Authors born between
1000 and 500 BCE
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Contents
Introduction
Origination
The Unvarying Way
Personal
Conduct
Gentleness ad Frugality
Tranquility and Clarity
Government
Renouncing Ambition
War
Sources
Lao Tzu may have lived between 571 and 490 BCE. His existence and dates are somewhat uncertain. Probably
at some time in the second or third century BCE a collection of writings
called the Tao Te Ching appeared,
attributed to Lao Tzu. This name means the old master, and there is little
historical evidence to further identify the author. Ssu-ma Ch’ien, the Grand
Historian of China, born in 145 BCE gives three different accounts of Lao Tzu’s
identity, without being able to decide which one if any is correct. There is reason to suppose, in fact, that the Tao Te Ching is an anthology of
Taoist ideas from various periods in Chinese history.
The
writings, however, have a special place in the development of ideas, as they
provided an explanation of the origin of the universe free of divine
intervention. For Lao Tzu, the universe emerges out of nothing in accordance
with the Tao or unvarying way. This is a foreshadowing of current theories
that see the universe created by a quantum fluctuation in the vacuum or as a
random event in the infinitesimal foam of space-time. Lao Tzu has the
same relationship to such theories as Democritus has to atomic theory—both
are at the starting point of a long and complex development that leads to
modern ideas.
An
interpretation of the gnomic statements that Lao Tzu makes about the unvarying
way is that it is the underlying law that makes the universe lawful. Under the
action of this law, the universe exists as a coherent, evolving entity rather
than as a nonsensical, transient freak. The same law continues to act in the
biological realm. The Taoist viewpoint is that one should live in conformance
with this law, in conformance with the harmony of nature.
On this basis, Lao Tzu is able to develop
rules for the conduct of life and government from the same concept of the
unvarying way as gives rise to the creation of the world.
The Taoist seeks to live in harmony with nature and to
avoid actions contrary to the unvarying way. The unvarying way is
the way things are.
The
logical simplicity of this approach is contrasted by the ecumenical way in
which different ideas are juxtaposed in what appears to be a somewhat
arbitrary sequence. People who love the Tao Te Ching stoutly defend its
sequence of chapters in all of their idiosyncrasies. And, in fact, there are
said to be over fifty translations into English that follow that sequence. The
variances between these translations are extensive and indicate the cryptic nature of
the brief groups of Chinese ideograms that are being translated. The sequence
has been changed in the following extracts to develop logical groupings.
The following extracts contain
selections on origins, personal conduct, government, and war to be found in the Tao Te Ching.
There was something undefined and complete, before heaven and earth.
How still it was and formless, standing alone, and undergoing no
change, reaching everywhere and in no danger of being exhausted!
Having no name, it is the originator of heaven and earth; gaining a
name it becomes the mother of all things.
Beneath these two aspects all is the same, even as things and their
names multiply. Put together, we see the mystery they hold: mystery wrapped up
in mystery—the subtle gateway.
I do not know its name, so I speak of it as the unvarying way (the Tao).
Making a further effort to label it, I call it great.
The unvarying way that can be preached is not the enduring and
unchanging way. The name that can
be named is not the enduring and unchanging name.
We look at it, and we do not see it, and we name it 'the invisible.'
We listen to it, and we do not hear it, and we name it 'the inaudible.'
We try to grasp it, and do not get hold of it, and we name it 'the
intangible.' With these three
qualities, it cannot be made the subject of description; blended together they
are a unity.
The unvarying way is all pervading, it may be found on the left or the
right.
The unvarying way is hidden, and has no name; but it is the way things
are, which is skillful at imparting to all things what they need to make them
complete.
All things depend on it and it does not desert them.
Ambitionless, it may be found in the smallest things.
It clothes all things, but does not act as a master. Always without
desire, it may be called insignificant. All things return to it: it may be
named great.
Heaven and earth under its guidance unite together and send down the
sweet dew, which, without the directions of men, reaches equally everywhere as
of its own accord.
Likewise, the relation of the unvarying way to all the world is like
that of the great rivers and seas to the streams from the valleys.
There is nothing in the world more soft and weak than water, and yet
there is nothing better for attacking things that are firm and strong. There
is nothing so effectual for causing change.
Water has the highest excellence.
It benefits all things, and occupies without striving the low place
which all men dislike. Hence it
is close to the way things are.
The unvarying way relies on non-action, and so there is nothing which
it does not do.
The way things are is to act without thinking of acting; to conduct
affairs without feeling the trouble of them; to taste without consuming; it
considers what is small as great, and a few as many; and it recompenses injury
with kindness.
