Laozi

1. Laozi

3. Laozi ( born 604 BC) was a great Chinese ancient thinker and philosopher. He is credited with writing the seminal Daoist work, the Dao De Jing (道德经), and became a popular deity in the Daoist religion's pantheon.

4. Lao Zi in Historical Perspective • The “Axial Age” of Philosophy and Religion Worldwide 800-200 BC • Israel: Isaiah 770-700 BC • Greece: Socrates 469-399 BC; Plato: 427-347BC; Aristotle: 384-322 BC • India: Siddhārtha Gautama乔达摩 563-483 BC • China: Laozi 606-530BC ; Confucius 551-479 BC;

5. Lao Zi’s Influence Today • In Ronald Regan’s address before a Joint Session of Congress on the State of the Union January 25th, 1988 he said:“And as an ancient Chinese philosopher, Lao-tzu, said: "Govern a great nation as you would cook a small fish; do not overdo it."

6. Timothy Shriver, chairman of the Special Olympics, says on the opening ceremony of the Special Olympic Games on Oct. 2, 2007 "Thousands of years ago, a great Chinese philosopher, Laozi, wrote in a book that the way of heaven is to benefit, not to harm. The way of the sage is to do his duty, not to strive for anything else. Today, all people present here, and thousands of Chinese people, are the best interpretation of this. It is because all of you, that we have this moment of hope."

8. At the international economic forum held in St. Petersburg on June 19, 2010, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev proposed to deal with the world financial crisis by following the teachings of the great ancient Chinese philosopher and thinker Laozi's Tao Te Ching. • President Medvedev says: "If we follow the teachings of the Chinese philosopher, I think we can find balance and stand the tremendous test."

10. President Medvedev says: "If we follow the teachings of the Chinese philosopher, I think we can find balance and stand the tremendous test.” • The passage to which he referred asks:

11. "Which one is more harmful, gains or losses? The more people like something, the more they must pay; the more people collect precious things, the sadder they feel when they lose them. Therefore, people will have no humiliation if they are content with their lots and will not be in danger if they stop where they should stop and thus will last long."

12. This is the core content about relations between gains and losses in the Tao Te Ching. It exhorts people to be content, maintain balance and advocate natural moral principles and a peaceful mentality. This is also the core idea of traditional Chinese culture.

13. He believes that traditional Chinese culture tells the concept of "degree," emphasizing that going too far is as bad as not going far enough, while the root cause of the economic crisis is the endless desire of capital and human beings triggered by consumption.

14. According to Shi Ji (Records of the Historian) Laozi’s first name was Er (耳) and his family name was Li (李). • Tradition says he was born in Ku Prefecture (苦县) of the state of Chu (楚), which today is Luyi County (鹿邑) of Henan Province, in the later years of Spring and Autumn Period (771-481 BC).

15. According to the tradition, and a biography included in Sima Qian's work, Laozi was an older contemporary of Confucius and worked as an archivist in the Imperial Library of the Zhou Dynasty court. • Confucius intentionally or accidentally met him in Zhou, nearly a location of modern Luoyang where Confucius was going to browse the library scroll.

16. According to these stories, Confucius, over the following months, discussed ritual and propriety, cornerstones of Confucianism, with Laozi. The latter strongly opposed what he felt to be hollow practices. • Daoist legend claims that these discussions proved more educational for Confucius than the contents of the libraries.

17. Later, Laozi quit his work, perhaps because the authority of Zhou's court was disappearing. Some accounts claim he traveled west on his water buffalo through the state of Qin and from there disappeared into the vast desert. • These accounts have a guard at the western-most gate convincing Laozi to write down his wisdom before heading out into the desert. • Laozi's response to the soldier's request was the Dao De Jing.

18. Laozi’s Work • Until this time, Laozi had shared his philosophy in spoken words only, as was also the case with Jesus, the Buddha and Confucius. • Laozi's work, titled Dao De Jing (The Scripture of Ethics), is one of the most significant treatise in China’s philosophy, a magnum opus covering many area of philosophy from individual spirituality, existentialism, inter-personal dynamics to techniques for governing polities.

19. Deeply rooted in Chinese culture, Dao De Jing is the basic doctrine of Daoism (Taoism), which is one of the three main pillars of Chinese thoughts, i.e., • Confucianism, Buddhism and Daoism.

20. Dao De Jing is composed of two parts: Dao Jing and De Jing. The two volumes have over 5,000 words in 81 chapters. • Dao is the most basic principle in the philosophy of Laozi and De is the interpretation for this principle.

21. The book’s content can be classified into three segments: his universal view, life view and political view. • These segments are interwoven with one another and show a theory of imaginary and magical idealism. • Laozi’s universal view is mainly embodied in his interpretation of Dao.

22. He believed that the universe itself was vast and boundless, and was mother of all things. • Dao (the Way) was eternal and moved without stop. • He said that there was something formless yet complete, that existed before heaven and earth, without sound or substance, independent, unchanging, all pervading, unfailing.

23. One may think of it as the mother of all things under heaven. • Its true name we do not know, so Dao (the way) is the by-name that we give it. • “The way that can be spoken of • Is not the constant way; • The name that can be named • Is not the constant name. • The nameless was the beginning of heaven and earth;

24. Lao Zi used the concept of the “Dao” (Way) to explain all changes in the universe, and put forward dialectical ideas such as “Dao gives rise to one, one gives rise to two, two gives rise to three and three gives rise to all other things”, “All things under Heaven came from something which in turn came from nothing”.

