The Ta o C ircl e Legacy:

The Virtue of Singularity

One gray, winters day in Stockholm, on the corner of Biblioteksgatan and Birger Jarlsgatan, in a bookstore called The Corner, Tao Circle began. A professor in Chinese Cultural studies places a copy of Wing-Tsit Chans A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy in the hands of an associate professor in psychology. The location at the intersection of a street named after the Royal Library and a street named after the founder of Stockholm is prophetic, but the professor, associate professor, titles are very misleading. Tao is learned, never taught Tai Chi Chuan brought them together and had maintained their relationship fourteen years, but neither academics nor Tai Chi chuan is the reason they came to The Corner bookstore. Tao Circle is the reason. The name fits perfectly. Nevertheless, thirty-nine years pass before members of the circle learn about the why. The Corner bookstore no longer exists. Yet, its essence remains of critical importance. It is our lone bridge between Chinese, American and European cultures. The book, Wing-Tsit Chans A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy, is the main reason Tao Circle has survived thirty-nine years of cultural, political and economic changes in Stockholm Sweden, Peking China and Washington D.C. USA. It defined the Tao Circle and guided us through two serious crises that could have altered our path as we presented a cross-cultural, multi-ethnic challenge to highly nationalistic and relatively homogeneous Scandinavia. The nature of the Tao demands that there are as many interpretations of its meaning as there are people who read it. Nevertheless, Lao Tzus Tao-te ching is the standard by which all are measured. Hundreds of commentaries and almost a hundred translations into English and the uniqueness of Lau Tuzs philosophy would have been formidable obstacles, had it not been for the book given in The Corner bookstore, on that cloudy Stockholm day. !"#$!%&'()&*+%$ Wing-Tsit Chans A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy contains a complete, English, translation of Tao-te ching along with the elements necessary for understanding Tao in its cultural context. Decades later, for advanced study, Tao Circle added another book by the same author. The Way of Lao Tzu includes Chans introductory essays, comments and notes together with a complete translation. This choice of texts preserves Lao Tzus Tao-te Ching against inevitable attacks from aggressive academics who attempt to impose their language, logic, prejudices and taboos on Tao. Only those very knowledgeable in Chinese can experience the rhythms of the poetry and the beauty of the calligraphy in actual copies of the manuscript. This is not a problem, because Lao Tzu declares that symbols are inadequate for expressing Tao. The word, Tao," is merely a scaffold, to be dismantled and
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discarded once its meaning is understood. Thus, by confining his personal interpretation to comments at the end of each chapter, Wing-Tsit Chan makes it easier for Tao Circle to limit Chans role to translator. The distinction is essential. With the exception of his name, the Tao-te Chings author remains practically anonymous. Its subject is unique and therefore frustrates ancient and modern academics, who attempt to force Tao into conventional specialties. Clerics have misled themselves and others by translating Tao-te Ching as a religion. To strategists, Lao Tzu becomes a strategist. To leaders, he is a leader. To mystics Tao is mystical. To skeptics it is pure nonsense. To philosopher Wing-Tsit Chan, Lao Tzu is one of the most prominent sages in Chinese philosophy. However, to Tao Circle, Lao Tzus Tao-te Ching does not fit into any category because it is unique in every respect. In Tao Circle, what WingTsit Chan calls a philosophy is simply the optimization of common sense. Words, signs, symbols, digital information: all have their function, but none of them can describe reality. Intuitively we know that our minds are part of an infinitely small ecosystem, hidden somewhere in an unimaginably large, universal, reality. Consequently, that which we know to be essential must literally remain undefined. Despite his excellent translation, Tao Circles prime example of philosopher frustration is Wing-Tsit Chan, who finds Lao Tzus devotion of chapters 57, 67, 69 and 76 to military strategy utterly uncharacteristic of Taoism. Making an ism out of Lao Tzus Tao or including it in any category is worse than a mistake. Chans comment is the inevitable consequence. Philosophers are especially vulnerable, because they are absolutely dependent on words. For Tao Circle, undefined does not mean nonexistent. Neither is it the same as being unknown. It is definitely not an excuse to ignore aspects of Lao Tzu that do not conform to any philosophers concept of Taoism. Others are not immune. Tao, as a word, is a any translators worst nightmare. A unique instance of something indescribable is bound to be utterly uncharacteristic. Again, Wing-Tsit Chans excellent translation is, nevertheless, a prime example. For the meaning of Tao, Chan uses the words: method, principle, truth, path, road, moral, virtue and reality, but finally selects way as the best English translation. All of these words are nouns, except moral, that is an adjective. Tao, as practiced in the Tao circle, has no problem accepting way as the best noun, but all of the other nouns have to be changed to their adverbial forms. For us, Tao is an adverb, not a noun. Lao Tzus focus is when and how things are done, or not done. The Natural Way of Lao Tzu is the title of chapter seven in Wing-Tsit Chans A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy, because Lao Tzu believed that means should be achieved naturally. How do Chan and Lao Tzu define Nature? What did Chinese sages mean by achieving aims naturally? Tao Circle has to know if answers to questions that were raised thousands of years ago are essential to 21st Century Scandinavia and USA. Of course, we needed to know the questions.
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Unexpected, June 1978, a package containing two books arrived at Tao Circle. I
Ching: The Book of Changes contains the questions and answers that guided Lao Tzu and other sages. Tai Chi Chuan: A Choreography of Body and Mind revealed

