Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching: Taoisms heart

NZ is playing India at cricket this afternoon and it's on free to air TV for a change. So, that is in the background, distracting me as I write this. Its only just started though, so the interesting stuff isn't on until later. If you are unfamiliar with cricket, it's a slower game so you can kinda half watch it and half do other things without missing too much. I say that and then there is a wicket in the second over... make that two by the fourth over... this game may not go New Zealand's way at this rate...

Synopsis
Lao Tzu is a contemporary of Confucius, though the name literally means Old Man and so does not, to the modern reader, evoke the image of being a specific man. There is also some question as to whether it was written all at once or added to over time.
The central idea in the Tao Te Ching is the idea of Tao or “the way”, as it is generally translated.Though it covers more than the translation suggests. The way is almost an organic thing, encompassing the idea of an eternal, or high, way to go and of an entity in its own right.

The Way includes pushing away desire and embracing nature and the natural order of things. Being okay with the loss of things and people, to death, as a natural part of life. To pursue Tao, is to pursue non-action and stillness.

It is in the Tao Te Ching that we first see the concepts of Ying and Yang, of balance of positive and negative energies, and the idea that we should strive for that balance in our lives and beings.

Reflections
I can see how the Taoists gave birth to the Tai Chi movements and the like. Their focus on contemplation, and being free of desire, also reminds me of what little I know of Buddism. Tao is a slippery concept in this text as it almost has a life of its own; not being just the path, as I said before, but the whole person becoming more like the way.

It also advocates applying knowledge more than gaining knowledge and I think this seems to suggest that the author is aware of how too much 'head knowledge' can get in the way of practice of the things taught in the Tao Te Ching.

Comparisons
Because of the fluidity of the concept of Tao, the Tao Te Ching is a little more fluid to grasp than the more concrete work of the Analects. You can tell that Confucius and Lao Tsu are contemporaries because of the cultural similarities that we see in the society they are writing in and trying to have input on.  In saying that, they come at the issues of the society in two very different ways: Confucius' message is to improve yourself and you can improve the things around you. Lao Tzu's message is more, to find the Tao, or spiritual path, and the rest won't matter because you are so in touch with Tao.

Have you read The Tao Te Ching? If so what did you think of it?

Want to read The Tao Te Ching but haven't? Hopefully this inspires you to take the time to do so.
Get a copy of Tao Te Ching.