Dao De Jing: a gentle Introduction

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1 Dao De Jing: a gentle Introduction
Martin Q. Zhao 11/13/2013 Dao De Jing: a gentle Introduction

2 topics Intro Dao De Jing (Tao-Te Ching) & Lao Zi (Lao Tzu)
Taoism and Lao Tzu in Chinese History Dao in Ten Words Q&A

3 Martin In Ten Words: My M&M’s
密云(MiYun, remote suburb of Beijing, spent childhood there) 力学(Mechanics, majored in Solid Mechanics at USTC, and worked for Inst of Mech/Chinese Acad. of Sciences for 5 years) 美国(MeiGuo = America the beautiful, pursued PhD, and now naturalized) 建模(JianMo = Modeling, majored in CAM [Computational Analysis & Modeling] and took data modeling as a career) 梦亭(MengTing = dream-pavilion my style name 字 became my American name ) Martin Mercer Macon Millrun Court 美术(MeiShu = arts, I like to practice calligraphy, and even paint when I have time)

4 密云美景

5

6 道德经(DaoDe Jing) & 老子(Lao Tzu)
老子，姓李，名耳，字伯阳，谥曰聃，楚国苦县（今鹿邑县）人。约生活于前571年至471年之间。 曾做过周朝的守藏史。 Two parts (道 and 德) 81 (37+44) chapters About 5000 words

7 Lao Tzu By Legend It has been one of the best known mysteries:
Who he was; when and where he was born. Three stories according to the Records of Grand Historian by Sima Qian (ca BC): A contemporary of Confucius ( BC). Li (李) Er (耳 "ear") or Dan (聃 "long ear"); or Lao Laizi (老莱子 "Old Master") The Grand Historian and astrologer Lao Dan (老聃 "Old Long-ears"), who lived during the reign ( BC) As the legend goes, Confucius had met Lao Tzu and asked about rituals from him.

8 郭店竹简 (GuoDian Bamboo Slips, 300 BC)
Unearthed in 1993

9 马王堆帛书 (MaWangDui Silk Texts, 168 BC)
Unearthed in 1973

10 Taoism In Chinese History
Up until the Qin Dynasty (221 BCE), one of the “100 contending schools of thoughts” (诸子百家) During the Han Dynasty, Confucianism started to gain domination (独尊儒术) In 史记 (Records of the Grand Historian) 孔子 enjoyed his own 世家 (genealogy), while老子 shared a 列傳 (biography) with 韓非子 (another one of the 诸子, founder of the legalism). Confucian disciples also shared a 列傳.

11 Taoism In Chinese History – cont’d
Taoism ranks 3rd in the three “religions” (三教:儒释道) in the last several hundreds years. 四库全书 (the Complete Library in Four Branches of Literature) categorizes DaoDe Jing in the子 (masters) branch, while Confucianism texts are in the 经 (scripture) branch. Confucian Temple in other cities are generally known as 文庙 /WenMiao/ or Temple of Literature. Confucian Temple in QuFu, his hometown.

12 四库全书 (Complete Library In Four Branches Of Literature)
Jīng (经 "Classics") 13 Confucianism texts Shǐ (史 "Histories") histories and geographies from Chinese history Zĭ (子 "Masters") philosophy, arts, sciences from Chinese philosophy Jí (集 "Collections") anthologies from Chinese literature

13 DaoDe Jing in the World “It is a famous puzzle which everyone would like to feel he had solved” Titles like “Dao of Programming” is second only to those like “HTML Bible” The Tao Te Ching has been translated into Western languages over 250 times 20 or so English translations at Mercer‘s Tarver lib It’s hard to translate: Antiquity(language, grammar, punctuation, context) Cultural differences English Translation at Chinese Text Project’s website

14 道(Dao) Nothingness, emptiness Name, concept Existence Subtlety The Tao
Beginning The Tao that can be expressed in words is not the true and eternal Tao… (Tao:1) 《莊子 - Zhuangzi》 《外篇 - Outer Chapters》 《知北遊 - Knowledge Rambling in the North》 東郭子問於莊子曰：「所謂道，惡乎在？」莊子曰：「無所不在。」東郭子曰：「期而後可。」莊子曰：「在螻蟻。」曰：「何其下邪？」曰：「在稊稗。」曰：「何其愈下邪？」曰：「在瓦甓。」曰：「何其愈甚邪？」曰：「在屎溺。」東郭子不應。Knowledge Rambling in the...: Dong-guo Zi asked Zhuangzi, saying, 'Where is what you call the Dao to be found?' Zhuangzi replied, 'Everywhere.' The other said, 'Specify an instance of it. That will be more satisfactory.' ' It is here in this ant.' 'Give a lower instance.' 'It is in this panic grass.' 'Give me a still lower instance.' 'It is in this earthenware tile.' 'Surely that is the lowest instance?' 'It is in that excrement.' To this Dong-guo Zi gave no reply. The gate of all mysteries Heaven & earth, the world These Two: What are they??? 10,000 things, objects

