Lesson 4 · It turns out we have so many misconceptions about Laozi (Part 1)

Past misconceptions about the Dao De Jing

Misconception 1

• Do Daoist courses only involve studying two books? ：No. What we study is a fundamental law of the universe and the natural world.
  • Did Laozi invent the fundamental law of the Dao?
    • No. Laozi discovered it. He discovered this way of thinking in the universe and the natural world and wrote the Dao De Jing.
    • This law has existed since nature itself came into being.：It existed before human society.
    • Two aspects—reversal and return—form a cycle. We do not necessarily have to look for answers within human society.
    • Before humans existed, the rising sun and setting moon, the cycle of the seasons, and the movement of planets in the universe all followed this cycle, this reversal and return.
    • It exists naturally in its own right.
    • Repeated bursts of life and repeated extinctions all follow this principle.
    • How did Laozi write the Dao De Jing? ：He wrote it reluctantly; this comes from Chapter 25 of the Dao De Jing: “I do not know its name; I call it Dao.” Laozi discovered this law in the natural world and recorded it in a book; but Buddhism says that the Great Dao cannot be spoken of, nor can the Buddhist teachings—once expressed, they are misrepresented; this is because writing it down means becoming attached to forms, so it is no longer that undivided whole.
      Once written down, it inevitably takes on a particular direction of expression and application, and is therefore no longer the Dao itself.
    • Buddhism proposes an idea
    • Not relying on words or writing, but transmitting from mind to mind
    • This is an important principle of Chan Buddhism.
    • The ideas of the Dao De Jing and Chan Buddhism are consistent with each other.
    • The lineage of Chan Buddhism traces back to a story：Holding Up a Flower and Smiling; a disciple by the Tathagata Buddha's side: the Venerable Mahakasyapa
      (At the end of Journey to the West, when they reach Vulture Peak to obtain the scriptures, the Tathagata Buddha sends two disciples to accompany Tang Sanzang, one named Ananda and the other Mahakasyapa.
      They ask Tang Sanzang for a gift and take the purple-gold alms bowl bestowed on him by Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin.)
    • Once, while Mahakasyapa was listening to the Buddha teach, the Buddha held up a flower and fell silent, saying nothing at all.
      Mahakasyapa looked at the Buddha and smiled. The Buddha was delighted: Mahakasyapa understood! This story is called “Holding Up a Flower and Smiling.”
    • The true Great Dao is transmitted from mind to mind：If one can reach this state, even one more word is unnecessary.
    • We need to use language, but we must not become absorbed in it. Otherwise, we will be unable to understand the Dao itself that lies beyond it—invisible, without tangible form, and empty.
    • Laozi understood this principle, so he said: “I discovered this Way, but I don’t know what it’s called. I’ll make a reluctant attempt to give it a name.”
    • Forced to describe it, I call it the Way; forced to name it, I call it Great.
    • Why call it Great?
    • Because everything in life is the Way itself and can embody it. The Way can be present in all things and contains everything, so it is called Great.
    • All-encompassing
    • Why name it the “Way”? It is a channel through which human beings can understand the world and reach the principles of Heaven: by proceeding through all things, one can return to the Way. That is why it is described using the sense of a road or path.
  • What is the Way? What do Daoist teachings study?
    • What they study is both the myriad aspects of life and not the myriad aspects of life.
    • What they study is both the classic texts of the Laozi and Zhuangzi and not their classic texts.
    • Because all of these are encompassed by the Nothingness behind them.
    • The Way itself: invisible and intangible, impossible to explain clearly in a single sentence—this Nothingness, understood through a knowing smile and transmitted from heart to heart.
    • It was to study this that so many classics and written words were created.

