The foundation of my favorite philosophy
Thoughts after reading the Tao Te Ching
I’ve finally got my hands on a copy of the Tao Te Ching.
It’s one of these books you can technically finish in an hour but you have to spend ten times as much thinking about what point it’s actually trying to convey.
About what you’d expect from a two-and-a-half-thousand-year-old piece of literature.
If you’re not familiar with it. The Tao Te Ching (Daodejing) is one of two fundamental texts of the Taoist philosophy. Written by Lao Tzu, it explores themes of humility, understanding the mysteries of the Tao (The Way) and teaches how to be a good ruler. The last one is due to the original text being aimed at ancient China’s lords, kings and emperors.
And why was I so interested in reading it?
Eastern philosophies tend to be underexplored in western countries. And the fragments you might find risk being misrepresented.
Just recently I’ve found out that Yin and Yang are not about harmony, they’re not about a balance of good and evil, and they’re not even a Taoist concept. Instead Yin and Yang are about a cycle of transformation – one thing becoming another. The words themselves referred to the shaded and sunny sides of a hill. Throughout the day the two sides exchanged places. That’s what the yin yang symbol represents. And the two little dots in the middle? They are the seeds of the next phase – symbolizing that every form already carries some of the next.
Considering how much Eastern thought already improved my life, I decided to go on a bit of a quest. Exploring the original texts of Eastern philosophies to learn the full picture of what I admired.
Now there are already a couple of chapters from the Tao Te Ching I’m keeping in mind daily – and others that I have yet to understand. Here’s one example I’m thinking over right now:
Life is a going forth;
death is a returning home.
Out of ten people.
three are seeking life,
three are seeking death,
three are dying.
Only one is immortal.
The wise, when they travel,
are never attacked by wild beasts;
and when coming among soldiers;
they do not fear for their lives.
The rhinoceros cannot find a place to horn them,
nor a tiger a place to claw them,
nor soldiers a place to wound them.
Why?
Because the wise are invulnerable.
It really got me invested but I couldn’t quite make out the point. The number of existing translations and interpretations doesn’t make it easier. But it was a fun puzzle to consider. So after looking through different translations, here’s how I understand it.
The wise man isn’t clinging to life. There is no resistance in him and as a result he meets no resistance. There is nothing for outside forces to push against.
I think the state of invulnerability the text describes is the state of ego death and detachment. And by living in this state the wise man cannot be truly harmed by anything.
Looking back at what I just wrote, I’m having some doubts whether I made the text easier to understand or the complete opposite.
But hopefully it inspired some deeper thought in you.
You are welcome to read the book yourself, it’s a very short work you can read in one hour (not including the time spent sitting and wondering what the hell each part means).
📚 What I’ve been reading
[A section for updates about my reading journey – read along, get inspired, or just treat it like an accountability buddy.]
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (751/1243 pages)
The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin (DNF)
Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu (finished)
Siddhartha by Herman Hesse (110/180 pages)
Quite a few changes this time as you can see. The Count of Monte Cristo has gotten a bit buried but I’ll get back to it very soon. I’ve just gotten drawn into Siddhartha and can’t let it go.
It was supposed to be a tiny book to take on public transport but the themes of the story (eastern philosophy, journey in search of meaning) are right up my alley so I might finish it first.
The Creative Act started getting a bit tedious and I eventually dropped it. Beyond one piece of advice that helped my creative process the rest of the book seemed repetitive.
And you’ve already read my thoughts about the Tao Te Ching so that’s the update for this week.
Thanks for reading,
Luke from Unwritten Tomes
P.S. There’s a new video on my channel where I dive into the philosophy behind my favorite Uncle Iroh quotes (yes the one from ATLA ❤️). You can watch it here if you’re interested.