Philosophy of Tai Chi

"The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao."
-Lao Tzu

Tai Chi is a method of physical and spiritual cultivation based on the philosophy of Taoism. The source of Taoism is from the book Tao Te Ching, written around sixth century B.C. by Lao Tzu. The Tao Te Ching is a collection of eighty-one short and profound poems, consisting of only about five thousand words. It is only with personal experience that one can grasp the profound wisdom hidden within these concise poems.

Taoism of Lao Tzu is not any different from Buddhism of Siddhartha, for enlightened beings speak the same truth. Let us examine the essence of these two philosophies.

Siddhartha's key insight is that attachment leads to suffering, and there is a way to move beyond suffering. To understand this simple truth, it is helpful to look at a metaphor.

A gardener is planting a rose bush in winter. As spring approaches, a rosebud begins to form. Within the span of several weeks time, the rosebud blooms with radiating beauty and intoxicating fragrance. As fall approaches, the rose begins to wither then dies, as with all things in nature. The gardener knows this truth of nature well, so he is not attached to the rose at any moment in time.

Impermanence is the nature of all things in the universe. Thus, attachment to anything at all means that one is attached to that particular object at that particular moment in time, which means that one is not able to accept change as the inherent nature of all things.

The essence of Lao Tzu's Taoism is in "non-action," which means to accept things as they are without wanting them to be different. To put it in a more cliché form, one is: "to go with the flow." The following poems, from the Tao Te Ching, exemplify this concept.

Eight

The highest good is like water
It gives life to all things
and reaches for the lowest
It flows in places men reject
and so is the Tao

Twenty-two

Yield and overcome
Bend and be straight
Empty and be full
Wear out and be new
Have little and gain
Have much and be lost

Thirty-three

Knowing others is wisdom
But to know oneself is enlightenment
Mastering others requires force
But to master oneself requires courage

Thirty-seven

The Tao abides in non-action
Yet nothing is left undone
For without form
there is no desire
Without desire
there is tranquility
And all things would be at peace

Forty

Returning is the motion of the Tao
Yielding is the way of the Tao

Forty-three

The softest thing in the universe
Overcomes the hardest thing in the universe
For without substance
One can enter where there is no room
Thus, one should know the value of non-action
Teaching without words
and work without doing
are understood by very few

Forty-four

One who is attached to things will suffer much
One who saves will suffer heavy loss
A contented man is never disappointed

Forty-six

There is no greater sin than desire
No greater curse than discontent
No greater misfortune than wanting

Forty-eight

In the pursuit of learning
every day something is acquired
In the pursuit of the Tao
every day something is dropped
Less and less is done
Until non-action is achieved
When nothing is done
Nothing is left undone
The world is ruled by letting things take their course
It cannot be ruled by interfering

Seventy

My words are easy to understand
Yet no one practices them
My words have ancient beginnings
And my actions are disciplined
But few know me
Therefore a sage wears rough clothing
and holds the jewel in his heart

Seventy-six

A man is born gentle and soft
At death, he is hard and stiff
Green plants are tender
At death, they are withered and dry
Therefore the stiff and unbending is the disciple of death
The gentle and yielding is the disciple of life
An army without flexibility never wins a battle
A tree that is unbending is easily broken
The hard and strong will fall
The soft and weak will overcome

Seventy-eight

Nothing is more soft and yielding than water
But for attacking the solid and strong
nothing is better
It has no equal
The weak can overcome the strong
The supple can overcome the stiff
Everyone knows this
But no one puts it into practice

Tuan Tran

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