Spiritwalk Teachers: Lao Tzu

Spiritwalk

Teachers

Lao Tzu


He who conquers others is strong;
He who conquers himself is mighty.

Contents

Biography

Lao Tzu is a somewhat enigmatic figure in the early history of China. There are many different stories that are often contradictory or too incredible to believe. Most of them have him living sometime in the fifth or sixth century B.C. Most also agree that he became disillusioned with Chinese society and disappeared into the western wilderness; however before leaving, he left the last gatekeeper of the Middle Kingdom a written record of his wisdom. This is consistent with the habits of the early Taoist recluses who left society behind to attain oneness with nature, thus oneness with the Tao. One legend states that Confucius was a student of Lao Tzu and that he was so overwhelmed by the elder sage's wisdom that he compared him to "a dragon ascending to heaven on wind and clouds." Despite such colourful legends, there is no historical evidence that he actually lived. His name translates as "old master" and there is very little evidence that a man by that name actually lived, let alone be verified as the author of the Tao Te Ching. Lao Tzu would appear to be a composite of "old masters" of a philosophical movement that began in the sixth century B.C. rather than a single person of that period.

As for the Tao Te Ching itself, the oldest manuscripts, dated around the second century B.C., were divided into only two parts, the Tao and the Te. The division into 81 chapters, or poems, seems to have been added later. The number 81 may be the result of Buddhism’s influence on Chinese thought after it’s introduction in the first century A.D., 1 being the square of 9, having great symbolic significance for Indian mystics.

Quotations


A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.

He who knows others is learned,
He who knows himself is wise.

~

The more laws and order are made prominent,
The more thieves and robbers there will be.

~

I have three precious things which I hold fast and prize.
The first is gentleness;
the second is frugality;
the third is humility, which keeps me from putting myself before others.
Be gentle and you can be bold;
be frugal and you can be liberal;
avoid putting yourself before others and you can become a leader among men.

~

Whosoever knows others is clever.
Whosoever knows himself is wise.
Whosoever conquers others has force.
Whosoever conquers himself is strong.

~

A tree trunk the size of a man grows from a blade as thin as a hair.
A tower nine stories high is built from a small heap of earth.
A journey of a thousand miles starts in front of your feet.

A leader is best when people barely know he exists,
not so good when people obey and acclaim him,
worse when people despise him.
But of a good leader who talks litle when his work is done,
his aim fulfilled, they will say: We did it ourselves.

~
Knowing others is intelligence;
knowing yourself is true wisdom.
Mastering others is strength;
mastering yourself is true power

~
When man lost sight of how to live he created codes of love and honesty.

~

Fill your bowl to the brim
and it will spill.
Keep sharpening your knife
and it will blunt.
Chase after money and security
and your heart will never unclench.
Care about people's approval
and you will be their prisoner.
Do your work, then step back.
The only path to serenity.

~

A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.

~

Muddy water,
let stand
becomes clear.

It is the way of Tao to take from those who have more than enough
and give to those who do not have enough.
Unfortunately, it is the way of man to take from those who do not have enough
and give to those who already have more than enough.

~
Nothing is static in nature.
Even the greatest mountain range, though enduring,
Will eventually weather away.
So also are we.
There are only two phases in life: growth and decay.
The moment we say with pride, "I have arrived"
We will fall into decline.

The wise man knows without traveling.

The five colors can blind,
The five tones deafen,
The five tastes cloy.
The race, the hunt, can drive men mad
And their booty leave them no peace.
Therefore a sensible man
Prefers the inner to the outer eye:
He has his yes,-- he has his no."

The sage holds to the inner-light,
and is not moved by the passing show.

Quiet and serene
he watches the merchants
with their merchandise pass by,
watches the sellers and the buyers
parading to the market
and returning to their homes.

Quiet and serene,
he is fixed upon the Eternal.

When the moment comes,
he will do what is right
without pausing to consider its rightness;

When the moment comes
he will act for the welfare of all.

~

It is a good man's purse,
It is also a bad man's keep.
Clever performances come dear or cheap,
Goodness comes free;
And how shall a man who acts better deny a man who acts worse
This right to be.
Rather, when an emperor is crowned, let the three
Ministers whom he appoints to receive for him fine horses and gifts of jade
Receive for him also the motionless gift of integrity,
The gift prized as highest by those ancients who said,
'Only pursue an offender to show him the way'.
What men in all the world could have more wealth than they?

~
Men knowing the way of life
Do without acting,
Effect without enforcing,
Taste without consuming;
'Through the many they find the few,
Through the humble the great';
They 'respect their foes',
They 'face the simple fact before it becomes involved.
Solve the small problem before it becomes big'.
The most involved fact in the world
Could have been faced when it was simple,
The biggest problem in the world
Could have been solved when it was small.
The simple fact that he finds no problem big
Is a sane man's prime achievement.
If you say yes too quickly
You may have to say no.
If you think things are done too easily
You may find them hard to do:
If you face trouble sanely
It cannot trouble you.
: ~