What we see is what we get, but we truly have to understand it. In the end, we must accept that mastery and the manifestations mirror each other. Both are needed, whichever one is neglected, both will suffer. The spirit is praised while the body is condemned, even though the body is the vessel of the spirit. In actuality, opposites complement and depend on each other.Īnother example of this concept is that many belief systems think of the body and spirit as separate entities. But, Tao explains we make judgements when calling one opposite good and the other bad. This helps us to get acquainted with the world and understand how it works. Lao Tzu goes on to explain how we tend to think in opposites – high or low, light or dark, hot or cold, and so on. None can exist without the other, this means one isn’t superior or inferior to the other. The surface is just as real as what lies beneath the surface. We don’t see the interior but the surface, it is important to detach ourselves if we wish to see what makes up the world. We, as people, tend to be blinded by the splendor and magnitude of the workings of the way. However, Tao can be understood by observing the different manifestations of the world. Quite simply, Tao was present at the dawn of time and the birth of the universe, yet we can only see it through nature and what has been created (the whole world and all its creatures). The way of Tao and how it works is hidden from people, behind what can be observed. Lao Tzu begins the first chapter by stating that the written word (about Tao) cannot even come close to the real thing. Yet mystery and manifestations arise from the same source Naming is the origin of all particular thingsĬaught in desire, you only see the manifestation The name that can be named is not the eternal name The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao The writer makes use of that translation to discuss the text. The most well-known translation is arguably by Stephen Mitchell. Not each translation does justice to the original text. The book also tells us how to live in the world with goodness and integrity - a fundamental core that seems to be missing in the human race today.īefore we embark on this journey of self-discovery on the path provided to us by Tao Te Ching, it must be remembered that the text is very old. It is an anti-intellectual, anti-authoritarian book which claims that the way of the virtue lies in the simplicity and recognition of a natural as well as a universal force. Perhaps, his most famous work is Tao Te Ching. He is considered the teacher of Confucius.Īlthough Lao Tzu comes across as a hermit who chose to avoid the world with its many complexities, the fact of the matter is he cared deeply for his fellow human beings, enough that he left behind an entire text to help them navigate through the world and come in touch with him. The text is considered to be written by the famous Lao Tzu who is deemed to be an important philosopher in Chinese tradition. It is thought to have originated somewhere around the 4 th-6 th century B.C. Tao Te Ching, commonly translated to The Book of The Way or The Book of The Way and How it Manifests in the world, is a sacred Chinese text.
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