Tao

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu can be translated as The Book of the Immanence of the Way or The Book of the Way and of How It Manifests Itself. Lao Tzu, author of the book, can also be known as “The Master”. He has a form of government planned and wishes to everyone follows and support this plan. His main goal is simplicity and naturalness. When he thinks of a way to govern someone it comes to his mind the idea that the more rules and obligation you put to a person, the less they will do it. He just wants to have good relationship with his people and let them be happy and free. “See the world as your self. Have faith in the way things are. Love the world as your self; then you can care for all things” (13). Lao Tzu is trying to show us to see the…

Many of the poems from the Tao Te Ching and the Hua Hu Jing touch on the practice of wuwei. There can actually be examples of all three, humility, compassion and frugality found with in some of them. A lot of these concepts can come across as deep and cryptic, but when you get down to it and begin to understand them and break them down, they can be summed up to the three basic teachings stated above. Chapter two of the Tao Te Ching is among the chapters that stood out to me the most. I found…

“When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete, everyone will respect you.” (Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching.) This quote about Taoism not only describes how I feel about Taoism but about life in general. The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff has helped me better understand the principles of Taoism. I enjoy reading this book because it helps to further understand why it is important to just be yourself and not try to conform to what society wants or expects you to be. The two topics I…

Under constant pressure striving for perfection, modern Americans rarely stop to evaluate the values they deem important in life today. Americans forget what they as an individual want out of life because of the chaos and stress experienced in the world around them. Western civilization rarely stops to think of the important values in life or actions perpetrated before execution. American’s base this conduct from the mindset of continual growth; always pressing to keep moving forward in life…

statement a feeling of finality, as if the idea that there will always be a distinct detachment from those who are and those who don’t. Additionally, phrases like “That’s all there is to it”, are usually used after explaining a simple or easy concept, but here is forces a simplistic aspect to almost dumb down the complexity of what is actually being said. Milne uses the same phrase throughout the book as a method to disguise and weave in the bigger and deeper messages throughout the book. The…

balance of the natural order of all that is. In the ‘Tao Te Ching’, 6th century B.C. Chinese philosopher, Lao Tzu, introduces the Tao as the undefinable inherent truth; the key to unlocking the ebb and flow of a joyous nonresistant life; to the bewilderment of those who choose to suffer the endless cycle of anxiety, worry and fear. Through this prodigious poetic masterpiece, Tzu introduces the world to his philosophies and births one of the worlds most impactful spiritual movements, Taoism. A…

In Chapter Three of Tao te Ching, Lao-Tzu expresses his wariness for change. He believes that interfering with the present status of the nature can be detrimental to the total well-being of this universe. According to Tzu, this world is operating in a state of balance upon which any action, if not carefully considered, can lead to serious repercussions. An action that can cause a tilt in the normal status of the earth can result into an avalanche of tribulations beyond control. He argues that…

When I read the passage, I can see the conception of Lao-Tzu, his opinion about “Tao” and “Wu Wei”. The passage said that we need to have patience to wait the mud settle and water clear. The patience is waiting, waiting the thing become clear, this is just like the conception of “Wu Wei”. Wu Wei means people being peace and accept the flow that the river give us, and the passage said “have patience to wait” means people should stay peace and waiting for right time until everything clear. People…

Tao Te Ching book is filled with mini lessons of life. It was an enjoyable, quick read, and something that I was able to take a lot from because the passages contained practical writings of wisdom for the modern day person. Because the passages varied topics, the following paper will be written with the same notion. The first stanza of passage 2, to me, explained that each persons’ view point is different (“…people see some things a beautiful, other things become ugly…”); however, each view…

What is the meaning of Dao? How does Daoism view human nature? What is the human predicament, or problem, according to Daoist teachings, and how do we, as humans, achieve harmony with the Dao? Dao, also known as Tao, is a Chinese word meaning principle, path or route. It may loosely be defined as the code of conduct expected of human beings. Tao, therefore, emphasizes the virtues that dictate and regulate the way of life people. Among these attributes include the peaceful co-existence and…