“I recognized that then that in this book is the perfect source of all things. It is the sublime Master of Kings and the inestimable Treasure of the people”

The Daodejing (Tao Te Ching) is, in fact, two books, the Daojing (or Tao Ching, meaning the Book of the Way) and the Dejing (or Te ching, meaning the Book of Virtue or the Book of Power). To a large extent the first of these describes ultimate reality for Laozi and is the focus of this part. The second book details the means by which human participation is possible and will be discussed in the next part.

Laozi develops his philosophy through a deep contemplation of Nature, so much so that in his text, Oriental Philosophies, John Koller calls Taoism “The Metaphysics of Nature.” While the I Ching is not mentioned by Laozi, one cannot help but think he was influenced by it – perhaps he had come across it in his readings as the imperial librarian.

Laozi’s metaphysics is a monism circumscribed by the fundamental doctrine that there is a unity of everything in the universe pervaded by Tao or the Way (perhaps best understood as the Way of Nature).² Tao is the source and principle of all things including yin and yang, and being and non-being.³ It is ontologically prior to the things of the world and in that sense, is the First Cause.⁴

Laozi tells us Tao is nameless; and as such, we need to understand that grammatically the word Tao is not the name attached to a specific thing, rather it is akin to an article of speech like the word ‘that’ in the phrase “that from which being arises.”⁵ Consequently it cannot be defined and has no characteristics, though it can be pointed to through its functioning in Nature or Te.⁶ Nevertheless, through a kind of negative analysis (like the via negativa with respect to God in the West), that to which we are pointed is limitless, formless, indivisible, invisible, soundless, indeterminable, and incomprehensible.⁷ It is also impartial and impersonal.

L. Adams Beck quotes Chapter 4 from the Daodejing:

“How unfathomable is the Way – like unto the emptiness of a vessel, yet, as it were, the honored Ancestor of all. Using it we find it inexhaustible. Deep and unfathomable. How pure and still is the Way! I do not know who generated it. It may appear to have preceded God.”⁸

But Tao is not external and transcendent to the world, rather immanent, meaning it is operative within all things. It is source of the patterns and processes inside entities that generate their existence and natural course, and it is responsible for the rhythm of the world. It is above opposites in a universe of opposites. Thus it is subtle, Absolute, and Supreme.⁹

(continued next post)

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¹Beck, L. Adams, The Story of Oriental Philosophy. The New Home Library, New York, 1942. Page 356.

²Durant, Will, Our Oriental Heritage. Simon and Schuster, New York, 1963. ISBN0-671-54800-X, page 652.

³Koller, John M., Oriental Philosophies. Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1970. ISBN 684-13668-6, page 234.

⁴Beck, L. Adams, The Story of Oriental Philosophy. The New Home Library, New York, 1942. Page 343.

⁵Koller, John M., Oriental Philosophies. Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1970. ISBN 684-13668-6, page 236.

⁶Ibid.

⁷Beck, L. Adams, The Story of Oriental Philosophy. The New Home Library, New York, 1942. Page 343.

⁸Ibid., page 346. Two other translations may enhance the reader’s understanding of this passage.

John C. H. Wu, translates this same Chapter:

“The Tao is like an empty bowl, which in being used can never be filled up. Fathomless, it seems to be the origin of all things. It blunts all sharp edges. It unties all tangles. It harmonizes all lights. It unites the world into one whole. Hidden in the deeps, yet it seems to exist forever. I do not know whose child it is; it seems to be the common ancestor of all, the father of things.”  – ( Wu, John C.H., Tao The Ching. Shambala Publications, Boston & London, 2003, ISBN 1-57062-961-7, page 9)

And Lin Yutang translate it as:

“Tao is a hollow vessel, and it use inexhaustible! Fathomless! Like the fountainhead of all things. Its sharp edges rounded off, its tangles untied, its light tempered, its turmoil submerged, yet dark like deep water it seems to remain. I do not know whose Son it is, an image of what existed before God.”  – (Yutang, Lin, The Wisdom of Laotse. The Modern Library, New York, NY, 1976. Page 63)

⁸ Beck, L. Adams, The Story of Oriental Philosophy. The New Home Library, New York, 1942. Page 343.

