Class 2: Quiet Your Mind

Lao Tzu ~ The Master

As far as we can tell (there's very little historical information on him) Lao Tzu was born in southern China, in the state of Ch'u, now known as the Hunan province, around two thousand five hundred years ago, a hundred years or so before Buddha was born over in India.

Lao Tzu lived quietly and accomplished just one noticeable thing during his lifetime, posterity-wise - late in his life he wrote a thin volume of spiritual reflections called the Tao Te Ching, which has since been published in more languages than any other book except the Bible.

Lao Tzu was not famous during his life span, which some records indicate was well over a hundred years. And very little about his daily life is known except that in early adulthood he moved to Loyang and served as Custodian of the Imperial Archives of the Chou House (1122-256 B.C.) for at least fifty years. He worked in the Emperor's library, stayed mostly to himself, and was considered a recluse and a mystic of deep wisdom.

• All during his long tenure at the Imperial Archives he wrote (to our knowledge) absolutely nothing, and also didn't allow disciples to create a religious cult around him.

According to the writings of Chuang Tzu, the greatest Taoist teacher after Lao Tzu, the venerable philosopher Confucius (who was born a generation after Lao Tzu) once sought out Lao Tzu for an interview.

During the interview Lao Tzu, who was obviously a man who spoke his mind without hesitation, told the soon-to-be famous philosopher and moralist:

• "Strip yourself of your proud airs and numerous desires, your complacent demeanor and excessive ambitions. They won't do you any good. This is all I have to say to you."

After this interview with the old man, young Confucius is said to have told his disciples, "I do not know how dragons can ride upon the wind and clouds and soar to high heaven. I saw Lao Tzu today. He can be likened to a dragon."

Lao Tzu lived a very simple contemplative life in which he learned step by step how to practice what he understood to be The Way or The Path or, in Chinese, The Tao.

People called him by his family name of Erh Po-yang Tan (Lao Tzu means 'venerable master'). Throughout his life he walked his walk but didn't much talk any talk. According to Henry Wei in his excellent book Lao Tzu: The Guiding Light:

• "Lao Tzu may rightly be regarded as an immortal inspirer. His teaching constitute a bright beacon for the guidance of the human spirit to supreme fulfillment. He led a long, quiet and studious life and then vanished from the human scene, leaving behind a compact parcel of sublime wisdom in glorious poetry. He was not exactly a hermit or recluse, but simply loved the contemplative life. He preferred to stay in obscurity in the silence of the library, devoting himself to inner culture and the pursuit of truth, living with serene spontaneity and natural ease."

During his lifetime the empire Lao Tzu served, the House of Chou, was slipping into decadence and decline. Finally the old man had had enough of the situation in his city, and decided to take his leave. With no possessions or family, he started walking westward, heading toward the distant mountain pass.

Arriving at the gate leading out of the Chou empire, he was halted by the keeper of the border, a man named Yin Hsi, who asked of him, "Before you retire entirely from the world, will you please write some words for our enlightenment?"

• Lao Tzu obviously agreed because before he walked out through the gates and disappeared into another kingdom, he penned a slender collection of 81 short poems and reflections consisting in total of only around 5,000 words.

As Henry Wei explains this remarkable book:

"The ideas in this book probably represent the fruits of his life-long meditation, so when the occasion arose he had no difficulty in setting them forth beautifully and coherently. His short book soon afterwards became a strong intellectual stimulus and contributed considerably toward the development of various classical schools of Chinese philosophy."

That little book quickly grew in recognition and prominence. The tradition of Taoism received a great jolt from Lao Tzu's powerful teachings.

• From his one book we can see for ourselves that Lao Tzu was a revolutionary thinker who directly challenged the status quo - and lauded humble human qualities that everyone can aspire to.

For him, true human greatness is measured not in wealth and accomplishments but in personal integrity and inner harmony. In the Tao Te Ching, it's clear that he was in favor of leaders supporting the welfare of the people, and entirely against war, violence, official corruption, exorbitant taxation, and all undo interference in the life of the community.

Lao Tzu posited an ideal expression of leadership that was invisible and enlightened, based on first-hand knowledge by the leader of he deeper spiritual path to governing. Ever since, astute statesmen and leaders in all positions have cherished his insights and guidance.