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The Founder of Taoism
Lao-tzu -the presumed author of Tao-te ching - heading West |
He lived and worked as an archivist in Chou, where he met Confucius to talk about rites.
Lao-tzu is the traditional author of
Tao-te ching (The Classic of Tao and its Characteristics), a handbook of wisdom written upon his retirement to West, at the request of the Guardian of the Pass, Yin Hsi.In his book, Lao-tzu developed the main Taoist ideas and concepts such as
Tao, wu-wei (nondoing), wu (emptiness), and fu (return).He applied his philosophy to the human condition and shaped the life style of the sages in conformity with the immutable laws of the Tao.
He even traced the path
of the political leaders in order to rule their lands in peace and harmony. |
Most of the specialists today believe that Lao-tzu didn't exist as a person and author of Tao-te ching. His name would have been the title of the book (ascribed to him) or the name of a group of persons interested in philosophy and wisdom.
Still we study Taoism in relation with Lao-tzu, his book and his teachings as recorded by the Chinese antiquity historian Ssu-ma Ch'ien (145-85 BC) in his Historical Records.
Confucius met Lao-tzu in Chou to talk about rites |
This approach is accurate if we think of the many stories contained in several important books inspired by Tao-te ching, such as: Nan-hua chen-ching (by
Chuang-tzu) and The Book of Perfect Emptiness (by Lieh-tzu), dealing with life facts.Lao-tzu was interested in shaping a specific life method to help one find his/her inner balance when dealing with the most confusing and challenging life events.
We provide more information about Lao-tzu and his Tao-te ching in our email course with the same title. Click
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