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Tao is only a name, it is a name outside of duality, it is the one thing with no anti, no, or opposite. The name Tao was given to the "unnameable" unwillingly by the first person to use the term, Lau Tzu. Lau Tzu did not wish to name Tao at all but was in a corner do do so as he was writing a book. Giving names causes problems and some chapters point to just that. So the name is just an aspect of language and not anything in itself.

Tao is an all embracing concept; which, due to its nature, can not be put into words. Therefore the first line anyone reads from the most famous book on the Tao "The Tao Te Ching" is something like "The Tao that can be told is not the Tao", the book then goes on to give a furthur 80 short enlightening verses pointing towards the Tao.

No thing or description is the Tao yet nothing is independant of the Tao. Think "There is all that is, so there must be all that isn't" -The Tao is both of those. And the term is simply the unnameable, non-dual, "it".

Tao almost equates to Interdependance mixed with an idea of motion - yet is neither. Motion could not exist without stillness, and nothing with properties can exist without something without those properties - the Tao has no properties yet contains them all - words fail it!

The Tao Te Ching is essential reading. Get an audio book free from here. and Alan Watts talks of the Lao Tzu. Plus Tao of Jeet Kune Do Bruce Lee

This may be unclear to newcomers but Tao is not a religion. Taoism is a religion and is probably the hardest to pin down as anything from Chinese life, simplicity, the arrangement of a house, and more, can all be called Taoism. I am open to the good in all but do not follow a religion as I find they are exclusive and thereby restrictive of ones true nature.

"I let go of religion,
and people become serene."

"When they lose their sense of awe,
people turn to religion."

Tao therefore is a philosophy or a way of thinking - it can be used by anyone non-exclusively; It is the notion of seeing from the center, seeing that all points exist do to polar complementaries (not opposites). Things exist due to the notion of an opposite yet are complementary, mutually arising, in total interdependence of each other.

Often explained by the idea of a Clay Pot - the pot, decorated or not, is seen to be that part of value. Yet if it were not empty, it would have no use.

Here I would like to encourage modern, plain talking, about the Tao; how it relates to us now, and not the "ye olde" translations unless they carry direct relation to life now.

The basic premise that this forum and any discussion of the Tao break this idea in chapter one;

"That which can be named is not Tao, the name is not the named"

It is one of the most important aspects of dealing with the Tao, yet many words have been written. I feel though that if anyone would like to discuss tao here then it is great. So long as it is to aid breaking old concepts and not to try to rigidly pin down that which can not be named.

The complementaries of opposites (Yin and Yang). The key of breaking down that barrier of seeing polar as opposite and starting to see them instead as complementary.

"By finding something Good, we do it by knowing something Bad" "Beauty by Ugly" "Strong by Weak"

A big key to shaking the old mindset is this; then learning to see all is, because of something else.

How in actual fact, leaving things alone is best. This comes up many times and in this chapter is explained by;

"Displaying wealth just causes greed"

By simplifying, and living that way, no one would rob or need to, government would not be required.

Chuang Tzu has a story based on this that "if you put all your belongings in one bag, then you have done most of the work for the thief already".

The power in what we never appreciate.

"By doing nothing the universe breeds all the complexity we can imagine and more"

I once saw that a car was about to pull away from its parking space and realised it was not the engine pushing but the air getting out of the way.

That may seem silly but often Tao is explained with extremes in mind, sending your mind to where it wouldn't normally go so it sees the completeness.

Two things are said here and it is again pointing to the power of (so called) nothing or beginning or end.

Most chapters have many meanings at different levels but they are best found personally to have true holding, I am skimming the outer meanings to begin with.

Pointing you to see that life goes on "a rotten fruit is the food and beginning of the new seed which in turn has the potential to be a great fruit bearing tree".

That "Tao is always empty, always full and is thereby the source of all".

Moving on slowly from 4 through 5 and now 6, again we have this mysterious power.

"The power of the valley, a mountain would have no height without."

That negative space has as much potential power as the space taken by the mountain, maybe more as it is unseen and hidden so we must widen our attention.

The true power of no self, as we know Tao is not a "thing" we were told in chapter 1, and all discussion past that point is futile - Yet Lao Tzu did it so we can be forgiven.

"By having no finite self it is infinite" "When man can see himself as not just the body that he lives in, then he too is infinite and deathless."

So thats what they mean by immortality!

Water. It is used many times as a metaphor of Tao; Stillness, Depth and so on..

"Like water you do best by doing as you go along, finding the right level, adjusting at the right time, not before, and being able to adjust again." "To have the power to nourish life and wash away stone."

Pretty powerful when you think about it, yet only a minor aspect of Tao.

