One of the books that we read was Tao Te Ching, originally by Lao Tzu and translated by

Ralph Alan Dale. The original Tao Te Ching contains 81 verses written in Mandarin. However, in

the version we read, there is the English translation of all the verses as well as Dale's

interpretation and commentary on each verse. The meaning behind Tao Te Ching can be

determined through the title's individual words and their meanings. Tao represents the Way,

which is what Daoists call following the path that nature sets for you. In other words, Tao is the

natural flow of the universe. Te is the practice behind following the Tao. Finally, Ching is the

guide on how to, in a sense, accomplish Tao and Te. To summarize, Tao Te Ching is a guide on

how to live according to the Tao and its practices.

Tao Te Ching causes us to think more deeply about certain philosophical aspects:

specifically, it makes us think about the nature of life and how we live our life. Instead of delving

into our actions or trying to determine our basic needs, Lao Tzu is analyzing what we should

consider the most fundamental, basic aspects of our life. According to Tzu, that is the Great

Integrity. Through the Great Integrity, we can achieve accordance with nature and the universe

and obtain transcendence. Based on Lao Tzu, we, as a society, would gain all of the positive

qualities in life without having to define everything, and we would be able to achieve the proper

balance in our lives.

While the 81 verses talk about various different concepts, such as the balance between

yin and yang and the Great Integrity, several of the verses fit into their own subthemes. Some of

these subthemes are the origins of the Great Integrity, paradoxes within qualities, what exactly is

yin and yang, the unnamed and named, and what is good and bad.. The subtheme, though, that

intrigued me the most was the one regarding the balance between yin and yang. Originally, Lao

Tzu talks about how everyone must have the proper balance between yin and yang, and how yin
is more passive while yang is more aggressive. Later, though, Lao Tzu talks about how the Great

Integrity is yin and that people’s natural states are yin. In my opinion, this implies that yin is

more natural than yang is, and, since we should be in accordance with the flow of the universe,

we should therefore strive to achieve the resting state of yin instead. Lao Tzu also continually

portrays yang as aggressive and negative while yin is “pure”. However, in the last verse about

yin and yang, Lao Tzu once again says both are important and that we must find a balance

between them. So, after finishing Tao Te Ching, readers are still left with no knowledge on what

exactly the balance of yin and yang should be. Is it equal, or should we have more yin than yang?

If we don’t know what we are supposed to achieve, how can we ever reach the state of

transcendence that Lao Tzu wants?

While I am still confused on some of the verses and sub themes within Tao Te Ching, it is

clear how all of the verses are related as they all serve as our guides to achieve transcendence,

the Great Integrity, and live truly in the ways of the Tao.