Laoism: The Complete Teachings of Lao Zi
Author: Tao Huang
ISBN: 0893343025 (paperback)
Price: $18.95  
ISBN: 0893343269 (hardcover)
Price: $28.95  

Laoism is the first ever book on the complete teachings of Lao Zi, an ancient Chinese philosopher-sage. It is also the first English depiction to distinguish Lao Zi's teachings from Taoism, a native religion of China. Endless revelations and commentaries on his text of Tao Te Ching (text) have been, and continuously are, existing in Chinese and many other languages, but not yet a complete work between the text and its poetic summary: the Lao Zi's self-invented fourteen-character couplet. The couplet, as old as the text, has been circulating secretively only in a few monasteries. This makes the writers throughout the history not being able to get a full picture on his work and the public inaccessible. The completion of such a project must be a combination of the spiritual inclination into the text and the heart-sealed connection with Lao Zi's spirit. The time has come.

Laoism has fourteen chapters within two sections. The first section describes the descending power of the Tao, the first volume of the text. The second enlightens the path into the virtuous practice of the Way, the Te of the second volume. Each chapter is a separate but continuos step leading toward the next. From the first chapter to the last, the body as a treasure has been utilized into the final biospiritual product, elixir, or the spirit-self. Upon these fourteen chapters, or the fourteen steps into the returning Tao, the text becomes alive itself through the sacred pictorial representations of Lao Zi's characters. Eight-one chapters, the double yang of spirit twin-self, become the single product of self, of spirit, and of cosmic son, awaiting to be united with the Father-mother of universe, the highest yang: the last and first Maker in the cosmos. The double yang of nine becomes the double sacrifice of seven.

The first seven concern with the body of the Tao while the second seven depict the virtuous consciousness of the Te. The body of the Tao defines the body of flesh and body of mind. The consciousness of the Te embraces the biological instinct and emotional agitation with the peaceful but present consciousness. As the body and soul are sacrificed and atoned, the spirit-life finishes its journey on earth and trials in human. Together with the Tao and Te-the original two nines, the duality of creation and destruction--sixteen sacred pedals, jewels, arms, gates and cosmic geometrical shapes are thus completed. The teachings of Laoism are completed, as it had been.

According to the legend, when Lao Zi was traveling through northwest China, he preached the teachings of the Tao at a temple in the Southern Mountain [Zhongnanshan] of the Shanxi Province. This temple would become known as the oldest orthodox temple of Taoism. It was built by Yin Xi [Yen Tsin] who was an officer of the Han-gu Pass, either during the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 B.C.) or the Warring States (475-221 BC). He constructed this temple with bundles of grass for the purpose of worshiping the vital forces of heaven and earth. The temple was named Watch Tower Building, and is also known as the "Capital of Sages."

When Lao Zi passed by the Han-gu Pass on the way to the West, Yin XI asked him earnestly how he could reach immortality through the cultivation of the Tao. In response to Yin Xi's pleading request, Lao Zi stayed at the Watch Tower Building to preach to him his teachings on the Tao. During the time of this stay, Lao Zi wrote a two-volume book consisting of some five thousand words. This book, commonly known as the Tao Te Ching, became the foundation for Laoism. It is the most valued Taoist text of all time and is considered one of the most treasured philosophical writings of China. Besides the text, Lao Zi wrote an antithetical couplet to it. The couplet was later engraved on a stele next to the stone carving of the Tao Te Ching. This stele still stands inside the Lao Zi Hall which is now surrounded by a larger building called the Preaching Tower. The couplet is the key to true understanding of the text in its complete pictorial and spiritual aspects. Lao Zi's best-known contribution is his text and the couplet is one of the most powerful spiritual scriptures recorded in human history.

In the Chinese language, to propose and respond in an antithetical way is the dance of the practical power of couplets. Words and phrases within two halves of a couplet must have antithetical effects. This means that words and phrases in the first half are opposite and contrary to those in the second half. Among Chinese intellectuals, working through couplets is the most honorable and effective way to practice the language. Lao Zi was exceptional, since his couplet had been outmatched.

