Taoism

1. Taoism Prof. Frederick Hok-ming CHEUNG

2. Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu Only vague &sketchy accounts (even in Ssu-ma Ch’ien’s Shih Chi)

3. Lao Tzu was of the surname Li, his formal name was Erh, and his courtesy name was Tan; Lao may have been the clan name.

4. Lao Tzu – Tao Te Ching Authorship was questionable (?) Yet, definitely was classic in the thought of Taoism. It was divided into 2 books: Book 1 Tao Ching ( 37 Chapters) Book 2 Te Ching (44 chapters) Therefore, = total of 81 chapters (In Dec., 1973, the discovery in a Han tomb at Ma Wang Tui: Book 2 was in the front, & book 1 was after. More complicated.)

5. “The Way that can be spoken of is not the constant Way.” I(1) D.C. Lau’s tr. “The name that can be named is not the constant name.” “the Way is forever nameless,” XXXII(72) D.C. Lau’s tr.

6. “The nameless was the beginning of heaven and earth; the named was the mother of the myriad creatures. ….. These two are the same but diverge in name as they issue forth. Being the same they are called mysteries, mystery upon mystery – the gateway of the manifold secrets.” I(2…3) D.C. Lau’s tr.

7. Because of his mastery of the ancient rites, it was said that Lao Tzu was appointed keeper of the archives of the Chou court. Lao Tzu was senior in age to Confucius, and there were reports that Confucius had visited Lao Tzu to ask him about the rites. Nevertheless, Lao Tzu devoted himself to the study of Tao (the Way), and its Te (the Virtue & power). Then he resigned his official post and withdrew from the world, & nothing is known of the end of his life.

8. Similarly, Chuang Tzu “lived without leaving any traces.” His given name was Chou. He was famous for his “allegorical” (satirical) writings. He was also a most skilful writer & user of phrases. Cf. Plato Cf. Lu Hsun • “Dreaming of becoming a butterfly; • Jokes with the sophist: Hui Shih

9. Cf. Confucius attempted to employ positive governmental methods based on benevolence and righteousness, to overcome disorder and restore things to their proper functioning, thus, “optimistic.” However, Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu tended toward negativism, offering the methods of withdrawal whereby the individual could preserve his own safety and be at ease with himself, thus, “pessimistic”.

10. “Weakness or yielding softness” (no-jo) is the function of Tao. “Men are soft and weak at birth, rigid and tough in death; all plants and trees are yielding and tender in life, & stiff and brittle in death. Therefore, unyielding strength is the companion of death, while yielding softness is the companion of life.”

11. Cf. T’ai Ch’I ch’uan Judo In K’ung-fu Fighting Cf. Kenny Roger’s “Coward of the County”

12. Lao Tzu believed that the causes of disorder in the world lay, not in the shortcomings of specific institutions, but rather in the fact that institutions themselves were an unsatisfactory method of achieving order. Therefore: The reversal or return to p’u ( the primitive;) the uncarved block of wood) = the movement of Tao. (return to the original): “let the people revert to the use of knotted cords” (to remember things) – a method of recording which was used before writing was invented.

13. “In all the world, there is nothing softer than water, yet it attacks the unyielding and the firm, nothing can prevail against it.” This is to say that water conquers through softness. Waterstone into sand For weakness and softness can insure self-preservation, while the firm and the strong must be broken. Therefore “softness and weakness conquer firmness and strength” = the essential art in dealing with life’s problems.

14. Indeed, Lao Tzu accepted the doctrine of yielding and humility and developed it further. Thus, a political philosophy of “inaction” (wu-wei) or, of taking no purposive action was developed by Lao Tzu & Chuang Tzu. Yet, this political thought is not completely negative. Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu were skeptical about the government but affirmed the value of the individual. Therefore, the preservation of life and the free expression of man’s nature became the ultimate goal of Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu’s political philosophy.

15. Wu-wei: Taking no action, yet leaving nothing undone. “The Way never acts yet nothing is left undone.” XXXVII(81) D.C. Lau’s tr. “Do that which consists in taking no action, and order will prevail.” III (10) D.C. Lau’s tr. “When one does nothing at all, there is nothing that is undone.” XLVIII (108), D.C. Lau’s tr.

16. “I take no action and the people are transformed of themselves.” LVII (133) D.C. Lau’s tr. The ideal state of the Taoist is one in which the people are innocent of knowledge and free from “desire”. “Therefore, in governing the people, the sage empties their minds but fills theirs bellies, weakens their wills but strengthens their bones. He always keeps them innocent of knowledge and free from desire, and ensures that the clever never dare to act.” III (9) D.C. Lau’s tr.

17. The aim of sage is to keep the people in a childlike state where there is no knowledge and so no desire beyond the immediate objects of the senses. “And if I cease to desire and remain still, the empire will be at peace of its own accord.” XXXVII (81) D.C. Lau’s tr. Lao Tzu’s political philosophy of inaction bears some resemblance to the laissez faire doctrines, but it differs from anarchism. Because it “takes no action yet leaves nothing undone.”

18. “The ideal form of political organization: “let there be a small country wuth few people. Let the people revert to the use of knotted cords. Through a neighboring state within sight, so that they hear each other’s cocks crowing and dogs barking, yet the people will grow old and die without ever visiting one another.” LXXX (193) Mote’s tr.

19. Therefore, “Blunt the sharpness, untangle the knots, soften the glare, let your wheels move only along old ruts.” IV (12) D.C. Lau’s tr. The story of “the fighting cock” (“as dull as a wooden cock”) by Chuang Tzu.