Explained best with a thought experiment.

1) you are in a small hut in a small village and you have the same as everyone else.

2) you are in a small hut in a small village and you have a large piece of gold.

Many may like the gold, but who sleeps best that night when there are robbers in town?

So there with pride;

"When you are proud you can fall. Those with nothing can rise. He with just what he needs has less to fear."

Well can you? This is the tough act of balance; knowing your self can be tricky.

"Can you know yourself with out getting lost in yourself?" "Can you take care of others with out them being smothered?"

The tough act we have set as if we had left the Tao at chapter one and gone on to live a perfect life this would not be an issue, but now with a little more knowledge of life we have to be able to move on, get it right, balance things well, not get lead off by greed, also not over simplify, not make a big deal out of our being simple and not let the thought of being natural get in the way of our nature.

"Balance, without knowing you are balanced." - Lets just say that this comes about without thought; thinking through this one can never resolve it.

This is a chapter where people grasp the Tao and truly get a feel for it. Again it is the 'Complementary of Opposites' also known as 'Mutual Arising' and 'Interdependence'.

"The soup bowl; useful because of the empty space within it." "The wheel; useful due to the empty center it rotates upon."

And in some translations but often attributed to Chaung Tzu, "The Windows of your house, drawing in light, their usefulness is in their emptiness."

Again a solid house would be no use, it is the space with in that we use, a door is the part making a wall from a barrier to a useful attribute.

Solid playing against space, minor aspects of Tao, but we start to view the bigger picture.

Another strong "ah-haaa" chapter is 12, when we see that we form these rules, then treat them as rule. Once we have the rules we judge everything by them, and in doing so we miss the rest, most people miss most of it.

"The 5 colours blind, The 5 sounds deafen".

Once we have a notion that there are a set number of things, we become blind of deaf to the rest. If you could only describe your mood with Happy or Sad you would see it was very inadequate, and that truly everything sits on a vast sliding scale, but our language focuses on only minor steps.

Success and Failure, as described earlier are not to be strived for, seen as ends or goals.

"Success and failure can be called equal worries. A successful man has much to lose and his fear can be worse or the same as a man with nothing."

We see this a lot in society, the wealthy constantly strive for more as what they have is never satisfactory, the man with nothing is similar.

The chapter goes on to say that a one who can live by this rule would be a sound person to lead the others. And we see in fact that no world leader is a good guide, as has been said; "If a man wishes for power - then that should be a good reason to keep it from him".

Another warning that Tao can not be seen, heard, touched or known by name.

This chapter reminds us of that yet lets us know that from what we can see, hear and touch there is enough evidence.

I must point out quite clearly that this is not a call for faith, there is not religion or belief here. It should be known by knowing, yet there is nothing directly to know.

"See how only something completely silent can allow for every sound. Something completely void of colour can allow for every colour."

So by that negation we can get to nothing, but on arrival there we see that the potential is vast, so nothing, like every name for Tao, is also incorrect. I like the term "Everynothing", but again, once it is named, it is not it. Just see that the potential is so vast that being, seeing, touching, are present and that potential, and those "doing's" are all aspects of the ungraspable, unnameable.

got it? no? good! (you see saying yes would be false)

Here is a good one to explain how you can't get tied up in trying to know or get it all right. Just being is best. Being yet being when unaware your being, acting like the stream.

"They [old masters] were cautious like a welcome guest, Open as a valley, Plain as a block, "

and so it goes on with many differing translations, yet all pointing to natural, unassuming being.

"acting as such, great things will be achieved."

Again, nature, coming and going, not being afraid of any state, seeing it all as a flow.

"the old grass that dies to form food for the new, the mistake you made that lead you to the success."

It's all just one flowing thing, if you get hung up on any aspect you are trying to grab a tree branch to stop your raft. You may slow it, you may fall, but more importantly you will miss what is coming. And almost without fail, good follows bad. Hanging on to the bad amplifies it, yet the coming good washes it away with no effort.

This is often taken right to the limit in many translations and asks you to see death in the same way "Did you fear birth?" It is change and you prejudice will not help unless you see it as such. Change, the butterfly may not remember it was a caterpillar, the caterpillar may have feared its end.

Great chapter. This is still relevant to us all yet this chapter gives us a little chance to point the finger at others. You may think that is a not nice thing to do, but it is natural, and we can't fight nature. By us pointing the finger here we learn about ourselves so it is good.

"Great leaders are not seen, Good leaders are loved, Mediocre leaders are talked about, Bad leaders are hated."

and so on, there are many translations. But from there we have a number of lessons; Those who meddle in the lives of others make for bad leaders, the less the good ones do, and the more they let us go about our natural way, the less we know of them and the happier we are. The happier we are, the less they have to do and so it perpetuates.

