Lao Tzu (also written as Lao Tze, Lao Tse, and Laozi, meaning “Old Master”) has

become one of the most enduringly popular spiritual teachers and sages.

The archetypal “wise old Chinese man” figure, his book known as the Tao Te Ching (also written Tao Te King and Dao De Jing) has been translated into more languages than almost any other boorak in existence; in this respect it stands in fourth place behind the Bible, “The Little Prince,” and “Pinocchio.”

He is referred to by H. P. Blavatsky, not many times when compared with the frequency with which she speaks of other great spiritual teachers such as Gautama Buddha or Krishna, but enough and in such a way as to warrant our attention.

In “The Theosophical Glossary” entry for “Lao-tze” (p. 186) she simply says of him: “A great sage, saint and philosopher who preceded Confucius.” It is indeed believed that Lao Tzu was teacher to Confucius (Kung Fu Tzu or Kung Fu Tze) and that both lived approximately 2,500 to 2,600 years ago.

Her “Glossary” entry for “Tao-teh-king” on p. 320 says more:

“Lit., “The Book of the Perfectibility of Nature” written by the great philosopher Lao-tze. It is a kind of cosmogony which contains all the fundamental tenets of Esoteric Cosmogenesis. Thus he says that in the beginning there was naught but limitless and boundless Space. All that lives and is, was born in it, from the “Principle which exists by Itself, developing Itself from Itself”, i.e., Swabhavat. As its name is unknown and its essence is unfathomable, philosophers have called it Tao (Anima Mundi), the uncreate, unborn and eternal energy of nature, manifesting periodically. Nature as well as man when it reaches purity will reach rest, and then all become one with Tao, which is the source of all bliss and felicity. As in the Hindu and Buddhistic philosophies, such purity and bliss and immortality can only be reached through the exercise of virtue and the perfect quietude of our worldly spirit; the human mind has to control and finally subdue and even crush the turbulent action of man’s physical nature; and the sooner he reaches the required degree of moral purification, the happier he will feel. . . . As the famous Sinologist, Pauthier, remarked: “Human Wisdom can never use language more holy and profound”.”

It is interesting to notice there the implication that Lao Tzu both knew and to some extent taught the Esoteric Doctrine, sometimes termed Secret Doctrine, Esoteric Philosophy, Occult Science, Ancient or Ageless Wisdom; it is Theosophy in its fullest and broadest sense and meaning, i.e. the Theosophia, meaning literally in Greek “Divine Wisdom.” Like numerous other great Teachers known to us throughout the ages, he had apparently been initiated into this sacred Knowledge and divulged as much of it as was deemed fit for his time, place, and circumstances.

In this regard, we find in HPB’s book “The Secret Doctrine” Vol. 2, p. 37, the phrase “the esotericism of Lao-Tse.” And in an article known simply as “Editorial Appendix” she mentions that “from Lao-tze down to Hiouen-Thsang their [i.e. Chinese] literature is filled with allusions and references to that island [i.e. Shambhala] and the wisdom of the Himalayan adepts.” (“H. P. Blavatsky Theosophical Articles” Vol. 3, p. 332 and HPB Pamphlet #21 “Tibetan Teachings”)

In the “Introductory” to the first volume of “The Secret Doctrine” much is said about the intriguing fact of the many missing texts of esotericism. Lao Tzu, amongst others, is mentioned, with HPB saying:

“The collective researches of the Orientalists, and especially the labours of late years of the students of comparative Philology and the Science of Religions have led them to ascertain as follows: An immense, incalculable number of MSS., and even printed works known to have existed, are now to be found no more. They have disappeared without leaving the slightest trace behind them. Were they works of no importance they might, in the natural course of time, have been left to perish, and their very names would have been obliterated from human memory. But it is not so; for, as now ascertained, most of them contained the true keys to works still extant, and entirely incomprehensible, for the greater portion of their readers, without those additional volumes of Commentaries and explanations. Such are, for instance, the works of Lao-tse, the predecessor of Confucius.

