لاوتزو .. كتاب المائة الأوائل

laotzu

Lao Tzu

He lived in the fourth century BC, a contemporary of Confucius

Lao Tzu was born and lived in northern China. He spent part of his life as a historian and custodian of the official archives in (Luoyang), the capital of the kings of the (Zhou) family. And (Lao Tzu) is not his original name, but rather means (the elderly teacher), and he married and had a son.

La Tzu is considered the author of the greatest book read and translated outside of China. He knows (Tao Tu Cheng) (The Method). It is an interesting book that talks about (The Tao), or the natural method, or (the natural order).

(And Taoism) This summarizes that man should not struggle against the Tao, but should surrender and submit to it and walk according to it, and that the pursuit of absurdity is a virtue. It is immoral and (the Tao) or (the method) cannot be defeated and a person must coexist with it. The adherent of this doctrine says that the water that is extremely gentle and flows easily to low places and responds to the weakest force without showing any resistance. Water cannot be destroyed or eliminated, while the hardest rocks suffer from erosion and annihilation factors over time.

With regard to human rubbing, simplicity and normal living are what is advised, and we must avoid violence, as must avoid all endeavors to reach money and power, and man should not try to reform this world, but on the contrary, he must respect the world. As for the state, slow, inactive action is the best and wisest policy. There are many laws teeming with law books. If more laws were enacted or we tried to implement the old laws brutally and harshly, this would complicate matters further. High taxes, ambitious government programs, and wars are all contrary to the philosophical spirit of Taoism.

Although Taoism began as a worldly philosophical doctrine. However, a religious movement developed from it, and that religion relied on a number of superstitious beliefs and actions that moved far from the ten teachings of (La and Tzu). And the book of La and Tzu on Taoism, although it was small, had more influence in China than the influence of Confucius. As for the West, at least forty different translations of this book appeared in the English language, and no book received this attention except for the Christian Bible.

As for China itself, it was Confucianism, but (La and Tzu) was respected by the Confucians, and there are many Taoist principles that leaked into Confucianism. Thus, I found millions that very few people call themselves (Taoists), except that there is no philosopher except Confucius who has a status like: (La and Tzu).