Lao Tsu

(Lao Tse, Lao Tzu, Lao si, Lao Tan, Laozi) “The Old Master”, “The Old Sage”

Many theories abound as to the identity of the sixth-century B.C. philosopher Lao Tsu. Some scholars maintain that Lao Tsu is simply a pen name used by several separate Taoists. The Chinese historian Ssuma Chien however tells us that Lao Tsu was in fact the archivist Li Erh from the imperial court in the state of Ch'u.

The legend goes that upon deciding to take retirement Li Erh set out for Tibet, disillusioned with men and the state of the world. Upon leaving the state however he was detained at the border by a guard, Yin Xi (Yin Hsi), who asked Lao Tsu to record his wisdom before leaving. He then composed in less than five and a half thousand characters the work known as the Tao Teh Ching.

Contemplating the remarkable natural world Lao Tsu felt that it was man and his activities which constituted a blight upon the otherwise perfect order of things. Thus he counselled people to turn away from the folly of human pursuits and to return to one's natural wellspring (Tao 12).

The central vehicle of achieving tranquillity was the Tao, a term which has been translated as 'the way' or 'the path.' Teh in this context refers to virtue and Ching refers to laws. Thus the Tao Teh Ching could be translated as The Law (or Canon) of Virtue and it's Way. The Tao was the central mystical term of the Lao Tsu and the Taoists, a formless, unfathomable source of all things (Tao 14). Knowing the ancient beginning is the essence of Tao.

Lao Tsu taught that all straining, all striving are not only vain but counterproductive. One should endeavour to do nothing (wu-wei). But what does this mean? It means not to literally do nothing, but to discern and follow the natural forces - to follow and shape the flow of events and not to pit oneself against the natural order of things. First and foremost to be spontaneous in one's actions.

In this sense the Taoist doctrine of wu-wei can be understood as a way of mastering circumstances by understanding their nature or principal, and then shaping one's actions in accordance with these. This understanding has also infused the approach to movement as it is developed in Tai Chi Chuan.

Understanding this, Taoist philosophy followed a very interesting circle. On the one hand the Taoists, rejected the Confucian attempts to regulate life and society and counselled instead to turn away from it to a solitary contemplation of nature. On the other hand they believed that by doing so one could ultimately harness the powers of the universe. By 'doing nothing' one could 'accomplish everything' (Tao 47).