The Te

老子

七

~What does Lao Tzu mean by te? How different is it from the Confucian te?

~What role does it play in Taoist Philosophy?

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Tao Te Ching, 10

To produce things and to rear them,

To produce, but not to take possession of them,

To act, but not to rely on one’s own ability,

To lead them, but not to master them—

This is called profound and secret virtue (hsuan-te).

The Confucian philosophy defines te as that moral power by which the people are governed. In order for a ruler to be able to create a harmonious and secure land, he should govern with te and not by law and force. It also means the perfection of one’s values that can help the emperor-sage rule his land.

Prof. Victor Mair 

(American Sinologist)

There is something fundamentally honest and psychologically healthy in being oneself and striding forward with one's vision facing directly ahead, instead of trying at every turn to satisfy abstract standards of goodness established by a reigning orthodoxy. This is what te/de is all about.

Taoism, however, has another understanding of te. Te is taken as virtue and power, a virtue that helps one maintain and manifest the Tao. Therefore, it is safe to say that it refers to the conduct of man that is in accordance with nature. According to Julian Pas (1998), te refers to the “inner and outer power bestowed on each being by Tao, or all the qualities for action inherent in the nature of each being, which gives each being a way to maintain itself, to grow and flourish (Way of Perfect Emptiness, 2015). 

Pas, 1998

Tao is the generator of te. If Tao is the overreaching reality and cosmic energy, Te is what all beings receive from Tao; it is their own nature, with its specific talents and potentials, that enables them to act in their own way as if by their inner compulsion…Te is the power of Tao, individualised, as, for example, in a seed, which has the inner potential and unfailing power to sprout and grow into a preprogrammed plant or tree. 

Te can also be seen as that which makes up our uniqueness and individuality. It is also where we connect to the Tao. To be in harmony in with our Tao will help us connect to others and to nature. Since te can be found within us, it shapes our characteristic and disposition to everything outside and inside of us. Te should follow closely to the Tao and be in-tune with himself and with others. In the Tao Te Ching, te is that which nurtures the Tao that produces the 10,000 things. Te, as integrity builds up the person and allows him to become like an infant. It allows him to fall in nature and keeps him from perishing. It’s like te is the very thing that processes the Tao. Similar to the steps eight steps in The Great Learning, the cultivation of virtues follows as (Tao Te Ching, 51):

When one cultivates virtue in his person, it becomes a genuine virtue.

When one cultivates virtue in his family, it becomes overflowing virtue.

When one cultivates virtue in his country, it becomes abundant virtue.

When one cultivates virtue in the world, it becomes universal.

Live your life without trying to live it. As we are already alive and there we manifest life, the act of living is already within us. Do not rush life and do not try to go back and wallow in the past: let life play itself and unfold its mysteries to you each and everyday. 

Tao Te Ching, 23

Therefore he who follows Tao is identified with Tao.

He who follows virtue is identified with virtue. 

He who is identified with virtue— virtue is also happy to have him. 

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