“He is said to have written 930 books on Ethics and religions, and seventy on magic, one thousand in all. His great work, however, the heart of his doctrine, the “Tao-te-King,” or the sacred scriptures of the Taosse, has in it, as Stanislas Julien shows, only “about 5,000 words” (Tao-te-King, p. xxvii.), hardly a dozen of pages, yet Professor Max Muller finds that “the text is unintelligible without commentaries, so that Mr. Julien had to consult more than sixty commentators for the purpose of his translation,” the earliest going back as far as the year 163 B.C., not earlier, as we see. During the four centuries and a half that preceded this earliest of the commentators there was ample time to veil the true Lao-tse doctrine from all but his initiated priests. The Japanese, among whom are now to be found the most learned of the priests and followers of Lao-tse, simply laugh at the blunders and hypotheses of the European Chinese scholars; and tradition affirms that the commentaries to which our Western Sinologues have access are not the real occult records, but intentional veils, and that the true commentaries, as well as almost all the texts, have long since disappeared from the eyes of the profane.” (Vol. 1, p. xxv)

The reference here to Japanese followers of Lao Tzu is likely an allusion to the Yamabushi, also written Yamabooshi, who are mentioned a number of times by HPB. There is a Wikipedia page about them, describing them as “Japanese mountain ascetic hermits.” In “The Secret Doctrine,” after explaining the esoteric teaching about our moon actually being the parent of our planet, the latter the reincarnation of the former, we find it written that “This is one of the “seven mysteries of the Moon,” and it is now revealed. The seven “mysteries” are called by the Japanese Yamaboosis, the mystics of the Lao-Tze sect and the ascetic monks of Kioto, the Dzenodoo – the “seven jewels.” Only the Japanese and the Chinese Buddhist ascetics and Initiates are, if possible, even more reticent in giving out their “Knowledge” than are the Hindus.” (Vol. 1, p. 173-174)

Theosophy teaches that both the human being and the cosmos are comprised of seven fundamental aspects or “principles.” On p. 117 of “The Key to Theosophy,” HPB remarks that “Lao-Tze, in his Tao-te-King, mentions only five principles, because he, like the Vedantins, omits to include two principles, namely, the spirit (Atma) and the physical body, the latter of which, moreover, he calls “the cadaver.””

In the book “A Modern Panarion” is an article headed “Occultism or Magic.” This was first published under the title “A Few Questions to Hiraf” in “The Spiritual Scientist” magazine of July 1875, four months before the Theosophical Society was founded. The article, which is worth reading in its entirety – and which is quoted from at length in Hidden Origins of Rosicrucianism – was HPB’s first public mention of her connection with Brotherhoods of Adepts. She wrote about the Eastern Initiates in much more specific and detailed terms later on. In that article she shares some perspectives on Confucius and Lao Tzu:

“. . . “Hiraf” [i.e. the pseudonym used by the writer to whom she was responding] sins likewise in a certain comparison he makes between Christ, Buddha, and Khoung-foo-tsee, or Confucius. A comparison can hardly be made between the two former wise and spiritual Illuminati, and the Chinese philosopher. The higher aspirations and views of the two Christs can have nothing to do with the cold, practical philosophy of the latter, brilliant anomaly as he was among a naturally dull and materialistic people, peaceful and devoted to agriculture from the earliest ages of their history. Confucius can never bear the slightest comparison with the two great Reformers. Whereas the principles and doctrines of Christ and Buddha were calculated to embrace the whole of humanity, Confucius confined his attention solely to his own country, trying to apply his profound wisdom and philosophy to the wants of his countrymen, and little troubling his head about the rest of mankind. Intensely Chinese in patriotism and views, his philosophical doctrines are as much devoid of the purely poetic element, which characterizes the teachings of Christ and Buddha, the two divine types, as the religious tendencies of his people lack in that spiritual exaltation which we find, for instance, in India. Khoung-foo-tsee has not even the depth of feeling and the slight spiritual striving of his contemporary, Lao-tsee. Says the learned Ennemoser: “The spirits of Christ and Buddha have left indelible, eternal traces all over the face of the world. The doctrines of Confucius can be mentioned only as the most brilliant proceedings of cold human reasoning.” Harvey, in his Universal History, has depicted the Chinese nation perfectly, in a few words: “Their heavy, childish, cold, sensual nature explains the peculiarities of their history.” Hence any comparison between the first two Reformers and Confucius, in an essay on Rosicrucianism, in which “Hiraf” treats of the Science of Sciences and invites the thirsty for knowledge to drink at her inexhaustible source, seems inadmissible.” (p. 43-44)

Confucius is, however, spoken of more highly and positively elsewhere, even being called a “Fifth Rounder” in “The Secret Doctrine” Vol. 1, p. 162. This expression is an allegorical term, designed to indicate one who even in this current Fourth Round period of evolution (see Chains, Globes, Rounds and Root Races) has reached inwardly a stage of development that will only be normal for the average mass of humanity in the next great evolutionary cycle, millions of years from now.

