At the same time as Pythagoras was unfolding to his disciples the Pythagoras Path to God, and Buddha was expounding the Dharma, or law, in India, there was a third Venerable Master teaching spiritual truth in China. His name is Lao Tzu. Lao Tzu was born in the year 604 BC [1], and his suggested commemoration-day is 24th March. His name means "old-young," and he has been called: "The Old Philosopher." .
He was himself a symbol of that Mysterious Virtue and Supernal Simplicity belonging to the servant of Tao, of which his writings speak. He was a messenger of Peace, of Simplicity, of Humility: The Teachings of Lao Tzu though so ancient, are still quite new, and even modern. In it are solutions to almost all the principal problems of the present day. .
The wonderful freshness of the ideas propounded by the Old Philosopher is a striking testimony that they are founded upon unchanging Truth: for, although twenty-five centuries have elapsed since they first held the minds of men, they are still today regarded as a corpus of thoughts of the highest excellence and profoundest significance. "Tao-Te Ching" was Lao Tzu's only work, and might never have been written but for his disciple Yin Hsi, who urged him to leave some evidence of his teaching, when, at the end of his mission, Lao Tzu was on his way to the Western Haven, the Abode of Peace. There in the solitude and stillness of the mountain pass called Kwan Yin, he wrote his "Simple Way" which breathes the influence of the spirit of that valley: speaking of the Ineffable Source: and the Fathomless Deep. .
"Tao" is the Absolute, the Unmanifest ONE. .
"Te" is the Manifestation of Tao in the objective world-process. .
"Ching" means simply "classic" or "canon." .
The complete work "Tao-Te Ching" consists of about 5,000 Chinese characters, contained in 81 short chapters, divided into two sections. In its original form it possesses a peculiar and distinctive charm, a rhythm of its own, which cannot be reproduced by a literal translation into English.
Religion was one of the most fundamental beliefs throughout history, and religion has served many purposes, but it is clear that the most meaningful one is the use of religion as a coping mechanism during difficult times or changes in society. Every historic society has moments in which the belief i...
