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The Meaning of the Word "Tao" Many mistakes are committed by some authors who want to explain what is "tao" to Western reader. Quote: The Tao's definition always slips around words because how we see life is also constantly shifting. This means the Tao is both indefinable and yet by living our life fully we can then discover our own Personal Tao… (From a Personal Tao).The first mistake is to think that the Tao can not be defined, that its definition "slips around words". One can find a clear definition of this term in I-ching (Book of Changes). There are also definitions given by Confucius and his disciples. "Tao" is a concept explained by both Taoists and Confucians. Taoists named it the root of creation and the mother of everything (Tao-te ching, paragraph 1).
The second mistake is to think that by living our lives fully, we could discover a "personal tao", as stated in the quote above. The Chinese greatly appreciated talented people who had wonderful exceptional achievements, for example a good archer. His ability was called a "tao". So let's stress that there is a Tao with reference to the genesis of the universe, that is, a philosophical one, and one that designates some personal skills. There is also another definition that refers to the Movement of Heaven, the Tao of Heaven, a concept explained in our introductory course into Taoism, level 1.Let's conclude that the word "tao" has many unrelated meanings that depend on the point from which we look at it and that there is nothing such a "personal tao". The mistakes made by the author of the above quote may be explained by the fact that he/she does not refer to the Chinese Tao as he/she has in mind a vague idea of living in fusion with nature, the dearest concept of disciples of New-Age ideology. This ideology has nothing to do with the Chinese Tao. -- => See also: What is Tao
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