LAO TZU
Tao Te Ching has been translated more than any book in the world, except for the Bible. A man thought to be known as Lao Tzu is credited with its creation. He was probably an older contemporary of Confucius (551-479 B.C.E.), although not authenticated. A position as archive keeper in a small kingdom in China was most likely his role.
But all the information available as to the book’s origin is highly suspect. Even the meaning of Lao Tzu is uncertain (the most likely is: “The Old Master” or the “Old Boy”), but no traces were left, except the book.
TOA TE CHING has 81 verses
TAO TE CHING (pronounced Dow Deh Jing) is written as a volume of 81 verses, each verse has a meaning that is not easily understood by intellect alone. When you think you have followed a poem, you may need to reread it to see if you can feel its meaning rather than logic. The book’s uniqueness resides in a feeling rather than a composition. The mystery of the book cannot be understood by trying to see the magic. Letting go of trying to know the secret will allow you to see it (even this last sentence needs a pause for thought).
The mystery contained within the book about living a life of “knowing” is still relevant today even though the book is over 2,500 years old. In many cases, it is more helpful today because many people live their lives in a state of constant stress and are forced to do well at work or school. Stepping back into yourself is one way to look at life from a different perspective than the one you do now. The Tao takes you to a place where you need to feel and not analyse.
Here is the first verse translation from the Toa Te Ching.
The tao that can be told
Is not the eternal Tao.
The name that can be named
Is not the eternal Name.
The unnameable is the eternally real.
Naming is the origin
of all particular things.
Free from desire, you realise the mystery.
Caught in desire, you see only the manifestations.
Yet mystery and manifestations
arise from the same source.
This source is called darkness.
Darkness within darkness.
The gateway to all understanding.
What is Tao?
First, let us look at what is the Tao and what the words symbolise. The central figure, the Master, lives in harmony with the Tao, the universe’s essence. An ether or energy force holds our world together. Since time began, billions of stars and planets in the universe were moving in synchronicity every day of the week. Now think of the Wi-Fi or radio signals that we use every day and cannot see, but we know they are there.
You cannot see the message, but you know it is there because you can hear or see something through a device coming from somewhere, possibly many thousands of miles away. Now visualise an energy force that binds us all together and moves in ways we cannot understand. That is the Tao. The movement of one planet affects every other planet, including the occupants, i.e. people. It is a force that humankind has not fully understood nor has any control over.
The words of Tao
First, let us look at what is the Tao and what the words symbolise. The central figure, the Master, lives in harmony with the Tao, the universe’s essence. An ether or energy force holds our world together. Since time began, billions of stars and planets in the universe were moving in synchronicity every day of the week. Now think of the Wi-Fi or radio signals that we use every day and cannot see, but we know they are there.
You cannot see the message, but you know it is there because you can hear or see something through a device coming from somewhere, possibly many thousands of miles away. Now visualise an energy force that binds us all together and moves in ways we cannot understand. That is the Tao. The movement of one planet affects every other planet, including the occupants, i.e. people. It is a force that humankind has not fully understood nor has any control over.
Yin and Yang
“Tao is both named and nameless”; To the Western intellect, this seems paradoxical, which it is! Paradoxical thinking is part of Eastern concepts. Such as Yin and Yang, where things are both this and that. Ancient Chinese philosophy has an idea called Yin and Yang or dualism, which describes what appears to be the opposite of a contrary force.
In the West, we tend to view opposites as incompatible and contradicting each other. The Tao Te Ching asks that we change our ingrained ways of thinking and see how our lives change as a result. One way in which we can practice paradoxical thinking is by recognising that wanting and allowing are different and the same.
Wanting is the physical expression of creating conditions that allow us to be receptive; that is, it is in-the-world preparation for receiving. According to Lao-tzu, wanting to know or see the Tao’s mystery will reveal evidence of it in various manifestations, but not the mystery itself. From this point of desiring, the flowering of the mysterious Tao grows. It is as if wanting transforms into effortless allowing. Desiring, one sees the manifestations; desire less, one can see the mystery itself.
Get tuned into wanting and desiring
Once we get tuned in to what Lao-tzu is telling us, it becomes apparent that our world produces abundant examples of this paradoxical process. Think of gardening and desiring those succulent homegrown vegetables or beautiful roses: Allowing them to grow is what happens. Now think of the things in life that involve wanting and how they differ from allowing: Wanting to lose weight, for example, rather than losing weight. In this reference to the Tao, desire less means trusting, permitting, and allowing. Desire is both the beginning and the ground of desire-less, yet wanting is also the beginning and the field of allowing. They are the same, and they are different.
Be aware of times when you can feel your body in a state of limbo between desiring and allowing (or trying and doing). Trying to drive a car is the same as, and different from, driving the car. Once the activity has been desired and learned, there is a time when allowing is what you do. The point here is to recognise the difference in your body between trying and allowing and then become aware of the effortless sensation of allowing.