The unvarying way moves by contraries, and weakness marks the course of
its action.
As soon as the way is expressed in a creative act, it has a name.
When it once has that name, men can know how to come into equilibrium
with it. When they know how to
come to equilibrium, they can be free from risk of failure and error.
The unvarying way which originated everything under the sky can thus be
considered the mother of all. To know the mother is to know the child. When
the child reveres the qualities of the mother that he retains, he will be free
of peril to the end of his life.
He who has in himself abundantly the attributes of the unvarying way is
like an infant. Poisonous insects
will not sting him; fierce beasts will not seize him; birds of prey will not
strike him.
An infant's bones are weak and its sinews soft, but yet its grasp is
firm. It knows nothing yet of the
coming together of male and female, and yet its virility may be roused: though
small, it is complete. All day
long it will cry without its throat becoming hoarse—showing the harmony in
its constitution.
This harmony points to the unvarying way, knowledge of which leads to
enlightenment. Forcing life is bad; too much effort strains the breath and
weakens the body.
Achieve male strength yet retain female receptiveness: as many rivulets
flow to one stream, so all will come to him. Thus he retains constant
excellence, with the simplicity and purity of a child. Knowing how brightness
attracts attention, he always keeps within the shadows, displaying humility to
all beneath the sky. In unchanging excellence he does not deviate from the
natural way. He who knows how glory shines, yet is humble—see how all men
come to him. With unchanging excellence he is as natural as uncarved wood.
There is nothing in the world more soft and weak than water, and yet
there is nothing better for attacking things that are firm and strong. There
is nothing so effectual for causing change.
When things have become strong, they begin to grow old, which may be
said to be contrary to the unvarying way.
Whatever is contrary to
the unvarying way soon ends.
Man at his birth is soft and weak; at his death, stiff and hard. So it is with all things.
Trees and plants, in their early growth, are soft and supple; at their
death, dry and withered.
He who relies on the strength of his forces does not conquer: a tree
which is strong and stretches out broadly, invites destruction.
Therefore the firm and strong occupy a lower place than the soft and
weak.
When the intelligence and emotions are held together in one embrace,
they can be kept from separating. When
one gives undivided attention to the breath, and brings it to the utmost
degree of pliancy, he can become as tender as a child.
When he has cleansed his imagination, his insight becomes without a
flaw.
But I have three precious things which I prize and hold fast. The first is gentleness; the second is frugality; and the
third is shrinking from taking precedence of others.
With gentleness I can be bold; with frugality I can be liberal;
shrinking from taking precedence of others, I can become the highest of men.
Today people give up gentleness and are all for being bold; they give
up frugality, and are all for being liberal; they flee the hindmost place, and
seek only to be foremost—all of which are fatal.
He who knows other men is discerning; he who knows himself is
intelligent. He who overcomes
others is strong; he who overcomes himself is mighty. He who is satisfied with
his lot is rich; he who acts firmly has will.
There is no guilt greater than to harbor desire; no calamity greater
than to be discontented with one's lot; no fault greater than desire for
acquisitions. Therefore
contentment with sufficiency is an enduring and unchanging contentment.
Fame or life, which do you hold more dear? Life or wealth, which would
you hold on to? Gain one and lose the other—which brings more sorrow and
pain?
Who cleaves to fame loses what is greater; who hoards much loses much.
Who is content has no fear of shame. Who knows when to stop incurs no
harm. Free from such danger, life can be long.
Silent pauses mark spontaneity in nature.
A violent wind does not last for a whole morning; a sudden rain does
not last for the whole day. To
whom is it that these two things are owing?
To heaven and earth. If
heaven and earth cannot make such spasmodic actions last long, how much less
can man!
The state of vacancy should be brought to the utmost degree, and that
of stillness guarded with unwearying vigor.
All things come into being, and then we see them return to their
original state. When vegetation
has flourished, we see it return to its root.
This returning to their root is what we call tranquility; and that
tranquility may be called fulfilling their natural end. That fulfillment we
may can the unchanging way.
To know the unchanging way is to be enlightened; not to know it leads
to wild movements and evil outcomes. The
knowledge of that unchanging rule produces capaciousness and forbearance, and
a community of feeling with all things. From this feeling comes a power that
is at one with nature. In that
harmony with nature he possesses the unvarying way.
Possessed of the unvarying way, he endures long; and to the end of his
bodily life is exempt from danger of decay.
Let him keep his senses quiet, and shut up the doorways to desire, and
all his life he will be exempt from laborious exertion. Let him revel in the
senses and become breathless in the promotion of his affairs, and all his life
there will be no safety for him.
