The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1900-08-05
LAO.TzE, THE CHINESE SAGE

"uien mas aroused all the latent hatred b.
tween the white and the y iiow races It
Is wen II the more thoughtful amcng us rec
osnize the fact tina, we owe a debt Of graft
tudc to China for its philosophers and sages
greatest among whom was Leo-Txe. the phil
osorher ana mystic.
The teachings of Lao-Tze who was born
about fifty years before Kong-fu-tz (ccn-
fucius)-that is, about Goa q. C.-wore more
mystical and metaphysical than those OF his
great successor. Theosophsts regard Lao
Ize as one OF the worlds greatest spiritual
teachers' The system OF which he was the
greatest exponent is called Taoism. He was
born In the Tchu principal ty and was there
fore contemporaneous with the Buddha. the
great religious teacher OF India, aud pytha-
Foras. the mighty philosopher of Greece.
~
Taoism bears great resemblance TO the
Vedanta philosophy Of India and also to the
osophy. Thirteen hundred years before Christ
the religion OF China was mixture OF nature
worship-tehoull-an ancestor worship
shintoism- In the former. the ''shins"--splrfts
were divided into three classes-the celes-
tlal, human and terrestrial "shins" Tshang-
to was the supreme ruler of heaven and
earth. Below him were Ave rulers and a
host OF celestial spirits, OF intellsences who
control and direct the sun. moon and stars.
The human 'shins" include the host of de-
parted ancestors. to whom great respect was
given. Humanity was regarded MS the re.
suit OF the union between heaven and earSh,
consequently man had two souls celestial
SOUL which after death passed into ten
heaven--and a terrestrial soul. which. drawn
by earthly desires. appetities and emotions.
returned to earth.
1t is most interesting to note that In this
ancient system Of worship there is no men
ton made Of future rewards or punishment
Il was a matter OF natural law that the SUI
porior part of man, viz: his celestial soul.
after death went to its own sphere. while the
earthly soul. with its desires. appetities and
passions. went to its proper sphere: neither
was called good or bad; each enjoyed accord
Ing TO Its nature. Tho system of invoking
the spirits Of the dead was more for the
purpose Of recalling the earth soul, and was
the Chinese phase CT modern spiritualism
They recognized the fact that Il was only
earth soul-called by theosophists the astral
body--and not the spiritualistic soul--true ego
or real man. in theosopay--with VIII CHI
earthly communication could be held The
third order Of "shins, or spirits we're the
nature spirits. those which modern fan y
has called the Enomes Garth, undines
fwateD. sylphs (air) and salamunders (fre)
derived from the four elements. These "shins"
were said to reside in every object, although
they themselves. the forefs behind the OBJ
!eets, were invisible. onr modern philosopher
Who discourses so learnodly npon the difta r-
cree between the praenomena and nuomena
says much the same thing in moro obscure
language.
This, then was the state religion OF China
which preceded the introduction OF the sys-
ten called Taoism. Not much is known OF
the life OF this greatest of Chinese sages
The most able exponents OF his philosophy
we're Llch-Tze, Chuaing-Tze. Hung Flu Hwai-
Mantle and Eze-Na. His teachings are re-
corded in tho -Teh-King or book OF the
path of virtue and this is all that the West
ern world knows OF Lao-Tse He is said to
havo written $50 books on ethics and religion
and seventy in magic, 1000 books in all, vet
nj, that Western Oriental scholars know OF
his teachings is contained in one dozen pages
OF the Book OF the Path of Virtue and Prof
Max Muller declares this hook to be un n
tellirible without commentaries
The philosophy Of Kong TIE was mora
unitarian and popular than that OF the mys-
teal and metaphysical Lao-Tze. Taoism was
never popular representative religion Ike
Confucianism. That the moro materiAlistlc
philosophy of Kongfu-tze almost entirely SUI
perseded the mystical teachings of Lao-Tze
dnA- oil dnfr 70 iOh
value of Taoism as philosophy. but rather
indicates that the Chinese as q nation were
not vet ready to accent so exalted sys-
tenn of thousht. In tho Eleventh century
A. D.. Buddhism was introduced into China
At about this time Taoism began to degsn-
crate from an exalted and mystical phloso
phy into mere system OF religious rites and
ceremonies with priests, acolytos parish
schools. monasteries and the tire-ome ritua,
OF rigid ecclesiastlc!sm. The spirit had
been lost in the letter. All the religions OF
ali countries have exhibited this phenomenon
The letter eventually kills the spirit and Tao
Ism was no exception to the general rule.
~
Because OF Its wide suggestiveness the word
Tao can not be precisely defined II has n
mystical meaning SYNONYMOUS with such
words as the Hindu Sat" (eyistsnce):
'verbum" (The Word Of Christian scrip-
tures) In It's ultimate ANALYSIS Taosm Is
pantheistic. While recoenizing a creator or
manifested god it posi,s the unknowable
Tao, which is tho cause OF all manifes'n>
ton. This paradox is peculiar to all mys-
teal conventions az tho universe. Before
heaven and earth was Tao is" tTao-Teh-
1rho "a - I'D fol m
duality and duality 10 trinity-another idea
common tol all relgons-is expressed thus:
"Tao produced one God. the crentor); one
produced two (the duality common to all
religions and called varlously good and evil.
shirt and matter, God and deviD; two pro-
dueed three" (the eternal trinity OF sub
stance force and intelliFence. OF the scientist:
Father Son and Holy Ghost CT the Chris
tian). whether we study the teachings OF
Zoroaster OF Persia. Krlshna and Buddha Of
India. Lao-Tze Of China or Jesus at Pales-
tine. we And always these fundamental ideas
in common. no matter how distorted the form
in which they are concealed This is one
of the strongest proofs that oil relations
have sprung from a common sourcc-all are
but different expressions Of the same great
ideas.
A passage In the Tao-Teh-KinE which is
n, speoial interest 70 students Of theosophy
is one referring to the law OF eyeie1' or