It is true though that a “Fifth Rounder” is not necessarily highly evolved spiritually (although they of course can be), for the Fifth Round – as also the Fifth Root-Race – relates to the development of the fifth of our Seven Principles, namely Manas, the mind and intellect. “The Secret Doctrine” gives Confucius and Plato as examples of “Fifth Rounders” and Buddha and Adi Shankaracharya as “Sixth Rounders.”

However, if Confucius was a Fifth Rounder and still not as great or spiritual as Lao Tzu, then we may perhaps suppose that Lao Tzu was himself a Fifth Rounder or even more.

Many translations exist of his Tao Te Ching. In the United Lodge of Theosophists or ULT, an edition first published in 1951 by Theosophy Company is generally used when the text is read from or studied in meetings and is also available for purchase at a very reasonable price; a mere £2 in the UK, as of 2023. This is not actually a textual translation – and so is not as literal and exact as some others – and nor does it contain the entire Tao Te Ching. Instead, it is an abridged “rendition” (made by Lionel Giles and also named “Treatise of the Way and of Virtue”) and focuses on portraying the original ideas more than the original words themselves. It also groups various statements from the Tao Te Ching into sections based on general theme or subject matter.

In the original and complete Tao Te Ching, there are two sections: first, Tao Ching, meaning literally “Book (Ching) of the Way (Tao),” and then Te Ching, “Book (Ching) of Virtue or Power (Te).” That “virtue” or “power” is what is implied to arise from attunement with the Tao. Hence the book in its entirety is known as the Tao Te Ching, which does not actually literally mean “The Book of the Perfectibility of Nature” as H. P. Blavatsky had said in “The Theosophical Glossary” but rather, as in the Theosophy Company edition, “Book of the Way and of Virtue.”

Taoism is always associated with the famous “Yin Yang” symbol, pictured at the top of this article. That symbol is technically called Taijitu, for what it represents is also called Taiji or Tai Chi, which means the harmonious interdependent duality or polarity of manifestation, composed of the Yin (feminine, black) and the Yang (masculine, white). The essential meaning of this symbol is virtually identical with that of the interlaced white and black triangles which form part of the Theosophical seal, the logo of the Theosophical Movement, which can be explored in the article Esoteric Symbolism. From that Taiji, the “Ten Thousand Things” (a symbolic term used frequently in the Tao Te Ching to refer to the entire collectivity of manifested existence) arise. But prior to the Taiji is Wuji, symbolised simply as a plain white circle. This Wuji, or simply Wu, is Taoism’s “Emptiness” or “Voidness,” the ultimate, absolute, infinite Source of all or, as HPB expressed it in the “Theosophical Glossary” entry, using language more familiar to students of Theosophy, “limitless and boundless Space. All that lives and is, was born in it, from the “Principle which exists by Itself, developing Itself from Itself.”” Wu or Wuji is therefore not a literally nihilistic nothingness or a truly void Void but is both “the voidness of the seeming full, [and] the fullness of the seeming void,” to use the language of “The Voice of The Silence,” translated by HPB from the Book of The Golden Precepts. If this interests you, you may also like to read Self, Non-Self, Emptiness & Voidness in Buddhism & Theosophy.

Since the Tao Te Ching is in part, as HPB stated, “a kind of cosmogony which contains all the fundamental tenets of Esoteric Cosmogenesis,” (“Cosmogenesis” also being the name of the first volume of HPB’s master work “The Secret Doctrine”) it is perhaps not surprising that we find in it the universal, timeless concept of the Absolute and the Logos, although naturally those specific words do not appear in it. There is –

* WU (literally “Emptiness,” “Voidness”) – The Eternal Tao – The Tao of Non-Existence, Non-Being – The Unmanifested Static Divine = THE ABSOLUTE

* TAIJI (literally “The Great Polarity”) – The Manifested Tao – The Tao of Existence, Being – The Manifested Dynamic Divine = THE LOGOS

That term “Wu” is linked with one of the most fundamental practical concepts in Taoist thought, Wu Wei, which means literally “empty action.” This does not mean inactivity, idleness, laziness, or not bothering to do anything or make any effort in life. Instead, it refers to a type of action which is really non-action. That may sound like a complete contradiction but we in fact find much the same idea in the Karma Yoga (Yoga of Action) inculcated by Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita, particularly its second, third, fourth, and fifth chapters. There, Krishna the Avatar teaches his disciple Arjuna on the battlefield of life:

“Yoga is skill (kaushala) in the performance of action.” (2:50)

