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That is the beauty of the Dao De Jing. I have read
thousands of books filled with millions of ideas. None has
opened for me a path to understanding as encompassing and
clear as the Dao De Jing. It is the juxtaposition of simplicity
and complexity, clarity and mystery which is so evocative.
An excellent online source for Taoist texts, both online and
through their CD-ROM, the Internet
Sacred Text Archive CD-ROM 3.0. Includes several Legge
translations of both Lao Tse and Chuang Tzu as well as other
texts.
The Tao te Ching is one of the most widely read sacred texts,
due to its simplicity and depth. Its appeal is universal,
and has been found relevant by Christians, Hindus, Muslims,
Buddhists, and even Quantum Physicists. Attributed to Lao-tzu,
(580-500 B.C.), it may predate him by several centuries.
The earliest known manuscripts of the Tao te Ching date
to the third century B.C
The Wikipedia
Free Encyclopedia is an exquisite result of the internet.
This is a concise, useful Wikipedia page, though it could
benefit from some filling out and the language is a bit
stilted.
He was an older contemporary of Confucius and worked as an archivist
in the Imperial Library of the Zhou's
court. Legends said Confucius intentionally or accidentally
met him in Zhou (approx. today Luoyang) where Confucius was going
to browse the library scrolls and requested Lao Zi to discuss
about rituals and propriety. During the following month
of discussion, Confucius actually learns more from Lao Zi
than from the books.
Lao Tzu, Lao Tse, Lao Zi -- there are perhaps as many spellings
of his name as there are translations of the Dao De Jing.
This is a good but brief biography by the excellent Yak Rider website.
Writes the webmaster:
"As Brian Browne Walker, who did my personal favorite
translation, wrote: "I have come to think of Lao Tzu less
as a man who once lived and more as a song that plays,
eternal and abiding."
"Lao-Tse stresses how important it is to be one with nature
because it provides positive character. He regards genuineness,
sincerity, and spontaneity to be "natural" characteristics
which people are born with and possess. Yet, he claims
these qualities are destroyed through education and cultural
influences. In addition, he explains how a person is able
to dismiss all authority except for the authority of self
and a personal God. In this case, God is understood to
be everything in nature. Thus, people who know and respect
the authority of their inner nature know where they belong.
Also spelled "Daoism." This is a good Daoism primer, with
a brief history and some of the primary components of the philosophy
listed in point form. There's also a small links resource.
An excerpt:
"Taoists follow the art of 'wu wei', which is to achieve
action through minimal action. "It is the practice of
going against the stream not by struggling against it
and thrashing about, but by standing still and letting
the stream do all the work. Thus the sage knows that relative
to the river, he still moves against the current. To the
outside world the sage appears to take no action - but
in fact he takes action long before others ever foresee
the need for action."
A well-written article by Judith A. Berling for the Asia Society's
Focus on Asian Studies. A concise historical and comparitive
explication of Taoism. An excerpt:
Taoism can also be called "the other way," for during
its entire history, it has coexisted alongside the Confucian
tradition, which served as the ethical and religious basis
of the institutions and arrangements of the Chinese empire.
Taoism, while not radically subversive, offered a range
of alternatives to the Confucian way of life and point
of view. These alternatives, however, were not mutually
exclusive.
Every picture tells a story, don't it? In this image, Lao
Tse, Confucius and Buddha stand around a vat of vinegar, each
having just taken a taste. One is sour-faced, another
wears a bitter expression and the third smiles resplendantly.
Here, Vanessa Kaye throws a gender-political twist on
an ancient lesson. An excerpt:
So why is Lao-tse smiling? We all know what vinegar taste
like. And, if the vat of vinegar represents the essence
of life, should he not also have the bitter expression
on his face as the other two? From the Taoist point of
view, sourness and bitterness come from the interfering
and unappreciative mind. Life itself, when understood
and utilized for what it is, is sweet. That is the message
of The Vinegar Tasters.
