Three Teachings :

The Way of Heaven

- “The way can be spoken of but it will not be the constant way.”

The Way of Nature

- “The named is the mother of all things...”

The Way of Human

-‘The do-able Dao’

-“Only where all is clean will it reveal itself.”

*One must put aside all emotions and desires in order to perceive
the true way.*
 Zhuangzi & Authentic Life

- Taoist book
- 52 chapters -> 33 chapters

• Zhen-jun – authentic selfhood

-“...It is said that the Perfect Man has no
self; the Spiritual Man has no
achievement; the Sage has no name.”
YANG CHU
• Earliest exponent of Taoism

• Chapter of Lieh-Tzu

IDEAS:

1. Each one for himself

2. The despising of things and valuing of life

Lieh-Tzu
Ch’in Tzu: If by plucking out a singe hair of your
body, you could save the world- would you
do it?
Yang Chu: The whole world is solely not to be
saved by a single hair.
Ch’in Tzu: But supposing it were possible would
you do it?
Yang Chu: *no answer*
 Lao Tzu
• Old Master
• Native of Chu in the
Southern part of the Honan
Province, was an old
contemporary of
Confucious
• Tao Te Ching/Daodejing –
first philosophical work in
Chinese Philosophy; 81
poems.
 THE TAOIST PROBLEM:

How to preserve life and avoid

harm and danger in the human
world.
 Tai Yi or Super One - Tao

• is a Taoist term for “Perfected Person”

• the celestial being destined to bring
peace back to the Zhou Dynasty. Taiyi
Zhenren is stationed atop Mount
Champion and instructed Nezha to
stay at Old Pond Pass - the place he
had been born. Af
• allowing life energy flow to be the
supreme movement in life, to live in
full abundance of health, joy, peace
and wisdom.
 Nameable vs. Unnameable

Nameable -specific things of the world

-"namable is the mother of all things.“

Unnameable -the eternal, limitless, and

primordial universe before it materialized into
specific shapes
-"The Unnamable is the beginning
of Heaven and Earth"
 Being vs No-Being

Wu (no-being) - the Tao

- primordial universe that had no limits or
shapes, and the way Tao that was all-encompassing in that
universe, leading to the creation of myriad specific things in
the world
- Being comes into being from non-being

Yu (being) - heaven and earth and all creation

- all things in the world come into being from Being
 Change
When a think reaches the extreme, it reverts.
Reversal is the movement of the Tao.

Meaning: if anything develops certain extreme qualities, those

qualities invariably revert to become their opposites. This is a
law of nature.

The laws that govern the changes of things are called

invariables.
To know the Invariables is called Enlightenment.
He who knows the Invariables are Liberal.
 Practicing Enlightenment
1. If he wants to achieve anything, he starts with the opposite.
2. If one wants to be strong, one must start with a feeling that one is
weak, and
3. If one wants to preserve capitalism, one must admit in it some
elements of socialism

*Lao Tzu answers how a prudent man can live safely.

Routine vs Unknown
Routine - annoying but comfortable
Unknown – alluring but worrying

Ergo, we need balance.

Wei-wu-wei : "the action of
nonaction"

“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.”

~ Lao Tzu
 Wu wei: Non-
action
Often translated as active not-doing or
creative quietude

The principle affirms that one should live

spontaneously in accordance with the natural
flow of the cosmos called the Dao, and not act
against this natural order and rhythm of
nature. According to Daoism, human
happiness occurs when one aligns with
the Dao, and Wu-wei allows practitioners of
Daoism to live in harmony with one's natural
surroundings and to be mindful of the
interconnectedness of all life.
Wu wei: Non-action

• Defines a quality of life in tune with the universe

- involves a disassociation with the self and
private ego - not self-assertive nor competitive -
generates meekness and self-effacement - the
person is “to blend with and to befriend nature.”
(Huston Smith) Four Principle Images:
• The Dao moves nature through Wu Wei
establishing simplicity and happiness without • Water
formalism or ceremony -a guide to creativity • The Valley
stressing spontaneity and flow. • The Uncarved Block
• It is important to note that wu wei is not • The Female
complete passivity – it describes a way of getting
things done with the absence of excessive force –
not a way of life which gets nothing done!
• Wu wei vs laziness/ wu wei vs procrastination
 Wu wei: Water

• One learns from water following

the path of the stones yet
powerful enough to carve great
canyons - the Way is in fact the
easiest way and the best way to
follow.
• “The most submissive thing in
the world can ride roughshod
over the most unyielding in the
world – that which is without
substance entering that which
has no gaps.” (Daodejing XLIII)
 Wu wei: The Valley
• The valley symbolizes Tao's inclination toward the lowly, the
underlying, rather than the prominent or impressive.
“…Know the white
But keep to the role of the sullied.
And be a valley to the empire.
If you are a valley to the empire,
The constant virtue will be sufficient…”
(Daodejing XXVIII)
 Wu wei: Pu -The Uncarved Block
The uncarved block is human nature before society limits it. To gain
Wuwei, human nature must become like the uncarved block; It
symbolizes the priority of natural simplicity over social adornment. A
block of wood or jade, before it is carved, has infinite potential, but
once we have made it into a table or a piece of jewelry, its use is fixed
and limited.
“…When the constant virtue is sufficient,
You will again return to being the uncarved block….”
(Daodejing XXVIII)
Wu wei: The Female
The female is a lesson in the power of
passivity, of yielding and adaptability. She
influences not by assault but by
indirection, by nuance and suggestion.
“The spirit of the valley never dies;
This is called the dark female.
The entry into the dark female
Is called the root of heaven and earth.
Tenuous, it seems as if it were there,
Yet use will never exhaust it.”
(Daodejing VI)
The Art of Self Preservation

Routine vs Unknown
Routine - annoying but comfortable
Unknown – alluring but worrying

Ergo, we need balance.

 The Art of Self Preservation
Success begins in our mind
- Any change takes place only if we are really
convinced of what we are doing, everything falls
into line consequently
No victory, no defeat, only learning
-Everything that happens is always a life lesson
Intention promotes action
-The image taking place in our minds lead to action,
turn our communication and behavior
Trust and let go
 Trust and Let Go

The ‘feeling of fear’ your ability to trust and let go can be

destabilized and even swing your energy wildly out of balance

Difficulty in balancing and harmonizing the energy of trust:

• lack of self-confidence or self-esteem
• anxiety (now labeled by Western healthcare professionals
as ‘Generalized Anxiety Disorder’
• suspicion, doubt, uncertainty or hopelessness
• rejection, worthlessness
• restriction, rigidity, stubbornness
• being judgmental of yourself and others
Ziran: Self-so-ness
Concept of acting just as one
truly is
 Yin Yang
• A notion that all things are relative –
identify of contraries and
counterbalance as phases of a revolving
wheel – at the center all distinction –
even good and evil are different ends of
same pole
• The author of yin/yang is Dong Zhongshu
• Divided the universe in two classifications
Yin

-female
-night
-moisture
-autumn,spirits of the dead, dark,
-Symbol TIGER
Yang

-male
-day
-sky
-air
-spring, all that is bright,
Clear, hard, assertive, growing, moving
out
-Symbol DRAGON
 YIN YANG SYMBOL
Outer Circle: Unity

Wavy line: interdependence

Inner circles: Non-absoluteness

De: The function of the Dao in
Government
• Living in peace and harmony

• Dao-way/path

• Denotes t both the source, and

force behind everything