The Simple Way of Lao Tzu

The Tao-Te Canon. (Introduction) Edited by Steven Ericsson Zenith Based on the 1924 publication by The Shrine of Wisdom. Proemial. At the same time as Pythagoras was unfolding to his disciples the Pythagoric Path to God, and Buddha was expounding the Dharma, or law, in India, there was a third Venerable Master teaching spiritual truth in China. He was Lao Tzu, and his teaching is called "Tao-Te Ching" Lao Tzu was born in the year 604 BC, and his suggested commemoration-day is 24th March. His name means "old-young," and he has been called: "The Old Philosopher." He was himself a symbol of that Mysterious Virtue and Supernal Simplicity belonging to the servant of Tao, of which his writings speak. He was a messenger of Peace, of Simplicity, of Humility: The Teachings of Lao Tzu though so ancient, are still quite new, and even modern. In it are solutions to almost all the principal problems of the present day. The wonderful freshness of the ideas propounded by the Old Philosopher is a striking testimony that they are founded upon unchanging Truth: for, although twenty-five centuries have elapsed since they first held the minds of men, they are still today regarded as a corpus of thoughts of the highest excellence and profoundest significance. "Tao-Te Ching" was Lao Tzu's only work, and might never have been written but for his disciple Yin Hsi, who urged him to leave some evidence of his teaching, when, at the end of his mission, Lao Tzu was on his way to the Western Haven, the Abode of Peace. There in the solitude and stillness of the mountain pass called Kwan Yin, he wrote his "Simple Way" which breathes the influence of the spirit of that valley: speaking of the Ineffable Source: and the Fathomless Deep. "Tao" is the Absolute, the Unmanifest ONE. "Te" is the Manifestation of Tao in the objective world-process. "Ching" means simply "classic" or "canon." The complete work "Tao-Te Ching" consists of about 5,000 Chinese characters , contained in 81 short chapters, divided into two sections. In its original form it possesses a peculiar and distinctive charm, a rhythm of its own, which cannot be reproduced by a literal translation into English. It is only possible to catch glimpses of this spirit - this rhythm of life - by reflection on the words which veil and yet at the same time partially reveal it. The translations which follows is a very free one, and differs from the other obtainable versions, as they in turn differ from each other. TAO. The word Tao cannot be represented by any single term since it has many aspects. Fundamentally, there are four distinct senses in which it can be understood. Tao is the Supreme, the Absolute. Tao is the All-Creative. Tao is the Way. Tao is the Root, the Source. Tao is inexpressible, yet is ever being expressed. Tao is the Plenum, and yet also the void. Tao is not to be seen, yet shines through all that is. Tao is tranquil and still, yet the source of never-ending activity. Tao is the supreme Paradox, the Infinite Truth which never can be uttered.   TEH. Teh like Tao, cannot be translated by any single term. If Tao is the Supreme Ultimate, the Unmanifested Absolute; then Teh is the manifestation of Tao, the Universal Expression of Unity. If Tao is the Ideal, all-creative; then Teh is the Actualization of Tao, the Objective World-Process, the Active-Potentiality, the Possible, the unfolding of Tao. If Tao is Divine Providence, the Way of the Universe, the Giver of Grace; then Teh is the Highest Excellence, the Grace, the Virtue, the Balance of Tao made Manifest, - the Universal Nourisher. If Tao is the ultimate Goal, the Root and final Possession; then Teh is the Realization of Tao, the Flower of Tao, the Universal Order, Spiritual Insight and Interior Self-realization. Yang and Yin. The rhythm of Life, which pulsates through the utterances of Lao Tzu, is the action of complementary principles. In the "Tao-Te Canon" there is much suggestive of the ebb and the flow, the action and inter-action of life and death, of existence and non-existence, of the higher and the lower, of the inner and the outer, of the strong and the weak, of the positive and negative, of the full and the empty, of expansion and contraction, of the Universe and our World. But this does not imply dualism, in the conventional sense, because of the Unity of TAO. However, to understand the significance of the basic principles may lead to a fuller realization of the meaning of what only a paradox can contain. Yang and Yin constitute the Primal forces from which the idea of unity proceeds. The Manifested implies the Unmanifested: even as existence implies non-existence. This is because all things are encompassed by Tao, the One Absolute. Even as Tao is in and behind and above all existing things, so also are Yang and Yin. From Yang is derived the idea of their existence: from Yin is the idea of their non-existence. From Yang is their activity: from Yin their passivity. From Yang is their power to give: from Yin their power to receive. In Yang is their root form or paradigm and reason of existence: in Yin is their root substance, or primal matter and basis of existence. The active composite of Yang and Yin is the efficient cause from which all things spring.