Tao te ching_ annotated & explained - Derek Lin [2]
The Tao Te Ching teaches that ruling an empire is like frying small fish. Think about that for a moment: Frying small fish takes a lot of care and trouble, yet is rewarded with little benefit. Studying the Tao Te Ching, however, is quite the opposite: Any effort invested in penetrating the subtle beauty and mystery of this ancient wisdom classic will be rewarded in abundance, as it has for generations.
To see nothing is supreme seeing;
to know nothing is supreme knowing.
The great Way has no gate; this
gateless gate invites entry.
The Other Shore is not far:
no oceans to cross,
no within and without,
no barriers, no wall, no hindrance.
LAMA SURYA DAS
DZOGCHEN CENTER
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS
Introduction
Some time ago, Amazon.com asked author Michael Crichton the following question: “If you were stranded on a desert island with only one book, which book would it be?”
His answer: the Tao Te Ching.1
Why? With millions of books from which to choose, including the greatest literature human civilization has ever produced, why the Tao Te Ching?
Crichton is not the only famous author with such a high regard for this ancient classic. Eckhart Tolle calls it one of the most profound spiritual books ever written.2 What is it about the Tao Te Ching that inspires such praise? What accounts for its appeal?
The Tao Te Ching ranks with the Bible as one of the most translated books of all time.3 This is all the more amazing when you consider that it achieves this status without the active promotion of religious institutions. Its widespread popularity throughout history is due to its own merits. Yet, at first glance, the Tao Te Ching may not seem very remarkable. It is a thin book; its eighty-one chapters are so concise that most of them do not fill an entire page. Somehow, its succinct words manage to convey a universe of wisdom and insight. Of all the great works of spirituality in human history, the Tao Te Ching may be the one that says the most with the least.
The richness of the Tao Te Ching invites—even demands—lifelong exploration. Its layers of meaning reveal themselves gradually. No matter how many times we study it, we discover something new with each reading. People who return to the Tao Te Ching after a hiatus often find that it seems like a completely different book. Even though its words remain the same, people change, and their additional life experience allows them to see new lessons that had been there all along but had gone unnoticed—lessons hidden in plain sight.
The Tao Te Ching presents its teachings without fanfare. Its author, Lao Tzu, does not claim divine inspiration, infallibility, or indeed any basis of authority. He is a mere philosopher, not a prophet or messiah. He does not ask us to accept anything on blind faith, but rather trusts that the lessons in the Tao Te Ching will prove themselves.
For these lessons are eminently practical. The Tao Te Ching is more than a commentary on spirituality; it is also a useful and down-to-earth guide to living life with grace, peace, and joy. Perhaps this, more than any other reason, is why the Tao Te Ching has cast its spell on generation after generation since its writing 2,500 years ago.
Birth of the Tao Te Ching
But just what is the Tao Te Ching? How was it written? And who exactly was its author, Lao Tzu? Taoist lore includes a legendary story about the origin of the Tao Te Ching that, like all good stories, reveals more than it first appears.
The events in the story took place during the decline of the Zhou Dynasty. The emperor had lost effective control, and noble families ruling individual states seized power, each hoping to consolidate China under its own rule. This was the precursor to the time of unrest in Chinese history known as the Warring States period.