哲学 Synthesis Paper: 2B

哲学

老子

What is philosophy as demonstrated in Ancient Chinese Philosophy…

1. by Lao Tzu…

B. in the way he lays down the assumptions of the solution to the philosophical problem?

In order for one to overcome the absence of natural harmony, he must be one with the Tao for it is in the decline or in the absence of the Tao in one’s life that things will go downhill. Being one with the Tao means being one with Nature. Understand and respect Nature for it is in these simple acts that the Tao will thrive. Understand Nature by making no distinction between what is black and what is white or what is good and what is bad. Know that these things will only cause a storm within one’s heart and this can lead to the absence of natural disharmony. 

Understanding Nature means understanding the nature of opposites. Know that they are fundamentally related to one another and that they do not compete with each other: they form their relationship by complementing each other and so they are natural. Understand that day follows night and night follows day. By understanding this, one can begin to embody the Tao. Albeit unexplainable and cannot be expressed, the Tao should be understood as it is. The Tao is. The Tao cannot be expressed into words for words are limiting and they turn into stone. The Tao is too profound for the words of man. Understand that the Tao produces the 10,000 things and understand that as the same time it is empty- there are two sides in a coin. 

There is something great about the Tao’s emptiness. As it is empty, it has the capacity to receive. Empty yet full of life and potentiality. In the 10,000 things the Tao shows us that there is harmony in opposites and the Tao expresses this by being impartial to everything. The Tao does not take sides, therefore Nature is good. It gives and it takes and it does not punish, it’s just how it is and we ought to understand and accept this. If we live according to the Tao our life will be in a state of balance. 

The Tao also tells us not to rush things. Do no be hasty in your ways and let go when your palms are about to burn from holding on so tightly. For Lao Tzu, the way of the Tao and the way of Nature is equilibrium. Therefore, too little and too much is not the way of the Tao. Do not force things because nature does not. What will happen will happen in its own time and so by following the flow of nature, one can be sure that no disharmony will take place. 

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