The couplet was constructed by using fourteen combined Chinese characters. Each of these characters has elementary subcharacters. Some of the combined characters in the couplet have two elementary subcharacters, while others have three or more. Their pronunciations are represented by the fourteen standard Chinese characters. These fourteen Chinese characters are antithetical in meaning, rhythmic in pronunciation, and mystical in interpretation. Among these characters, only five can be found in the Kangxizidian, the Dictionary of the Kangxi Emperor which was compiled in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 C.D.). The rest are impossible to trace linguistically. The Chinese language itself cannot be expressed satisfactorily if one looks only at the structural combination of the characters but has no knowledge of Chinese civilization as it appears in the Encyclopedia of Taoism. This encyclopedia covers a broad range of specific fields such as astrology, philosophy, medicine, religion, psychology, alchemy, mechanical engineering, physiology and physical biochemistry. According to the teachings of the couplet passing down orally within the community of the Watch Tower Temple, all these characters were not only meaningful in each of their own distinctive ways, but also viewed as a valuable collective summary of Taoist meditational practices. Comparing this couplet to all of the world's spiritual and religious teachings, these fourteen characters offer one of the most concise and complete descriptions of meditation practices and spiritual cultivation ever conceived. However, these fourteen characters are far beyond the standard Chinese linguistic structure and its usage. These characters are only innate to the true teachings of Laoist, and Taoist, meditation practices. The couplet serves the same purpose as the Christian prayerful words: Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, have mercy on me, a sin.

The transliteration of these words into English is: "The jade body smelts chemically the life eternal pill. The right minds cultivates faithfully the self immortal elixir." The body as an organism has its own natural sounds, but to use the least words to articulate sounds is rare as such. The couplet is tool for both visual (linguistic) representation and prayerful (chanting) practice. The structures of the characters are the structures of body and consciousness while the pronunciations are inner vibration of the Tao through the virtuous expression of the Te. It is a summary of principles on how to practice or smelt the inner alchemy and life forces by redistributing the bodily chemicals and crystallizing them into an everlasting life pill. It illustrates how to behave or cultivate in such a way as to reproduce the immortal self-elixir wholly from within.

The first half of the couplet teaches us how to preserve the inner life forces according to the mechanism of the Tao, just as do the first thirty-seven chapters of the text. This mechanism represents a very complicated systematic change of metabolism in the physical body. By using this mechanism, the crystallized life pill can be produced according to the principle of interaction between the micro and macro physical environment and the principle of yin and yang. The micro-physical environment refers to an individual's organic systems and their harmonious integration with emotional and spiritual health. The macro physical environment refers to the interaction among everything existing in the universe. The second half of the couplet emphasizes the practice of Te, as do the rest of the chapters in the text. It deals with the pure action of human behavior through the cultivation of mind which enables the perennial life pill to be preserved. This preservation relies mainly upon the virtue of actions, such as kindness, frugality, giving and sacrifice. This virtue of action is under the control of the pure spiritual mind since it is this mind that generates all the fruits of human behavior.

The physical structures of the Chinese characters in the couplet belong to the same deeply rooted practices of all early Chinese language: communicating with spirits through symbols. The first historical stage in the Chinese language is called the Big Seal Style (770-221 B. C.). The written form of this style was either inscribed on animal bones and shells or cast in metal. The ultimate goal of this writing was not to communicate with someone at a distance or to pass information and knowledge on to a future generation. Rather, it was a direct spiritual practice for connecting with the spirits, healing diseases, and foretelling the future. The consulting practices of the I Ching are perhaps the clearest available demonstration of the Big Seal Style. Later, the Chinese written form was changed from the Small Seal to other styles, but the writings of Taoist incantation have been preserved in its same format. It has been carried out traditionally through a direct oral transmission from a master to a student, or through some higher forms of meditation.

