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CHAPTER 2

Lao-tzu: Illuminating the Classic Way

The ancient sages never put their teachings in systematic form. They spoke in paradoxes, for they were afraid of uttering half-truths. They began by talking like fools and ended by making their hearers wise.

—Okakura 1989, 58

Historians have been trying to sort out fact from fiction regarding the development of Taoism. Some consensus exists on how it came to be and who were its pivotal figures, but because of different historical traditions and the nature of Taoism itself, much remains unknown.

Lao-tzu (b. 604 B.C.), the legendary author of the famous little book Tao Te Ching, was a man whose life was shrouded in mystery. According to legend, he was conceived when his mother admired a falling star. He matured in her womb for sixty-two years. One day, she leaned against a plum tree and gave birth to a full-grown man with white hair and long earlobes (a symbol of wisdom). He named himself after the plum tree (Li) and proclaimed his first name to be Ear (Erh). Much of the literature refers to him as Li Erh, or Lao Tan, but more often he is called Lao-tzu, meaning old master.

The earliest mention of Lao-tzu’s biography was in Ssu-ma Ch’ien’s Records of the Historian. Ssu-ma Ch’ien recorded that Lao-tzu was a native of the hamlet of Ch’u-jen, village of Li, in the state of Ch’en, which, in 479 B.C., became part of the state of Ch’u. Both Lao-tzu and Confucius lived in this area.

Lao-tzu worked in the capital city of Loyang as the Keeper of the Archives for the royal court of Chou. This position gave him access to the classic texts that were kept in the royal archives, which was like a library. He was familiar with the lore of the Yellow Emperor (2697 B.C.) and all the great works of the time. He was about fifty years older than Confucius, who was said to have consulted Lao-tzu for information on rituals.

This famous meeting between Lao-tzu and Confucius was described by Ssu-ma Ch’ien. During the encounter, Confucius asked Lao-tzu, “Please instruct me on the proper rites for behavior.”

Lao-tzu answered, “A person may have all the outward appearances of a gentleman when times are good. But if he encounters hard times, he will drift like the wind. A true gentleman hides his wealth; the man of superior virtue has the outward appearance of a fool! Throw away your arrogant rituals! None of them have any relevance to our true self. That is my advice to you!”

Confucius was impressed. He said, “The dragon is beyond my knowledge; it ascends into the heaven on the cloud and the wind. Today I have seen Lao-tzu, and he is like the dragon!” (Kaltenmark 1969, 8).

Tradition holds that Lao-tzu married and had a son named Tsung, who became a well-known soldier. Many later generations trace themselves back to Lao-tzu. This may or may not be accurate, but it attests to the fact that he was given great symbolic importance in Chinese history.

It is believed that Lao-tzu never opened a formal school, but students still came to him and he had a number of loyal disciples. If these statements about Lao-tzu are true, he led a fairly busy and full life.

Eventually, however, Lao-tzu felt frustrated by the moral decay of the society around him. City life did not allow him to live in harmony with his Taoist beliefs. At the ripe old age of 160 years, he decided to leave the city for the unsettled west to live a solitary life as a hermit. He began his trip westward, leaving through the city gate. The gatekeeper recognized him and begged Lao-tzu to leave some record of his wisdom. In response, Lao-tzu sat down and composed the five-thousand-character book now known as the Tao Te Ching. The gatekeeper was so moved by its content that he decided to accompany Lao-tzu. The two disappeared together, never to be seen again. One legend claims that Lao-tzu reappeared in India to convert the Buddha. Another story alleges that Lao-tzu was the Buddha!

Facts fuse with myth regarding Lao-tzu. Researchers through the ages have debated whether he actually wrote the Tao Te Ching, or if he was even a real person. Perhaps it has been difficult to verify the facts of Lao-tzu’s life because of the ancient Chinese belief that it was dishonorable to write one’s autobiography. Better to wait until death and hope that someone would do the honor! Lao-tzu was given a high position by later generations. Some Taoists considered him a deity, and built a temple on the site of his birthplace. In many areas throughout China there are Taoist temples, much like the many Buddhist temples.

Lao-tzu was deeply mystical. He believed that the Tao is the source, the inner axis of the universe. The inner nature of the world is mysterious, prior to name and form. That which can be given a name is not Tao.

TAO TE CHING

No book other than the Bible has been translated and read more than the Tao Te Ching. What draws so many people to this enigmatic book are the deep meanings that can be culled from its profound words. This book expresses the essence of early Taoist philosophy. Composed as short, poetic chapters, the words, written in ancient Chinese characters, are laden with possible interpretations. Thus, each translator becomes interpreter, with a seemingly endless variety of understandings, yet we can hear resonance in themes that echo throughout. Like a haunting melody transposed into different keys, the Taoist principles can be heard again and again.

The Tao Te Ching (Classic of the Way and Its Virtue) is divided into two parts, one on Tao, the mysterious Oneness that guides everyone and everything, and the other on Te, the power that is achieved by following Tao, totaling eighty-two chapters. The Tao Te Ching points to the Taoist Way and shows how following it will lead to a fulfilling life. Lao-tzu chose to express the Tao through ambiguous, poetic verse that could awaken the intuition of Tao in his readers. He did not presume to communicate its concepts through clearly defined words, for words hide the Tao. Inner essences, to Lao-tzu, are neither communicated nor reflected in words. But then, perhaps that is best; when it is hidden, it is revealed. Communication is more than words.

LAO -TZU ’S CONCEPTS

Lao-tzu’s Tao Te Ching expresses concepts that interrelate systematically to give meaning and a basis for understanding. Forces create one another through chain reactions initiated by the energies of opposites. Events in the real world are the result of these forces. Even as a pattern comes into being, it vanishes. Being and nonbeing are only aspects of each other, mutually caused.

Tao is bottomless yet empty, the heart of things, of life. Immortality is found in the emptiness. From the emptiness springs usefulness. The empty space within a cup is what makes a cup useful, for without any empty space within, a cup cannot be filled.

Tao is the source, older than nature. Nature is rooted in Tao. Everything that we know in the world comes from Tao, expressed as yin and yang. Thus, anything we do will invariably create its own opposite. To succeed in life according to Lao-tzu, we should step back and permit this balancing to take place. The situations of life seem to be one way, but they quickly assert their dual nature. The sage encourages contentment by letting go of excess desires. Simplicity leads to freedom from desire.

Wisdom lies in not contending. Sensitive to the inner nature of self and other, Lao-tzu’s Way leads through mystery, by returning to the core of life. When you let be, circumstances stop being a problem. They go through their cycle. Allow matters to take their natural course, and the struggle of resistance lessens. Everything is then taken care of by its own patterns of activation and rest. Yin and yang represent the natural polarity that inevitably arises. By encouraging the natural, the sage permits Tao to become manifest. Thus, wisdom is found in silence, in quiet, in letting be.