Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you. - Lao Tzu
The named is the mother of the ten thousand things.
Ever desireless, one can see the mystery.
Ever desiring, one sees the manifestations.
These two spring from the same source but differ in name; this appears as darkness.
Darkness within darkness.
The gate to all mystery.
- from Tao Te Ching translated by Gia Fu Feng and Jane English
Lao Tzu (his name is sometimes written Lao Tse or Lao Zi, also known as Li Erand Lao Dan) was born in Honan on March 24th in the year 604 BC. Called the “Old Master,” his name means “old-young.”
Late in life, Lao Tzu rode on a water buffalo to retire in the mountains to a province in the western frontiers. A border official, named Guan Yin Zi, urged the master to write his teachings so that they might be passed on.
In mountain solitude, Lao Tzu wrote the Tao Te Ching, went westward and was never seen again.
Lao Tzu's messages concern the discovery of the self. He advises to sense the world directly and contemplate impressions of the laws of nature. He says the ways matter and energy function in the universe is the Tao.
Intuition requires cultivating to predict change. Personal power (Te) needs awareness and knowledge of physical laws in the universe and minds of other. That power can direct events without resorting to force.
The practice of simplicity stimulates growth. The balance of contradictory forces (light and dark, positive and negative, male and female, mountains and rivers) creates harmony.
Lao Tzu appreciated the importance of humor. "Without the laugh, there is no Tao," he said.
Stay in the moment. Absorb nature's wonders.
When you need a change, work on a small area of concern.
When you need a change, work on a small area of concern.
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