Category Archives: Tao Te Ching

In the last chapter, we were introduced to The Great Pretense; Lao Tsu continues his consideration of the topic here in Chapter Nineteen. Chapter Eighteen was the diagnosis and prognosis, and here in Nineteen we find the prescription. If we … Continue reading →

At first blush, we might interpret Eighteen (in the way we did Thirteen) as referring to the time when the “Great Masters” knew it all, the time we have lost in the degraded existence of present history. But I think … Continue reading →

Chapter Seventeen is another one of those chapters that really required reading several translations for it to make sense to me. Feng’s translation is especially vague, I think. Here’s what I think Lao Tsu is saying in this chapter: The … Continue reading →

“Returning to the source is stillness, which is the way of nature.” In zazen, one of the crutches that the beginner (read Clay here) uses is to focus on the breath. The practice of meditation is the practice of stillness. … Continue reading →

Like so many other traditions, Lao Tsu tells us that the Ancient Masters had serious mojo. In some nearly forgotten past, there were these superhuman Masters of the Way, “subtle, mysterious, profound, responsive.” We can only aspire to their mastery. … Continue reading →

Chapter Fourteen is an amazing bit of text. Lao Tsu has again woven a beautiful picture of the ineffable, “An unbroken thread beyond description.” Somehow, through poetry, Lao Tsu has straddled the gulf that separates the Parmenidean block universe and … Continue reading →

Chapter Thirteen is another one of those chapters where different translations vary wildly. I have to say, I really like Feng and English’s translation of this chapter. I see two central themes that run through Thirteen. First, the fact that … Continue reading →

I guess three out of seven ain’t bad. Of the seven lines of Chapter Twelve, I think I may have a relatively clear understanding of three. I think I understand what Lao Tsu means when he says racing and hunting … Continue reading →

When the Emperor of China asked Daruma what the first principle of Buddhism was, Daruma replied, “Vast emptiness, nothing holy!” (See Collecting the Art of Zen.) I love the paintings of Daruma (Bodhidharma) by Fugai; Daruma is depicted as a … Continue reading →