What is the relationship between the Tao and mankind?

What is Tao?

Tao exists prior to the presence of Spirit and Earth. Lao Tze, the creator of Taoism, said, “Something complete and shapeless is the existence prior to the creation of Spirit and Earth. Serene! Tranquil! Boundless! Abiding along and unchangeable! Extending over everywhere without risk. It may be styles the “Mother of Universe”. Although the Tao is invisible, yet it creates and dominates all the visible and audible objects. Moreover, the Tao bears no name as Lao Tze said, “I do not know its name, but designate it – the Tao. Arbitrarily forcing a name on it, I call it the Great.” Since the Tao is invisible, it is symbolized by an unbroken circle “O” – a forcibly limited symbol in view of the limitation of the human mind. The unbroken circle “O” represent the Tao in quietness whereas a straight line “-” represents the Tao in motion. When the Tao is in activity, the unbroken circle becomes a straight line. There will be an evolutionary process of differentiation from unity to multiplicity. (The Chinese character “One” (一) is a straight line.) The Tao creates Spirit, Earth, and Man. It gives lives to all the creatures and plants. Besides, it dominates the rotations of the earth and the rest of the planets. Indeed, the Tao is the cause of all things. But, if the straight line is shortened, it will become a dot. So the unbroken circle, the straight line and the dot represent the Tao in quietness and in motion respectively. Furthermore, if the straight line elongates, it will become the longest line. Indeed, the Tao is the greatest of all, for it is shapeless. The Tao creates and dominates everything. But, if the straight line is shortened, it will become a dot. In other words, the Tao can also be the smallest of all, for the Tao is formless.As far as man is concerned, the Tao is referred to his Eternal Spirit. Man is endowed with his Eternal Spirit, but he is not aware of it. If he realizes the presence of his Eternal Spirit and preserves it well, he will become a sage. On the contrary, if he does not know how to preserve his Spirit well, he will go to hell after death. Therefore, to realize the presence of the valuable Spirit is much better than read thousands of books.It is obvious that man owns the five cardinal principles of his moral and intellectual nature, namely, benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and sincerity. So, he will become a sage if he regulates his affairs by the five constituents of man. To preserve his Eternal Spirit, man must first render his filial respect to his parents and love others. Moreover, he should sacrifice himself in order to benefit other people and should always be polite and humble. Finally, he should be considerate to others and should abide by his words.Apart from this, if we write the Chinese character “One”, which is a straight line, vertically, it will become a vertical line. If both the straight line and vertical line combine together, a cross + will be formed. Indeed, the Tao is the creator of all things. It is not surprising therefore that Lao Tze said, “Though the Tao is invisible, it creates Spirit and Earth and dominates the rotation of the earth and the moon. And, though the Tao bears no name, yet it gives lives to everything.” In conclusion, before the presence of Spirit and Earth, there is the presence of the Tao. But, the Tao is invisible and inaudible. The Tao creates the universe and the earth and helps everything to grow and prosper. No doubt, all visible and audible objects cannot exist without it.

Explanation of the Great Tao

The Tao is the great creative principle to which all things owe their origin. It pervades the whole universe. Furthermore, it brings about a harmonious order of things within the cosmos. It causes all things to grow and develop to the fullest extent of their utility. Without the Tao, the planets will stop their rotation and everything will cease to grow. We call the Tao the “Mother of the Universe” We also all it God who is the noblest of all.

Furthermore, the Tao endows each one of us with the Eternal Spirit, which is the true self of man. Though the Tao is invisible and inaudible, yet it really exists. For example, we see the earth, the sun and the moon. But, there must be a creator! It is the Tao that created all this. We also know that the earth and the other planets rotate whereas man and other creatures live. But, who dominated all this? No doubt, it is the Tao that dominates everything. We also know that scientists can invent and discover things. But, who teaches them the technique? It is the Tao that endows the scientists with the technique. Furthermore, clouds become rain when they are confronted with cold air and electricity can produce thunder. Indeed, it is the Tao that makes all this possible. Moreover, there are sound, light and electricity. But, why are there sound and light? It is the Tao that created all this.

We also know that a rainbow is a phenomenon. But, who makes this possible? Indeed, the Tao makes it possible. No doubt, we cannot deny the presence of the Tao. Let us take two more examples. We do believe that there is electricity even though it is invisible. Moreover, we are convinced that we have ancestors even though we have never seen them before. So, we ought to believe in the Tao through we cannot see or hear it. Unfortunately, some people only believe what they see and begin to doubt the invisible things. Though they all have their own Spirits, yet they do not believe in them. As a result, they indulge themselves in sex, wine, and gambling all day long and lead luxurious lives. It is a pity that they do not even think of purifying their minds. It is not surprising therefore that they will go to hell after death.

What is the relationship between the Tao and mankind?

The Tao is true. It is the right path of life. If we slip off from the proper path, we must be aware of returning to it at once. The Chinese term for path is “Tao”. Indeed, we should endeavour to tread the path towards self-perfection.

Confucius said, “The righteous man persists to the proper path of life even though he suffers from starvation.” Thus, we realize the importance of the Tao. In order to avoid committing errors, we have to be extremely careful, cautious and apprehensive all the time. As we have learned the Tao, we must never do evil affairs or forget the principles of the Tao. It should be noted that the sages in the past never forget the Tao after learning it. They were very cautious and always guarded themselves against depravity.

Furthermore, if we keep ourselves away from the Tao we shall receive punishment in society and suffer in hell after death. Therefore, the Tao bears a close relationship with man.

What are the main purposes of the Tao?

The purposes of the Tao are to respect God and the sages, to carry out the filial duties, to love our brothers and sisters, to get rid of our bad habits and to discriminate between the right and the wrong. The Tao also teaches us to be kind to out neighbours and to be faithful to our friends. Indeed, the main purpose of the Tao is to bring harmony and brotherhood to all sorts of people throughout the whole world. Furthermore, the establishment of truthfulness towards the Tao is essential. Meniscus said, “Never has there been one who is in possession of complete truthfulness and yet fails to affect others.” Therefore, the attainment of the truthfulness is regarded as the most excellent thing. As a matter of fact, the main objective of the Tao is to rescue all the good people from disasters and misfortune. As we have learned the Tao, we should propagate the Tao in order to benefit mankind.

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