The Chinese Sage of Sages, Lao Tsu The place: what is now referred to as China.

. The time: roughly 600 B.C.E., or was it 400 B.C.E.? The exact time that the man who would become one of the most well-known and influential philosophers in the world throughout history has been debated time and time again by historians, and scholars. What has been agreed upon (for the most part) is that (Lao Tsu) lived in what is now the Hunan Province in Southeastern China. One of the simultaneously frustrating, and perfectly fitting parts about Lao Tsus biography is how little is available. Being a minimalist in his teachings, its appropriate that so very little is known of the author of one of the most widely available, and most translated literary works, second only to the Holy Bible. Perhaps a keeper of imperial archives in at the capitol, Lao Tsu, after seeing the vast societal decay, fled alone into the desert where he was stopped by a man named Yin Hsi, who pleaded the sage to share the essence of his teachings; thus giving birth to the Tao Te Ching. Whats more important than the cultural setting of his life, is the cultural impact he has had on the modern world. People, especially in China, still hold to ancient traditions: What is firmly established cannot be uprooted. What is firmly grasped cannot slip away. It will be honored from generation to generation. (Feng, English. p. 56) Which leads to the purpose of this paper, to express that the Dao, while valid at its time, still holds true in the modern world; when humans try to manipulate the Tao, that is to say, nature, that we only lose control of not only nature, but of ourselves. This applies to both in individual, and also businesses, cultures, countries, and the entire human race as a whole. In areas such as health, the environment, politics, and the economy.

The world is ruled by letting things take their course. it cannot be ruled by interfering.

(Feng, English p. 50) We are a part of nature, we are a part of the way of things. The world isnt our playground, we are a part of it. This is not to say that we must do our best to not interact with nature, to not build crops, to not cut down trees to make shelter, but rather to learn to work with nature, to understand the balance of things. For example, deforestation being more dangerous than simply not having trees. When the ground surface is stripped of vegetation, the upper soils are vulnerable to both wind and water erosion. Soil is washed into rivers when it rains, and then out to sea. This destroys the ability for the land to regenerate because it has lost its topsoil. By interfering too much with nature, we can be the the reason that potentially causes nature to destroy itself. In the article from which the quote above was taken, it states that over 1.6 billion tons of sediment are lost to the ocean from the Yangzi river, which, ironically, is in China. By making room for things such as agricultural developments, we humans create a larger need for agricultural developments. And decrease the precious topsoil needed for those farms. Humans have constructed numerous dams in order to either harness, or hinder the power of water in a particular region. By forcing the water to change its course, or to halt the flow altogether is very dangerous and can lead to catastrophic results. One dam, built in Idaho, in the United States of America, is the Teton Dam. Built forty-four miles northeast of Idaho falls in the Southwest region of the state. On the fifth of June, 1976, the dam failed, causing a massive three-hundred-thousand acre-feet of water, which destroyed homes, land, and took at least fourteen lives of Idaho residents. The estimated cost of the damage was one billion dollars. We humans, being part of nature, must be dealt with as such. The Tao Te Jing states, When the country is ruled with a light hand The people are simple. When the country is ruled with severity,

The people are cunning. (Feng. English. p. 60) A fitting example is looking at the democratic United States of America (USA), and the communist Peoples Republic of China (PRC). The citizens of the United States do not need to find ways past the government, because we are given freedoms. For example, internet censorship. In the United States, everything is accessible on the internet. World news, controversial anti-government websites, and also taboo subjects such as pornography. Needless to say, we are not a nation of computer hackers, we just open Google, type in Dalai Lama, and we can see almost countless pages dedicated to his life, teachings, and hardships with the Chinese government. In contrast, the citizens of the PRC do not have the same access from their computers. Do a search for the Dalai Lama, and not only will there be no search results, but you might be opening the door to government involvement on your internet access. During my one year stay in Beijing, following some riots in Northwestern China, Facebook, youtube, google, were all shut down. The country (was) ruled with severity. This lead to an overflow of proxy servers, anti-spyware software, and other computer hacking tools circulating the country in order to overstep the firm grip of the government. The people (were becoming) cunning in response to the government. With pornography being prohibited on the internet in the P.R.C., almost every dvd store, food mart, and even peddlers on the street had a hidden stash of yellow DVDs, their nickname for adult movies. ...war is conducted like a funeral. When many people are being killed, they should be mourned in heartfelt sorrow. That is why a victory must be observed like a funeral. A fairly recent example of this is what happened on the second of May, 2011. Osama Bin Laden had been killed by special forces. This was seen as a victory by many, and in many places in the U.S., celebrations were being held, such as in New York City. This cheering, fireworks, and joy at the death of an enemy, while understandable, didnt do much to help the worlds view of

Americans. Taking delight in anothers death, even an enemy, only made hatred for the U.S. grow. Fame or self: Which matters more? Self or wealth: Which is more precious? Gain or loss: which is more painful? (Feng. English. p. 46 For one to see the sacrifice of self for fame, one needs only to pick up a celebrity magazine. Oodles of publications litter the newsstands of the streets, and the checkout stands of the local grocery stores. Whether its what so-and-sos morning coffee consists of, or with whom blah blah has slept with, privacy is thrown aside for fame. With fame and celebrity comes wealth which can be suffocating. A strong example of this is the death, potential suicide of Heath Ledger, a famous Australian actor, who was riddled with depression, anxiety, drug addiction, all brought on by fame, and the pressure to maintain his fame. Even as a testament of his talent, he posthumously received and acting award for his final full-length performance in the Dark Knight. Even more recent is how the non-profit organization Invisible Children is using fame, and celebrity to destroy their number one enemy, Joseph Kony, who is becoming more and more famous for alleged crimes against humanity involving murder and abduction. The organization is not only making Youtube videos about him, but on April 20th are planning a massive campaign to post billboards up about him throughout the United States of America to spread his image, and make him well-known. By increasing his fame, they plan to decrease his security, and eventually, destroy him. In conclusion, the Tao is not simply an abstract ancient voodoo nonsense, it is very applicable to every facet of our lives, even our very existence on this planet. From individual welfare, to politics, to humans even potentially being the cause of environmental disasters by

trying to go against the flow as it were, of the way of things, which Lao Tsu taught, would not endure. The more we try to obtain, the more we stand to lose. By placing too much value on things such as status, and materials, we are opening the door for loss and decay.The precepts, metaphors, and teachings of the ancient text, though simple, are extremely deep, and tremendously versatile in their application. How do I know the universe is like this? By looking! (Feng. English p. 56)

Bibliography English, Jane, and Gia-fu Feng. Tao Te Ching. New York: Vintage, 1989. Print.

"Erosion and Flooding." Deforestation Causes Erosion and Flooding. Reforestation Can Prevent Erosion and Flooding. Wild Again. Web. 11 Apr. 2012. <http://www.wild-again.org/UKsite/ Erosion-flooding-UK.html>.

Welch, William M. "Bin Laden Death Prompts Celebrations, Reflection." USA Today. Gannett, 2 May 2011. Web. 11 Apr. 2012. <http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-05-03-reaction-binladen-death_n.htm>.

Sylvester, Arthur G. "Teton Dam Failure." UCSB Earth Science : Home. Web. 11 Apr. 2012. <http://www.geol.ucsb.edu/faculty/sylvester/Teton_Dam/welcome_dam.html>.