15 What Exactly Is the Dao? Although the Dao is used without definition, its four features are summarized in Chapter 25: Tao is born prior to the formation of heaven and earth {先天地生} (and before the existence of Lord {象帝之先} [Tao:4]) Tao is of a unique and independent nature {独立而不改} Tao is always moving in its cycle {周行而不殆;[道]曰大.大曰逝,逝曰远.远曰反.} Tao is the origin of all things and the universe {为天下母}(and in Chapter 4{渊兮似万物之宗}) 有物混成,先天地生,寂兮寥兮,独立而不改,周行而不殆,可以为天下母.吾不知其名,字之曰道,强为之名曰大.大曰逝,逝曰远.远曰反.故道大,天大,地大,王亦大.域中有四大,而王处一焉.人法地,地法天,天法道,道法自然.

16 What Then Could Not Be Dao?
上士聞道，勤而行之。中士聞道，若存若亡。下士聞道，大笑之。 不笑不足以為道。 Hearing Tao, The best scholar assiduously practices it; The average scholar half believes and half doubts it; The worst scholar burst into laughter about it. If the worst scholar does not laugh about it, Tao is not worthy of being called Tao. (Te:41) 第四十一章 「上士聞道，勤而行之。中士聞道，若存若亡。下士聞道，大笑之。不笑不 足以為道。」 An educated person with good social status.

17 道法自然(Dao Follows What’s Natural As Its Model)
Since it’s so difficult to define the Dao, so Lao Tzu named it the Great {强为之名曰大} Relationships among the four greats {Dao, Heaven, Earth, King [of men], or simply man) are then shown. 故道大,天大,地大,王亦大. 域中有四大,而王处一焉. 人法地,地法天,天法道, 道法自然. That is why I say: Tao is Great; Heaven is Great; Earth is Great; and King is also Great. There are four things that are Great [in the universe], of them King (of man) is one. Man takes Earth as its model; Earth takes Heaven as its model; Heaven takes Tao as its model; Tao takes nature as it model. (Tao:25)

18 自然而然(It Is What It Is) And then what is Nature?
May I humbly say that Lao Tzu suggests “It is what it is”?

19 有无相生(Existence & Nothingness Begot Each Other)
Everything in the world has its counterpart Beautiful ugly, good bad, difficult easy, existence nothingness, long  short, high low Positive negative electricity, matter antimatter, particle void According to the Dao, there is at once being and nonbeing, which are but different names of the same thing compliment opposites 第二章 天下皆知美之为美，斯恶已；皆知善之为善，斯不善已。故有无相生，难易相成，长短相形，高下相倾，音声相和，前後相随。是以圣人处无为之事，行不言之教，万物作焉而不辞，生而不有，为而不恃，功成而弗居。夫惟弗居，是以不去。

20 道生万物(The Dao Begot Ten Thousand Things)
As the Romans said: “il mondo non è costruita in un giorno”. So how is the world of 10,000 things created according to Dao De Jing? 道生一， 一生二， 二生三， … Dao begets the One. The One begets the Two. The Two begets the Three. … (Te:42) 第四十二章 道生一，一生二，二生三，三生万物。万物负阴而抱阳，冲气以为和。人之所恶，唯孤、寡、不谷，而王公以为称。故物或损之而益，或益之而损。人之所教，我亦教之。强梁者不得其死，吾将以为教父。 The One consists of Two in opposition (the Yin and Yang). The Two begets the Three. The Three begets all things in the world. What is the next line? The Three begets all things in the world. 三生万物。 Why does it sound so easy? 0 →1 →2 →3 → …→∞

21 An Example from Software Design
Software system = virtual world Need to design three types of objects Tao begets the One; The One consists of Two in opposition (the Yin and Yang); The two begets the Three; All things connote the Yin and Yang. (Te:42) 道生一， 一生二， 二生三， 三生万物。 (Cont’d on next slide)

22 A Virtual World With 10,000 Things
CustomerEntity Customer OrderControl CustomerForm Actors OrderEntity SalesRep SalesRepForm OrderFulfillControl ProductEntity System Boundary