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The mystic Laozi derides Confucius with regards to his passion for the ancient thinkers and his desire for fame and influence:

“Those men of whom you speak are dead and their bones dust. Only their words remain, When the times suit the princely man he mounts aloft, when they do not his feet remain entangled… For the wise man loves obscurity. He avoids public employment knowing that at his death all he can hope is to leave a few true maxims entrusted to a chosen few. He will not unbosom himself to the world, but regards time and circumstance. He who possesses a treasure guards it and does not boast of it to everyone he meets.”

Laozi ends their encounter with a question for Confucius:

“And you – have you also learned to know the Divine Intelligence – the Way?”³

To which Confucius supposedly replies:

“Alas, I have not. I have been a seeker for nearly thirty years and have not found it.”⁴

The epigram starting the last post represents the reported final thoughts of Confucius regarding Laozi.

Whatever the case, the story of Laozi’s life story continues when later, noting the decline of that state, he decides to leave, but before departing comes upon the ‘Keeper of the Path’ who asks him to record his wisdom. After a period of 2-3 weeks, he leaves that man two short books, the Tao ching (Book 1 of 37 chapters) and the Te ching (Book 2 of 44 chapters) totaling 81 chapters of about 5000 Chinese symbols altogether. Supposedly he is last seen outward bound on the back of an ox after which he lives to an old age (at least 87, though undoubtedly not 160 as some have claimed).

More recent scholarship converges on the belief that Laozi is most likely a fictional person and that the Daodejing was written and compiled by several thinkers. Neverless for the rest of our discussion I will refer to Laozi as if he were an actual person and the sole author of this precious text.

Next time we look at the (‘Divine’) Way that eluded Confucius and Laozi discovered.

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³Beck, L. Adams, The Story of Oriental Philosophy. The New Home Library, New York, 1942. Pages 245-246.

⁴Ibid. Page 246. One reason to rehearse Ssu-ma Ch’ien’s tale is its moral. Confucius, the great humanist, recognizes that there is something greater than humanity, and that without its discovery, life is not fully complete. In other words, the human world is not ultimate, and a life devoid of ultimate reality is not fully meaningful. As such, the story of Laozi and Confucius reinforces the argument that participation in ulitmate reality is a key component of the meaningful life.

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“…Confucius told his disciples, ‘I know a bird can fly, a fish can swim, and an animal can run. For that which runs a net can be made; for that which swims a line can be made; for that which flies a corded arrow can be made. But the dragon’s ascent into heaven on the wind and the clouds is something which is beyond my knowledge. Today I have seen Lao Tzu who is perhaps like a dragon’ ”

In the last six posts we looked at the ancient and revered text, the I Ching, which in its extant form reflects the contributions of several great Chinese historical figures. Ultimate reality in their synthesis comes down to a metaphysical mix disclosed in 64 ideograms: (1) cosmic order instantiated as a mathematical harmony, (2) the fundamental principle of change as the only constant in the universe and manifesting in two modalities – alternation and transformation, (3) the perpetual interplay of yin and yang, (4) the theory of opposites – e.g. motion and rest – interacting in a manner analogous to magnetic fields, (5) the supreme triangle of Cosmos, Nature, and humankind, and (6) the ‘sublime’ as summum bonum. In addition to its metaphysical offerings, the Book of Changes can be interpreted as a guide for human conduct, including inferred virtues of humility, truthfulness, perseverance, and synchronization with Nature and the Way or Tao.

Today we move to the ostensible founder of Taoism (Daoism), Laozi (also known as Lao Tzu, Lao Tan, Lao Tse, and Lao-tse), the legendary author of the Chinese classic, the Daodejing (also known as the Tao Te Ching, or Book of the Tao and the Te). The historicity of this obscure individual is quite difficult and understandably controversial. Of course the practical philosopher need not ascertain the authenticity of his personhood, but only a curmudgeonly skeptic would explore the message of the Daodejing without at least some discussion of the colorful accounts of its author. I am in good company in this as all ten of my sources (three of which are different translations of the text) devote at least some time to the author’s identity and story. However, the reader may choose to consider this part a mere entertaining diversion prefacing the serious examination of the text presented in Part II.