“No man can, even for an instant, remain really actionless, as everyone is inexorably propelled to action by his innate propensities. . . . But he who, controlling the senses through the mind, uses the organs of action without becoming attached towards sense-objects, thus practising the yoga of action (karmayoga), gains excellence.” (3:5-7)

“Therefore, without attachment, always perform action which needs to be done (karya). For, by acting without attachment, a man attains to the Supreme.” (3:19)

“As the unenlightened work, attached to action, O son of Bharata, so too the enlightened man works, without attachment, for the welfare of the world.” (3:25)

“He who sees action in inaction, and inaction in action, is wise among men. Even whilst accomplishing all action, he remains established in yoga. He whose undertakings are all devoid of desires and false imaginings (sankalpa), and whose actions have been burnt up by the fire of wisdom, him the wise call an adept. Having renounced all attachment for the fruits of action, ever content, free from calculations, he is verily doing nothing, though thoroughly wrapped up in his work. Free from expectation, with mind and self well governed, having relinquished all possessions, his body alone engaged in action, he incurs no sin. Satisfied with whatever comes to him of its own accord, rising above the pairs of opposites, free from envy, the same in success and failure, a man is not bound even whilst engaged in action. Works entirely fall away from him whose attachment is gone, who is set free, whose mind is firmly established in wisdom, and who performs all acts in a spirit of sacrifice (yajna).” (4:18-23)

“He who is yoked to yoga and whose self is purified, who has conquered himself and controlled his senses, whose self has become the Self of all creatures, is not stained, though he acts. Thinking “I am not doing anything,” thus steadfast in yoga, the knower of truth (tattvavid) is engaged in seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, walking, sleeping and breathing. Conversing, letting go, holding on, opening and closing the eyes, he verily cognizes that the senses mingle with their own objects. He who works, resigning all acts to brahman, relinquishing all attachment, is not stained by sin any more than the lotus leaf is by water.” (5:7-10, from the Concord Grove Press edition of the Bhagavad Gita, translated by Raghavan Iyer)

As well as Wu Wei or “empty action,” Taoism also speaks of Wu Nien, literally “empty thought,” meaning a type of thinking which is really non-thinking, and Wu Hsin, “empty mind,” the mind which is really no-mind. One will also find such concepts in Zen Buddhism but whereas some teachers and practitioners equate such ideas to literally trying to extinguish one’s ability to think and to maintaining a blank, vacant, inactive mind at all times, real esotericism proposes that something deeper and more powerful and mystical is meant but this is something only briefly referred to and hinted at in Theosophical texts, such as “Till then, a task far harder still awaits thee: thou hast to feel thyself ALL-THOUGHT, and yet exile all thoughts from out thy Soul.” (“The Voice of The Silence” p. 61, original edition)

In 1978, Concord Grove Press (publishers for the Santa Barbara Lodge of the United Lodge of Theosophists) published the ULT’s first complete and literal translation of the Tao Te Ching, with all its 81 stanzas numbered and in correct order. It appears this is now unfortunately out of print but we include some particularly inspirational and Theosophically relevant sections below. Please bear in mind that their nature is such that they are intended to be read slowly, carefully, reflectively, contemplatively . . . meditatively.

~ * ~

FROM THE TAO TE CHING

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 Source of Heaven and Earth;
The named is the Mother of the Ten Thousand Things.
Desireless, one may behold the mystery;
Desiring, one may see the manifestations.
Though one in origin,
They emerge with distinct names.
Both are mysteries –
Depth within depth –
The threshold of all secrets. (Stanza 1)

Therefore the Sage acts without acting,
Teaches without words.
The Ten Thousand Things unceasingly wax and wane:
Nourishing them, he claims no ownership,
Doing his work, he craves no reward.
Completing his task, he calls for no commendation.
His work is finished and forgotten,
Its fruition is forever intact. (from Stanza 2)

Tao is like an empty vessel;
Undepleted by use.
Bottomless, it is verily the source of everything.
It dulls sharpness,
It undoes knots,
It dims the dazzling,
It mingles with the dust.
Hidden in its depths, it is perpetually present.
I know not its ancestry.
Its primordial image precedes the Lord of Heaven. . . .
Empty yet inexhaustible.
The more it moves, the more it makes.
Much talk will exhaust itself:
Hold fast to the Void. (from Stanzas 4 and 5)

The Spirit of the Fountain is deathless.
It is the Mysterious Feminine,
From whose gate emerge Heaven and Earth.
Ever existing within us
It is exhaustless. (Stanza 6)