Again a good reason we can't know or name Tao; as long as it is unknown, it is our greatest leader. Once we try to know and define it, all the worlds problems will arise.

It is only when we fail at chapter 17 that 18 comes into play (the world as it is now has failed at 17 and 18 is well under way)

"When people lost the natural way; talk of respect, love and decency came to be."

You see, we do not love someone because we are told to love them, love comes about naturally. Once people are being told to respect, then something much more important has already been lost.

Combining the wisdom of 18 and other chapters on balance we have this;

"When people are rid of convention of how to love, act and cherish; then they will naturally hold their families dear."

"Rid of knowledge; they would be wise."

I can't say any more about this, it is smack in the face clear and stark truth.

Onward from the idea of formal ways, we come to see that shaping ourselves at all is false. What are we doing reading this then? Well, unfortunately much has been done that needs to be undone, unless the Tao Te Ching is the first book you read.

"How can you see me as a simple man as having it all so right? If you see the man of gold as the leader for you then what can I say? I will not chose to guide you, nor will I take any habit from you. You see what you will as good, I will see it my way, for any following of any way is foolish for anyone not going that way."

"I would rather be simple, a tree is perfect no matter its form, it will never ask questions and is always right. A baby is happy without being told to smile, can get an erection without the knowledge of union, it knows non measure or value in any of this."

Another reaffirmation that we can not know Tao, yet it must be our only guide.

"In knowing a man is sane, then we need to see how he is not guided by others, or by convention, but guided by Tao. Yet how if Tao can not be named or directly known do we know? Well in seeing all there is, and all there can be, along with the constant changes, we see clearly Tao in action. From that we can know its source. By "non-action", not striving towards anything and becoming natural ourselves, not only do we see the Tao in others but in everything."

"Yield and you can not break."

Again, water can be our guide. As mentioned it is soft yet can wear away rock, it can shape to anything and when it is under pressure it rises to find a new place or busts out of the situation to take its natural forum.

"By not taking credit you make a bigger stand." "To show off is to attract more attention to fault."

The main message here is that the extremes can be negative places, yet you can use extremes to your benefit.

"An empty shelf is far more use than a full one." "To be completely empty is the best way to gain fullness."

"Nothing lasts."

This is a powerful statement. Nothing lasts, truly nothing does. Nothing (Tao) lasts (is infinite). And nothing that is a thing can last.

"A storm does not last all day. So if nature, as powerful as it is, does not go on forever, why should you?"

Remember next time you are in a very good, or a very bad situation...

"A storm does not last all day."

"Nothing lasts."

"Admiring them self, they do so alone"

Pride is a fault not a quality, those who call attention to themselves attract just the attention that they do not want.

"Do not call attention to your work and it will be appreciated for what it is."

Take enough, move on, leave the rest for others.

"Formless, voiceless, Changeless,"

This is one of the chapters that again says how we can't even name Tao it is beyond the bounds of concept - yet that fact is what lets us know it.

A lovely paradox.

Another look at Complementaries, Interdependence and Mutual Arising.

(You can clearly see around 4 reoccurring main themes in the Tao Te Ching and that it could be even shorter than its already short length. Yet each chapter gives you a little more to get the messages home. This could be reason to believe the work is not the work of one author and that it has been added to, yet I find this not so important as the work has a great continuity and these repetitions are slightly different, nice pointers and some just resonate with people more than others.)

This chapter seem to have been written to someone as a message and over the years has become a general warning.

"You may be surrounded in beauty but should not be caught by it. No matter the length of your journey you must be well prepared."

So a balance of "not getting lost in things and desire" yet also never losing track of what is important. "Having ALL you need, but nothing more. Being able to let the surplus go and not letting it all go."

Here is a chapter a little off the norm. Using the same concepts of embracing the whole we go to look at ourselves and others.

"To move so well that a foot-print never shows,
Speak so well that the tongue never slips,
Reckon so well that no counter is needed..."

"These are traits not only of a sound man
But of many a man thought to be unsound...."

"A good man, before he can help a bad man,
Finds in himself the matter with the bad man..."

So the key here is to see how these things are in relation to others and get a complete hold of the situation. Before condemning the bad or helping the needy we need to see the full picture and how we fit in to it. So while the good teach as they have good to give, the wise give to all. They only give enough, so no one misses out and nothing is overdone.

Again Opposites. We can start this one with electricity. No matter how Positive the power is it will not flow, it has no use. The entire circuit is required Positive and negative and wire to flow through.

