WHO ARE THE PERSONALITIES AT
TEMPLE UNIVERSAL?
LAO
TZU
Mystical Visonary of
"The Way"
Lao-Tzu is considered the traditional founder of
Taoism.
Even though the details of his life are shrouded
in the mist of time, we know with a fair degree
of accuracy that he lived twenty-five centuries
ago in ancient China. The account is that Lao-tzu
was an older contemporary of Confucius and as a
curator of the Chou dynasty archives, Lao Tzu was
able to immerse himself in the study of history,
philosophy and literature, gaining wisdom and insights
along the way.
History records that Confucius visited with Lao
Tzu, and Confucious came away in awe.
Confucius recognized in Lao Tzu a deeper understanding
of the world than his own, and liken Lao Tzu to
the mysterious dragon.
Lao Tzu lived in Chou for a long time, but seeing
its decline he departed.
He headed through the Hangu Pass and beyond the
Great Wall. Before leaving the gate at the Great
Wall, the guard there was pleased and said, "As
you are about to leave the world behind, could you
write down his thoughts on the Tao for posterity.
Lao Tzu agreed, and wrote a small book in two parts,
expressing his accumulated learnings in brief, setting
out the meaning of the way and virtue in some five
thousand characters. No one ever heard of him again.
In concise yet profound language, this book has
survived over 2,500 years and has come to be known
as the Tao Te Ching, Taoism's most important text.
