Name: Lao Tzu - Tao Te Ching summary | Videos | Gan Jing World
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Tao Te Ching
by Lao Tzu

Lao Tzu was an ancient Chinese philosopher and a writer. He was the founder of philosophical Taoism and a deity in religious Taoism and other traditional Chinese religions. Tao Te Ching is a guide to the philosophy of Taoism and was written by Lao Tzu and one of the famous classical Chinese texts. Taoism is a school of thought and method for survival in challenging times and Tao Te Ching consists the teachings dealing with Tao or roughly explained as “the Way” or the path one should follow in order to avoid failure and attain success. It can be translated The Book of the Immanence of the Way or The Book of the Way and of How It Manifests Itself in the World or, simply, The Book of the Way. As Lau Tzu noted that the idea when you’re trying too hard, amassing too many goods, too arrogant, war-mongering—will lead to failure. Instead, if one is going to survive, one must be submissive, passive and pacific. If one is simple, one will be content.

The book begins with the meaning of “Tao” -- a nameless origin of everything and actually not the eternal “Tao”.   Gravity is a good illustration to Lao Tzu’s impression of the Tao law of nature. It’s an invisible force commanding everything, endlessly and seemingly without any effort. The workings of “Tao” are concealed behind what we can see.  It is “the way” how the universe works. On the other hand, it can be understood by observing what we see or feel: the manifestations.  The manifestations become clear through observing them with delight by detaching ourselves from the world and empty our minds and that’s when we discover their unity. The unity of opposites makes up the world. In one of Tzu’s passages “when everyone in the world sees beauty then ugly exists”—the ugly is the mirror of beautiful. We should not call one good and the other bad and one could not exist without the other.   

If we allow morals to influence our judgments, we are unable to be objective. Simplicity, patience and compassion are the three pillars of Taoism philosophy. According to Lao Tzu, these three pillars are our greatest treasures and through being simple both in actions and in thoughts can return us to the source of being. Being patient with our friends and enemy can accord with the way things are and being compassionate towards ourselves, lets us reconcile all beings in the world. 

 “Te” which means virtue is one of the most important things highlighted in the book. “Te” is not an active force in the world but its manifests as one of the basic forces of “Tao”.  Accepting “Tao” means that we are a virtuous in a cosmic sense. Lao Tzu says that virtue is one that occurs when we cease with our efforts by following the natural way through letting go of our own ambitions. It is referring to someone who lives according to “the way”— it is the ultimate virtue simply because it is Tao, the Way it is and should be. For Lao Tzu, “Tao” describes the perfection hiding in the world that forms and leads it in the right way through the help of the “Te” or the virtues we need to adopt to get there. In short, “Te” is the means by which we can live according to “Tao”. 

There are three kinds of people presented in the book : those who follow the Tao as sages, people retreated from this world and looking for the unity with Tao and spiritual perfection, and the noble men who take part in the life of communities and the rulers who are guided as to how to lead their lands in a favorable way. The sage or Sheng Jen is the ideal human being that lives virtuously and act accordingly to “Tao”. According to Lao Tzu, the view that was loved by our modern world would be obscure. He further noted that the sage of the present would know to return to the ways of the sage of the past. The sages are unselfish. Tzu noted that those who strive to get ahead are quickly fatigued and wear themselves down. Impatience and discontent are poison to the mind, therefore to the body as well. The humble ones with modest demands are easily satisfied and therefore soon to be joyous. The unselfish one makes good deeds out of reflex, without thinking according to “the way”. 

Water is the example used by Tzu in the book where it is one of the basic elements of nature that is existing in tremendous abundance. It is an important part of nature; hence, it cannot do wrong. This shows what is natural. 

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