It is worth noting thst the problem here is the absence of first-hand or even contemporary accounts of Laozi. Most of my sources place him as an elder contemporary of Confucius (551-479 B.C.E.) although some scholars think he lived later than Confucius. According to the former account, mostly derived from the writings of the great early Chinese historian, Ssu-ma Ch’ien (Sima Qian), he was born in the early 6^th century B.C.E. (? 571 B.C.E. making him 20 years senior to Confucius) in the Li village of Hu Hsien in the state of Chou (Ch’u). His surname is thought to have been Li and his personal name Ehr.²

(continued next post)

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¹Lau, D.C. (translator), Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching. Penguin Books Ltd., Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England, 1963 (reprint dated 1986). Page 8.

²Ibid.

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THE RECEPTIVE

 “Creation and development through receptivity is beneficial if correct in the manner of a mare.”⁵ We are told that strength can be gentle acquiescence in response to guidance and direction in the Way, just as the mare is yielding, but strong. Only when yin follows yang can growth and development progress to secure a right way of life and social well-being.

The first yin or broken line symbolizes the statement: “Treading on frost, you come to where it solidifies into ice.” Here we are warned that negativity (“frost”) deepens into counterproductive pessimism (‘ice”).

The higher second yin signifies the guiding principle that one initially follows the unpracticed or natural ‘earthly way’ of honesty and correctness which leads over time to greatness wherein receptivity mirrors the celestial design.

The third yin refers to faithful, unpretentious service to the order of society.

The fourth yin – “Wrap up the bag, and there is neither blame nor praise.”⁶ By handling oneself correctly and downplaying one’s knowledge and accomplishments, one avoids blame in return for lost praise.

The fifth yin refers to the humble, middle course of leadership through service, not self-promotion, by which balance is maintained.

The top yin symbolizes the culmination of growth where the chance of resistance, conflict, and injury increases – “the battle in the field.” We are told the yin way involves nonresistance, consistency and constancy.⁷

Thus the second hexagram offers an alternative type of human ascendancy; that of the supporting cast under those who lead according to the Way. Excellence, it turns out, can be gentle steadfastness and positivity, coupled with honesty, fidelity, righteous behavior, and humility.

In short we see two complementary forms of human excellence displayed in perhaps the two most important hexagrams in the I Ching. These symbols of ultimate reality become paradigms of guidance on self-actualization in the promotion of a flourishing society when following the Way or Tao.

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⁵Cleary, Thomas (translator), I Ching: The Book of Changes. Shambala Publications, Boston, Massachusetts, 2003. ISBN 1-59030-015-7, page 4.

⁶Ibid., pages 7.

⁷Ibid., pages 4-8.

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“When the reality of the non-ultimate [non-existent] and the essence of

Before we move on from the I Ching, I thought it might be interesting to look at two key hexagrams: #1 – the Creative (heaven) and #2 – the Receptive (earth). The following quotes and abbreviated explanations come from my copy of the text translated by Thomas Cleary and produced by the Shambala Library.²

THE CREATIVE

“The creative originates, develops, perfects, and consummates.”³ We are told creativity is the essence and sense of nature, perpetually strong, also called heaven. As the central power of the universe it can be seen as God and in subtle form as spirit. It is also Nature, the origin of all things, the positive principle and perfection.

The first yang or lowest line is the submerged dragon symbolizing adaptive transformation and the beginning of creation, referring at the human level to the still-concealed sage working on self-mastery and self-improvement.

Moving upward, the second yang is the dragon in the field symbolizing the point when the sage’s inner qualities – especially virtue – while following the Way become apparent to the world.

The third yang represents hard work by day and caution by night through which the sage comes to be seen as reliable and blameless even in the face of the danger of action.

The fourth yang symbolizes the leap into the abyss (where the dragon rests) when the actions of the sage fit perfectly the needs of the moment.

The fifth yang, symbolized by the flying dragon, is the sage as leader and as an example to others.

The top yang warns that the dragon has regrets when it flies too high, so too the sage encounters an impasse by pushing too far or too hard and must know when to advance and when to withdraw. Strength must not be used to excess: “it is good if there is no head.”⁴

It seems this hexagram teaches that excellence in human action (and especially leadership) must align two natures: one’s internal nature with the ultimate – Nature  or the Tao. Human excellence then is self-knowledge, virtuous conduct, and sufficient restraint to avoid hubris.

