Lao Tzu: the Tao of Reality.

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Lao Tzu: the Tao of Reality.

A history of pantheism by Paul Harrison.

 

 

There is a thing, formless yet complete. Before heaven and earth it

existed. We do not know its name, but we call it Tao. It is the

Mystery of Mysteries.

 

The Tao te Ching is the oldest scripture of Taoism. It was composed

during the warring states period when China descended into a chaos of

rival kingdoms, some time between the sixth and the fourth or third

centuries BC. It was supposedly written by Lao Tan, a possibly

mythical figure, said to have lived till he was 160 or 200 years old.

 

The classical Chinese historian Ssuma Chien says the work was by Li

Erh, a custodian of imperial archives from the state of Ch'u in

southern China, in the present province of Honan. This was a fertile,

well-watered state. " Its people make little exertion, delight in

life, and neglect to store anything. "

 

Li Erh was no seeker after fame. " The chief aim of his studies was

how to keep himself concealed and remain unknown. " says Ssuma Chien.

Li Erh wrote his ideas only because, as he was heading into

retirement, the royal gatekeeper pleaded with him to record his ideas

before he disappeared into oblivion. He may have written the book

under the pseudonym Lao Tan to avoid attention.

 

A brutally honest personal confession in the Tao te Ching [chapter

20] suggests that he was not always happy with his reclusive way of

life and personality:

 

I alone am inert, showing no sign of desires,

like an infant that has not yet smiled.

Wearied, indeed, I seem to be without a home.

The multitude all possess more than enough,

I alone seem to have lost all . . .

Common folks are indeed brilliant;

I alone seem to be in the dark.

 

The book of Chuang Tzu pays tribute to his character: " Men all seek

the first. He alone sought the last. He said: " Accept the world's

refuse. " Men all seek happiness. He alone sought completion in

adaptation . . . He was always generous and tolerant towards things. "

[Chuang Tzu, chapter 33]

 

The Tao te Ching is a short, dense book of only 5,250 words -

probably the most influential 5,250 words ever written. Its ideas

became very popular under the Han dynasty in the second century BC.

 

Lao Tan/Li Erh was even said to have met Confucius. After one visit

Confucius' disciples asked him how he was able to correct and

admonish Lao Tzu. " In him I have seen the dragon that rides on the

cloudy air, " replied Confucius. " My mouth fell open and I was unable

to shut it; how could I admonish and correct Lao Tan? " After another

crushing visit he admitted: " In the knowledge of the Tao am I any

better than a tiny creature in vinegar? " A final episode shows him

becoming virtually a disciple of Lao Tzu.

 

These accounts are, of course, Taoist propaganda. In reality

Confucius would have regarded Lao Tzu as a dangerous threat to

established custom and filial piety. The Tao te Ching contains not a

single word about either of these central Confucian concepts. Indeed

by stressing spontaneity and harmony with nature, it represents a

rebellion against Confucian obsession with form and duty.

 

But Taoism did alter the course of Confucianism, leading to the

synthesis of neo-Confucianism in thinkers like Chang Tsai. It also

moulded the shape of East Asian Buddhism, giving Buddhism a much less

negative stance to the world.

 

Was Lao Tan/Li Erh a pantheist? His description of the reality of the

Tao is of a mysterious, numinous unity underlying and sustaining all

things. It is inaccessible to normal thought, language or perception.

While he never calls the Tao a God, and rejects the idea that it is

personal or concerned with humans, he clearly views it in the same

light of awe and respect as believers view their Gods. Since the Tao

is omnipresent and sustains everything, the Tao te Ching is clearly

espousing a materialist form of pantheism.

 

The Tao te Ching does not fall into the trap of Buddhism, assuming

that because there is an underlying unity the diversity of the world

is an illusion and there is only " emptiness. " It recognizes both

being and non-being as complementary. Non-being defines being as dark

outlines light. Being and diversity emanate from non-being.

 

Lao Tan/Li Erh also believed that human happiness consisted in

understanding and living and acting in harmony with this underlying

Reality. This means following a simple, frugal and peaceful way of

life, not seeking after wealth, power or fame. Unlike the Chuang Tzu

he is not an advocate of total withdrawal from public action. But he

stresses the need for taking minimal action. He prefers non-violence

over violence, softness over hardness, water over sharpened swords.

He is a clear pre-cursor of both Jesus and Gandhi.

 

In government his philosophy makes him in certain ways Machiavellian

and laissez-faire. Kings should not encourage learning, wisdom or

virtue. They should fill their people's bellies and keep their minds

empty. A happy country would be one where people could hear dogs

barking in the next village, yet would have no desire to go there.

 

There are also repeated suggestions through the text that the sage

can achieve long life and escape death. This gave rise to a much less

philosophical aspect of later Taoism: the pursuit of everlasting

life, not in heaven but on this earth, but through physical

immortality, and by often magical means.

 

There are dozens of translations of the Tao te Ching, many of them

radically different from one another. Unless otherwise indicated, the

texts below are from Wing-Tsit Chan in A Sourcebook in Chinese

Philosophy, Princeton University Press, New Jersey, 1969. Additional

biographical material from Fung-Yu Lan, A History of Chinese

Philosophy, trs Derk Bodde, Princeton University Press, New Jersey,

1952, and James Legge, The Texts of Taoism, Sacred Books of the East

vol 40, Dover, New York, 1962.

 

Lao Tzu: the Tao of Reality.

A history of pantheism by Paul Harrison.