Figure 4: Five Element Diagram
Time was not linear, as we think of it in the West, with a beginning, a middle, and an end. Time was an overlapping series of circles, a continuum of shifting cycles. Death was not an ending but rather a step in the continuum of time, with the potential for higher status as an ancestral spirit. Natural and supernatural forces were also in continuous flux, acting upon the spiritual and material universe. Boundaries were fluid, elastic, permeable.
THE FIVE ELEMENTS
All that we encounter is made up of five elements that the Chinese believed basic to life: water, wood, metal, earth, and fire. Because they perceived that the entire universe was in flux, always shifting, the elements were also always shifting through their interactions with one another. Some interactions were complementary, others were contending. For example, wood produces fire, making a complementary pair, whereas water puts out fire, making those two elements a contending pair. If we look at the world around us, we can see how the elements shift. We can observe destructive cycles—for example, when water evaporates or wood decomposes. But concomitantly, there is a regenerative cycle, during which water condenses and new trees grow. The Chinese believed that things do exist, but that existence is time-limited within the cycles of inevitable change (Figure 4).
THE SIX SCHOOLS
Chinese philosophies are based on the principles of Oneness and continual change. Each of these many philosophies developed their early principles in different directions, guiding people in how to lead healthy and happy lives.
During the last third of the Chou dynasty (approximately 551 – 221 B.C.), numerous philosophies emerged, known as the One Hundred Philosophies. Ssu-ma Tan classified these One Hundred Philosophies into six schools.
The Literati, or Scholar School, was exemplified by Confucius. The followers of the school were devoted to study and learning. They believed that the Way of morality and virtue could be cultivated and developed by education and correct practice.
The members of the School of Mo-tzu adhered to his doctrine of universal love. This was the first school to oppose Confucius. The School of Names looked for the distinctions between names and things. The Legalist School believed in fixed codes of law and government rather than morality and virtue as a solution to the world’s problems.
The Yin Yang School derived from the principle of opposites. Yin is female and yang is male. The dynamic interplay of these polarities was fundamental to the manifestation of all phenomena in the world. Occult practices developed from this school and eventually merged with Taoism. The Taoist School was based in the Way and its power, natural virtue, and morality. The Way for the Taoist School was to follow Tao. What this was and how to do it unfolds here in this book.
CHAPTER 2
Lao-tzu: Illuminating the Classic Way
The ancient sages never put their teachings in systematic form. They spoke in paradoxes, for they were afraid of uttering half-truths. They began by talking like fools and ended by making their hearers wise.
—Okakura 1989, 58
Historians have been trying to sort out fact from fiction regarding the development of Taoism. Some consensus exists on how it came to be and who were its pivotal figures, but because of different historical traditions and the nature of Taoism itself, much remains unknown.
Lao-tzu (b. 604 B.C.), the legendary author of the famous little book Tao Te Ching, was a man whose life was shrouded in mystery. According to legend, he was conceived when his mother admired a falling star. He matured in her womb for sixty-two years. One day, she leaned against a plum tree and gave birth to a full-grown man with white hair and long earlobes (a symbol of wisdom). He named himself after the plum tree (Li) and proclaimed his first name to be Ear (Erh). Much of the literature refers to him as Li Erh, or Lao Tan, but more often he is called Lao-tzu, meaning old master.
The earliest mention of Lao-tzu’s biography was in Ssu-ma Ch’ien’s Records of the Historian. Ssu-ma Ch’ien recorded that Lao-tzu was a native of the hamlet of Ch’u-jen, village of Li, in the state of Ch’en, which, in 479 B.C., became part of the state of Ch’u. Both Lao-tzu and Confucius lived in this area.
Lao-tzu worked in the capital city of Loyang as the Keeper of the Archives for the royal court of Chou. This position gave him access to the classic texts that were kept in the royal archives, which was like a library. He was familiar with the lore of the Yellow Emperor (2697 B.C.) and all the great works of the time. He was about fifty years older than Confucius, who was said to have consulted Lao-tzu for information on rituals.
This famous meeting between Lao-tzu and Confucius was described by Ssu-ma Ch’ien. During the encounter, Confucius asked Lao-tzu, “Please instruct me on the proper rites for behavior.”
Lao-tzu answered, “A person may have all the outward appearances of a gentleman when times are good. But if he encounters hard times, he will drift like the wind. A true gentleman hides his wealth; the man of superior virtue has the outward appearance of a fool! Throw away your arrogant rituals! None of them have any relevance to our true self. That is my advice to you!”
Confucius was impressed. He said, “The dragon is beyond my knowledge; it ascends into the heaven on the cloud and the wind. Today I have seen Lao-tzu, and he is like the dragon!” (Kaltenmark 1969, 8).
Tradition holds that Lao-tzu married and had a son named Tsung, who became a well-known soldier. Many later generations trace themselves back to Lao-tzu. This may or may not be accurate, but it attests to the fact that he was given great symbolic importance in Chinese history.
It is believed that Lao-tzu never opened a formal school, but students still came to him and he had a number of loyal disciples. If these statements about Lao-tzu are true, he led a fairly busy and full life.
Eventually, however, Lao-tzu felt frustrated by the moral decay of the society around him. City life did not allow him to live in harmony with his Taoist beliefs. At the ripe old age of 160 years, he decided to leave the city for the unsettled west to live a solitary life as a hermit. He began his trip westward, leaving through the city gate. The gatekeeper recognized him and begged Lao-tzu to leave some record of his wisdom. In response, Lao-tzu sat down and composed the five-thousand-character book now known as the Tao Te Ching. The gatekeeper was so moved by its content that he decided to accompany Lao-tzu. The two disappeared together, never to be seen again. One legend claims that Lao-tzu reappeared in India to convert the Buddha. Another story alleges that Lao-tzu was the Buddha!
Facts fuse with myth regarding Lao-tzu. Researchers through the ages have debated whether he actually wrote the Tao Te Ching, or if he was even a real person. Perhaps it has been difficult to verify the facts of Lao-tzu’s life because of the ancient Chinese belief that it was dishonorable to write one’s autobiography. Better to wait until death and hope that someone would do the honor! Lao-tzu was given a high position by later generations. Some Taoists considered him a deity, and built a temple on the site of his birthplace. In many areas throughout China there are Taoist temples, much like the many Buddhist temples.
Lao-tzu was deeply mystical. He believed that the Tao is the source, the inner axis of the universe. The inner nature of the world is mysterious, prior to name and form. That which can be given a name is not Tao.
TAO TE CHING
No book other than the Bible has been translated and read more than the Tao Te Ching. What draws so many people to this enigmatic book are the deep meanings that can be culled from its profound words. This book expresses the essence of early Taoist philosophy. Composed as short, poetic chapters, the words, written in ancient Chinese characters, are laden with possible interpretations. Thus, each translator becomes interpreter, with a seemingly endless variety of understandings, yet we can hear resonance in themes that echo throughout.