The Yin is within the Yang
and vice versa, dynamically
flowing, both aspects needed.

 

 

 

 


The eight different combinations of triads of short and long sticks can
foretell one's future, in "popular"
taoism.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 ON THE UNKNOWABILITY OF THE ULTIMATE IN TAOISM

The TAO TE CHING  [now often labeled the Dow De Jing]

The contents of the Tao Te Ching--The Book of the Power of the Way (or, more literally, the Way-Power Book)--came from around the time of Confucius (551-479 BCE), according to legends about its supposed author, Lao Tzu. But the form we have is from the fourth century B.C.E. By this time there is are clearer statements suggesting a universal Ultimate so far beyond the limits of ordinary things that it is ineffable [beyond what words can express]. (The numbers after each set of verses indicate which "stanza" of the 81 stanzas of the Tao Te Ching the verses are taken from.)

The Tao that can be told of is not the eternal Tao;
The name that can be named is not the eternal name.
The Nameless is the origin of Heaven and Earth;
The Named is the mother of all things. (1)

Ques:  in one word, what is the origin of Heaven and Earth according to the Tao Te Ching?

Tao produced the One.
The One produced the Two.
The two produced the three.
And the three produced the ten thousand things.
The ten thousand things carry the yin and embrace the yang,
    and through the blending of the material force they achieve harmony. (42)

Ques:  what all did the Tao end up producing, directly and indirectly?

He who knows [the Tao] does not speak.
He who speaks does not know. (56)

Ques:  according to the Tao Te Ching, what person speaks about what the Tao is?

Further words attributed to Lao Tzu:

"There is a primal essence that is all-inclusive and undifferentiated and which existed before there was any appearance of heaven and earth. How tranquil and empty it is! How self-sufficing and changeless! How omnipresent and infinite! Yet this tranquil emptiness becomes the Mother of all. Who knows its name? I can only characterize it and call it Tao. Though it is quite inadequate, I will even call it the Great. But how boundless is its Greatness! It stretches away into the far distances (like a circle) only to return again."

"Tao is eternal but is unnameable. Its simplicity, though considered as of the humblest, is most independent. Nothing in the world is able to bring it into subjection."

Great Tao is all pervading! It is available everywhere, on the right hand and on the left. Everything is dependent upon it for existence and it never fails them.

"Tao is invisible but permeates everywhere; no matter how one uses it or how much, it is never exhausted."

T or F:  there is a certain limited location where the Tao can be seen.  Explain

"To common people Tao’s principle of simplicity and humility seems weak and insipid; they desire and seek music and dainties. Indeed, Tao has no taste! When looked at there is nothing to be prized; when listened for, it can scarcely be heard; but its satisfactions are inexhaustible."

"Tao acts without assertion, yet all things proceed in conformity with it."

"The superior man, as soon as he listens to Tao, earnestly practices Tao; an average man, hearing of Tao, sometimes remembers it and sometimes forgets it; and inferior man, hearing of Tao, ridicules it. If it were not thus ridiculed, it would not be worth following as Tao."

Ques:  Do superior, average and inferior people all appreciate the Tao equally?  Explain a bit.

[Taken from words attributed to Laotzu, sixth century B.C. Chinese philosopher. Laotzu’s Tao and Wu-Wel. . Trans. By Bhikshu Wai-dau and D. Goddard.]