Who uses well his outward vision illuminates his inward vision, warding off danger
and holding on to the unchanging.
The perception of small things is the secret of clarity; guarding of
what is soft and tender is the secret of strength.
Without going outside his door, one may understand all that takes place
under the sky; without looking out from his window, one may perceive the
unvarying way of the heavens. The
farther one travels, the less one knows.
Men of the highest type, when they hear about the unvarying way,
earnestly carry it into practice. Men
of the middle type, when they have heard about it, seem now to keep it,
now to lose it. Men of the lowest type, when they have heard about it,
laugh greatly at it. If they did
not laugh, it would not be fit to be the unvarying way.
When one with the highest excellence does not wrangle about his low
position, no one finds fault with him.
By being lower, rivers and seas are able to receive the homage and
tribute of all the valley streams—thus they rule over them all.
So it is that a wise leader, wishing to be above men, puts himself by his words below them, and, wishing to be before them, follows them.
The earliest people did not know that there were rulers.
In the next age they loved them and praised them.
In the next, they feared them; in the next they despised them. When
rulers had no faith in the unvarying way, the people had no faith in the
rulers.
How deferential the earliest rulers appeared, showing the importance
they set on their words! Yet their work was done and their undertakings were
successful, while the people all said, "We did it ourselves!"
A wise leader has said, "I will not try to change things, and the
people will be transformed by themselves; I will be fond of tranquility, and
the people will by themselves become correct.
I will not pursue riches, and the people will by themselves become
rich; I will manifest no ambition, and the people will become as natural as
uncarved wood"
A wise leader grasps humility, and manifests it to all the world. Free from self display, he is conspicuous; free from
self-assertion, he is distinguished; free from boasting about himself, he is
valued greatly; free from self-complacency, he acquires superiority.
Free from striving ambition, he finds none strives against him.
Thus a wise leader puts his own person last, and yet it is found in the
foremost place; he treats his person as if it were foreign to him, and yet
that person is preserved. Is it
not because he has no personal and private ends, that such ends are therefore
realized?
Seize power and try to manipulate people, you will not succeed. People have their own way and cannot be manipulated.
What you attempt to seize, you destroy; what you attempt to grab, you
lose.
Renounce our learning and discard our wisdom, the people will benefit a
hundredfold. Renounce our
benevolence and discard our righteousness, the people will again become filial
and kindly. Renounce our
stratagems and discard our scheming for gain, there will be no thieves nor
robbers.
To not value and employ men of superior ability keeps people from
rivalry among themselves; not to prize expensive possessions keeps them from
becoming thieves; not to excite their desires is to keep their minds from
disorder.
Therefore the wise leader empties their minds of ambition, fills their
bellies, tempers their desires, and strengthens their bones.
When people do not fear death, why try to frighten them with death?
If people are in awe of death, and those who do wrong are put to death,
who would dare take up that task ?
Nature presides over the delivery of death.
He who would inflict death in place of nature may be described as
hacking at wood in the room of a skilled carpenter.
One seldom seizes the occupation of a skilled carpenter without cutting
one's own hands!
When the people do not fear what they ought to fear, their greatest
dread will descend on them.
There is no calamity greater than lightly engaging in war.
To do that is to risk losing all that is precious. Thus it is that when opposing weapons clash, he who deplores it
conquers.
He who would assist a leader of men in harmony with the unvarying way
will not advise mastery by force of arms.
Such a course is sure to bring retribution.
A master of the art of war has said, "I do not dare to host
aggression; I seek the hospitality of defense.
I do not dare to advance an inch; I prefer to retire a foot." This is called gaining ground without advancing, baring the
muscles without exposing them, flourishing a
weapon one does not have; advancing against the enemy in the direction
of no-enemy.
Skilled in the unvarying way, a wise leader is not the aggressor;
skilled in warfare, he is cool headed; a victor, he does not humiliate his
foe; commanding men, he humbly applies his art. In not contending lies his
strength. By the efforts of others, his work is carried out, following the
unvarying way of the heavens.
A skillful leader strikes a decisive blow and stops.
He does not further assert his mastery.
He will strike the blow but not follow this with arrogance.
He strikes as a matter of necessity, not from a wish for mastery.
Wherever an army camps, briars and thorns spring up.
When an army passes, famine will follow.
Now weapons, however beautiful, are instruments of evil omen—hateful,
it may be said, to all creatures. Therefore
they who follow the unvarying way do not like to employ them.
