Lao Zi's Doctrine Of The Tao
His doctrine was then generalized into something that "aimed at self effacement and namelessness on the one hand, and, on the other, into something that invites people to take no action and thus become self transform, and love tranquility and thus become righteous.
Although it definitely gets to the point a generalization of this kind oversimplifies what he intended to express in over 5000 words. Widely recognized as the founder of Taoism, he constructs a philosophy of fertility and individuality that unfolds by virtue of his preoccupation with and formulation of the Tao.
He was the first to form a special concept of the Tao, which in turn works as the keystone of Taoism as a philosophy. The Chinese term Tao literally means way or road. Based on this primary meaning it assumes in ancient times a metaphorical sense, such as the way of man, signifying human morality, code of conduct or essence of life, etc. But in Lao Zi's terminology the meaning of the Tao transcends social and ethical domains is then found ascribed to certain metaphysically extended implications relating to the origin of the universe, the root of all things, the law of natural change and social development, the principle of political and military affairs, and above all, the truth of human existence the Tao as such can be conceived of as the constellation of Lao Zi's philosophizing.
The most complicated but most fascinating of all its aspects lies, however, in the fact that its connotations vary with the different contexts in which it's used. So long as one sticks to both textual scrutiny and contextual analysis, one will be able to approach what the term Tao really suggests in a more justifiable fashion offered here is a brief discussion.
The Tao of the universe
That's how it is looked upon as the highest category of Lao Zi's philosophy. Right at the beginning of the Tao Te Ching is defined as the origin of heaven in Earth and the mother of the myriad things. Heaven and earth in Chinese culture means either nature of the universe and by the myriad things is meant all beings in the world. Hence the towel is often likened by modern scholars to the universe and the essence of all things in Western terms.
The Tao itself has two essential aspects discriminated as being without form and being within form. The former is invisible and abstract employed to indicate the state of Tao before it comes down to its actuality, while the latter is visible in concrete, used to indicate the outcome of the towel as manifested in the things which surround us.
Both of these aspects come from the Tao and are thus thought of as two sides of one coin. The interrelationship as such seems identical to that between name and object, or thinking and being.
The Tao as the origin of the universe and the root of all things perceives God in time and exists everywhere in space it therefore is subtle, profound, eternal and indescribable as well as inexhaustible. The coming into being of all things is characterized by process; that is the Tao produces the one. The one turns into the two. The two gives rise to the three. The three brings forth the myriad things. The myriad things contain Yin and Yang as a vital forces which achieve harmony through their interactions.
That's how the universe ultimately follows the way of spontaneity or naturalness. It begets all things without any practical purpose. Accordingly it treats all things alike without making any distinction. And furthermore it lets all things be what they can become.
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