From The Chapterhouse Codex

The Tao Te Ching (道德經), was written around 600 B.C. by Lao Tzu (The Old Master). In the mythology of the East, it is rumored that a soldier asked Lao Tzu how to live his life, and in one day Lao Tzu produced the Tao Te Ching and presented it to him as a guide. This soldier then devoted his entire life to the study of the 81 short chapters. This story, while fanciful, is none the less important in that it shows that Tao is both swift and easy as well as enduring and complex.

Of all the books which I have studied, none has been more enlightening in its simplicity than the Tao Te Ching. Some of my favorite passages and my personal commentaries are provided below. Except where noted, all passages are from the Mitchell translation.

Chapter 17

The primary concern of this chapter is the act of governing a people. The first section reads:

When the Master governs, the people
are hardly aware that he exists.
Next best is a leader who is loved.
Next, one who is feared.
The worst is one who is despised.

Though Machaveli would be disappointed at this formulation, it provides a model that is similar to early western thought. In particular, the idea of secret gorvernment. This notion was first propounded in the The Laws by Plato. His conjecture was that a secret body of the best men, called the nocternal council, could manipulate the visible government to impliment, in effect, the rule of Philosopher Kings outlined in the Republic. Though the implication here is far more subtle, the power inherent in the concept is the same. People best accept rule when they hardly notice it's persistant struggle to find purpose or impliment it's aims.

The next best government is one who's works are viewed as popular. The perception of love, patriotism, or honor among a populance can make them strong and unified against disasters both natural and man made. It also allows the government more flexibility in implimenting it's ends. Those who disagree with the will of the government will not be accepted as mainstream in the cultural reality of the people. In some cases it is possible that the government is so adored that those who speak out against it live in fear of retailation from their neighbors. During the reign of the God Emperors of ancient China or the Pharaoh of Egypt, it was possible for the government to even impliment policy that could never be viewed as popular because they were adored as "gods"; to go against them would be blasphemy.

Governments who are feared are better than those which are only despised for several reasons. In The Politics, Aristotle describes the ultimate tyranny as having the following characteristics:

• Destruction of all enemies of the state
• All free social contact is forbidden (common meals, public gatherings, etc.)
• Secret Police
• Mutual discord between the population
• Absolute impovrishment

As long as the precarious balence of fear, incapability of action, and impovrishment remain in place it is impossible for a people to revolt against the government. The government has absolute authority to impliment it's will. In perfect conditions, this type of society is resistant to even the smallest variations in culture or identity.

The worst is a government which is despised. Without fear any dispised government quickly evaporates. Once it has been adopted as part of the cultural reality that the government is bad or evil, even the holdouts of tenuious support for those in power will live in fear of their lives. Clearly, this is the worst possible condition of a state.

The next section reads:

If you don't trust the people,
you make them untrustworthy.

The implication is that a government which attempts to constantly root out some hidden threat, will only make the possibility of such a threat more likely. Ineffectual care in this area can produce enemies of the state by fostering the idea that there is an alternative support group for dissatisfied citizens. The idea that the enemy is everywhere can only lead curious dissatified minds into being indoctinated into any number of organizations based on the fostered mythology of the conspiracy.

The final section is as follows:

The Master doesn't talk, he acts.
when his work is done,
the people say, "Amazing: we did it, all by ourselves!"

The true magic of the Sage (or Master) is to have his will flow directly from the natural course of events. When his works are interpreted as the works of the people, as a natural change, his accomplishments will be long lasting. This is also to say that good government should accomplish it's ends by making them the will of the people. When change flows from the people, and not the government, it's success is viewed as a trimuph of the population, rather than a triumph over the population.

Chapter 33

The 33rd chapter is concered with two principals, self mastery and self faith. The first section, on self mastery, is translated as:

Knowing others is intelligence;
knowing yourself is true wisdom.
Mastering others is strength;
mastering yourself is true power.

The first verse is reminicent of the Socratic motto "know thyself". Lao Tzu in this verse distinguished knowledge and wisdom on the basis that wisdom can only be obtained through introspection. The implication of this verse is also the negatory, to know yourself is to truly understand others.

The third and fourth verse parallel an argument between Socrates and Thrasymachus in The Republic. In this argument Thrasymachus concludes that to rule other by strength is true mastery of power. However, Socrates points out that, just as in the self to submit the baser desires to reason, one must submit power to rational judgement. These verses eloquently sum up an entire debate in Western philosophy. Similar to the previous pair, they also imply that one must master himself in order to master others.

The second section on self faith from the Mitchell translation is as follows:

If you realize that you have enough,
you are truly rich.
If you stay in the center
and embrace death with your whole heart,
you will endure forever.

Alternately the Ma-wang-tui text reads:

To know when you have enough is to be rich
To go forward with strength is to have ambition.
To not lose your place is to last long.
To die but not be forgotten -- that's true long life.

As true today as it was more than two melinia ago, contentment of the ego is not dependant on material things. Countless people go through life accumlating everything but happiness, because they cannot grasp this simple concept.

The second and third verse of the Ma-wang-tui text are swallowed up in the Mitchell translation, but are still important in understanding the philosophy of the Tao. The Chinese reads litterally "to move forward using violence". The implication of the text is that to seize power through ambition is worthless, if the same power will be seized shortly from you.

The final verse is an excellent admonition of the human condition, stating that necessity for enjoying life depends on embracing death. To die, but "not die" or stated otherwise to face up to death and lead a good life, is to not be forgotten.

References

Stephen Mitchell, Tao Te Ching: A New English Version, HarperCollins Publishers; 1st Perenn edition (April, 2000) ISBN 0060955430

Robert G. Henricks (Translator), Lao Tzu: Te-Tao Ching - A New Translation Based on the Recently Discovered Ma-wang-tui Texts, Ballantine Books (June 30, 1992) ISBN 0345370996