The Tao that can be told of;

Is not the Absolute Tao.¹

Yet, this entry will try to present some of the principles interpreted from the 'Tao Te Ching' by Lao Tze. But to make them complete, you will have to meditate about them yourself, or just ignore them, all according to your own will.

The first principle: TAO - "The Way of the Dragon, the Path of Change"

I have Three Treasures;

Guard them and keep them safe:

The first is Love.

The second is, Never too much.

The third is, Never be the first in the world.

Through Love, one has no fear;

Through not doing too much, one has amplitude (of reserve power);

Through not presuming to be the first in the world,

One can develop one's talent and let it mature.²

Tao is the force behind Everything. It cannot be completely described by words, yet its nature is understandable.

The harmony that has existed between Heaven and Earth since the beginning, may be found by anyone, at any moment, by keeping it in mind and living the Life that it is inseparable from.

In short, this first principle tries to tell you that

The Universe knows what it is doing.

Tao is a particular way of appreciating, learning from and working with all that is a part of the everyday life. The natural outcome is happiness, peace of mind and a subtle sence of humour.

Think nothing

and do not strive;

this is the first step of the path

towards understanding Tao.


Walk nowhere

and do nothing;

this is the first step

towards peace in Tao.


Start nowhere

and follow no path;

this is the first step

towards reaching Tao.

The second principle: PU - "The Uncarved Wood"

Pu stands for all things in their natural state. This state cannot be explained, it only is.

The Cloud high above us

and the Westerly Breeze

visit and leave us

just as they please.

And so does Life,

but cease all lament;

who really may tilt

your devout enjoyment?

Everything - whether its heavy or light, wet or dry, fast or slow -
carries its own Nature inside, and you cannot rape that Nature without causing difficulties.

Everything has its place and its function - a True Nature - that makes the things unique.

However, knowledge will not help you see the True Nature of things.

We honour the knowledge we can grasp, but doesn't realize how dependent we are of what lies beyond. The difficulties of modern humanity - harmful delusions, feelings of solitude or spiritual emptiness - is caused by our ideas of and our break with Nature.

Instead, cooperate with the Laws of Nature,
sensitively, carefully and respectfully.

A good runner leaves no track.³

The Life in itself is delightful, if you understand it and use it as it is.

The third principle: WU WEI - "the Minimal Endeavour"

Tao does not do, but nothing is left undone.

Wu Wei tells you to let Nature has its way and to follow the Laws of Nature.

For the one who is not in himself

the things reveal their inner shapes.

He moves like water,

reflects light like a mirror,

answers like an echo.


His lightness almost makes him vanish.

He is still like a clear lake,

in harmony with the ones around him,

for better and for worse.

He does not walk in front of others,

but follows them instead.⁴

When practising Wu Wei one complies with the circumstances and listens to ones intuition. Like the water in the brook, finding its way between the stones. This way trouble is easily stopped before it even starts.

Look at a situation as it is before solving a problem:

- Identify the real problem.

- Try to figure out if the problem really is a problem after all?

Realize that you cannot save time, you can only spend time, wisely or foolishly. It is said that "One stitch in time saves nine", and therefore people try to make a thousand stitches today to save nine tomorrow. Let things take time, according to their nature.

The fourth principle: TZU - "the Compassion, the Love"

Tzu is the first of the Treasures mentioned by Lao-tze. This is the Principle of Being With Others.

Respect is something you earn.

Turn the negative to something positive.

Pull out the positive by using the positive.

Let the snowball roll, and watch the effect of positive breeding positive. But also, look out for the negative ones, trying to destroy by creating negative with negative. Consider that the evil might be the raw material of the good.

A great man plays like a child and entices like a woman.

SATYAGRAHA - "the Force of Truth" is the way of Mahatma Gandhi, perhaps one of the most famous ways Tzu has come to use in the modern society (although Ghandi never called it Tzu). Transform your opponent instead of crushing him, respectfully, patiently and persistently.

When the world lives in accord with Tao,

Racing horses are turned back to haul refuse carts.

When the world lives not in accord with Tao,

Cavalry abounds in the countryside.

The brave soldier is not violent;

The good fighter does not lose his temper;

The great conqueror does not fight (on small issues);

The good user of men places himself below others.

- This is the virtue of not-contending.

There is nothing weaker than water

But none is superior to it in overcoming the hard,

For which there is no substitute.

That weakness overcomes strength

And gentleness overcomes rigidity.

Therefore in order to be the chief among the people,

One must speak like their inferiors.

In order to be foremost among the people,

One must walk behind them.

Thus it is that the Sage stays above,

And the people do not feel his weight;

Walks in front,

And the people do not wish him harm.

Then the people of the world are glad to uphold him forever.

Because he does not contend,

No one in the world can contend against him.⁵

The fifth principle: TE - "the Virtue in Action"

Te is the good character, a hidden potential that stems from the inner nature.

True progress involves growth and evolution, which in turn involves change on the inside.

Get to know your limitations, acknowledge them to yourself and act according to them.

Get rid of, alter to something else or use in a wholesome and advantageous way, all that is not good.

Enjoy the evolution process, that is to know happiness. The Process is worthwhile, it is the Process that really makes us wise, happy or whatever comes out of it. But the Goals we acheive do also count, since they force us to go through the Process, and the Goal has to be pure and full of blessings if the Process shall be that too.

Observe closely the Laws of Nature in the world surrounding you and live according to them. By following them you will learn humility, modesty, compassion, consideration, the wisdom of seeing things as they are and the happiness that follows of being in harmony with Tao.

The sixth principle: TAI HSÜ - "the Great Nothing"

The wise one does not know many things;

He who knows many things is not wise.⁶

Seek the emptiness, the empty mind, the mind of the child seeing the world for the first time through curious eyes.

The student of knowledge (aims at) learning day by day;

The student of Tao (aims at) losing day by day.

By continual losing

One reaches doing nothing.

He who conquers the world often does so by doing nothing.

When one is compelled to do something,

The world is already beyond his conquering.⁷

Avoid knowledge for the sake of knowledge only.

Knowledge is more than accuracy, more than information. Knowledge means realizing what the information is for and when to use it. Therefore, science, moral and spirituality must collaborate. The mother of all inventions is observation and fantasy.

The every day learing process sums up to
Observe -> Deduce -> Apply.

Observe

• see with the Empty Mind.
• see the simplicity of the complex.
• reduce what you see into the most basic elements.

• use Intuition and Logic.
• seek connections, patterns and relations.
• study the Laws of Nature in what you find.

• work with the Laws of Nature. Interfere as little as possible.
• use the Minimal Endevour to accomplish what you require.
• do only what you require, nothing else.

Remeber that the Universe does not set traps for you, but is a great teacher that provides valuable knowledge. One must learn its lessons, as one must follow its Laws - do that, and all goes well.

(All quotes without footnotes except 'The Cloud...' in section PU are free translations done by the researcher of this entry. 'The Cloud...' is solely a piece of poem written by the researcher.

For an extensive list of translations of 'Tao Te Ching', please visit English Translations of the Tao Teh Ching.
For a very good introduction to Tao, read the books 'The Tao of Pooh' and 'The Te of Piglet' by Benjamin Hoff, on which much of this entry is based. They should be available at a library or bookshop near you.)