In dwelling, cherish the ground.
In meditation, go deep in the heart.
In dealing with others, be genial and kind. (from Stanza 8)

Can you hold to the spirit and embrace the One
Without any separation?
Can you steady your breath and yet remain supple
Like the tender babe?
Can you cleanse the mysterious mirror of your mind
And leave no stain? . . .
Can you discern and penetrate in every direction
Without pretence and presumption? . . .
Serving without seeking return,
Leading without demanding allegiance,
Such is the inscrutable virtue. (from Stanza 10)

Look, you cannot see It,
It is Formless.
Listen, you cannot hear It,
It is Soundless.
Grasp, you cannot touch It,
It is Non-Being.
These three are indiscernible
And therefore are merged into One.
Its upper part is not dazzling, its lower part is not dark;
It is nameless and in ceaseless motion,
And returns to the Void.
Form of the formless, image of the imageless,
It is indistinct and indefinable.
Confront It and you will not see Its face,
Follow It and you will not find Its back.
Hold fast to the hoary Tao,
Thus gaining mastery over the moment,
Knowing the beginning of time as the thread of Tao. (Stanza 14)

The ancient masters of the Tao were subtle and enigmatic,
Penetrating and profound.
Because their wisdom is unfathomable,
I can only suggest their appearance:
Circumspect, like one crossing a stream in winter,
Hesitant, like one sensing danger on every side,
Formal, like a guest,
Yielding, like ice ready to melt,
Simple, like an uncarved block of wood,
Open, like a broad valley,
Opaque, like muddy water.
Who can make muddy water settle by being still?
Who can remain at rest until the time to act?
Those who hold to Tao do not try to overflow,
Undepleted, they could tire and be self-renewed. (Stanza 15)

Attain absolute voidness;
Preserve perfect stillness.
The Ten Thousand Things rise together, yet return:
They ramify and flourish, yet each returns to its root.
Returning to the root is tranquillity. (from Stanza 16)

The great virtue follows Tao and Tao alone.
The Tao is invisible and intangible:
Intangible and invisible – and yet within It is an image;
Invisible and intangible – and yet within It is substance;
Dim and dark – and yet within It is an essence.
This essence is invariably true
And yet within It is what may be tested.
From ancient times until the present, Its name has persisted.
Thus one may perceive the beginning of all things.
How do I know all this?
Through the Tao. (Stanza 21)

There is something amorphous and yet entire,
Existing before Heaven and Earth.
Motionless and fathomless,
It stands alone and stays unchanged,
It is everywhere and inexhaustible.
It may be seen as the Mother of the Ten Thousand Things.
I know not its name – call it Tao.
For want of another word, I style it as Supreme.
Being Supreme, it flows on;
Flowing on, it is afar,
Being afar, it returns.
Tao is Supreme,
Heaven is Supreme,
Earth is Supreme,
And Man is also Supreme.
These four are Supreme in the universe,
And Man is one of them.
Man follows the Earth.
Earth follows Heaven.
Heaven follows Tao.
Tao follows its intrinsic nature. (Stanza 25)

Know the male and grasp the female:
Be the channel of the world.
Being the channel of the universe,
Unwavering virtue will be yours,
And you will become as a little child. (from Stanza 28)

Fulfil your purpose, and do not parade it;
Fulfil your purpose, but never bluster;
Fulfil your purpose, and be not proud;
Fulfil your purpose, but only as required;
Fulfil your purpose without violence. (from Stanza 30)

Knowing others is wisdom;
Knowing oneself is enlightenment. . . .
One who dies without perishing is eternally present. (from Stanza 33)

From ancient times these attained Oneness:
Heaven attained Oneness and became clear;
Earth attained Oneness and became calm;
Spirits attained Oneness and became potent;
The fountains attained Oneness and became full;
The Ten Thousand Things attained Oneness and fecundity;
Kings and lords attained Oneness and became sovereign.
All are what they are by virtue of Oneness. (from Stanza 39)

Tao gives birth to One;
One gives birth to Two;
Two gives birth to Three.
Three gives birth to the Ten Thousand Things.
The Ten Thousand Things uphold yin and embrace yang.
They harmonize through blending these vital breaths. . . .
What others teach, I also teach:
A violent person will meet a violent end.
This is the core of my teaching. (from Stanza 42)

The softest of all things can subdue
The hardest things in the world.
Only Nothing can enter into emptiness.
Hence I know the potency of non-action.
Few learn the lessons of Silence.
Few seek the fruits of non-action. (Stanza 43)

