Tao or Dao refers to a Chinese character that was of pivotal meaning in
ancient Chinese philosophy and religion. Tao is central to Taoism, but
Confucianism also refers to it. Most debates between proponents of one
of the Hundred Schools of Thought could be summarized in the simple
question: who is closer to the Tao, or, in other words, whose "Tao" is
the most powerful? As used in modern spoken and written Chinese, Tao
has a wide scope of usage and meaning. Tao may be rendered as religion,
morality, duty, knowledge, rationality, ultimate truth, path, or taste.
Its semantics vary widely depending on the context. Tao is generally
translated into English as "The Way".
The philosophic and religious use of the character can be
analyzed in two main segments: one meaning is "doctrine" or
"discourse"; every school owns and defends a specific Tao or discourse
about doctrine. In the other meaning, there is the 'Great Tao', that is
the source of and guiding principle behind all the processes of the
universe. Beyond being and non-being, prior to space and time, Tao is
the intelligent ordering principle behind the unceasing flow of change
in the natural world. In this sense Tao gains great cosmological and
metaphysical significance comparable to the Judaeo-Christian concept of
God (albeit stripped of anthropomorphic characteristics); the Greek
concept of the logos; or the Dharma in Indian religions.
The nature and meaning of the Tao received its first full
exposition in the Tao Te Ching of Laozi, a work which along with those
of Confucius and Mencius would have a far-reaching effect on the
intellectual, moral and religious life of the Chinese people. Although
a book of practical wisdom in many ways, its profoundly metaphysical
character was unique among the prevailing forms of thought in China at
that time. The religion and philosophy based on the teaching of Laozi
and his successor Zhuangzi is known in English as "Taoism." Even if
often said to be undefinable and unexplainable with words (even Chinese
ones), the present article focuses on the Tao of Taoism.
The Tao is the main theme discussed in the Tao Te Ching, an
ancient Chinese scripture attributed to Laozi. This book does not
specifically define what the Tao is; it affirms that in the first
sentence, "The Tao that can be told of is not an Unvarying Tao" (tr.
Waley, modified). Instead, it points to some characteristics of what
could be understood as being the Tao. Below are some excerpts from the
book.
Tao as the origin of things: "Tao begets one; One begets two;
Two begets three; Three begets the myriad creatures." (TTC 42, tr. Lau,
modified) Tao as an inexhaustible nothingness: "The Way is like an
empty vessel / That yet may be drawn from / Without ever needing to be
filled." (TTC 4, tr. Waley) Tao is omnipotent: "What Tao plants cannot
be plucked, what Tao clasps, cannot slip." (TTC 54, tr. Waley)
In the Yi Jing, a sentence closely relates Tao to Yin-Yang, asserting
that "one (phase of) Yin, one (phase of) Yang, is what is called the
Tao". Being thus placed at the conjunction of Yin and Yang alternance,
Tao can be understood as the continuity principle that underlies the
constant evolution of the world.
Tao in the Tao Te Ching
Tao is referred to in many ways in the Tao Te Ching. There are
various shades of meanings in the various translations of this great
work, which, with over 100 translations, is perhaps the most translated
Chinese text in the English language. Here is one translation of the
first stanza, describing Tao:
-
The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao;
- The name that can be named is not the eternal name.
- The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth.
- The named is the mother of ten thousand things.
- Ever desireless, one can see the mystery.
- Ever desiring, one can see the manifestations.
- These two spring from the same source but differ in name;
this appears as darkness.
- Darkness within darkness.
The gate to all mystery.
—Lao Tsu/Tao Te Ching translation by Gia-Fu Feng & Jane English. New York: Vintage Books (1972).
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