The depiction above shows Lao Tzu riding an immortal turtle above the stars at the Qingyang Taoist Temple in Chengdu.
Taoism and Lao Tzu
When we look to Taoism and to what the Tao Te Ching teaches, we first look to how we have defined terms that take us to places that might give us a better fit when we get there. Lao Tzu tells us that we are to manifest plainness and embrace the genuine; lessen self-interest and make few your desires; and third, to eliminate learning and have no undue concern.
This last line about eliminating learning and having no undue concerns has elicited a great deal of commentary over the centuries. We always find ourselves asking, “ok, what did Lao Tzu really say or mean?
When we consider what someone is said to have said, we have to take into account the times they lived and the status they held—or lacked—during their life, and most importantly learning to take things in the context they are told. When Confucius traveled from city to city, more often than not he was hounded and driven away with a stick. Lao Tzu grew so embittered that no one would heed his advice, and he eventually headed westward, never to be seen again. Why who tells the story becomes so important to history always content with living as though knowing the answer before the question is asked.
It’s like a guy driving his car unsure of where he’s going but refusing his wife’s “knowing” directions preferring to be lost rather than be told…I told you so. It was after Confucius was dead for over a hundred years for the ego in others to die so that what he said, and his story could be renewed again.
It’s frustrating when ego and knowledge that lack wisdom and reason end up prevailing. It’s like trying to teach virtue to someone who can’t connect with or understand its true meaning. When Lao Tzu talks about eliminating learning and avoiding unnecessary worry, he might be pointing out the problems that arise when we reject true learning in favor of ignorance, and how this idea could still matter in our lives today.
Verse 19 – Truly Reflecting the Tao
As I look around to see reflections of the Tao, I am drawn to rediscover what is simple and pure and discard what is considered alien to my original nature.
That if wisdom and reason are only used for self-interest then they should be abandoned. Instead, collective wisdom and reason should be used to take all to previously unknown heights.
That if kindness and justice are only shells to pursue selfish motives, then putting an end to arrogant kindness and treacherous justice will enable people to unite on their own.
That if our behavior with others is governed by cleverness and profits our innermost nature would be fulfilled more assuredly if we remain focused on that which remains undyed and uncarved as if driftwood washed up from the sea.
Understanding the Tao leads us to understand what is real and unreal, what is artificial and inappropriate and remaining wholly within ourselves.
第19节 真实地反映道
当我四面环顾，寻找道的身影时，我再次发现什么最简朴和纯洁，并且摒除不属于我本性的外来 物。
如果智慧只用在自私上，这些智慧就必须抛弃。而且，集体智慧应该用在把众人引向从前无人知晓的高度。
如果友善和公正只是自私的幌子，终结傲慢的友善和虚伪的公正将使人民团结起来。
如果我们与他人的行为是明智的，我们就可以从中获益。当在海上漂泊的木头被海浪冲上岸时，如果我们能够着眼于未被油漆和雕刻的那部分，我们最内在的天性就能够被发掘出来。对道的理解使我们得以明辨是非真假，自成一体。
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