Tao means way in Chinese. Anything said beyond that is tentative, for as the opening verse of the Tao Te Ching states: “The way that can be spoken of is not the constant way. The name that can be named is not the constant name.” So, consider this overview with that in mind:
We react to life according to how we perceive it. If a perception is out of touch with reality, we react in ways that waste time, energy, and bring about unnecessary chaos and suffering. Taoist thought seeks to solve this problem at its perceptual source. As the Tao Te Ching puts it: “Woe to him who wilfully innovates while ignorant of the constant way…”
Taoist thought offers us a way to see through the chaos of life and realize, within ourselves, this “constant way.” How does Taoist thought do this?
Taoist thought rests on the realization that reality is complementary; nature is inherently cooperative—not competitive. The Chinese black and white Yin-Yang circle symbolizes this co-generating principle. Consider the following excerpts from the Tao Te Ching which illustrate this circular relationship.
“Thus Something and Nothing produce each other.”
“It is on disaster that good fortune perches; It is beneath good fortune that disaster crouches.”
Knowing this circular relationship moderates extremes and allows us to look deeper. As another verse, referring to opposites, states: “These two are the same, but diverge in name as they issue forth. Being the same they are called mysteries, mystery upon mystery—the gateway of the manifold secrets.”
Easing the distinction between opposites helps us sense a deeper reality, as this excerpt shows: “…Untangle the knots; soften the glare; settle the dust. This is known as mysterious sameness.”
Or, even more challenging to our idealistic view of life: “The whole world recognizes the beautiful as the beautiful, yet this is only the ugly; the whole world recognizes the good as the good, yet this is only the bad.”
There are a few verses in the Tao Te Ching which attempt to describe the “constant way” more directly. Here are some excerpts:
“As a thing the way is shadowy, indistinct…”
“There is a thing, confusedly formed, born before heaven and earth. Silent and void. It stands alone and does not change…”
“Turning back is how the way moves; weakness is the means the way employs.”
“The way is empty, yet use will not drain it. Deep, it is like the ancestor of the myriad creatures.”
“Darkly visible, it only seems as if it were there. I know not whose son it is. It images the forefather of God.”
If you find this approach promising, examine this site thoroughly for practical ways to implement the principles set forth here.