(continued next post)

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¹Koller, John M., Oriental Philosophies. Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1970. ISBN 684-13668-6, page 255.

²Cleary, Thomas (translator), I Ching: The Book of Changes. Shambala Publications, Boston, Massachusetts, 2003. ISBN 1-59030-015-7.

³Ibid., page 1.

⁴Ibid., pages 1-4.

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One cannot help but be amazed that a book of symbols initially intended as a method of oracular prediction was transformed by philosophers over centuries into a foundational text of metaphysics and ethics. Today I hope to summarize their discoveries and integrate them into a modern philosophical perspective.

Most importantly we see ultimate reality for these thinkers is derived from their direct observations of nature and their knowledge of the cosmos. I am reminded of the wisdom of the ancient native Americans discussed in earlier blogs.²⁴ However I also see a parallel with Hinduism’s emphasis on direct experience of the world and of the inner self.

The I Ching tells us that change is the only constant in realty – the one aspect of it we all must accept, embrace, and factor in all our endeavors. Ultimate reality seems to be distilled into an equilateral triangle with nature, cosmos, and humanity at its three vertices within which continual change occurs.²⁵ We also see ultimate reality involves polarities, especially yang and yin, but also motion and rest, macrocosm and microcosm, alternation and transformation – all of which are instantiated in change. The analogy to ‘being’ and ‘becoming’ in Western philosophy jumps out at us. The I Ching also uses symbols (not unlike in the West – consider numerals and musical notes) to show that change is not chaotic, but informs a  mathematical order and musical harmony within the universe. Cosmologists and philosophers alike can appreciate this characterization of ultimate reality.

And the I Ching provides a clear summum bonum for human striving – ‘the sublime’ or ‘sublime success.’ The ‘sublime’ is not overtly defined, but seems to refer to the highest level of purity and goodness intrinsic to the world which we can activate by careful conformity with nature and humble recognition of our limitations. This formula offers all of us the opportunity to guide change in the world in order to achieve our own ethical purpose and final meaning.

Who expected all of this from a text so neglected in the West?

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²⁴See posts date 3/31/21 and 4/2/21 – http://philosophicalguidance.com/2021/03/31/cosmic-virtue-and-nature-part-vii-native-american-view/   and http://philosophicalguidance.com/2021/04/02/3555/

²⁵The Confucians seem to emphasize the human angle, while the Taoists seem to emphasize the nature angle. We will come back to this as we examine later thinkers.

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One last concept we extract from Wilhelm is the value of the I Ching as a focus of meditation. Consider the following:

“Therefore it is the order of the Changes that the superior man devotes himself to and he attains tranquility by. It is the judgments on the individual lines that the superior man takes pleasure in and the he ponders on.”²²

Or

“The Book of Changes contains the measure of heaven and earth; therefore it enables us to comprehend the tao of heaven and earth and its order…Looking upward, we contemplate with its help the signs in the heavens; looking down, we examine the lines of the earth. Thus we come to know the circumstances of the dark and the light. Going back to the beginnings of things and pursuing them to the end, we come to know the lessons of birth and death…Since in this way man comes to resemble heaven and earth, he is not in conflict with them. His wisdom enables all things, and his tao brings order into the world…”²³

Wilhelm names five hexagrams on which meditation offers perhaps the greatest value for supreme success: ‘Inner truth” (#61), ‘Limitation” (#60 – self-communion and silence), ‘Preponderance of the Great’ (# 28 – caution), ‘Deliverance’ (#40 – magnanimity and forbearance), and ‘Modesty’ (# 15). The message here is clear, the I Ching is a guide for speech and action and a source of foresight and prudence – in short, a book of wisdom.

(final continuation next post)

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²⁰Wilhelm, Hellmut, Change – Eight Lectures on the I Ching. Princeton University Press, Princeton New Jersey, 1973. ISBN 0-691-01787-5, page 57.

²¹Ibid., page 65.

²²Ibid., page 68.

²³Ibid., page 69.

