Lao-tzu, in Tao Te Ching essays

Lao-tzu, in Tao Te Ching essays 1. Lao-tzu, in Tao Te Ching introduced, during a time of much political turmoil and strife in ancient China, the notion of Tao (the Way [of life]). Tao, simply defined is non-activity. The implications however, are profound. Lao-tzu introduced the Chinese phrase wu-wei, which means to do nothing at all. Lao-tzu proposed that inertia (resistance to activity) is inherent in nature; the only way to live harmoniously with nature is to let things be. For example, a wasp would not sting if it was not being crushed; or, things only slip from ones grasp when one is indulging in the activity of grabbing. Lao-tzu believed that to yield is to be preserved whole and deliberate intervention inevitably leads to failure. Living in the precepts of The Way is to live in harmony with nature and such a harmonious way of life is only possible if one lets nature take its own course. Indeed, then, one often sees the Tao represented by a circle in which two comma shapes (one dark and the other bright) are intertwined. The dark and the bright areas represent the yin and the yang. One is about coldness, darkness and passivity (yin = female); the other is about brightness and activity, even aggression (yang = male). This circle of life representation means that following Tao is to accept that it is all-encompassing-that is nature there will inevitably be good as well as bad. Tao does not seek perfection, because to seek it would be to make changes to achieve perfection. Tao is the acknowledgement that we exist in a state of perfect harmony-and not to disturb it. To recognize Tao is also to understand the harmonious balance between the nature and the self and to maintain that sense of harmony within oneself-the human psyche. Lao-tzu believed that all life both within and without the individual was governed by one permanent law-the return to origin. He believed that to understand thi...