4 Quotes & Sayings By Laotsze
Lao-Tsze (or Lao Tzu) () was a Chinese philosopher, religious leader, poet, and the author of the Tao Te Ching. He is most famous for his epigram "The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao," which has become an integral part of Western philosophy and mysticism. The name Lao Tzu is sometimes translated into English as "old master" but this translation is incorrect. This is because the term "old master" is sometimes used in English to denote someone who is respected yet out of date, but in Chinese this would mean "an old crazy person"—a crazy person who is respected
Contrary to what some people may think, Lao Tzu was not born in ancient China, nor did he have any special contacts with ancient Chinese shamans. He was born in 604 BC in the village of Mao in what is now southwestern China's Szechuan Province near the border with Burma. He was the son of a wealthy landowner who spent his life collecting ancient books written in ancient Chinese.
As a child he had an interest in astronomy and ancient Chinese mythology. When Lao Tzu was 16 years old, his father passed away. His mother wanted him to take over his family's business but he ignored her wishes and instead continued with his studies.
After four years at the University of Chung-Hua, he left school and traveled to see his uncle who was a government official and important figure who could help him to become a leader within the government bureaucracy. Unfortunately for him, it turned out that his uncle had no political power and so Lao Tzu could not follow through on his plans to join the government bureaucracy. At age 20 he joined an army as an adviser to a general named Pi-Pu (showing here as P'u). He became friends with Pi-Pu's son Chao-Chou (a few photos here).
Later Chao-Chou passed away and then Pi-Pu also died. Because of this, Lao Tzu decided to leave and return home because he knew that if he stayed he would suffer from regret (for example: "I should have taken care of my mother"). After returning home, Lao Tzu decided to rejoin Pi-Pu's army as an adviser to generals named Huai-Chi (the lord/master of resources) and Pi (the lord/master of food).
After two months he left
