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Posted by jemimy on 2/8/2009, 10:50 am, in reply to "Re: Why Did Lao Tzu Write the TTC ?"
173.29.131.x
--Previous Message--
: Wayne mentions a fence and now you mention a
: gate. I can't tell if you are being funny or
: trying to seem aloof or perhaps hinting at
: something. Please, english is not my first
: language, so if you are hinting at something
: would you please just tell me, I am not
: getting where you are going.
:
The rhythm of your question reminded me of the old joke, “Why did the chicken cross the road?” One answer is “To get to the other side.” There seemed to be a parallel there with Laozi.
One version of the legend has it that Laozi, an archivist for the royal court (Zhou Dynasty), well known for his wisdom and teachings, could no longer tolerate the moral decay of life at court, so he left. He quit his position, climbed atop his water buffalo (or ox) and struck out. Laozi was heading west, which was also a metaphor for death or the after life. At Han Ku Pass, at the edge of the empire, Yin Hsi, the gatekeeper, recognized him. Yin Hsi asked Laozi to write the essence of his philosophy. Laozi wrote the Tao Te Ching (or Dao De Jing, or Laozi) to get to the other side of the gate, or through the pass.
That’s where I was going.
402
"The Tao is basically utterly open. Utter openeness has no substance. It ends in endlessness, begins in beginninglessnes".
-Li Daoqun
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