Laozi

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There is a thing inherent and natural, which existed before heaven and earth. Motionless and fathomless, It stands alone and never changes; It pervades everywhere and never becomes exhausted. It may be regarded as the Mother of the Universe. I do not know its name. If I am forced to give it a name, I call it Tao, and I name it as supreme.

老子 Lǎozi (c. 4th century B.C.) was a Chinese mystic philosopher; also called Lao Zi, Lao Tzu, Lao Tse, or Lao Tze. The Tao Te Ching (道德經, Pinyin: Dào Dé Jīng, thus sometimes rendered in recent works as Dao De Jing) represents the sole document traditionally attributed to this legendary figure.

Contents

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Tao Te Ching

  • 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,
    Always without desire we must be found
    If its deep mystery we would sound:
    But if desire within us be,
    Its outer fringe is all that we shall see.
    Under these two aspects it realy is the same; but as
    development takes place it receives different names.
    Together we call them the Mystery. Where the
    Mystery is the deepest is the gate of all that is subtle
    and wonderful.
Image:Tao Chi 001.jpg
A leader is best when people barely know that he exists...
  • The Tao that can be expressed is not the eternal Tao; The name that can be defined is not the unchanging name.
    Non-existence is called the antecedent of heaven and earth; Existence is the mother of all things.
    From eternal non-existence, therefore, we serenely observe the mysterious beginning of the Universe; From eternal existence we clearly see the apparent distinctions.
    These two are the same in source and become different when manifested.
    This sameness is called profundity. Infinite profundity is the gate whence comes the beginning of all parts of the Universe.
    • Ch 1 as translated by Ch'u Ta-Kao (1904)
  • The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao;
    The name that can be named is not the eternal name.
    The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth.
    The named is the mother of ten thousand things.
    Ever desireless, one can see the mystery.
    Ever desiring, one can see the manifestations.
    These two spring from the same source but differ in name;
    this appears as darkness.
    Darkness within darkness.
    The gate to all mystery.
    • Gia-Fu Feng & Jane English (1972)
  • 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.
    Free from desire, you realize the mystery.
    Caught in desire, you see only the manifestations.
    Yet mystery and manifestations
    arise from the same source.
    This source is called darkness.
    Darkness within darkness.
    The gateway to all understanding.
Image:Blackeyegalaxy.jpg
The Tao is called the Great Mother: empty yet inexhaustible, it gives birth to infinite worlds.
  • The tao that can be described
    is not the eternal Tao.
    The name that can be spoken
    is not the eternal Name.
    The nameless is the boundary of Heaven and Earth.
    The named is the mother of creation.
    Freed from desire, you can see the hidden mystery.
    By having desire, you can only see what is visibly real.
    Yet mystery and reality
    emerge from the same source.
    This source is called darkness.
    Darkness born from darkness.
    The beginning of all understanding.
  • The way you can go
    isn't the real way.
    The name you can say
    isn't the real name.
    Heaven and earth
    begin in the unnamed:
    name's the mother
    of the ten thousand things.
    So the unwanting soul
    sees what's hidden,
    and the ever-wanting soul
    sees only what it wants.
    Two things, one origin,
    but different in name,
    whose identity is mystery.
    Mystery of all mysteries!
    The door to the hidden.
  • The universe is deathless; Is deathless because, having no finite self, it stays infinite. A sound man by not advancing himself stays the further ahead of himself, By not confining himself to himself sustains himself outside himself: By never being an end in himself he endlessly becomes himself.
    • Ch. 7
  • A leader is best when people barely know that he exists, not so good when people obey and acclaim him, worst when they despise him. Fail to honor people, They fail to honor you. But of a good leader, who talks little, when his work is done, his aims fulfilled, they will all say, "We did this ourselves."
    • Ch. 17
  • Since before time and space were,
    the Tao is.
    It is beyond is and is not.
    How do I know this is true?
    I look inside myself and see.
  • There is a thing inherent and natural,
    Which existed before heaven and earth.
    Motionless and fathomless,
    It stands alone and never changes;
    It pervades everywhere and never becomes exhausted.
    It may be regarded as the Mother of the Universe.
    I do not know its name. If I am forced to give it a name, I call it Tao, and I name it as supreme.
    • Ch 25 as translated by Ch'u Ta-Kao (1904)
  • Scholars of the highest class, when they hear about the Tao, take it and practice it earnestly.
    Scholars of the middle class, when they hear of it, take it half earnestly.
    Scholars of the lowest class, when they hear of it, laugh at it.
    Without the laughter, there would be no Tao.
    • Ch. 41
Image:Yin yang.svg
Since before time and space were, the Tao is. It is beyond is and is not.
How do I know this is true?
I look inside myself and see.
  • The mark of a moderate man
    is freedom from his own ideas.
    Tolerant like the sky,
    all-pervading like sunlight,
    firm like a mountain,
    supple like a tree in the wind,
    he has no destination in view
    and makes use of anything
    life happens to bring his way.
  • Wise men don't need to prove their point;
    men who need to prove their point aren't wise.
    The Master has no possessions.
    The more he does for others, the happier he is.
    The more he gives to others, the wealthier he is.
    The Tao nourishes by not forcing.
    By not dominating, the Master leads.
Image:Sunbeams.jpg
The mark of a moderate man is freedom from his own ideas. Tolerant like the sky, all-pervading like sunlight, firm like a mountain, supple like a tree in the wind, he has no destination in view and makes use of anything life happens to bring his way.
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Attributed

There are many translations or paraphrases of the Tao Te Ching available and thus variants abound; many of the major declarations within it are expressed or interpreted in many different ways.

  • A journey of a thousand [miles] starts with the first step.
    • Alternate version: A journey of a thousand [miles] starts with a single step.
  • A true traveller has no fixed plan, and is not intent on arriving.
    • Alternate version: If you do not change your direction, you may end up where you are heading.
  • Above all, do not compete.
  • Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength; loving someone deeply gives you courage.
  • By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try, the world is beyond the winning.
  • Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
  • Governing a large country is like frying a small fish. You spoil it with too much poking.
  • He who knows does not speak; he who speaks does not know.
  • He who knows that enough is enough will always have enough.
  • He who obtains has little; he who scatters has much.
  • I am not at all interested in immortality, only in the taste of tea.
  • Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power.
  • The more laws and order are made prominent, the more thieves and robbers there will be.
    • Alternate version: The more prohibitions there are, the poorer the people will be.
  • The true free living human-being is the one that achieves his dream without depending on someone.
  • To see things in the seed, that is genius.
  • When a nation is filled with strife, then do patriots flourish.
  • When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete, everybody will respect you.
  • When the center does not hold, the circle falls apart.
Image:Laozi3.jpg
Without the laughter, there would be no Tao.
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External links

Wikipedia has an article about:
Wikisource has original text related to Laozi.
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Chinese versions

  • Comparison Chart Chinese characters with PinYin spellings of the Wang Bi, HeShang Gong, Mawangdui A and B, Guodian texts.
  • Bamboo slips of the Guodian text Photographs of the Guodian Bamboo Slips with modern equivalents of the Chinese characters, PinYin and Wade Giles spellings, and English definitions.


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