Theology Department
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Authorship The author is said to be a man named Lao Tzu (literally something like "old fellow"). The legend is that late in his life he was leaving the Middle Kingdom, disgusted with what had become of his culture. Riding in a cart or chariot drawn by a black ox, he was going through the Han-Ku Pass leading westward from Loyang when the Keeper of the Pass, Yin Hsi, asked him to write what he knew before he vanished in the west. (Yin Hsi was expecting a sage to arrive, having correctly deciphered the weather as oracle.......) He did so in this brief, cryptic book. It's possible that the book is a collection of wisdom accumulated over several centuries, much of it rooted in a very old oral tradition. Most scholars agree that the text includes both primary verses and commentary, with no distinctions made. Many scholars say that the text reflects the coherent thought of an individual mind.
How to read it Read it all at once, or a little at a time. What do you find interesting? Note the following key ideas (with chapters), which are also discussed briefly in the Afterword: The Way (Tao): 45, 48, 52, 58, 60, 65, 68, 69, 76, 78, 79, 81, 3-5, 14 Integrity (Te): 1, 14, 28, 54, 65, 68 Nonaction (wu-wei): 46, 47, 54, 81, 6, 11, 26, 27 Unhewn Log or Simplicity (P'u): 63, 72, 76, 81, 20 Government: 47, 61, 70, 73-75, 20, 23, 24, 28, 39, 40, 30 Weakness: 54, 67, 80, 4, 6, 15, 41, 43 Tranquility: 60, 81, 24 Humanity: 62, 63, 1 Desires: 47, 63, 78, 81, 20 The Female, and Water: 52, 54, 64, 69, 72, 15, 18, 22, 43 And what's interesting about these chapters: 7-10, 12, 13, 16, 17, 19, 21, 25, 29, 31-38, 42, 44, 49-51, 55-57, 59, 66, 71, 77, 79?
Why are we reading it? The TTC is said to be one of the three most-frequently translated scriptures in the world, the other two being the Bible and the Bhagavad Gita. The TTC seems to have emerged as a text at about the same time as, and in response to, the dominant Confucian model of society and thought. At the same time, some scholars say it includes vestiges of a much older way of seeing the world. Generalizing here, Confucianism can be said to stress "li" -- decorum, an objective standard of conduct, and with connotations that extend toward what we mean by "rite," "ceremony," "rules of conduct," "good form." We could say Confucius was also concerned with learning, with "humane-ness" (jen, pronounced something like RIN), and particularly with li -- including the daily routines of dealing with other people. Confucianism taught a clear social order in which the roles of father, mother, boys, girls, elders, babies, and different job-holders are well-defined and strictly adhered to. You can imagine that such a school of thought could easily become inflexible, formal, obsessed with the minutae of etiquette, rigid, perfunctory. Yet at some level Confucius, who was not concerned with gods or deities, may have been thinking that the way people treat one another has transformative power. And the idea of "li" -- to be lived out every day -- is connected to the idea of "Li" -- the order of the cosmos, perhaps parallel to the Gita's notion of sva-dharma (an individual's role and duty in life) and Dharma (the cosmic principle by which existence is ordered). Continuing to generalize, Taoism can be said to contradict the Confucian values
at virtually every turn. The TTC has been described as: As with the Gita (which you'll read next) and Bible, it is accessible at many
different levels. If one line or chapter is too mysterioso, try another one.
It seems to be written for Its ideas continue to shape painting, gardening, music, martial arts, architecture, drawing, posture, speaking, and simply living, as they have for at least 2,500 years.
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