Lao Zi's Theory of Everything

Lǎo Zi’s Theory of Everything

Daoist World Conference, Boston University 2014 Miomir Arandelovic taoscienceinstitute@gmail.com

Introduction Dào Dé Jīng stands out of most of the ancient texts as it is almost fully devoid of arbitrary axioms or a reliance on faith. Its postulates are self-explanatory, principle-driven and have a rigorous confluence and cross-consistence, akin to concepts of modern science and technology. Lǎo Zi systematically introduces a general purpose framework that reveals and links together many crucial aspects of Universe and our Existence and could be thus rightfully considered as an ancient Theory of Everyting7. Dào Dé Jīng as Theory of Everything Term Tao (in author’s opinion, an adopted English and international word for 道 / Dào in Pinyin, similarly as Tai Chi is commonly used for Tài Jí, 太極) surely eludes any frozen definition. It denotes the highest principle of the Universe that can be (often at the same time) a subject, object, predict or attribute in the sentences of Dào Dé Jīng and other Taoist scriptures. It may be related to a generic concept of Absolute or a Divine, but with much broader scope than a anthropomorphized God of the most religions. Lǔ Dòng Bīn (呂洞賓) in the Secret of the Golden Flower refers to Tao as “That which exists through itself” while Lǎo Zi talks about it as 1

something Great, Mystical, Primordial and unidentifiable, but still something that can be aspired to, achieved, held and applied. We can find related principles in other profound teachings, for instance in the “Middle Way” of Buddhism, “It” of the Zen, “Way that has a Heart” of Toltec Shamans, “Walking with God” of Enoch (Old Testament) or “Christ within” (New Testament). The real meaning does not lie in the description or a background, but in usability, similarly as “water” can be also referred to as “wasser”, “aqua”, “shui”, “H2O” and in many other terms but one can understand it in a best way by actually drinking it. Lǎo Zi introduces concept of Tao...