Tao

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Taoism
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Tao (道, pinyin: dào (help·info) ) is a concept found in Taoism, Confucianism, and more generally in ancient Chinese philosophy. While the character itself translates as 'way', 'path', or 'route', or sometimes more loosely as 'doctrine' or 'principle', it is used philosophically to signify the fundamental or true nature of the world. The concept of Tao differs from Western ontology, however; it is an active and holistic conception of the world, rather than one that focuses on a hierarchy of being.

In Taoism, Tao both precedes and encompasses the universe. As with other nondualistic philosophies, all the observable objects in the world - referred to in the Tao Te Ching as 'the named' or 'the ten thousand things' - are considered to be manifestations of Tao, and can only operate within the boundaries of Tao. Tao is, by contrast, often referred to as 'the nameless', because neither it nor its principles can ever be adequately expressed in words. It is conceived, for example, with neither shape nor form, as simultaneously perfectly still and constantly moving, as both larger than the largest thing and smaller than the smallest, because the words that describe shape, movement, size, or other qualities always create dichotomies, and Tao is always a unity.

While the Tao cannot be expressed, Taoism holds that it can be known, and its principles can be followed. Much of Taoist writing focuses on the value of following the Tao - called Te (virtue) - and of the ultimate uselessness of trying to understand or control Tao outright. This is often expressed through yin and yang arguments, where every action creates a counter-action as a natural, unavoidable movement within manifestations of the Tao.

Tao is often compared to water: clear, colorless, unremarkable, yet all beings depend on it for life, and even the hardest stone cannot stand in its way forever.

Characteristics of Tao

In literal translation, the Chinese character "Tao" (道) is usually rendered in English as road, channel, path, way, doctrine, or line.^[1] The word is commonly used metaphorically in philosophical and religious writings. Accord to Wing-tsit Chan, Tao means a (proper) system of morality for Confucianists, but the natural, eternal, spontaneous, indescribable way the universe and all it contains originated and continued for Taoists.^[2] Hansen disagrees that these were separate meanings and attributes, seeing them as mutually inclusive and appropriate definitions in both traditions.^[3] Tao is often associated with nature, due to the common belief that nature demonstrates Tao.^[4] It is rarely an object of worship, being treated more like the Indian concepts of atman and dharma.^[5]

Tao can be roughly stated to be the flow of the universe, or the force behind the natural order, equating it with the influence that keeps the universe balanced and ordered.^[6] The flow of qi, as the essential energy of action and existence, is often compared to the universal order of Tao. Tao is often considered to be the source of both existence and non-existence. It is compared to what it is not, which according to Keller is similar to the negative theology of Western scholars.^[7]

"Tao" may be used in Chinese as a noun, verb, or adjective, and its meaning can vary significantly depending on context. While Tao is often unavoidably referred to in the sense of the Tao in English, in that context the word is more properly considered a convenient and potentially misleading label for a universal, all-encompassing essence that has no true representation in language. The opening of the Tao Te Ching illustrates this point in its opening: "The Tao that can be spoken of is not the real Tao."^[8]

Liu Da interprets the Tao Te Ching as distinguishing between the label "Tao" (the "named Tao") and the "real" Tao that cannot be spoken of (the "unnamed Tao").^{[notes 1]} This suggests that the word "Tao" may be used to emphasize particular aspects of the broader (unnamed) Tao. Liu Da asserts that Tao is properly understood as a experiential and evolving concept. The I Ching, a text integral to both Taoism and Confucianism, supports these conclusions.^{[notes 2]} Not only are there differences in the personal interpretation of Tao, but what people perceive in Tao is likely to be founded in their own character.^[9]

Taoist interpretations of Tao

In religious Taoism, Tao is understood in terms of these constituents: Jing 精 corresponding to energy; Qi 氣 or flow of energy; and Shen 神 or the Spirit. The triad Jing Qi Shen 精氣神 constitutes the Tao of all that is, and are represented as deities in the Three Pure Ones.^{[citation needed]}

There are characteristics of Tao that are commonly noted and used to describe its functioning, particularly as guidelines for practicing te.

Tao is undifferentiated

All distinctions are actually relative comparisons bound together by their mutual reference. Thus (chapter 2) there is no such thing as 'long' except by comparison to 'short' and vice-versa; there is no such thing as 'being' except by comparison to 'non-being'. Because Tao itself has no shape or size, all comparisons fall within it, so there can never be 'real' differences. Often this is used to suggest a neutral, giving attitude - see TTC chapter 49.

