Laozi

What is the so-called Tao that was advocated by Laozi, a central figure in Taoism and philosopher of ancient China? For years it has remained a tricky question. As regulated in the first chapter of Daodejing, a Chinese classic text of Taoism, Tao could never be defined by any words. Word-expressed Tao is considered fake and definition is the breach of its essence. Real Tao is, by contrast, often referred to as “the nameless”, since neither it nor its principles can ever be adequately expressed in words.

Tao, although inexplicable, truly exists. In order to make Tao understandable to the public, Laozi interpreted his method in his five-thousand-word classic text, Daodejing.

Ways to Understand Tao

What on earth is Tao? Laozi insisted that it was nameless and indefinable, but describable. Every chapter of Daodejing describes Tao from different aspects. Laozi gave a picture of Tao instead of giving a definition. There are previous examples that when a certain object is temporarily unable to be defined, people will study and try to understand it while attempting to find ways to depict it. Take the physical terminology “force” as an example. Some people think that so far there is no proper definition of it. In text books it is described as “interaction between objects”. Same as “force”, Tao is introduced through the enlightening of description of everyday life in Daodejing. Tao, in this way, becomes the Tao of life, something that will definitely perish without the element of “life”. Tao according to Zhuangzi is even more mysterious. However, he was also aware that the only way to approach Tao was through daily trivialities.

Zhuangzi, Buddha and Wang Yangming, all made good use of figurative language, but the first one who started this mode of expression was Laozi. Laozi said: “Upper class scholars live in ease and comfort everyday so that they have no idea what the lives of common people are like. On hearing the word Tao they take its literal meaning, carrying it out as soon as possible for the sake of immediate outcome. Scholars from middle class backgrounds, after hearing Tao, due to a smattering of knowledge of both upper and lower level management, tend to be at a loss about what to do. However, Scholars from the lower class cannot help laughing at it because they know so well the daily trivialities from which Tao generated.” Tao embodies the tangible and concrete. Without understanding this, Tao can never be executed.

Many people interpret Tao as disciplines, rules, which is utterly wrong. From the depiction of Tao we figure out that Tao is the most powerful vitality in the world, just as “mother” and “baby” are. In other words, Tao plays the role of “creator” and at the same time is its “outcome”. With the capability of self-renewing, Tao can be self-producing and self-developing. In the first chapter of Daodejing, the words beginning and mother (or origin) are mentioned. “Beginning” refers to the baby phase. “Mother” is the root, the origin of life. Therefore, at the very start of Daodejing, the integration of creator and outcome has been presented. “Self” is the core value of Tao, where its great vitality lies.