Benjamin Hoff is a great introduction to this tradition, at least for a western neophyte.
A couple of days late, but may the fourth be with you.