Who Da Man
A
translation of Tao's name, part 1
There’s
more to the name Tao than just an acronym. The word Tao is a Chinese
philosophical term which translates to “the Way”, or, to be more
precise, “the Way the universe works”.
The
legendary Chinese scholar Lao Tzu wrote a book called the Tao
Te Ching, defining Tao as an understanding of how the physical laws of
the universe affect the ways that people tend to behave. According to him,
a person could use this understanding to direct events without having to
resort to force. A modern-day author named R. L. Wing further explained
this in his book, The Tao of Power
(a new translation of the Tao Te
Ching):
“Cultivate and
make trustworthy your intuition, because a leader who is not intuitive
cannot predict change… Use attitude instead of action, and lead others
by guiding rather than ruling… Learn to achieve your ends without means,
by cultivating a strong vision of the way things must naturally resolve
themselves…”
Sounds
just like our resident disco king, no? He knows everything that’s going
on around him, and always manages to turn the tide to accomplish whatever
he wants. No wonder he’s got the spare time to develop his killer dance
moves.
Next:
The word "Tao" in Chinese writing
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