23 尚阴柔(Recognize The Yin Over The Yang)
As compare to the Western way of thinking: Any single thing has always got two in one: the Yin and the Yang, as in a sheet of paper has two sides A glass of water is deemed as half full and half empty The balance between Yin-Yang changes all the time There is no absolute and purely good or bad As compared to the Confucian way of thinking: Confucianism::主阳刚(the Yang; action) Daoism::尚阴柔(the Yin; inaction) 第四十三章 天下之至柔，驰骋天下之至坚。无有入无间，吾是以知无为之有益。不言之教，无为之益，天下希及之。

24 The Usefulness Of Nothingness
第十一章 三十辐共一毂，当其无，有车之用。埏埴以为器，当其无，有器之用。凿户牖以为室，当其无，有室之用。故有之以为利，无之以为用。 Thirty spokes share one hub. It is just the space (the Nothingness) between them that makes a cart function as a cart. (Tao:11)

25 Conflicting Views Btw Taoists & Ru-ists (儒)
Just keep it to the concepts of 利(益) and 用 苟利家国生死已，岂因祸福避趋之。林则徐  无可用于世之＂大木＂庄子|人间世 有关家国书常读，无益身心事莫为。 不为无益之事，何以遣有涯之生？阮籍 Confucians 入世 = engage in societal activities Confucius himself traveled many states for decades trying to persuade the rulers to adopt his Dao Confucians (儒士) study hard for years trying to pass the official exams and become ministers, etc. Taoists 出世 = remain secluded and enjoy what nature has granted or practice (修炼) to become immortal

26 The Strength Of Softness
Nothing in the world is more supple than water, Yet nothing is more powerful than water In attacking hard and strong. (Te:78) 天下莫柔弱于水， 而攻坚强者莫之能胜，以其无以易之。 天下之至柔， 驰骋天下之至坚。 The most supple in the world, Can go through the hardest in the world. (Te:43) 人之生也柔弱， 其死也坚强。 万物草木之生也柔脆， 其死也枯槁。 故坚强者死之徒， 柔弱者生之徒。 …… 强大处下，柔弱处上。 While alive, a person’s body is supple; when dead, it becomes rigid. While alive, grass and trees are supple; when dead, they become dry and stiff. Thus the hard and strong is of the dying sort; the supple and weak is of the living sort. … … Thus the strong and big is inferior to the weak and supple. (Te:76)

27 希言自然(Why Is The Weak More Powerful?)
Let’s quote from Chapter 23 for some hints: 希言自然。故 飄風不終朝，驟雨不終日。 Scarce says what is the norm of nature, Therefore a strong wind will last all morning, And a down-pouring rain will not last all day. (Dao:23) 物壯則老，是謂不道。不道早已。 Whatever is in its prime is bound to decline. For, being in prime is against Dao; Whatever goes against Dao will come to an early end (Dao:30)

28 希言自然(Scarce Says What Is The Norm Of Nature)
This verse used to come to my mind when facing obstacles (the storms will be over soon…) That’s what it brings to me now

29 上善若水 (The Perfect Goodness Is Like Water)
The best (man) is like water. Water is good; it benefit all things and does not compete with them. It dwells in (lowly) places that all disdain. This is why it is so near to Dao. (The best man) in his dwelling likes the earth. In his heart, he loves what is profound. In his association, he loves harmony. In his words, he loves faithfulness. In government, he loves order. In handling affairs, he loves competence. In his activities, he loves timeliness. It is because he does not compete that he is without reproach. (Dao:8) 上善若水。 水善利萬物而不爭， 處眾人之所惡， 故幾於道。 居善地， 心善淵， 與善仁， 言善信， 正善治， 事善能， 動善時。 夫唯不爭，故無尤。 第八章 「上善若水。水善利萬物而不爭，處眾人之所惡，故幾於道。」The Perfect Goodness Is Like Water . Water approaches all things instead of contending with them. It prefers to dwell where no one would like to stay; Hence it comes close to Dao. 「居善地，心善淵，與善仁，言善信，正善治，事善能，動善時。」 「夫唯不爭，故無尤。」 The perfect goodness is like water. (Tao:8)

30 上善若水

31 The Benefit Of “No Contention” (不爭)
Just as “a smart person can take a winding path to reach his goal”, Lao Tzu suggests General comments  For head of state  (or a sage聖人) Bow down and you are preserved; Bend and you can be straight; Hollow, then full; Worn, then new; … … (Dao:22) 曲則全， 枉則直， 窪則盈， 敝則新， … … 第二十二章 「曲則全，枉則直，窪則盈，敝則新，少則得，多則惑。」 「是以聖人抱一為天下式。不自見故明，不自是故彰，不自伐故有功，不自  矜故長。夫惟不爭，故天下莫能與之爭。古之所謂曲則全者，豈虛言哉？誠  全而歸之。」 夫惟不爭， 故天下莫能與之爭。 One does not contend with others, So nobody in the world can win him in contention. (Dao:22) Bronze script Seal script