The person of Tao is the wire and does not discount Positive or Negative, Light or Dark. Again an example is the photograph or painting, the light and the shade play off against each other, one can not be removed.

so we get;

"One who is the wisest and the humblest is the valley to the world."

Remember the power of a valley? This is also shown by the ocean - gaining its vastness by remaining the lowest.

Frank and to the point, chapter 29 says "Just Be". (Not that we have any choice, but do not spend time trying to force or control.)

"When you see people trying to shape and control the world, you notice they never succeed."

"For some time food will be plenty and people will become fat, yet during this time others will starve."

"For time some will become rich, yet they do this by leaving others with nothing."

Should you live with simple means, you will find great pleasure in life. In time your pleasure will amplify as you see that you allowed others to do the same.

Weapons, force, and displays of war will leave trouble and decay and will ultimately come back on the aggressor.

"They can force or control their whole lives, never once happy, never giving happiness to others, they will die like everyone."

We see this all through history and the present, if they look happy or history says they were, then we know better. No one living like this can have the true happiness of life. Unfortunately those with most power to destroy normally carry onwards. Smashing harder and harder, trying to build by force, they are a certain kind of person who have always existed and probably always will, yet if we see them a laughable examples of failure, and not leaders, then we will benefit.

"To rejoice in war is to rejoice in death."

"While battle may be brought upon you, you should end it with only enough well timed action, no more, and not rejoice in the win."

"One win is another's loss."

"Conduct your victory as a funeral."

I can't add to these lines, any questions or observations?

We can't be flippant, it may seem that the way of Tao is to just go on normally, not get involved and let things just be. It is! Yet we must add balance, if we see an extreme in prevalence we should address it. If we see a large oppression we should remove the foundation.

Unfortunately when people took control they never stopped and some of that has gone too far. Life will redress the balance but if we see others in trouble we should not be held back from helping. While we seem to be told to leave it alone it would be misplacing wisdom to keep out of such a situation.

"Acting wisely with just enough can remove problems and prevent new ones."

"Too much wisdom, like force, leads to new problems. And like with true love, allowing just a little to flow, is against our true nature."

"Having enough is true wealth. Knowing yourself is true wisdom. Never needing to use force, you got it right,"

Again a chapter on balance. Various translations exist, many following this layout;

"Knowledge studies others,
Wisdom is self-known;
Muscle masters brothers,
Self-mastery is bone;
Content need never borrow,
Ambition wanders blind:
Vitality cleaves to the marrow
Leaving death behind."

[that passage is from the Witter Bynner translation]

Again another message that we truly can't go telling others how to be, until we really know ourselves. And seeing how hard that is to truly, truly know yourself, you have to question anyone who believes they can rule a nation.

Although I must add that "knowing yourself" goes well out of the bounds of the "self with a name" that "you sitting there" and into the bounds of "yourself" where you are the Tao, you are everyone, everything, and no one can fully know that as knowledge is of course limited. Thereby no should decide to be a leader but leave that job to Tao.

Going on from the point that Tao should be our leader, here are more reasons why;

"Tao is in everything, it wants for nothing, asks for nothing, provides for all and asks for nothing in return."

That, as we can see, is what makes a great leader and the best we can do is use that as a model for ourselves, hope anyone choosing to lead has that in mind and that they too can act with no thought of reward.

Here is a little clip from the very modern translation by Ron Hogan;

"People can be easily distracted
by music or good food.
When we try to talk about Tao,
it seems boring by comparison.

It doesn't look like much.
It doesn't sound like much.
But no matter how much you use,
there's still plenty left."

Very modern English yet clear and to the point (as was his intention).

So this chapter is another one pointing to no thought of reward, providing for all, and being endlessly available - the description seems vague and boring in comparison to a fine meal yet will satisfy you even when full. That is the thing present in "faith" and religion which I distance myself and Tao from greatly, as here there is something that will be with you in good times and bad, yet truly asks for nothing in return. No collection box, no rules, just be who you are, and there you go. You can quite legitimately be bad and still be with Tao, but only a fool will miss how that effects the self and true happiness will be missed that way.

To feel down, you must have been up. Only a person with little can appreciate a lot. A small meal offered to the full person is quite a different thing to the same meal offered to the hungry. Obvious it seems, until you are in a similar situation, you may not be able to see the meaning here until a situation you are in has passed and you remember these sayings.

"To have lost, means you once had."

"Weakness can overcome strength."

These sayings in the various translations show how you can over come the big with a new appreciation of its size, you stand to lose more if you feel you have more and can also point to how we can stop clinging to things.

True happiness and a content life comes from simplicity, again we are asked to see this point.

"If leaders and people could just act by not acting (the concept of Wu Wei) then life would regain its balance, the natural course would take place, and the world would be right with Tao."