Without going out of doors,
One may know the whole world.
Without peering out of the window,
One can see the Way of Heaven.
The further one travels,
The less one knows.
Thus the Sage knows without moving,
He sees without looking,
He accomplishes without acting. (Stanza 47)

A tree as large as a man’s embrace
Springs from a tiny sprout.
A nine-storied tower
Rises from a sod of earth.
A journey of a thousand miles
Starts where one’s feet stand.
Agitation over anything spoils it.
Grasping means losing.
The Sage fusses not and spoils nothing.
He grasps not and never loses. . . .
Thus the Sage desires to be desireless,
Sets no value on rare goods,
Learns to unlearn his learning,
Draws others back to what they have lost.
Thus he helps all to find themselves,
And does not lead any by the nose. (from Stanza 64)

Three treasures I cherish:
The first is fathomless love,
The second is frugality,
The third is reluctance to lead.
From love comes courage,
From frugality generosity,
From reticence comes leadership. . . .
To venture with love is to win the battle;
To defend with love is to be invulnerable.
Heaven saves and guards through love. (from Stanza 67)

My words are easy to grasp, easy to follow,
Though the world neither grasps nor follows.
My words have ancient ancestry,
My practice has a sovereign lord.
As many know not this,
They know me not.
The fewer know me,
The nobler those who follow.
The Sage is coarsely clad,
Holding jade in his bosom. (Stanza 70)

To know you do not know is insight;
To think you know when you do not is sickness.
Only when we are sick of our sickness
Shall we cease to be sick.
The Sage is never sick, being sick of sickness.
This is the secret of health. (Stanza 71)

Sincere words are not sweet,
Sweet words are not true.
Good men do not argue,
The argumentative are not good.
The wise are not learned,
The learned are not wise.
The Sage does not hoard.
The more he uses for others,
The more he has for himself.
The more he gives away,
The greater his abundance.
The Tao of Heaven is to help without hindering.
The Tao of the Sage is to serve without striving. (Stanza 81)

~ * ~

FROM “CHOOSING THE TAO”
BY RAGHAVAN IYER

(In “The Gupta Vidya” Vol. 2, “The Golden Thread,” published by Theosophy Trust)

The wisest disciples, teachers and sages learn from the Tao all the time. The Tao is not a book. The Tao is not a scripture. The Tao was not given by any one person for the first time to other people. It is everywhere and nowhere. It is what some call God, what others designate as the One Reality, and what still others salute merely by saying “I do not know.” . . . No one can be a knower of the Tao, a true Taoist, without becoming a skilled craftsman of Akasha, a silent magician of the Alkahest, a self-conscious channel for the universal divine flame which, in its boundless, colourless, intangible, soundless and inexhaustible energy, may be used only for the sake of all. Only these universal, deathless, eternal verities may become living germs in the emerging matrix of the awakening mind of the age of Aquarius, a current of consciousness that flows into the future. . . .

Through the archetypal logic of non-action in activity, he can move away from the turba and the tumult of the crowd, and discover an inner peace through deliberate but casual control in the midst of spontaneous activity. . . . No one who has not conquered the will to coerce could freely practise the art of Wu-Wei even in everyday encounters. The Tao is the ontological basis of the archetypal teaching of nonviolence, non-retaliation and true benevolence. Nature is not partial, partisan or sentimentally benevolent. This is known to the Sage, who fuses wisdom in action with compassion. . . .

It is only by the inner light that a person becomes a disciple of the Tao, and in the progress of time may even become a friend of the Tao with the help of those who are the Masters of the Tao. . . .

Every person may consciously choose to return to the central source, the pure light-energy of the motionless Tao without a name. This does not mean one should cease breathing. That would be a hasty reading of the Tao because one cannot live without breathing in and breathing out, and in this rhythmic activity one participates in the Tao, the Mother of Ten Thousand Things. When people are running or rushing they do not breathe rhythmically, but needlessly distort the rhythm. It is always possible to balance the chaotic breathing and the disorderly motions of daily life by providing spaces within the passage of time for a self-conscious return to the inner stillness, the serenity of meditation whereby one may renew oneself. Nature provides priceless opportunities for daily regeneration, and the Tao is experienced each night by every human being in deep, dreamless sleep. The Tao could also be known during waking life by the vigilant and contented person who practises deliberate mental withdrawal, self-surrender and non-violent action.

~ * ~

“Truth is One, though the Sages call it by many names.”
(Rig Veda 1:164:46)

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