The Tao

MeditationMom

Just curious - are any atheists here aware and knowledgeable about the Tao? I love the Tao and think it is the ultimate spiritual teaching. I don't know what kind of crazy religions might have sprung up around it - got to do some research... But, the Tao itself is clean and true from what I can tell. It should resonate quite well with atheists.

My favorite book on the Tao is "Lao Tsu, Tao Te Ching", a new translation by Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English, ISBN 0-943-71833-X

Lao Tsu, an older contemporary of Confucius,was keeper of the imperial archives at Loyang in the province of Honan in the sixth century BC. All his life he taught "The Tao that can be told, is not the Tao"; but, according to legend, as he was riding off into the desert to die - sick at heart at the ways of men - he was persuaded by a gatekeeper in northwestern China to write down his teaching for posterity. The essence of the Tao is "Simply be".

To wet your appetite, here is a verse that should make most atheists smile:

When the great Tao is forgotten,
Kindness and morality arise.
When wisdom and intelligence are born,
The great pretense begins.

Asiaprod

Ever read "The Tao of Pooh" by Benjamin Hoff. Very nice explanation of the Tao.

MeditationMom

Yes, indeed - and the Te of Piglet - the simple virtue of "very small".



Thanks for reminding me.

CerebralCortex

Knowing others is intelligence;
knowing yourself is true wisdom.
Mastering others is strength;
mastering yourself is true power.

estebancambias

CerebralCortex wrote: »

Knowing others is intelligence;
knowing yourself is true wisdom.
Mastering others is strength;
mastering yourself is true power.

Sounds dangerous.

pwd

I think the message is that it's better to master yourself than others, rather than advocating mastering others.
I read the tao te ching ages ago and really liked it. The religion itself was a bit bizarre - they thought you could achieve immortality by having lots of sex without orgasming for example. I say "was" because it doesn't really exist as an organised religion any more as far as I know - I think it was wiped out when the communists came to power in China.

CerebralCortex

estebancambias wrote: »

Sounds dangerous.

Lao Tzu said it I happen to agree with it. I don't see how its dangerous, an opinion on it yerself?

MeditationMom

I guess we have to remember that all the translations are from Kanji characters - so words like strength and power will be used differently by different people who are translating. The translation will depend on the level of understanding of that person.

Knowing others is intelligence;
knowing yourself is true wisdom.
Mastering others is strength;
mastering yourself is true power.

This verse is different in the book I have:

Knowing others is wisdom,
Knowing the self is enlightenment.
Mastering others requires force;
Mastering the self requires strength.

and then it continues:

He who knows he has enough is rich.
Perseverance is a sign of will power.
He who stays where he is endures.
To die but not to perish is to be eternally present.

Scofflaw

Haven't re-read it in a while, or any of Alan Watts stuff. It's a good way of looking at things.

cordially,
Scofflaw

CerebralCortex

MeditationMom wrote: »

I guess we have to remember that all the translations are from Kanji characters - so words like strength and power will be used differently by different people who are translating. The translation will depend on the level of understanding of that person.



This verse is different in the book I have:

Knowing others is wisdom,
Knowing the self is enlightenment.
Mastering others requires force;
Mastering the self requires strength.

and then it continues:

He who knows he has enough is rich.
Perseverance is a sign of will power.
He who stays where he is endures.
To die but not to perish is to be eternally present.

I can't remember where I got that quote from I jus thought it sounded cool in the context of this thread.