Tao return

"Return" is a complex concept: in one sense it is similar to 'nature abhors a vacuum' - "That with no substance enters there with no space" (TTC chapter 43); in another it reflects the natural cycles of the world (changing of the seasons, births of new generations); in yet a third it implies the natural return to quiescence that is the end result of all action (TTC chapter 14). This concept is often used to argue against forceful action, on the grounds that Tao (and its manifestations) will flow back, circumvent, and eventually undo any attempts to force it into a particular path.

Tao is subtle and quiet

The most important aspects of Tao are its unremarkable, unnoticed, everyday workings - "the softest thing in the world overcomes the hardest" (TTC chapter 43). Many places in the Tao Te Ching point out that dramatic, enticing or noteworthy events may catch the eye and assume significance, but that it is the slow, slight, unobserved and continuous movement of the manifestations of Tao that actually accomplish things. In this context, practitioners are cautioned to be unobtrusive, undemanding, and unsophisticated in their actions, and to know when to let go so that the unseen workings of Tao can carry the act to its completion.

Tao is simultaneously dispassionate and nurturing

Because all beings are manifestations of Tao, Tao - by definition - gives of itself wholly and completely to each. But by the same token, Tao is indifferent to the disposition of mere manifestations. Birth and death and life itself, from the perspective of Tao, are only movements and transformations of form. This is often used to suggest selflessness and detachment to practitioners; compare with the Buddhist notion of anatta (no-self).

Te

Tao is associated with the complex concept of De (德) "power; virtue; integrity", that is, the active expression of Tao.^[10] De is the active living, or cultivation, of that "way".^[11]

See also

Look up 道 in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Taoism portal

• Dō (Way)
• Dharma
• Logos

Notes

1. ^ Tao Te Ching, Chapter 1. "It is from the unnamed Tao
   That Heaven and Earth sprang;
   The named is but
   The Mother of the ten thousand creatures."
2. ^ I Ching, Ta Chuan (Great Treatise). "The kind man discovers it and calls it kind;
   the wise man discovers it and calls it wise;
   the common people use it every day
   and are not aware of it."

Citations

1. ^ DeFrancis (1996) p. 113
2. ^ Chan (1963) p. 136
3. ^ Hansen (2000), p. 206.
4. ^ Martinson (1987), pp. 168–169.
5. ^ LaFargue (1994) p. 283.
6. ^ Cane (2002), p. 13.
7. ^ Keller (2003), p. 289.
8. ^ Liu (1981), pp. 1-3.
9. ^ Liu (1981), pp. 2-3.
10. ^ Sharot (2001), pp. 77–78, 88.
11. ^ Maspero (1981), p. 32.

Bibliography

• Cane, Eulalio Paul. Harmony: Radical Taoism Gently Applied (Trafford Publishing, 2002). ISBN 1412247780.
• Chan Wing-tsit. A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy (Princeton, 1963). ISBN 0691019649.
• DeFrancis, John (ed.). ABC Chinese-English Dictionary: Alphabetically Based Computerized (ABC Chinese Dictionary) (University of Hawaii Press, 1996). ISBN 0824817443.
• Hansen, Chad D. A Daoist Theory of Chinese Thought: A Philosophical Interpretation (Oxford University Press, 2000). ISBN 0195134192.
• Keller, Catherine. The Face of the Deep: A Theology of Becoming (Routledge, 2003). ISBN 0415256488.
• LaFargue, Michael. Tao and Method: A Reasoned Approach to the Tao Te Ching (SUNY Press. 1994) ISBN 0791416011.
• Martinson, Paul Varo. A theology of world religions: Interpreting God, self, and world in Semitic, Indian, and Chinese thought (Augsburg Publishing House, 1987). ISBN 0806622539.
• Maspero, Henri. Translated by Frank A. Kierman, Jr. Taoism and Chinese Religion (University of Massachusetts Press, 1981). ISBN 0870233084.
• Sharot, Stephen. A Comparative Sociology of World Religions: virtuosos, priests, and popular religion (New York: NYU Press, 2001). ISBN 0814798055.

Further reading

• Chang, Dr. Stephen T. The Great Tao. Tao Publishing, imprint of Tao Longevity LLC. 1985. ISBN 0-942196-01-5.
• Gia-Fu Feng & Jane English (translators). 1972. Lao Tsu/Tao Te Ching. New York: Vintage Books.
• Robinet, Isabelle. Taoism: Growth of a Religion (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1997 [original French 1992]) page 14,20. ISBN 0-8047-2839-9.