This is a simple and powerful internet implementation. It
provides access to several translations of the Dao De Jing,
including my favourite by Stephen Mitchell, but also in
Chinese characters and also the pinyin roman character
transliteration. Additionally, the page can be split so
that two or more translations may be viewed side by side.
A great tool for scholars whether they be amature or professional.
These are the opening lines of the Legge translation.
Compare it to the opening lines of the Mitchell translation,
at the top of the page.
The Tao that can be trodden is not the enduring and
unchanging Tao. The name that can be named is not the
enduring and
unchanging name.
(Conceived of as) having no name, it is the Originator
of heaven
and earth; (conceived of as) having a name, it is the
Mother of all
things.
Yin & Yang are the central themes of Daoism. The I Ching
demonstrates the application of these themes. An excerpt from
the page:
"Yin originally meant 'shady,
secret, dark, mysterious, cold.' It thus could mean the
shaded, north side of a mountain or the shaded, south bank
of a river. Yang in turn meant 'clear, bright,
the sun, heat,' the opposite of yin and so the lit, south
side of a mountain or the lit, north bank of a river.
From these basic opposites, a complete system of opposites
was elaborated. Yin represents everything about the world
that is dark, hidden, passive, receptive, yielding, cool,
soft, and feminine. Yang represents everything about the world
that is illuminated, evident, active, aggressive, controlling,
hot, hard, and masculine. Everything in the world can
be identified with either yin or yang. Earth is the ultimate
yin object. Heaven is the ultimate yang object. Of the
two basic Chinese 'Ways,' Confucianism is identified with
the yang aspect, Taoism with the yin aspect."
Every picture tells a story, don't it? In this image, Lao
Tse, Confucius and Buddha stand around a vat of vinegar, each
having just taken a taste. One is sour-faced, another
wears a bitter expression and the third smiles resplendantly.
Here, Vanessa Kaye throws a gender-political twist on
an ancient lesson. An excerpt:
So why is Lao-tse smiling? We all know what vinegar taste
like. And, if the vat of vinegar represents the essence
of life, should he not also have the bitter expression
on his face as the other two? From the Taoist point of
view, sourness and bitterness come from the interfering
and unappreciative mind. Life itself, when understood
and utilized for what it is, is sweet. That is the message
of The Vinegar Tasters.
While Lao Tse is typically credited with the initial development
of Taoism, Chuang Tse is regarded as its most prolific
advocate.
Jesus was followed by St. Paul, Socrates by Plato, Confucius
by Mencius, and Laotse by Chuangtse. In all four cases,
the first was the real teacher and either wrote no books
or wrote very little, and the second began to develop
the doctrines and wrote long and profound discourses.
A place to discuss Lao Tse, the Dao De Jing and Daoism.
I think that when we are not careful, words lead us astray,
no matter the goodness of the intent or the value of its
content. We collect words by the hundreds of thousands
in tomes, swarms of words which would numb us beyond recognition
if they were spoken. We beat the truth down with them,
attempt to capture it, confine it, and only succeed in
blurring it, obscuring it. We petrify a living quantity.
This is an illustrated version of Stephen Mitchell's popular,
well-loved and highly acclaimed translation. While the publisher
has added some beautiful imagery, they have left out some
of the helpful commentary found in the unillustrated version,
Tao Te Ching: A New English Version.
The tao that can be told
is not the eternal Tao
The name that can be named
is not the eternal Name.
The unnamable is the eternally real.
Naming is the origin
of all particular things.
A remarkably gentle introduction to the basics of Daoism.
Intelligent and fun. The book's own back-cover description gets
it bang on.
One of the world's great Taoist masters isn't Chinese,
or a venerable philosopher, but is in fact none other
than A. A. Milne's effortlessly calm, still, reflective
bear Winnie-the-Pooh. While Eeyore frets and Piglet hesitates
and Rabbit calculates and Owl pontificates, Pooh just
is. And that's the clue to the secret wisdom of the Taoists.
Beginning with this entry in my journal I began quoting one
chapter of the Dao De Jing at the bottom of every journal
entry. I think I got up to Chapter 55 or so...
