Around the Tao in 80 Days

Around the Tao in 80 Days

by Trey Smith and Alex Paul

Smashwords Ebook version

Copyright 2009 Alex Paul

Introduction

by Alex Paul

There are so many Ways out there, but none are like the Tao. At times it may seem simple, abstract and paradoxical. But the writings of Lao Tzu hold closely to the Zen aesthetic ideal, nothing extra. They are as plain and simple as possible. It is only our mindset, our built up conditioning that makes his words seem difficult to understand. Once we free our minds and really begin to read Lao Tzu's work, profound realizations begin to unfold. Not only does it expose the nature of reality and the universe, it also offers practical advice on how to live.

There are countless different translations of and commentaries on the Tao Te Ching, which was originally written by Lao Tzu sometime in the 4th century BC. All have something to offer. Trey Smith's commentary was really more of a journey.

On his blog, The Rambling Taoist, he wrote a commentary on each of the 81 chapters in the Tao Te Ching. Many translations and renditions were used as a basis for this commentary. His comments and insights expand on Lao Tzu's ideas, in modern language that allows for easy-to-understand, clear conclusions.

I enjoyed working on this project, and learned a lot in the process. I know that anyone who reads this book will also find both enjoyment and answers.

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Around the Tao in 80 Days

by Trey Smith

Not surprisingly enough, a significant number of newcomers to this blog often arrive via a search for something pertaining to Taoism. What is Tao? What is Taoism about? Is it a philosophy, a religion, both or neither? How does one become a Taoist? These are the types of questions many seek answers for.

So, what are the answers? Unlike many belief systems, there is no singular answer! Each person must find the answers for themselves. That said, there is certainly nothing wrong with exploring the answers of others provided that you don't merely graft someone else's truth for your own.

One of the best places to start an exploration into Taoist philosophy is to read the Tao Te Ching. As this is a blog about philosophical Taoism, said work is not looked at like a sacred or divine scripture or tract. It was written by a person (Lao Tzu) or, more realistically, by several persons. It's purpose is not to provide answers, but to spur each reader to find their own answers.

To this end, I'm going to attempt to explore the Tao Te Ching verse by verse over a period of 80 or so consecutive days. I will start with verse 1 and work my way to verse 81. I will feature the following translations:

Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English

Stephen Mitchell

John H. McDonald

Derek Lin

The Living Tao by Stephen F. Kaufman

The Illustrated Tao Te Ching by Man-Ho Kwok, Martin Palmer and Jay Ramsey

The Tao of Peace by Wang Chen & Ralph D. Sawyer

Nina Correa

Dao De Jing: A Philosophical Translation by Roger T. Ames and David L. Hall

I will also feature the following renditions (non-translations):

Ron Hogan (http://www.beatrice.com/TAO.html)

A Book About the Way and the Power of the Way by Ursula LeGuin

Tao of Leadership by John Heider

Interspersed with my own contemplations of the day's verse, I will make use of several other books:

The Tao of Inner Peace by Diane Dreher

Simple Taoism: A Guide to Living in Balance by C. Alexander and Annellen Simpkins

The Tao Is Silent by Raymond M. Smullyan

The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Taoism by Brandon Toropov & Chad Hansen

The Spirit of Tai Chi: Essential Principles by John Lash

Taoism: Way Beyond Seeking & What is Tao? both by Alan Watts

Beyond these many resources, I will also be utilizing many strictly online sources too from various blogs and websites.

Hopefully, this will not be a one-way exercise. Your comments, contemplations and interpretations are of equal value to anything presented here. Each time you choose to add something in the comments section, it will increase the overall tapestry of the fabric of Tao.

So, when do I plan to commence this undertaking? Could be today or tomorrow or a few days from now. The words will make the decision.

Finally, I do wish to note that, while it is my intent to offer one verse per day, there may be some days in which two will be offered and I may skip a day here and there. It should also be noted that this exercise will be interspersed with the usual fare one finds on this blog. So, don't expect to find solely the verses with analysis and nothing else.

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Chapter One

Nameless

The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao.

The name that can be named is not the eternal name.

The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth.

The named is the mother of ten thousand things.

Ever desireless, one can see the mystery.

Ever desiring, one sees the manifestations.

These two spring from the same source but differ in name;

this appears as darkness.

Darkness within darkness.

The gate to all mystery.

~ Gia-Fu Feng & Jane English translation ~

How is it possible to define the vital essence of the universe? It is too broad and vast to be confined in a word or concept. It is too limitless to be understood by our limited intellectual capabilities. It is eternal, while the self is ephemeral. It is anything and everything, while the self is finite.