As instruments of evil omen, those sharp weapons are not the
instruments of the superior man—he uses them only on the compulsion of
necessity. Calm and repose are
what he prizes; victory by force of arms is to him undesirable.
To consider this desirable would be to delight in the slaughter of men;
and he who delights in the slaughter of men cannot get his will in the world.
On occasions of festivity to be on the left hand is the prized
position; on occasions of mourning, the right hand.
The lesser army officer has his place on the left; the commander in
chief has his on the right—the place of mourning.
He who has killed multitudes of men should weep for them with the
bitterest grief; so the victor in battle has the place of mourning. The
superior man ordinarily considers the left hand the most honorable place, but
in time of war the right hand.
Adapted
from the text of James Legge, available via FTP from Project Gutenberg in
electronic form. Other sources have been consulted to shed further light on
what the original text may have been saying, because there are significant differences
in the translations. For example, one may say that for the people, the sage is
like a baby; the same text may be translated by another to say that the people
are like a baby to the sage. Given these differences, it is important to
understand the viewpoint of the person doing the translation. One can expect
that passages translated by a Buddhist will often differ from those
translated by a Christian, that of a Taoist from that of a Confucian. The
translations also differ according to the poetic sensitivities of the
translator. If one comes to the Tao Te Ching
as an English reader, one needs to read a variety of translations if one is to
approach the original meaning of the text.
The
Tao The King by Lao-Tse, translated
by James Legge. This Victorian translation is wordy as Legge tries to include
the many nuances that the original text may have. It also has some doggerel
passages as Legge attempts to translate Chinese verse into English verse. Most
other translators do not try to do this. It is a valuable text to compare
against some of the more freewheeling translations.
Lao
Tzu —Tao Te Ching, translated
with an introduction by D. C. Lau. Penguin Books, London, England, 1963. I
found this an excellent translation. The author has a scholarly knowledge of
Chinese and presents a translation in clear simple English. Also an
excellent introduction.
Lao
Tzu —Tao Te Ching, translated with
an introduction and commentary by
Robert G. Hendricks. Ballantine Books, New York, 1989. This translation makes
use of texts of the Tao Te Ching that were discovered in Hunan Province in 1973. The translation has a delightful flow
to it, even though it is a line-for-line translation. In addition, it provides
the complete Chinese text and a commentary.
Tao-tech-king,
translated by Bhikshu Wai-tao and Dwight Goddard. In A
Buddhist Bible, edited by Dwight Goddard, E. P. Duton & Co., Inc.,
1938. This is an interpretive translation which is very much more wordy than
the cryptic Chinese text. Bhikshu Wai-Tao is a member of the Taoist-Buddhist
Brotherhood and has made use of the works of Taoist commentaries and living
Taoist masters. It therefore provides a valuable counterbalance for
translations made by a Confucian or a Christian.
Tao
Te Ching, translated by Stephen
Addis and Stanley Lombardo. Hackett Publishing Company, Indianapolis, 1993.
This is the tersest of the translations, as it seeks to emulate the brevity of
the Chinese text. It reads in a charming way and is provided with Chinese
ideograms for selected lines, together with a glossary of the Chinese words
involved.
Tao
Te Ching, translation with
commentary by Ellen M. Chen. Paragon House, New York, 1989. This recent
translation treats the Tao Te Ching
as a religious text that carries humanity back to its roots in nature. There
is an extensive introduction and commentary. While the author tries to be
helpful be inserting key Chinese words into the text next to their
translation, this interferes with what would otherwise be smooth reading.
The
Way And Its Power, translation and
introduction by Arthur Waley. Grove Press, New York, 1958. This has an
introduction that sets the historical scene for the emergence of Taoist
philosophy and religion. The translation is a little dry, but is always
interesting for the shade of difference it presents in relation to other
translations. There are helpful footnotes.
Lao
Tzu — Tao Te Ching, translation by Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English, Wildwood House Ltd, London, 1973. This is a
large, beautiful book in which every translated chapter is accompanied by its
Chinese text and by splendid illustrations reflecting the pre-occupation with
nature found in the text. The translation reads well and the book is a delight
to browse through.
A
Source Book In Chinese Philosophy,
translated and compiled by Wing-Tsit Chan. Princeton University Press,
Princeton, New Jersey, 1963. This is an excellent review of the whole of
Chinese philosophy that puts the Tao Te Ching in perspective with other
philosophies of its time. There is a clear and succinct translation of the Tao
Te Ching, which has also been published separately as The
Way of Lao Tzu: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1963.
Web
Site: Tao
Te Ching translated by Charles Muller, 1991,1997.
Selection and adaptation Copyright © Rex Pay 2000