32 聖人無為(Sage Takes No Unnatural Actions)
Non-action (無為) is one of the most debatable concepts in the text. It has been used 13 times in 10 chapters In 5 chapters with 聖人(the sage) in the context One chp with 道 and once with 上德 (superior Te) Three other chapters with愛國治民 or (取)天下, both are presumably related to the ruler or sage 第二章 「天下皆知美之為美，斯惡已；皆知善之為善，斯不善已。」 「故有無相生，難易相成，長短相較，高下相傾，音聲相和，前後相隨。」 「是以聖人處無為之事，行不言之教，萬物作焉而不辭，生而不有，為而不   恃，功成而弗居。夫唯弗居，是以不去。」 第三章 「不尚賢，使民不爭。不貴難得之貨，使民不為盜。不見可欲，使民心不亂 。是以聖人之治，虛其心，實其腹，弱其志，強其骨。常使民無知無欲。使  夫智者不敢為也。」「為無為，則無不治。」 第六十四章 「其安易持，其未兆易謀，其脆易泮，其微易散。」 「為之於未有，治之於未亂。」 「合抱之木，生於毫末；九層之臺，起於累土；千里之行，始於足下。」 「為者敗之，執者失之。」 「是以聖人無為故無敗，無執故無失。」 「民之從事，常於幾成而敗之。慎終如始，則無敗事。」 「是以聖人欲不欲，不貴難得之貨；學不學，復眾人之所過；以輔萬物之自  然，而不敢為。」 第五十七章 「以正治國，以奇用兵，以無事取天下。吾何以知其然哉？以此。」 「天下多忌諱而民彌貧。民多利器，國家滋昏。人多伎巧，奇物滋起。法令 　滋彰，盜賊多有。」 「故聖人云：『我無為而民自化，我好靜而民自正，我無事而民自富，我  無欲而民自樸。』」 無為而無不為 我無為而民自化 為無為 聖人無為故無敗，無執故無失 聖人處無為之事，行不言之教

33 知不知上(Admitting not knowing is the best knowledge)
Attitude matters Be open-minded Why is it hard to know? observe 知，不知，上，不知，知，病。 Knowing one’s ignorance of certain knowledge is the best attitude; Not knowing certain knowledge yet pretend to know is a bad attitude. (De:71) 視之不見，名曰夷；聽之不闻，名曰希；搏之不得，名曰微。 第十四章 「視之不見名曰夷，聽之不見名曰希，搏之不得名曰微。此三者不可致詰， 故混而為一。其上不皦，其下不昧，繩繩不可名，復歸於無物。是謂無狀之 狀，無物之象。是謂惚恍。迎之不見其首，隨之不見其後。執古之道，以御 今之有。能知古始，是謂道紀。」 第二十一章 「孔德之容，惟道是從。道之為物，惟恍惟惚。惚兮恍兮，其中有象。恍兮 惚兮，其中有物。窈兮冥兮，其中有精。其精甚真，其中有信。自古及今， 其名不去，以閱眾甫。吾何以知眾甫之狀哉？以此。」 第七十一章 「知，不知，上，不知，知，病。」 「夫唯病病，是以不病。聖人不病，以其病病，是以不病。」 第四十七章 「不出戶，知天下。不闚牖，見天道。其出彌遠，其知彌少。」 「是以聖人不行而知，不見而名，不為而成。」 第五十六章 「知者不言，言者不知，塞其兌，閉其門，挫其銳，解其分，和其光，同其 塵，是謂玄同。故不可得而親，不可得而疏；不可得而利，不可得而害；不 可得而貴，不可得而賤。故為天下貴。」 That which we look at and cannot see is called plainness (“Yi”). That which we listen to and cannot hear is called rareness (“Xi”). That which we grope for and cannot get is called minuteness (“Wei”). (Dao:14)

