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The
story of Lao Tzu and the Tao te Ching
As the
old story goes, the wise man Lao Tzu was once halted on his travels
by a customs official, who demanded he declare his items of value. Laotze
replied that he had only one thing of value- his wisdom. The official
pondered this and decided that as payment, Laotze should write down
his wisdom. The result was the Tao te Ching, or, "The way and its
power," a profound, 81 chapter tractate that is the source of Taoism.
The Tao
te Ching describes the Tao, or Way. The first
verse contains a seeming contradiction:
"The
Tao that can be followed is not the eternal Tao.
The name that can be named is not the eternal name."
The Tao
is the living source, the ineffable from which all creation springs…it
is the totality of the infinite, which cannot be described in words.
Naming or describing is always a limiting act, therefore, that which
is limitless cannot be named or described. The tao may only be understood
in its manifestation:
"The
nameless is the origin of heaven and earth
While naming is the origin of the myriad things."
The Tao,
in order ot manifest, becomes chi, literally, "breath." In
Taoist cosmology, this point of first emanation, or singularity, is
represented by "Yuanshi Tianzun", the Supreme one. This energy
in turn brings forth the second and third complementary forces, the
yin and yang- dual concepts of light and darkness, matter and energy,
male and female. All of manifest creation is permeated by and powered
by the interplay of these conflicting forces. This conflict gives rise
to ever unfolding creation, and maintains the equilibrium of the universe.
This interplay brings about the Myriad things:
"The
Tao produced One; One produced Two; Two produced Three;
Three produced All things."
The conflict
between the yin and yang energies are essential to existence, the apprehension
of one necessarily brings the other into being:
"All
in the world recognize the beautiful as beautiful.
Herein lies ugliness.
All recognize the good as good.
Herein lies evil."
All of
human understanding involves discernment of one thing from another;
however, the Tao cannot be understood as parts, it transcends ordinary
human understanding.
The goal
of Taoism is union with the Tao, this is accomplished via wu-wei - nonaction.
The doctrine of wu-wei is that of detachment from the world. One becomes
an observer of one's own existence; this in turn enables one to overcome
worldly desires and attachments. If one sees the universe as his home,
one no longer needs material possesions. If one is immortal, one does
not need religion. One who is a god need not seek status. Thus fear,
hatred, jealousy, etc., are vanquished, and immortality is attained.
This attainment has five levels:
Kaishen-
spirits seeking a place
Renshen- humans who have overcome weakness
Daishen- humans who have achieved physical immortality
Shenxian- those who have reached the abode of the immortals
Tianxian- those who have attained heavenly immortality
The Tianshen
are the equivalent of gods, and in this way many gods from other Asian
traditions have been easily absorbed into Taoism.
Central
to Taoist practice is the control of chi, which brings one into alignment
with the Tao. Mastery of Chi is attained through breathing techniques,
special diet and exercise, moral behavior, sexual rituals,meditation,
and alchemy. There are two main schools of Taoism: Tao-Chia, or philosophical
Taoism, and Tao-Chiao, religious Taoism. Much of the canonical works
and varied schools belong to Tao-chia.
Also recommended:
The
I Ching, or Book of Changes
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