Alan Watts described Tao in the following manner:

The word has two general meanings. One is perhaps best rendered into English as the way, the way of things, or the way of nature. The other sense of the word means to speak, so when the opening words of Lao-tzu's book say, The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao, it makes a pun in Chinese. It says literally, The Tao that can be Tao is not Tao, or if you read it like a telegram, Tao can Tao no Tao. The first meaning of Tao is the way, and the second meaning of it is to speak, or in other words, The way that can be expressed is not the eternal way.

To our western ears and eyes, it sounds like gibberish doing somersaults. But that's because we have been socialized to view the world in a specific way. If we strip away the hubris of the western mentality and sit in silence like an uncarved block, the mystery itself starts to unfold around us.

It is by tapping into this mystery -- the source or fluidity of nature -- that we can come to know we are connected to all things. Everything (be it animal, vegetable or mineral) is infused with the essence of this mystery, including each of us. It is when we come to recognize this connection, without consciously recognizing it, that we can flow with it.

As Stephen Kaufman states,

Man cannot know that which is unknowable. At best he can only suggest Its meaning according to his own needs. There are no titles he can give to even his own ideas of what this profound truth is except words that still cannot explain its essence.

‘T-a-o’ is a made-up word. Taoists use it as a convenience, a form of shorthand. It is merely a human representation of language to signify that ultimate essence we don't understand. It is the finger pointing towards the moon.

Chapter Two

In Opposition

Under heaven all can see beauty as beauty only because there is ugliness.

All can know good as good only because there is evil.

Therefore having and not having arise together.

Difficult and easy compliment each other.

Long and short contrast each other;

High and low rest upon each other;

Voice and sound harmonize each other;

Front and back follow one another.

Therefore the sage goes about doing nothing, teaching no-talking.

The ten thousand things rise and fall without cease,

Creating, yet not possessing,

Working, yet not taking credit,

Work is done, then forgotten.

Therefore it lasts forever.

~ Gia-Fu Feng & Jane English translation ~

Chapter two provides an introduction to two concepts that run throughout the Tao Te Ching and Taoist philosophy overall: yin and yang, and wu wei. The Taoist worldview is what it is because of these concepts.

The first of the two -- yin and yang -- represents the oppositional forces inherent in all things. It's not altogether different from Georg Hegel's formulation of the dialectic process which posits that for every thesis there is a reaction, it's antithesis, and these two forces negate each other individually to produce a new thesis in the form of a synthesis.

This ongoing process is captured in the yin yang symbol which adorns every post on this blog. It signifies that each force is always flowing into the other and that each force -- positive and negative -- encompass a portion of the other. In essence, Taoism is about understanding the oppositional forces inherent in nature.

But this is an exercise fraught with danger as A Musing Taoist points out,

It's possible to take these chapters to indicate an extreme form of relativism, but I see it more as recognizing the dependencies. You can't have an idea of difficult without having an idea of easy. If you know what high means, then not-high becomes low. But the labels are not the thing itself. Once something is labeled, it becomes difficult to lose the label and just see the thing. If you look at a car and think car, are you really seeing the car, or are you seeing an idea of the car? You see that the car is silver, but are you experiencing the way the light shimmers at you so that you can see the silver? Words get in the way. They separate us from our experiences. They have their uses, of course, but sometimes we have to go beyond the words.

As the above comment points out, in order to think and converse about the world around us, we need to draw distinctions among various things. If we did not draw these distinctions, language would be next to impossible. Yet, the distinctions themselves often take on a life of their own as the names and descriptions we give things become the things in our minds.

It is our attachment to these things in our mind that causes imbalance. As Rachael of the site Taoism for Teens explains it,

All of these comparisons cause unhappiness and unbalance with the Tao. The Sage knows that comparisons are only judgments that are relative to the situation and those who make them. That which is ugly to one person may seem beautiful to another.

The second concept introduced in this chapter is wu wei, which can be translated as doing without doing, doing without conscious thought, or going with the flow. Another way to capture the essence of wu wei is to liken it to the athlete or artist who says that he/she was in the zone. Such a person accomplishes their craft effortlessly without having consciously to think of the needed steps to hit a baseball or paint a picture. As the Nike ad says, Just Do It.

Diane Dreher writes,

As we follow the Tao, one lesson appears again and again, trust the process. We cannot change the cycles of life to suit ourselves, but we can learn to flow with them. From my perspective, one of the elements that thwarts this flow time and again is our ego-driven need to be acknowledged or rewarded for whatever it is that we set out to accomplish. When we complete the work in a successful manner, we think of the finished result as ours, an appendage of ourselves. If we don't receive undying praise or recognition for our accomplishments, we become angry, hurt, and frustrated.

I have many faults and foibles, but seeking recognition is generally not one of them.