I bought my first copy of the Tao Te Ching at age 22, and upon first reading, only a chapter or two rang true… no others were persuasive. Even so, the Tao Te Ching gradually revealed itself over the ensuing decades… or did it? I found that the evolution in understanding actually hinges upon the self-understanding accumulated through a lifetime of experience, with the painful ones being the most revealing.
The legendary author of the Tao Te Ching was Lăo Zĭ (Lao Tzu), which translates as: 老 lăo (old; aged; old people; of long standing) + 子 zĭ (son; child; person; virtuous man; seed). I see that as metaphorically saying that Taoist thought comes easier as we age.
Indeed, I suspect the ostensible author, Lăo Zĭ is really a subtle way of saying that only as we age into an ‘old child’ are we able to reach within ourselves the depth of meaning portrayed by the words of the Tao Te Ching. In other words, the Tao Te Ching simply mirrors the depth of your own intuitive knowing. The deeper you know, the deeper the meaning you will perceive.
Perhaps it would help to keep this in mind if you are young and new to this. Plan on being bewildered. Indeed, being comfortable with uncertainty is a fundamental aspect of Taoist thought.
Now I’ll briefly cover some of the main aspects of a Taoist point of view. Note, the Tao Te Ching excerpts I use here initially are from D.C. Lau’s translation, which is a less literal translation and thus somewhat easier to understand.
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 — #1. 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 natural reality, we react in unbalanced 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 willfully innovates while ignorant of the constant… — #16.
Taoist thought offers us a way to see through the chaos of life, and realize within ourselves this constant. How does Taoist thought do this?
Taoist thought rests on the view that reality is complementary; nature is inherently cooperative — not competitive. The Chinese yin-yang circle (太极图 taijitu) symbolizes this balancing principle. Consider the following excerpts from the Tao Te Ching that illustrate this circular relationship.
Thus Something and Nothing produce each other — #2.
It is on disaster that good fortune perches; It is beneath good fortune that disaster crouches —#58.
Knowing this circular relationship moderates extremes and allows us to look deeper. Referring to opposites, another verse 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—#1.
Easing the distinction between opposites helps us sense a deeper reality, as this excerpt reminds us: …Untangle the knots; soften the glare; settle the dust. This is known as mysterious sameness — #56.
Even more challenging to our idealized 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 —#2.
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. —#21.
Turning back is how the way moves; weakness is the means the way employs—#40.
If you find this approach promising, examine CenterTao.org thoroughly for practical ways to implement the principles set forth here.