34 It takes time to build your knowledge base.
Is observation enough to get knowledge? A huge tree grows from a tiny seedling; A nine-story terrace rises from a mound of earth; A journey of a thousand miles starts from beneath one’s feet. (De:64) 合抱之木，生於毫末；九層之臺，起於累土；千里之行，始於足下。 《莊子 - Zhuangzi》 《外篇 - Outer Chapters》 《秋水 - The Floods of Autumn》 莊子與惠子遊於濠梁之上。莊子曰：「儵魚出遊從容，是魚樂也。」惠子曰：「子非魚，安知魚之樂？」莊子曰：「子非我，安知我不知魚之樂？」惠子曰：「我非子，固不知子矣；子固非魚也，子之不知魚之樂全矣。」莊子曰：「請循其本。子曰『汝安知魚樂』云者，既已知吾知之而問我，我知之濠上也。」The Floods of Autumn:...: Zhuangzi and Huizi were walking on the dam over the Hao, when the former said, 'These thryssas come out, and play about at their ease - that is the enjoyment of fishes.' The other said, 'You are not a fish; how do you know what constitutes the enjoyment of fishes?' Zhuangzi rejoined, 'You are not I. How do you know that I do not know what constitutes the enjoyment of fishes?' Huizi said, 'I am not you; and though indeed I do not fully know you, you certainly are not a fish, and (the argument) is complete against your knowing what constitutes the happiness of fishes.' Zhuangzi replied, 'Let us keep to your original question. You said to me, "How do you know what constitutes the enjoyment of fishes?" You knew that I knew it, and yet you put your question to me - well, I know it (from our enjoying ourselves together) over the Hao.' 不出戶，知天下。 不闚牖，見天道。 其出彌遠，其知彌少。 是以聖人不行而知， 不見而名，不為而成。 You don’t have to go out the door to know what goes on in the world. You don’t have to look out the window to see the way of heaven. The farther you go the less you know. So the wise soul (or sage) doesn’t go, but knows; doesn’t look, but sees; doesn’t do, but gets it done. (De:47)

35 见素抱朴(Keep Being Simple In Nature And Mind)
五色令人目盲； 五音令人耳聋； 五味令人口爽； 驰聘畋猎，令人心发狂；难得之货，令人行妨。 是以圣人，为腹不为目，故去彼取此。 The five colors make man blind; The five sounds make man deaf; The five tastes make man lose his sense of taste; Riding and hunting make man wild w/ excitement; Rare goods goad man into stealing. Thus the sage does not satisfy his eyes with colors but satisfies his belly with enough food. He discards the former and takes the latter.(Tao:12) X 第十九章 「絕聖棄智，民利百倍。絕仁棄義，民復孝慈。絕巧棄利，盜賊無有。此三  者以為文不足，故令有所屬。見素抱樸，少私寡欲。」 第三十二章 「道常無名，樸雖小，天下莫能臣也。侯王若能守之，萬物將自賓。天地相 合，以降甘露，民莫之令而自均。始制有名，名亦既有，夫亦將知止。知止 ，可以不殆。譬道之在天下，猶川谷之在江海。」 第四十四章 「名與身孰親？身與貨孰多？得與亡孰病？是故甚愛必大廢，多藏必厚亡。 　 知足不辱，知止不殆，可以長久。」 Hence the sage does away with extremity, extravagance, and excess. (Tao:29) 是以圣人去甚，去奢，去泰。 So the people must be made subject to the following: Keep being simple in nature and mind, Discard selfishness and weakened desires. (Tao:29) 故令有所属，见素抱朴， 少私寡欲。 朴 Uncarved wood or block

36 The Concluding Chapter: Chapter 81
信言不美， 美言不信。 善者不辯， 辯者不善。 知者不博， 博者不知。 聖人不積， 既以為人己愈有， 既以與人己愈多。 天之道，利而不害；聖人之道，為而不爭。 True words are not embellished, The embellished words are not true. A good man does not quibble; He who quibbles is not good. A man of true learning does not show off his learning; He who shows off his learning does not have true learning. The sage does not store up: Helping others, he is helped even more. Giving to others, he becomes richer still. The Tao of the heaven benefits rather than harms all things; The Tao of the sage is to give rather than rob the people. (Te:81) 9 X 9 = 81

37 Q&A

38 References The Book of Tao and Teh (Chinese-English), translated by Gu ZhengKun, 2006 Chinese Religion: an anthology of sources, edited by Deborah Sommer, Oxford University Press, 1995 Chinese Text Project (with Chinese & English sites), DaoDe Jing online (in Chinese)

39 德(What About The Teh?)

40 道之為物，惟恍惟惚。惚兮恍兮，其中有象。恍兮惚兮，其中有物。窈兮冥兮，其中有精。其精甚真，其中有信。
Tao is a thing that is both invisible and intangible. Intangible and invisible, yet there are forms in it; Invisible and intangible, yet there is substance in it; Subtle and obscure, there is essence in it; This essence being invariably true, there is faith in it. (Dao:21)