There is only one thing we know for sure about Lao-Tzu: that the anecdotes about his life are very cool. They are in fact so cool that they seem borderline incredible. Nonetheless, they are worth retelling because they mirror his insights, and those possess crucial importance.
Lao-Tzu lived in China in the 6th century BC and witnessed armed conflicts, abuse and famines in the state of Chu during the Zhou dynasty period. Life in China at that time must have resembled that in other ancient kingdoms such Sumer, Akkad, Assyria, and Egypt.
Lao-Tzu called for respecting the Tao or natural order. His philosophy aims at helping individuals align themselves with the Tao, so that they can prevent, circumvent, or solve troubles that could otherwise wipe them out.
In contrast to ancient ancient philosophers such as Socrates (469-399 BC), Plato (427-347 BC), Aristotle (384-322 BC), or key religious figures such as Jesus Christ (6 BC-30 AD), there are no direct records of Lao-Tzu’s life. The closest we have are chronicles written in the 2nd century BC, that is, about four and half centuries after Lao-Tzu’s death.
Lao-Tzu and the Tao Te Ching
According to tradition, Lao-Tzu had been employed by the king as keeper of records, but nobody knows exactly what that means. Was he a ministerial secretary, an archivist, or someone in charge of tracking the movement of the planets? Your guess is as good as mine, I am afraid.
At one point, Lao-Tzu made the momentous decision to quit his employment and leave the royal court. The Taoist tradition says that he went away riding a water buffalo, and that a guard stopped him at the border, asking him to put his knowledge in writing before leaving the kingdom.
Allegedly, Lao-Tzu later complied with the guard’s order by writing or dictating the Tao Te Ching, which explains how to align oneself with the Tao and follow the path of virtue.
The guard’s story lacks credibility in the context of the 6th century BC in China. At that time, one should look long for a guard able to read, interested in philosophy, and conscious of the intellectual treasures inside Lao-Tzu’s mind.
I find it hard to believe that such a guard existed and that he was on duty precisely when Lao-Tzu crossed the border. I view the guard’s story as a fairly contrived explanation of the origins of the Tao Te Ching.
The eighty-one chapters of the Tao Te Ching may have been written by one author or by a group. Their poetic, metaphorical style is unequal from chapter to chapter. Some refer to natural phenomena, others to societal events. Some are written in full, clear sentences, while others are more cryptic and esoteric.
In any case, the Tao Te Ching was already in circulation in the 4th century BC, as demonstrated by the fragments found by historians. The next generations of Taoist thinkers, Yang-Tzu (4th century BC) and Chuang-Tzu (3rd century BC), built on the philosophical foundations laid in the Tao Te Ching.
Lao-Tzu and Confucius
Taoist philosophy developed in parallel to Confucianism, in the same way as Christianity and Judaism have followed each its own path after the 1st century AD.
However, there is a large difference in their interaction in later centuries. While there are serious learned attempts to link the Christian and Jewish traditions, for instance in some works by Maimonides (1135-1204), I cannot say the same about the interaction between Taoism and Confucianism.
Confucius (551-479 BC) and Lao-Tzu lived in China in the same century, but their philosophies seldom overlap. The work of Confucius shows great respect for traditions and institutions, while Taoism revolves around individual ethics.
The story of Confucius once meeting Lao-Tzu and proving incapable of grasping Taoism may have been invented to make Taoism look inscrutable. I would not give much credence to that story either. I would also not pay any attention to the claim that Lao-Tzu lived two-hundred years.
Lao-Tzu and religion
Wu Wei (the non-action principle) is unique to Lao-Tzu and his followers because it portrays negatively all impositions. In the case of Christians and Jews, the Ten Commandments (Ex 20: 1-17 and Deut 5: 6-21) also contain prohibitions, but not to the extent of throwing a general suspicion on any interference with the Tao (Enlightened Path).
Although the Tao Te Ching is primarily a philosophical text, it can also be interpreted religiously. Those who regard Taoism as a religion have coupled Lao-Tzu’s insights with symbols and rituals that enhance the esoteric aspects of the Tao Te Ching.
Nonetheless, all Taoists converge on the ethics taught in the Tao Te Ching. The principal Taoist virtues remain humility and simplicity, but they should be complemented by self-reliance, endurance, patience, foresight, diplomacy, independence, self-confidence, flexibility, adaptability, and lateral thinking.
Lessons from Lao-Tzu’s life
The scant biographical details available about Lao-Tzu lead me to rely on the Tao Te Ching to assess his personality. What kind of person was Lao-Tzu and what should we learn from his biography?
First and foremost, he advocated for a simple lifestyle. If he had stayed at his job as keeper of the records, he would have enjoyed the sophisticated lifestyle provided by the royal court.
Second, Lao-Tzu embraced a lifestyle of flow, adaptability, and flexibility when he decided to leave his safe employment. Chapter 8 of the Tao Te Ching uses the water metaphor, which is the contrary of rigidity, immobility and paralysing fear.
Third, Lao-Tzu chose real achievement over the semblance of achievement. He adopted a lifestyle of privacy, self-reliance, and independence, where we can get things done at a low cost, and lead a joyous life without having to convince other people of how great we are.
Fourth, Lao-Tzu grasped the drawbacks of gregariousness, blind conformity, and burdensome rituals He did acknowledge that those can bring some advantages in the short term, but in the long term, they can prove detrimental.
Finally, Lao-Tzu enunciated moral principles that need to be interpreted and adapted in each case. For instance, Chapter 24 of the Tao Te Ching tells us that we should not go too fast, but also that we should not stand still in shaky situations.
When Lao-Tzu left the Zhou royal court, he must have seen that his future was neither as secure nor as promising as others might have thought, and that he would be better off if he gave shape to his own life.
By riding a water buffalo, he certainly did not rush forward at an excessive speed, but I wonder if this detail in the Taoist tradition also needs to be interpreted and adapted, possibly by replacing the water buffalo by a low-cost airline ticket.
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