25. Laozi’s interpretation for Tao: • He said that Tao was an unvarying way that could not be explained , but existed externally. Since it could not be named, it was called Tao, which was an external unvarying way for it. • Laozi did not only just define the term Tao, butalso expounded its influences and functions on governing a state. • According to him, the king with Tao knew the law of great Tao, then people would submit to his authority.

26. It was because people submitted to him and he did not hurt them that the state could be stable and peaceful. • Laozi’s life view and political view are mainly embodied in his thought wuwei (无为or non-action in English). • The characters hung in the Hall of Mental Cultivation in Forbidden City were no other than Wuwei.

28. Chapter 37 • The Dao always remains inactive, • Yet it acts upon everything in the world. • If lords and kings can keep it, • All creatures will grow and develop naturally. • When desires are kindled • in the growth and development, • I can suppress them • with the nameless Simplicity of the Dao.

29. Once I do so • desire will be repressed, • Once desires are repressed, • The whole world will be naturally at peace.

30. Chapter 57 • … • Thus the sage says, • If I prefer inaction, • The people will naturally crave for peace; • If I act little, • The people will be naturally rectified. • If I am not meddlesome, • The people will naturally become rich; • If I get rid of desires • The people will naturally become simple.

31. Laozi’s idea of non action was challenged by the tribal or state wars. • He saw the destruction of war on society:

32. Laozi says: “Dao never does, yet through it all things are done.” • The thought of this philosophy was that the action of all sages of Daoism came from their intuitive wisdom so that they were spontaneous actions and were in harmony with the surroundings.

33. They did not need to force themselves or the things around them, but just adapted their actions to the law of Tao. • Joseph Needham believed that Wuwei meant to curb actions that were against nature.

34. Zhuang Zi stated that Wuwei did not mean doing nothing and keeping quiet, instead,it let everything develop to the full satisfaction of its nature in its own way. • If actions that went against nature could be curbed, disharmony could be avoided. Thus human beings could be in harmony with Dao, and their actions could achieve success.

35. Chapter 77 • Does not Dao of heaven • resemble the bending of a bow (aiming): • Pressing down the high, • Lifting up the low, • Reducing the excessive, • Compensating the deficient? • So the Dao of heaven means to compensate

36. the deficient by reducing the excess. • The Dao of man is different: • It gives to one • who already has more than enough • by taking from one who is in want. • Who can offer what he has • in excess to the people? • Only the man of Dao.

37. Chapter 60 • When the Dao prevails in the world, • Even Ghosts and spirits become harmless. • It is not that ghosts become harmless • But that their potencies • can no longer harm people. • Not only ghosts become harmless, • Sages harm no people either.

38. Hence neither does any harm to the people • And both sages and ghosts • help the people to enjoy the benefit of virtue. • In Laozi’s political view, he rules out the interference of Ghosts and spirits.

39. Chapter 49 • The sage often has no will, • He takes the people’s will as his own. • What is good • I will treat with goodness; • What is not good • I also treat with goodness. • Thus I obtain goodness.

40. … • When the sage governs the world, • He simplifies his • as well as the people’s minds. • The people are all preoccupied • with their eyes and ears, • The sage helps them return • to the childhood state.

41. Chapter 30 • He who assists the ruler • by means of the Dao • Does not conquer other countries • by the military force. • Military actions usually invite • retaliatory aftermath. • Wherever armies station, • Thistles and thorn grow;

42. A great war is always followed • by a great famine. • He who is well versed in the art of war • only uses the force to win the war, • and not to bully or conquer • other countries. • …

43. Chapter 46 • When the Dao prevails in the world, • the battle steeds are returned to farmers for tilling the fields; • When the Dao does not prevail • in the world, • Even pregnant mares • are taken over for wars.

44. Chapter 31 • Arms are tools of ill omen, • Detested by everybody. • And a man of the Dao does not use them. • … • Arms are tools of ill omen, • Not the instrument of the gentlemen. • Even if compelled to use them • The gentleman does not use them with pleasure.

45. Laozi thought things are in pairs, such as big and small, birth and death, beautiful and ugly, etc. As long as there is "good," there will be "bad." • All things are created from existence, and existence is created from nonexistence, then there will be existence before nonexistence.

46. Then what are De and the relation between Tao and De? • Since Dao does not have a human character, Laozi invented De for human being in particular and all things in general. • He said, "Dao bears us, De nurtures us, nature shapes us, and circumstance completes us." De is thus the embodiment or form of Tao.

47. Confucius was searching for ways of making the world’ a better place to live in. • The philosophy of Daoism, however, turned its back on worldly preoccupations and concerned itself with the individual and his inner life. • Whereas Confucius was concerned with the problem of the world, Laozi preoccupied with matters of the spirit.

48. Although much of Dao De Jing is concerned with nature and the principle of the Tao, it also includes references to how the individual should behave and how a ruler should conduct himself. • The ideal individual is the sage, and a sage is one who comprehends the Way. • The ideal ruler is also the sage, who might be supposed to be able to apply his knowledge of the Way to the task of ruling.

49. However, the question arises: how far should the ruler intervene? • For Laozi the key phrase is Wuwei (without action), the implication being that the task of the ruler is to avoid doing anything which might upset the natural order. • The state is a delicate thing which may be ruined by the least handling.

50. As a consequence, “governing a large state is like cooking a small fish”. By avoiding intervention and by setting an example, the ruler might succeed in leading his people to a state of innocence and simplicity.