Tao Te Ching, by Lao Tsu

Tao Te Ching, by Lao Tsu

What is "Tao"?

The idea of Tao
Common dictionary translations of Tao include: road, path, way, means, doctrine. In the Tao Tee Ching, it is generally used to indicate the unseen, underlying law of the universe from which all other principles and phenomena proceed. It is described as unnamable, unfathomable and inexhaustible. Taoists attempt to be one with this principle.

Most of the Tao Te Ching describes the Tao and its manifestations so this is the best source for more detail. Since it cannot be understood on a merely intellectual level, it is best to feel the words in the Tao as well as understand them. Don't forget that the Tao is a poem. It even rhymes in many parts in the original Chinese. This may have been to make it easy to remember for illiterate people and it may also have been to help us feel the meaning rather than seek to intellectualize it.

In China, (Tao) is pronounced "dow", as in Dow Jones Index and "doe" in Japanese. You have probably heard of it already in words like :
Judo - "soft way"
Kendo - "sword way"
Karate - do - "empty hand way"

Eastern, Western, Taoist Logic

Western society strives to find "the truth," while Eastern society is more interested in balance. Westerners put more stock in individual rights; Easterners in social responsibility.

The symbol of the Tao (above) is an affront to the idea of truth in the common Western way of thinking. White lies inside black, black inside white. They are part of one another, constantly changing (indicated by the swirling shape), interdependent. There is no clear truth and therefore opinions have little value.

A Western version might look more like this: O O White circle - black circle. Static, separate. It is hard to say how much Eastern thinking was influenced by the Tao and how much the Tao was a product of a pre-existing thought.

Science
In the last 40 years, scientists have become increasingly aware of the idea of uncertainty. Chaos Theory, Heisenberg's uncertainty principle and Fuzzy Logic all helped destroy the earlier mechanistic view of the universe, that God created a universe that ran on tightly define principles that could be measured and predicted by science.

Your Tao Tr Ching Story
HA English 9
OReilly
45 points

In groups of 2-4:
Select a poem from the Tao Te Ching
Write a short story or parable in which the moral or theme of the story reflects and supports the poem you selected
Illustrate your story
Create a poster with your story and the illustration

5 points________ Include the poem on the front of your poster.
15 points________ Include your story on the front of your poster. Your story uses proper grammar, punctuation, and mechanics, and your story supports and illustrates the Tao Te Ching poem
10 points________Include your gorgeous and appropriate illustration on the front of your poster
5 points________Include your full names and period number on the front of your poster
5 points________ Include this rubric with your full names and period number lightly taped on the BACK of your poster
5 points ________ Your poster is gorgeous. Everything is well constructed and properly glued down.

Excerpts from Tao Te Ching:

Inflexible soldiers cannot win (a victory).
And the hardest trees are readiest for an axe to chop them down
Tough guys sink to the bottom, while
Flexible people rise to the top.

-Lao Tzu



If you don't trust people,
people will not trust you.

-Lao Tzu

Clay walls are moulded into a pot,
but the usefulness of the pot lies in its emptiness.

-Lao Tzu

A good door is locked without bolt or bar, but cannot be opened.
Good binding has no rope or knots, yet cannot be untied.

-Lao Tz

Great achievement looks incomplete, yet it works perfectly.
Great abundance looks like emptiness, yet its supply is never exhausted.

-Lao Tz

The softest thing can overcome the hardest,
Formless, it can enter where there are no gaps or space.
-Lao Tzu

Heaven and Earth last and last.
Why do they last so long?
Because they are not self-serving!
-Lao Tzu

Military strategists have a saying:
"Rather than act like the lord of the manor,
I would rather behave like a guest.
Rather than advance an inch,
I would rather retreat a foot."

The point of the saying is that you should:
Advance upon them without going forward
Seize their property without even bearing arms.
Attack where there is no enemy.
Prevail upon them without weapons.

-Lao Tz

Just as activity beats the cold,
and inactivity (stillness) beats the heat,
Purity and stillness can heal the world.

-Lao Tzu



A skilful soldier is not militaristic.
A skilful soldier does not get angry.
They win but do not seek to conquer.
Such capable people are humble.

-Lao Tzu

Deal with difficult tasks while they are easy.
Act on large issues while they are small.

-Lao Tzu

Great or small,
Frequent or rare,
respond to anger with virtue.
-Lao Tzu

When you value rare things highly,
you turn honest people into thieves.

If you show people exciting things,
you will make them covetous and greedy.

-Lao Tzu

If the people are free of avarice and desire,
even the most cunning grifter has no opportunity to corrupt them.

-Lao Tzu

Intelligent people know others.
Enlightened people know themselves.

You can conquer others with power,
But it takes true strength to conquer yourself.

-Lao Tzu

If you stand on tiptoe, you'll be unsteady.
If you run with long strides you can't keep it up.
If you show off, no one will be impressed.

-Lao Tzu

Even a nine-storied terrace began with a single basket of dirt.
Even a 1,000 mile journey began as a single step.


In ancient times there were great Taoist Sages.
Their way of living was so deep, so subtle,
it cannot be directly explained.
Instead, here is how they looked . . .

. . . Polite, as if they were always a guest
Yielding, like ice that is on the verge of melting
Sincere, like an uncut block of wood
Receptive, like a valley
Opaque, like muddy water

-Lao Tzu


Heaven and earth are like a set of bellows.
Although empty, they are endlessly productive.
The more you work them, the more they produce.
The mouth, on the other hand, becomes exhausted if you talk too much.
Better to keep your thoughts inside you.

-Lao Tzu


Rare goods are merely weights that slow you down.

-Lao Tzu



A virtuous person promotes agreement.
A person without virtue promotes blame.

-Lao Tzu


Heaven and Earth last and last.
Why do they last so long?
Because they are not self-serving!

-Lao Tzu


We desire to understand the world by giving names to the things we see,
but these things are only the effects of something subtle.

When we see beyond the desire to use names,
we can sense the nameless cause of these effects.

-Lao Tzu

Great or small,
Frequent or rare,
respond to anger with virtue.

-Lao Tzu

If you don’t trust people, people will not trust you.

-Lao Tzu


Be the leader, not the Lord.
This is the Way of Virtue (Te).

-Lao Tzu


If you stand on tiptoe, you'll be unsteady.
If you run with long strides you can't keep it up.
If you show off, no one will be impressed.

-Lao Tzu

Self-righteous people will be disrespected.
Self-centred people will be unloved.
Glory seekers don't attract followers.

-Lao Tzu

Nature rarely speaks.
A whirlwind doesn't even last a whole morning.
A rainstorm starts and ends in a single day.

Such things are made by heaven and earth.
If heaven and earth can't make a storm last,
how can you?

-Lao Tzu

No disaster is worse than being discontented.
No omen (for your future) worse than being greedy.
Yet, if you can find (true) contentment, it will last forever.

-Lao Tzu