The Tao History and Legend
The Tao Te Ching is a classic Chinese text, usually
said to be written by a colleague of Confucius, Lao Tzu (translated
as "Old Master").The first word "Tao," represented by the Chinese symbol 道, can be translated as "path," "route," or most commonly "way." The second word "Te," represented by the Chinese symbol 德, is generally translated as "virtue." The final word "Ching,"represented by the Chinese symbol 經, means "great book." Therefore, the title can be translated and simplified to "The Book of the Way and Its Virtue." The Tao Te Ching may also be found spelled Dao De Jing depending on the historian and translation you are looking at.
The existence and life of Lao Tzu is a matter of some debate amongst
historians researching Ancient China. Most say that he was a
contemporary of Confucius (551-479 BC) and that he worked in the
imperial archives. Others believe that he was an astrologer and grand
historian who lived during the reign of Duke Xian (384-362 BC). Some
Western historians deny his existence altogether and believe that the Tao
is actually a collection of works from many authors. There are even
some Chinese historians who believe that Lao Tzu had been
reincarnated 13 times and that he was born old,
living 996 years. Whatever his history, he is often credited with
writing one of the most influential books in Chinese history.
Similar to its alleged author, the Tao has also had major controversy over its overall construction. It is agreed among all historians that the Tao
consists of about 5000 Chinese characters and includes 81 verses. And,
while most of the historians agree that the book was written in two
separate books (the Tao Ching and the Te Ching) and then
later compiled for convenience, some historians believe that it was
actually written in 15 different books and then compiled. Though
opinions on the history of the book and its alleged author may vary,
the importance of the Tao is indisputable. It defines much of
the Chinese culture, and it has helped many gain some perspective on
life and create goals for themselves.
I recently read the Tao Te Ching for an introductory course
at Eckerd College, and some of the passages really hit home. I began
to think about what drives human interactions and what brings about
good and evil. There are many things in the Tao that can be
related to everyday life, but there are a particular few that struck me
especially and I thought I'd explore them here. I found personal
meaning in a section of Verse 31 in the Tao, where
the Master says:
Weapons are the tools of fear;
a decent man will avoid them
except in the direst necessity
and, if compelled, will use them
only with the utmost restraint.
Peace is his highest value.
If the peace has been shattered,
how can he be content?
This is supplemented by his saying in Verse 30 that, "Violence, even
well intentioned, always rebounds upon oneself." A man of the Tao
should resort to violence only when all other options are left, because his
overall goal is peace. Violence will always leave someone with a grudge and this
will lead to the eventual destruction of all that the Master worked for. These
Verses touched me deeply because of my training in Tae Kwon Do. I trained for
six years in the martial arts and earned my black belt through sweat and hard
work. This training left me with confidence, pride, and, of course, the ability
to defend myself if needed. One of my desires is that I will always be able to
defend that which I love with all my ability if the need arises, but be able to
restrain myself the rest of the time. As I have grown I have increased my
control over my anger in both body and mind. When I was in high school, however,
there were times that I longed for someone to pick a fight with me so I could
just let loose and blow off all my steam. I still get that feeling every now and
then, but for the most part I have come into control of my emotions. Considering
that when I was seven I knocked out my sister’s tooth with a plastic water
pistol, I feel as though I’ve come a long way and most of the time now I’m a
cool customer.
Be Wary of A.I.
I was reminded of my dad when I read the first section of
Verse 9 where the Master says:
Fill your bowl to the brim
and it will spill.
Keep sharpening you knife
and it will blunt.
Chase after money and security
and your heart will never unclench.
The more that someone takes; the more that they have to lose. The more they
care for something; the more they will be controlled by it. I was talking to my
dad one day after school and he was in a bad mood for some reason. I asked him
why and he recounted how he had spent the past three hours working his way
through the labyrinth that is Dell Computer Technical Support. He told me of being on hold
for 20 minutes at a time, sifting through the cryptic explanations from the
series of men from India on the other end of the line, and trying desperately to
describe his problem to the people "trying to help him." He had eventually gotten
the problem solved, but he found that he was completely exhausted and irritated
after it was all over. He then said to me, in conclusion, "I swear, I spend
more time trying to keep these things in my house running than I do enjoying
them." Since then, I have made it part of my philosophy to try and not let
my possessions run my life.