The couplet is a Taoist incantation that deals with meditation or the inner alchemy. The inner alchemy is contrary to the outer alchemy which deals only with the chemistry of metallurgy. The history of Taoist outer alchemy proves that it contributed to the development of metallurgy and eventually to the accidental discovery of gunpowder. However, according to the Taoist beliefs, it is not the purpose of the outer alchemists to conduct scientific research.

Instead, its main concern is to produce a life elixir enabling a person to live an immortal life by drinking this purified liquid substance. The inner alchemy shares the same goal of immortality but with a different approach. It strives to become immortal through meditation rather than through an external agent.

The difference between Taoist written incantations and standard Chinese characters is that the physical structures of incantations differ from case to case, and these writings have no rigid forms. They arise from a transcendental state of mind through spirits as they are expressed through automatic human handwritings. Therefore, such writings can at times barely be repeated or formalized. This does not mean that this is impossible. Some of these transcendental spiritual writings have been mechanically molded as teaching and practical models. An example is the written incantations for a deceased person in China. They are the same all over China because these writings have been mechanically repeated over and over just as the mechanical use of pressure points in acupuncture are repetitive.

Written Taoist incantation works directly with energy circulation and spiritual harmony, while the standard Chinese language is but a tool for speakers to communicate with others. It is impossible for a person who is not experienced in meditation and who is not in the transcendental state of consciousness to write Taoist incantations. These spiritual writings have been used to heal disorders such as insomnia, psychogenic disorders, and even certain organic malfunctions. All these incantations were written in a deep meditative state of consciousness, and no two incantations were alike. All in all, the couplet represents the extract of the text by presenting the Laoist philosophy and its spiritual practices. The approach of this book is to blend the descriptive materials of the text with the graphic illustrations of the couplet, enabling readers to not only feel the familiarity of words but also the strength and character of Laoism. The first part of this book portrays the first seven Laoist characters in the couplet according to the descending order of the Tao. The second part presents the second seven characters as the ascending order of the Te. In Taoist inner alchemy, the descending order deals with gathering the infinite cosmic power of the Tao into a finite spiritual seed within through conscious awareness. Upon completion of planting the spiritual seed, cultivation toward the following seven ascending principles begins. This is characterized by the couplet as the returning process where the seed of the Tao manifests through virtue, love, compassion and kindness. These two orders sum the complete teaching of the Tao Te Ching.

There is a difference, however, between the Taoist inner alchemy and the scientific approach. First of all, in Taoism, there is no separation between the body and mind. The ultimate outcome of Taoist alchemical experimentation is the oneness of both. The medium to integrate this oneness is the essential energetic Qi that circulates among all things in the universe. Science makes a sharp distinction between the body and mind: it subjects the body to investigation and experimentation; it classifies the mind as an objective entity which can be predicted and controlled.

In the literature of the inner alchemy, much of the terminology and procedures have been borrowed from the outer alchemy. Because of this, a modern reader or meditator may find that the traditional Taoist literature on meditation may seem archaic or out of date. However, recorded ancient literature and modern scientific practices have shown that the desire for immortality has never been out of date. The scientific ideas have never been practiced apart from the deepest human longings to live a long life and preserve the well-being. Modern science manifests the same desire. The examples of this are: the ambitious practice of landing on other planets, and the establishment of scientific methodological disciplines for predicting and controlling life through genetic encoding and gene therapies.

Secondly, Taoism does not treat the body as a machine, but as a caldron (a sacred vessel) in which to cultivate the pure seed of self or the purified elixir of spirit. Taoism considers the body not only as a holy organism but also as a natural lab in which to unify the self with its inner spirit. Science views the body as a mechanical operation based on functional metabolism.

Thirdly and most importantly, Taoism unifies the difference between bodily experimentation and mental anticipation. Nothing is eliminated and nothing is ever rejected. Science degrades the cosmic universe and separates its creative power with manmade toys or tools which are called machines.

