Taoism and Lao Tzu
Looking back at history can shape how we see our future and the world around us, as the events of the past play an important role in our lives. 
First, we need to recognize the events of the past and the memories that guide us toward the next step. If we believe we are spiritual beings living a human experience, then when did our true beginning really happen? Can our birthday, the day we came into this world, really define us?
When I first started thinking about the Taoist concept of staying empty and Lao Tzu’s teachings, I revisited old commentaries exploring the symbolism of the bellows—releasing or holding back words that maybe were better left unspoken or better said even rephrased. Of old stories needing to be retold anew.
The scholar Wang Pi argues that the sage has feelings and differs from the ordinary people only in terms of wisdom and spirituality. The question of becoming a sage is central to the book I have written here in understanding what we can call intellectual history as the expression of the sage’s wisdom. That the sage has the ability to embody “emptiness and harmony,” known in Chinese as wu. This shows the sage’s ability to adapt to situations and shape change in the socio-political world, engaging with them freely without being constrained or limited by them.
This is where the words of Chuang Tzu really resonate, saying that “hatred, desire, joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure are what bind virtue.” It’s our human emotions that tie us to the artificial world, holding us back or keeping us from reaching true virtue. There is an old saying by Ho-Shang Kung that says “Whenever the mouth opens and the tongue moves, disaster is close behind. Better to guard your inner virtue, nurture your vital essence, protect you spirit, treasure your breath, and avoid talking to much”.
Verse 5 – Remaining Empty Yet Inexhaustible
Again, reminded to remain empty. Quiet and still, as if a bellows only responding to what fits.
Not tied to the present or attached to the past, as if heaven and man were the same lineage. As you continue to guard your inner virtue, or voice from that which would drain you.
To know without needing to know, talk without needing to talk, hear all things without needing to hear. You are simply the essence of the one true spirit contained in all things yet remaining hidden from view.
Too many choices lead to lost chances. Divert not from the path the Tao would have you to follow. Remain in cheerful countenance to all you encounter. Empty yet inexhaustible thereby becoming the voice of eternity.
第5节 恪守虚空 取之不尽
再次提醒自己要恪守虚空，温雅宁静，如同风箱，适之而应。不要受制于过去或现在，好像天和
人同出一源。要守德慎言。
不知而知，不言而言，不闻而闻。你是一个包容万物却面目深藏的精灵。
太多的选择会导致机会殆尽。不要偏离道，遇事要乐观面对。保持虚空，取之不尽，如此才能做永恒之声。
Imagine writing the entries on my website and finding that they reflect your thoughts over the past seven or eight years. This sudden urge to write and share words of Eastern philosophy—ideas you had never spoken or even considered before—comes to you needing a new voice.
Would you simply brush it off, or recognize it as something far more profound than just a vivid imagination? That there was a deep-seeded presence, even a body of work at play that conveyed an eternal sense of purpose that you felt an obligation to pursue. That these three ancient founders of Taoism came to find you as your “spirit guides” with the purpose of refreshing your memories with their own. That there was to be a certain grace in the effort you were to express in your writing with virtue being its foremost intention.
That there were thoughts yet needing to be expressed and told that were not said thousands even centuries ago that need to be told or ever retold today. From the beginning, it has always been that I was not looking simply to write about ancient China and Taoism, it has been the opposite. It was that the story needed a new author. A retelling to a new audience with a new voice. I have always had the feeling that I did not choose to do this, that it chose me to simply remember my past and to write about it. Never meaning or saying others had to agree with this story, only that I had a story to tell.
The first line below is attributed to Confucius but could be said to be universal as to our purpose. The idea of building relationships is essential to our own well-being. A famous quote by Woodrow Wilson, says “You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand.”
Verse 6 – Accepting My Fate and Ultimate Aspiration
Reflect on the words of the ancients when they remind you of the age-old axiom – you are not here to create… you are here to relate.
The ten thousand things all must have their beginning, middle and end. Yet as they continually evolve, they remain never-ending. The cycle remaining true to form and the Tao. Remain as the valley always nourishing that which comes forth to be made new again. What remains empty continues to have form. What has form takes shape and what take shape becomes the ten thousand things.
Everything you need is here waiting to be revealed the moment you are ready to accept your role in filling in the details.
Simply embody the Tao and grow.
第6节 接受命运，施展抱负
古人云，你到此不是要创造…而是比较。
万物皆有始有终。但万物在不断演化之中，周而复始。对形和道来说也是如此。要像山谷一样，养育万物，赋予来者以新的生命。凡空必有形，有形则有态，有态则有万物。
万事具备，就等待你来揭示。你必须承担责任，做好周密安排和准备。
与道合一，迅速成长。
Leave a Reply