I have recently incorporated a little ritual into my life that I wish I had
when I was in my teen years. I find that there are points of my life when I need
to make a big decision and in many of these cases my first reaction is an
emotional one. Also, about 90 percent of the time, my first reaction is the
wrong one. So, starting last year, every time I had a major decision to make I
would go out into the night and go for a walk. While walking I found that I
could clear my head of all the emotional noise that clutters it during my day.
Without this distraction, I could base my decision off of reason and the facts
and I found that my decision was usually the right one. Since then I’ve
incorporated this idea into many parts of my life. Whenever I find myself
stressing out over something, I just take a short walk and set out what is real
and what is just emotional baggage. I was reminded of this little process in
Verse 10 of the Tao where the Master asks, "Can you step back from
you own mind and thus understand all things?" I think that I could answer,
"yes," on this question and not be called a liar. I plan on continuing
this practice and I hope that I can spread it among the people close to me.
Act with no expectations." This is one of the Master’s virtues
set out in Verse 10 and can be coupled with the following section of Verse 49,
She is good to people who are good.
She is also good to people who aren’t good.
This is true goodness.
to describe something else that I strive to be, a good person. I want to be
the kind of person who is willing to help someone with any thought of what they
might get out of it; to help someone because it’s the right thing to do. My
mother is much like this. She takes on the responsibilities of three people
because she is truly a selfless woman (and a bit of a workaholic). I hope that
someday I will be able to be that noble as well. Actually, on a more macabre
note, there are times when I wish that I came across someone in need, just so I
could help them; Perhaps an old woman who has fallen over or a biker who lost
control and went head over heels. I’ve come across small misfortunes before
and done my best to help and the feeling I get from seeing someone’s face
light up at being taken care of is simply indescribable.
As a teenager, I was very self conscious and unsure of what to be. This is,
of course, the story of basically every person that is passing through puberty
and high school. Even the "popular kids" can be found breaking down in
the bathroom during lunch and in many cases the people that are
"popular" are actually under more stress than the people outside that
circle. I describe myself as the seventh man in a six-man party. I was liked by
everyone, but I was never really cool enough to be invited to any of the groups’
private gatherings. In some senses, I was the quintessential outsider. This
meant that I spent all of high school striving to be accepted into a group, any
group. I obsessed over the things that I was not and completely forgot about
what I was. In Verse 30 of the Tao, since the Master "accepts
himself, the whole world accepts him." If you just act like yourself and
stop trying to change yourself into something you are not then people around you
will accept you too. I try to live by this saying now and I have found that it
works out very well. I just act like myself around people and don’t worry
about what they think of me or whether they like me or not. I instituted this
philosophy when I moved to California last year and since then I have found my
social situation to be very changed. I make friends very easily and I am not
severely disappointed with myself anymore.
The Art of Satisfaction (no, not sexually)
My dad is one of the people I admire most in the world and even though he has
his flaws and quirks, and find myself becoming more like him all the time. He
and I think similarly on many levels and one that is included is our idea of
what a person needs in life to be happy. In Verse 33 of the Tao the Master says
that, "If you realize that you have enough, you are truly rich," and I
believe that my dad has it about right. Many people in the world today are
caught constantly striving for more and more things (money, cars, women, TVs,
houses, whatever it may be), because they have the idea in their head that in
order to be happy they have to have a certain amount of things. What I find, however, is
that these people, are often unhappy with their lot in
life. We see actors, whose lives should be so easy, finding reasons to commit
suicide. This says to me that something is not in balance in their world. My
dad has always wanted only enough to support his family and to live comfortably,
with a few simple pleasures. All that I can say is that I hope I can live
exactly like my dad when I grow up. He has one car and is happier than many of the
actors in Hollywood.
Reading the Tao Te Ching brought into perspective many
aspects of my life and has helped me not only make decisions, but also
to define my own personal philosophy. I truly believe that this book
has the power to change people's lives for the good. So, if you are
feeling a little lost or down or simply want to read a good book, I
would suggest that you pick up this work of art and read it with
an open mind and an open heart.