Misconception Two

• Some people say Daoism is bad because Laozi was anti-science.
  • But are people happy today? Science and material comforts are indeed more advanced than when we were children, but people are less happy than they were then. So does science necessarily bring happiness? The more yin, the more yang. Sometimes, the more scientific things become, the less happy people may be. Modern people are generally anxious because they have sensed this.
  • From this perspective, Laozi was somewhat anti-science—but in fact, he wasn’t!
    • Chapter 80 of the Dao De Jing
    • Laozi did not write the Dao De Jing in any particular order.The Dao De Jing, taken as a whole, is a cycle of two movements: turning away and returning. The entire book unfolds from this one idea.
    • Though there are boats and carriages, no one rides in them; though there are armor and weapons, they are not displayed. Let the people return to tying knots to keep records and use them.
    • This is the root of why the world has misunderstood Laozi as being anti-science.
    • Zhouyu: zhou means boat, and yu means carriage. In ancient times, maps were called yutu.
    • Laozi said: “Though we have boats and carriages, we do not ride in them. Though we have armor and weapons, we do not display them. Let the people return to the practice of tying knots to keep records.”
    • Don’t focus on the literal wording; look at what lies behind it. Don’t let the words lead you astray.
    • On the surface, it does sound somewhat anti-science, but that is not what is meant beneath the words.Words and language cannot be relied upon!
    • Zhuangzi: “Grasp the meaning, then forget the words.”
    • Tao Yuanming
    • The fundamental reason human beings invented tools and science is that they have desires. If people had no desires, there would be no need to invent these things.
    • If people had no desires, they could live a simple, unadorned life.
    • People invented these things because they wanted to see farther, travel farther, fly higher, acquire greater wealth, and enjoy more.
    • This is both a good thing and a bad thing.Laozi always looked at things from both sides, seeing them as a harmony of yin and yang.
    • So this passage emphasizes that people should see the negative side of science, and recognize that the so-called scientific progress driven by desire has led us away from a simple life.
  • Why do so many modern people practice decluttering and letting go, hoping to return to a simpler life? Because people have been lifted too high by desire. The Great Way is a circle that naturally comes around again. Desire has carried people to such heights that they feel uncomfortable. They no longer experience the convenience of science or the abundance of material things; instead, they are held captive by them.
  • If we could achieve the mean that Confucius spoke of,
    • remaining neither yin nor yang, and neither biased nor unbalanced,
    • then we could fully support science while making use of it, without being held captive by it or living with so much anxiety.
    • But that is impossible in real society.
    • Human nature’s weaknesses make it impossible.
    • Humanity also needs to follow the laws of the universe. We are either yin or yang, turning back and forth around this circle, caught in inner conflict. It is difficult to achieve the mean.
    • “The virtue of the mean—would it not be supreme? People have lacked it for a long time.” Confucius also said the final four characters: “People have lacked it for a long time.”
    • Xian means “rare” or “uncommon”—that is, few.
    • People have been lacking the spirit of the mean for a long time.People want to achieve the mean, but they cannot.
  • Laozi reminds us to return to a simple life.
    • The mention of “weapons and armor” indicates that there was war in Laozi’s time.
    • The expansion of desire not only led to a technological boom that made life more convenient; it also led countries to compete for resources and wage war, leaving ordinary people dead and injured. All of this came with technological progress.
    • Without high technology, artillery shells, or drone strikes, ordinary people would not suffer.Laozi foresaw all of this long ago. Brutal wars are brought about by high technology. So he was not against technology; he was against humanity’s endlessly expanding desires. People should return to a simple life. This leads to another idea in the Dao De Jing: returning to one’s true nature. It is an attitude toward life that we should pursue today.
  • In chapter 80, Laozi lists a classic 12-character maxim:
    • Find sweetness in your food, beauty in your clothes, comfort in your home, and joy in your customs.
    • “Find sweetness in your food”: be able to enjoy every simple meal and find it delicious.
    • “Find beauty in your clothes”: wear the plainest clothes, yet feel completely at ease.You would not feel uncomfortable just because your clothes are not designer brands or because you compare yourself with others.
    • “Find comfort in your home”: your house may not be very large, but it feels warm and comfortable.
    • “Find joy in your customs”: feel relaxed and at ease with friends, local customs, and social life.
    • Endlessly expanding desire does not bring happiness.This is what it means to become ever more yang as yin grows stronger.
    • So Laozi was not against science; he was telling people what happiness is.Science and happiness are not the same thing; they may even run counter to each other.