Since the Tao Te Ching was first translated from French into English in the 1860's, there are now over two hundred translations circulating in the English market. You could enter a bookstore or your local library and find at least several translations. Yet the tragic beauty is that in the minds of many people, including many Chinese scholars, the text is no more than just another text on philosophy. It is not treated as a meditational guide or a spiritual work. Among all the translations, few provide spiritual explanations. Most of the translations are merely literal interpretations of the Chinese characters. The efforts of my sealed-love laboring are meant to combine the Tao Te Ching and the couplet together as a collective work of Laoism in order that the readers may unify the philosophical understanding of Laoism with the spiritual aspects of the Tao. The text is a philosophical and spiritual understanding of the Tao, while the couplet is the sacred and mystical experience of entering into the Tao.

In Western culture, particularly among scholars, Lao Zi is almost all related with the Tao--the Way--a universal understanding of the Nature and Its manifestation. And his teaching, the Tao Te Ching, is treated as the Bible of Taoism, which is not the case historically. The English word Taoism remains obscure and confusing; it is a mixture of native Chinese shamanistic and ritualistic practices, which are little known, and Lao Zi's philosophical and mystic understanding of the Tao, which is overly toned linguistically and even misused in application.

Historically, Lao Zi paved the way of the Tao through his personal cultivation which was ultimately refined as a philosophical treaty. Yet, he was not the first person who had engaged in the practices of the Tao and become enlightened in Chinese history. Many other sages and shamans alike had done so before Lao Zi's time. In the history of inner alchemy, which is the true spiritual practice of Taoism, Lao Zi belongs to the third generation of this spiritual development. Fu XI, inventor of the "eight hexagram," was the creator. Guang Cheng-zi, from whom the Yellow Emperor begged the teachings to enlightenment, was the second generation and Lao Zi followed after him.

However, he was not the creator of Taoism. He is neither an atheist nor a theist. He harmonized the two with his innate oneness. As a result, the teachings of the Tao have been equated to the name of Lao Zi. His personal philosophical understanding of the volumes of Tao and Te have created numerous interpersonal implementations as well as far-reaching commentaries. All scholars of the Tao Te Ching are Laoists dealing with the philosophical practices of Laoism. Though Lao Zi was honored as the Supreme Master Lao Jun, he did not have a part in developing the religious practices of Taoism. There is an important difference between the Tao as a way of life and Taoism as a form of religious practice. It should be clarified that Laoists follow the path of the Tao and practice the teachings of Laoism. However, not all Laoists practice Taoism. Laoists meditate on the void of emptiness, position themselves with softness and practice simplicity. Laoists neither worship deities nor pay tribute to the personified images and statues. To them, the human body is the statue and mind is the image. In contrast, Taoists follow religious rules, perform sacred duties and worship holy statues. Taoists have a simpler mentality but practice sophisticated ritual and shamanistic techniques.

Just like Buddhism is recognized as the teachings of Buddha and Confucianism is a school of thought by Confucius, Laoism is a school of Lao Zi (with Zi means -ism in Chinese) and others, such as Zhuang Zi. It distinguishes the difference personally and culturally between the philosophical understanding of the Tao and the religious practice of Taoism. It is a book for body and mind connection, masculine and feminine harmony, and internal and external integration. Laoism is the unification of the collective nature of the Tao with his individual unique understanding. It demystifies the universal phenomena of the Tao by creating a possibility for anyone seeking a personal life path by practicing meditation and kindness and qualities that enrich one's being.

It is through Laoism that the teachings of Taoist philosophy distinguished itself from those of Hinduism or Buddhism or Confucianism. Lao Zi's personal belief marks him as Laoist, and his teaching personifies Laoism. Equally, readers and practitioners of Laoism are naturally Laoists, who may engage in the practices of Taoism carried on by many schools of Taoists. For this reason, we need to know the basic difference between the spiritual path of Laoism and the religious aspects of Taoism. We will separate the philosophical understanding of Laoism from the shamanistic practices of Taoism as well. Laoism is a personal view and a philosophical teaching of the Tao. Laoists are those who hold such views and propagate them. Taoism is a form of religion: it worships images of deities and develops ritual and shamanistic practices. Taoists are those who practice this form of religion and conduct shamanistic practices. Laoism is the essential summary of Taoism, and Laoists are the best representations of Taoism.