The great philosopher and thinker Lao Tzu lived in the sixth century BCE in China and was a contemporary of Confucius. The Tao Te Ching, which is a collection of his sayings, is a fundamental book that explains this abstruse and mysterious religion. In Lao Tzu’s own words, the following description of Tao shows us how difficult it is as a concept:
There was something undifferentiated and yet complete, which existed before Heaven and Earth. Soundless and formless it depends on nothing and does not change. It operates everywhere and it is free from danger. It may be considered the mother of the universe. I do not know its name, I call it Tao.
Tao has been described as being silent, obscure and indistinct. It is a mysterious un-nameable being which is the source of all existence, being prior to the Universe itself. Tao also believes that each human being is a microcosm of the cosmos and therefore, can find the Tao within himself.
An important concept in Tao is Ziran. It is usually a spontaneous thing which is set to flow by itself along with the Tao. It is like the Universe which exists by itself and is sufficient unto itself. If you are to flow with nature, you free yourself of selfishness and desire, and live simply. Another concept is called the De which results from living and cultivating the Tao, which can be done only by practising ethics. Wei Wu Wei is said to be “action without action” which is to be within the flow of things, never resisting them. It involves the letting go of the ego, which is an extremely difficult thing. The Tao Te Ching says if you act actively, you will ruin things. The sage acts with inaction.
In Wei, a person seeks to come into harmony with Tao himself, which is accomplished by non-action. Tao consists of three treasures stated to be jing, that is one’s very essence; qi, which is the material force of the Universe, and shen, which is the consciousness of the spirit.
It is by practising these three things in accordance with Taoist philosophy that one achieves complete serenity in life. Like Confucianism, the Tao concentrates on this life and does not have reference to any developed afterlife. Also, the Tao is to be distinguished from a Creator God which does not exist in Taoism. Coming back to Taoist ethics, what is stressed is naturalness, spontaneity, simplicity and detachment from desire. Three treasures of Taoism are stated to be compassion, moderation and humility, which translate themselves into an abstention from war and simplicity of living in accordance with nature.
Another interesting concept is the concept of Yin and Yang. Tao explains that Tao in the beginning rested in deep chaos. It then evolved into a cosmic unity full of creative potential. This unity then brought forth two energies, Yin and Yang, which in turn merged in harmony to create a combination from which all life came forth. Yin and Yang are opposite principles which bring forth life as strong and weak, light and dark, soft and hard, etc. Taoism believes in gods who exist in another world, that is in a celestial world – spirits who hover around the Earth and persons who live in the netherworld. The Xian are those human beings who have achieved a life of living in harmony with Tao. Practices or virtues are taught in a book called the Scriptural Statutes of Lord Lao.
These practices are as follows:
Non-action
Softness and weakness
Guarding all things feminine
Being nameless
Being still
Being adept at what one does
Having no desire
Contentment
To know how to yield and withdraw
Taoism teaches that one must avoid the killing of both human beings and animals, theft, sexual misconduct, lying, and the use of intoxicants. It also teaches one how to look after one’s own family and one’s own kith and kin; how to support a person who does good; how to support a person who is unfortunate and to make him recover or get back to his former state; how never to have thoughts of revenge even if somebody does harm to one; and the expectation that one will attain the Tao only as long as all beings attain the Tao.
Many meditation techniques of Taoism are various practices which are magical in nature, and which attempt to explain the spirit world and cultivate longevity in life. This obscure and difficult faith is perhaps best explained in some of the sayings of its founder, Lao Tzu. Some of them are:
To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders.
Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them – that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.
Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small.
The journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step. Mastering others is strength.
Mastering yourself is true power. He who knows, does not speak. He who speaks, does not know. Silence is a source of great strength. Knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself is Enlightenment. A good traveller has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.
Nothing is softer or more flexible than water, yet nothing can resist it.
Life and death are one thread, the same line viewed from different sides.
By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try, the world is beyond winning.
Health is the greatest possession. Contentment is the greatest treasure. Confidence is the greatest friend. Nonbeing is the greatest joy.
Treat those who are good with goodness, and also treat those who are not good with goodness. Thus goodness is attained. Be honest to those who are honest, and be also honest to those who are not honest. Thus honesty is attained.
Manifest plainness, embrace simplicity, reduce selfishness, have few desires.
The wise man does not lay up his own treasures. The more he gives to others, the more he has for his own.
The softest things in the world overcome the hardest things in the world.
If you realise that all things change, there is nothing you will try to hold on to. If you are not afraid of dying there is nothing you cannot achieve.
The sage does not hoard. The more he helps others, the more he benefits himself. The more he gives to others, the more he gets himself. The Way of Heaven does one good but never does one harm. The Way of the sage is to act but not to compete.
Violence even when well-intentioned, always rebounds upon oneself.
Without stirring abroad, one can know the whole world; without looking out of the window one can see the way of heaven. The further one goes, the less one knows.
All things in the world come from being. And being comes from non-being.
Heaven is long-enduring, and earth continues long. The reason why heaven and earth are able to endure and continue this long is because they do not live of, or for, themselves.
All difficult things have their origin in that which is easy, and great things in that which is small.
To realise that you do not understand is a virtue; not to realise that you do not understand is a defect.
The higher the sun ariseth, the less shadow doth he cast; even so the greater is the goodness, the less doth it covet praise; yet cannot avoid its rewards in honours.
He who knows others is wise. He who knows himself is enlightened. How could man rejoice in victory and delight in the slaughter of men?
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 origin of Heaven and Earth; the Named is the mother of all things.
Man takes his law from the Earth; the Earth takes its law from Heaven; Heaven takes its law from the Tao. The law of the Tao is its being what it is.
It is better to do one’s own duty, however defective it may be, than to follow the duty of another, however well one may perform it. He who does his duty as his own nature reveals it, never sins.
Excerpted with permission from An Ode To Fraternity: Life, Death and Beyond in World Religion. Is There Unity in Diversity?, Rohinton Fali Nariman, Penguin India.