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“In a state of rest, the Creative is one, and in a state of motion it is straight; therefore it creates that which is great. The Receptive is closed in a state of rest, and in a state of motion it opens; therefore it creates that which is vast.”¹³

Alternatively, the firm line has unity for its quality, is one-dimensional, and is the image of the human mind while the yielding line shows vegetative movement and is the symbol of the human soul.

In any case, alternation is the change which occurs when the two forces are at rest while transformation occurs when there is motion. On the one hand motion in the unbroken line is an outward pushing by which it becomes thinner in the middle and breaks into two. On the other hand motion in the broken line is an inward pushing that forms an undivided line. The symbolism is clear; in any circumstance, transformation or reversal can occur adding novel or unexpected elements to the situation.¹⁴

Wilhelm tells us:

“…this principle of reversal of qualities also contains a maxim for action…which takes us a step further than the mere possibility of conformity in our actions… an unresisting acceptance of developments, sweeps one into the current of events from which escape is no longer possible. Only by taking up a counterposition, by confronting events with live awareness can developments be guided into the desired paths.”¹⁵

Wilhelm next offers a somewhat detailed discussion of specific hexagrams and their attendant commentary that goes beyond the scope of this site. However some concepts he discusses expand our understanding of ultimate reality in the I Ching. First it projects a mathematical order on the universe within which the hexagrams inform a kind of mystical periodic table. Second, cosmic order in the I Ching is analogous to music as exhibited by the harmony of the hexagrams and the unfolding of symphonic-like themes and variations which humans appreciate when they seek the perfection of these expressions within the natural world.¹⁶

Thirdm we learn the pinnacle of reality in the I Ching is the ‘sublime.’ From the Judgment or Tuan text, the first quality of heaven in its cyclic movement is yüan or the ‘sublime beginning.’ Combined with heng or pushing through to success, li or utility, and chen or perseverance, the cycle of creativity develops and coordinates with cosmic and human activity uniting all in ‘sublime success’ which includes beauty and justice.¹⁷ Wilhelm provides two quotations:

“Great indeed is the sublimity of the Creative, to which all things owe their beginning and which permeates heaven.”¹⁸

“Of all that is good, sublimity is supreme. Succeeding is the coming together of all that is beautiful. Furtherance is the agreement of all that is just. Perseverance is the foundation of all actions.”¹⁹

(third continuation next post)

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¹²Wilhelm, Hellmut, Change – Eight Lectures on the I Ching. Princeton University Press, Princeton New Jersey, 1973. ISBN 0-691-01787-5, page 33.

¹³Ibid.

¹⁴Ibid.

¹⁵Ibid., page 34.

¹⁶Ibid., pages 48-49.

¹⁷Ibid., page 51.

¹⁸Ibid.

¹⁹Ibid.

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Instantiated in this tao is a duality; consistency is all-inclusive applying to the great (macrocosm) and the small (microcosm), i.e both the cosmos and the indivifual person. Human centrality in the world places us on a kind of par with cosmic forces allowing us to influence events as long as we proceed in the direction of change, not against it. Consequently we can master our own fate and impact affairs beyond us as long as we stay within natural limits.⁷ In fact, applying reflective consciousness and abstract thinking to that which is constant in the flux of nature and life provides the first guarantee of meaningful action and with it, responsiblity.⁸

A second duality is that of polarity, meaning two antithetical points which set limits on cycles of change, such as yin and yang or above and below. Such polarities imply not rigidity nor even a pole round which cyclic movements turn, but something akin to a “magnetic field” or inter-relationship which evokes change. The two most important of these are Ch’ien (the Creative, heaven, energy, bright, yang) and K’un (the Receptive, earth, form, dark, yin).⁹ Wilhelm quotes the Great Commentary twice:

“The Creative and the Receptive are the real secret of the Changes. Inasmuch as the Creative and the Receptive present themselves as complete, the changes between them are posited. If the Creative and the Receptive were destroyed, there would be nothing by which the changes could be perceived. If there were no more changes to be seen, the effects of the Creative and the Receptive would also gradually cease.”¹⁰

And,

^“The Master said: The Creative and the Receptive are indeed the gateway to the Changes. The Creative is the representation of light things and the Receptive of dark things. In that the natures of the dark and the light are joined, the firm and the yielding receive form. Thus do the relationships of heaven and earth take shape, and we enter into relation with the nature of the light of the gods.”¹¹

(further continued next post)

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⁶Wilhelm, Hellmut, Change – Eight Lectures on the I Ching. Princeton University Press, Princeton New Jersey, 1973. ISBN 0-691-01787-5, page 20.

