Tao Te Ching summary

There’s a good reason why Taoist wisdom has stood the test of time. For many of us, life can be a struggle. We’re constantly fighting uphill battles or desperately trying to stay afloat – whichever metaphor you prefer, the feeling is the same: getting through another day can be a battle.

Tao Te Ching offers an alternative way forward, which is why it’s so appealing. It’s the opposite of the aggressive, make-the-most-of-every-minute approach to life that many of us have been taught to admire. The path of the tao is about living a life devoid of struggle. It’s about being in harmony with your surroundings and doing by not doing.

What does doing by not doing mean, exactly? In this Blink, let’s see if we can’t find out.

How do you talk about something that can’t be described? This is one of the main complications when it comes to Taoism because the tao is central to the philosophy and yet it is just a word that is used to describe something that is both nameless and indescribable.

The word tao itself can be translated into “the way.” Now, in Confucianism, there’s a similar paradox in describing “the way.” According to Confucius, one of the main principles of following the way is something called wu wei or “nondoing.” This is something that is central to Taoist philosophy as well, but in the realm of Taoism, tao means something more.

In Confucianism, the way is essentially the path to heaven. A virtuous style of living that will put you in heaven’s favor. In Taoism, the Tao isn’t only the way, it’s the creative force behind everything, including both heaven and earth! This is how Taoism can, for some, stretch beyond philosophy and reach a certain religious significance. It’s also why the tao can’t be named or described. It existed before words, it has no appearance, and it has no namable characteristics.

So when we read about the tao in Tao Te Ching, we’re considering a force that created the universe, us, and everything we see. But we’re also talking about a way of living that’s in harmony with that supreme creative force.

The idea of living in harmony with the natural world may sound straightforward enough, but Taoism has some more twists in store.

You see, since the tao is responsible for all things, including that which is strong and powerful as well as that which is weak and flexible, we can’t call one thing as being inherently better than the other. Tao isn’t responsible for bad things. In fact, we really shouldn’t think in terms of good or bad when looking at the world around us.

This gets even more interesting when it comes to how we should behave in order to be in accordance with the tao. The idea of opposites is a recurring theme in Tao Te Ching. A passage in chapter 35 reads: “If you would have a thing weakened, you must strengthen it; If you would take from a thing, you must first give to it.”

Likewise, the tao is described at one point as acting like a bow that is being stretched: 

“The high it presses down, the low it lifts up; the excessive it takes from, the deficient it gives to.”

Within all of this is the idea of cycles. This is the way of Tao: to have things naturally rise and fall, again and again. So, if you build yourself up in some way, you’ll inevitably reach a point where you will fall down.

With this in mind, many passages in Tao Te Ching emphasize the value in the weak, as well as the value in not doing. Hard things break. Weak things bend, do not break, and survive. Force will be met with resistance. But if you’re weak and formless you can penetrate even that which has no cracks or crevices. Time and again, the tao is described as favoring the negative. Empty over full. Inaction over action. Nothing over something. This is because these are characteristics of the tao and because the tao lifts up the low.

In the next section, we’ll look deeper into the idea of nondoing and why Tao Te Ching also works as a pretty good leadership manual.

Like the Analects, Tao Te Ching is believed to be a product of the Warring States period in China, which started in the fifth century BC and lasted well into the third century BC. For the seven states involved, it was a long drawn-out period of warfare, political turmoil, and cultural changes.

During this time, people with philosophical interests, like the Confucianists and Taoists, also had interests in the kind of head of state they’d like to see. This is why both the Analects and Tao Te Ching devote many passages to the subject of what makes a virtuous leader.

In Tao Te Ching, the ideal leader is referred to as the Sage. This term, along with others like “lords” and “princes,” appears so often that some believe Tao Te Ching is, perhaps more than anything else, a work that is concerned about government leadership.

So, what kind of qualities does a Taoist leader have? Well, as it turns out, one of the best ways we can unwrap the idea of wu wei, or nondoing, is by looking at the role of leadership. There are two fundamental characteristics of both the tao and the Taoist ruler. One is wu wei and the other is wu ming, which means “without name.” So, how should a ruler who is in harmony with the tao act? Without action and without name, naturally.

In chapter 37 it reads, “The way never acts yet nothing is left undone.” This is a perfect summary of the concept of wu wei, and it can also be a confusing paradox on its own. But in chapter 17 this is elaborated upon nicely by explaining that “the best of all rulers is but a shadowy presence to his subjects… Hesitant, he does not utter words lightly. When his task is accomplished and his work done the people all say, ‘It happened to us naturally.’ ”

Shadowy is another characteristic of both the tao and the Sage that is repeated throughout the text. It gives a good impression of nondoing because it’s suggestive of how your efforts shouldn’t be felt by others. In another passage, it says that should princes and lords follow the way, the people will be transformed of their own accord.

Now, this leads us to the quality of wu ming, or without name. Just as the Sage will guide people in such a gentle way that they don’t feel like they're being led, the Sage will also take no credit or gratitude. The Sage “accomplishes his tasks yet lays claim to no merit.”

This is the kind of leader Taoists hoped to see. Someone who’d value the happiness of others over their own glory. Someone who’d seek balance and peace over conflict and further bloodshed.

While there are no limits to what the tao can accomplish, there are limits to what people should strive for. Throughout the text, we’re reminded not to contentiously seek wealth or power. In chapter 9 we’re reminded, “To be overbearing when one has wealth and position is to bring calamity upon oneself. To retire when the task is accomplished is the way of heaven.”

Of course, all of the advice regarding the Sage can be taken as good advice for the common person as well. The important thing to remember is that the tao is always working to bring balance and harmony to the universe. If something rises too high, it will be brought down. Even if that rise is slow and gradual, the fall will be quick and decisive.

Much of the text can be read as guidance for self-preservation. Certainly, in the Warring States era, those who were wealthy, power-hungry, and greedy likely had a target on their backs. But there’s common wisdom to be found in the Taoist way of favoring the negative and valuing weakness over strength.

One of the characteristics of the tao is jou, which means pliant or submissive. These days, we don’t regard submissiveness as being an ideal characteristic to have. But what’s the opposite? Being hard, brittle, and stiff. Not exactly ideal either, is it? Think of it this way: When you’re young it could be said that your body is most full of life. You’re weak, supple, flexible, and enduring. In death your body becomes stiff, dry, and shriveled. Likewise, when plants and trees are full of life, they’re pliant and submissive to the wind and water. They must be in order to survive.

In fact, the metaphor of water is perhaps a good one to end with. In chapter 8 it says that the “Highest good is like water.” Water flows effortlessly. In doing so, it benefits and nourishes many things along the way – even as it moves downstream and “settles where none would like to be.” It puts the well-being of the many ahead of its own interests and does so effortlessly. This is the way.

Tao Te Ching is a classic text of ancient wisdom that continues to inspire people. While it was compiled over 20 centuries ago, it contains philosophical ideas that cross over into the realm of religion. It speaks of a great force that created the universe – the heavens and the earth – and suggests how we may live in harmony with it. Even though this force is nameless, formless, and effortless, it is given a name – tao. To be in harmony with the tao is to also lead without force, and not to seek credit or gratitude. The way of the tao is to put the happiness of others ahead of your own and to recognize the value in weakness and submissiveness over rigidity and forcefulness.