⁷Ibid., pages 20-22.

⁸Ibid., page 23.

⁹Ibid., page 27-28.

¹⁰Ibid., page 29.

¹¹Ibid., page 31.

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“…The Book of Changes represented the gate to the

The I Ching (AKA the Yi jing or the Zhou-Yi, the Changes of Zhou) was both originally a divination manual (akin to Tarot cards in the West) and “almost the only important work of metaphysics”² in early Chinese history. Its earliest origin goes back to Fu Hsi (or Fu Xi – his dates 2852-2737 B.C.E.), a legendary emperor, who invented the eight Kua or mystic triagrams that symbolize the laws and elements of nature. Each Kua consists of 3 lines, either continuous, representing yang (male, positive, active, productive, celestial, light, heat, life) or broken representing yin (female, negative, passive, earthy, dark, cold, death). From this earliest framework, we infer a metaphysics based on a mystical dualism of opposites resting upon a foundation of naturalism.

Some 1700 years later the original Book of Changes was composed by the imprisoned Ji Ch’ang (later the founding monarch of the Zhou or Chou dynasty circa 1027 B.C.E., and thus also known as King Wen). He stacked each triagram on top of itself and on top of each of the other triagrams to create 64 hexagrams (hsiangs) that further amplified the laws underpinning nature. His son. Ji Dan (Chi Tan) refined these and composed initial statements. Later thinkers, possibly including Confucius, wrote commentaries (e.g. the “Ten Wings”) based on their study of the hexagrams, thereby converting the text from a tool of prognostication into philosophy. It reached its ‘final’ canonical form under the title Yi Jing in 136 B.C.E.

Philosophically, the I Ching offers at the most basic level both a model of the cosmos and a guide to the relations of human beings with respect to the continuous change within reality and the universal interplay of opposing natural forces – yin and yang.³ As such, it can be integrated into ethics and politics (Confucianism) or cosmology and metaphysics (Taosim). It is not inherently dark, mysterious, or abstruse, rather “the easy, the simple, the naturally given.”⁴ That is to say, everyone empirically recognizes the fundamental principle of reality is continuous change, especially movement that returns to its starting point such as day and night, the seasons, the cycle of birth and death, and so forth.

But change in the I Ching references not any and all movement as its opposite is not rest or absence of motion, but instead reverse movement  – i.e regression, life’s reversal, it’s perversion. Critically, change is not an external force, but an inner tendency to natural and spontaneous development. It is also multidimensional. In the end, humans do best to acquiesce to the changes of natural movement and growth and ride it at the individual and societal levels.

Hellmut Wilhelm tells us how this is metaphysically possible:

“The fact that the movement returns to its starting point keeps it from dispersing, which movement in one dimension only cannot prevent. The infinite is thus brought within the confines of the finite, where alone it can be of service to man.”⁵

(continued next post)

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¹Wilhelm, Hellmut, Change – Eight Lectures on the I Ching. Princeton University Press, Princeton New Jersey, 1973. ISBN 0-691-01787-5, page ix. Wilhelm was one of a group of German-speaking ex-patriots living in Peking during the Japanese occupation. He made 8 lectures on the I Ching to other exiles at the home of Wilhelm Haas at Haas’s suggestion in the winter of 1943.

²Durant, Will, Our Oriental Heritage. Simon and Schuster, New York, 1963. ISBN0-671-54800-X, page 650. It is this second understanding of the text we are addressing here.

³McGreal, Ian P. (editor) Great Thinkers of the Eastern World. HarperCollinsPublishers, New York, 1995. ISBN 0-06-270085-5, page 60.

⁴Wilhelm, Hellmut, Change – Eight Lectures on the I Ching. Princeton University Press, Princeton New Jersey, 1973. ISBN 0-691-01787-5, page 16.

⁵Ibid., page 20.

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