essential connections between the questions, the answers and Tai Chi Chuan. Both books were sent by the leader of the Tai Chi Society of New York. The author, a staff member of the Chinese section of the United Nations, would send six books during the three year period 1978-1981. To Tao Circle, the authors I Ching message was to become crystal clear. If Tao is a universal adverb, then I Ching is used to decide the verbs to which the adverb refers. Tai Chi Chuan is our principal example. Consequently, Wing-Tsit Chans translation of Lao Tzus Tao-te ching became essential to Tao Circles use of I Ching. However, choosing between translations of the I Ching was far more complicated than accepting Lao Tzus Tao-te Ching. ,$-".'/0$!"#$1++2$+3$-"&'/#($&'4$!5&.$-".$ Began before written language, before Chinas recorded history, I Ching is among the worlds oldest books. Its sixty-four hexagram symbols represent different aspects of change and transition. It was originally a horoscope, but contributions by Chinas greatest sages transformed it into a highly sophisticated decision making tool. Scholars from virtually every discipline embraced and extended the work of sages. They added words to explain ancient symbols and mathematics to order the hexagrams into meaningful combinations and permutations. Monks incorporated the results in their meditation. Aspects of these contributions were collected, assembled and integrated into the I Ching. As a result, no individual or group can claim I Ching. And, over a period of several millennia, the Book of Changes developed into the essential element of Chinese culture. At one period in Chinese history, I Ching was thought to hold the keys to the laws of the universe. Schools developed to analyze the meanings of its symbols and words. Others discovered ways of applying its principles. The Chinese lunar calendar was among their major achievements. As a result, the sages treated Tao and the I Ching like Siamese twins, joined at the head. Any attempt to separate them risks damaging or losing one, or often both. Does the same apply to Chinese culture? Are Chinese culture and I Ching like Siamese twins joined at the head? Is I Ching and Tao-te ching relevant only to the unique Chinese civilization? Tao Circles perspective permits us to conform to the essence of the Chinese reasoning and avoid getting involved in serious, sometimes violent, conflicts that often have grave political implications. 67))$-%.(.($ By changing forever the way I Ching is interpreted, Lao Tzus Tao-te ching changed the intellectual and spiritual basis of Chinese culture. What had been conventional wisdom split into competing factions. Offshoots from Confucianism became neo-Confucianism. Lao Tzus Tao became the only secular ethical system
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that successfully competed with Buddhism and won, when Buddhism divided, to produce Chan Buddhism and later, Zen Buddhism. Even aspects of Taoism were transformed into neo-Taoism that eventually became a form of religion. Divisions between fundamental aspects of Chinese culture have profound consequences for Tao Circle. A crisis occurs whenever people believe that reality is divided into conflicting parts. Officially, Scandinavian and USA cultures pose no obstacle to Tao, but the two Western cultures have language, logical and social barriers that have, for centuries, made Chinese reasoning strictly taboo. Add Western academic and cultural taboos to divisions in Chinese culture and the chances of Tao Circles survival would have been incredibly small, were it not for a Taoist invention, Tai Chi Chuan. Few, if any, beginning students understand that the primary reason for learning Tai Chi Chuan is to understand the consequences of Lao Tzus interpretation of I Ching. To be successful, focus has to shift from Tai Chi Chuan as a style of Kung fu to Tai Chi as the seamless integration of Tao and I Ching. To the untrained, Tao Circle Tai Chi Chuan appears absolutely concrete, and vaguely familiar. It is neither. Tai Chi Chuan exhibits Tao in action, while revealing none of its secrets. Even to the initiated, Tai Chi Chuans Tao expresses itself as an uninterrupted progression of natural forces that often plays tricks on the imaginations of any who attempt to place it into any conventional category. Much to the disappointment of its founders, Tao Circle in 2001 showed strong signs of having strayed from the path to Tao described in Wing-Tsit Chans A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy and Lao Tzus Tao-te ching. So naturally, many expectations were frustrated. Pensioners who believed Tai Chi Chuan was simply a physical therapy exercise were shocked to learn that the style they were learning was taught to the Imperial Guard as a very advanced form of Kung Fu. Martial artists attracted by the prowess of Tai Chi as Kung Fu had difficulty accepting Lao Tzus Tao as a subtle, gentle, secular morality. The devoutly religious had difficulty accepting a secular morality, authorized by Nature, rather than a divinity. Academics were confused by the intuitive reasoning that stresses essential elements that defy classification. And scientists were skeptics when confronted by a, unique, purely psychological event that profoundly influenced the history of one of the worlds oldest and most populous civilizations. Thus, twenty-seven years after its founding in The Corner bookstore, Tao Circle was in full crisis. ,))7(.+'($&'4$8))7(.+'$*+$!&+$ As the last resort, the professor in Chinese Cultural studies sent the now professor in psychology a DVD video, Ang Lees Academy Awards winner, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The film contained everything necessary to return Tao Circle to its original course. The changes were subtle rather than radical. Nevertheless, it has taken twelve years to make essential corrections. The first, and
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by far the most discouraging obstacle, the DVD is a zone 1 United States copy. It was digitally blocked from playing on Scandinavian machines. Second, the zone 2 Scandinavian copy had Mandarin audio, lacked English subtitles and did not include vital special features: production notes, conversations, commentary, etc. So Tao Circle was unable to check the accuracy of the Scandinavian subtitles and we had to wait for several years to benefit from valuable information from the special features. Ang Lees film features another aspect of Tao, what Wing-Tsit Chans eighth chapter calls The Mystical Way of Chuang Tzu. In contrasts with Lao Tzus natural way, Chuang Tzus Tao reveals how fantasy can be used to reveal or distort complex aspects of reality. Chuang Tzus way is favored by creative people who prioritize imagination and intellectual freedom. Poets, doctors, scientists, artists, actors, alchemists, martial artists, magicians, mystics and religious cults admire Chuang Tzus irony and sense of humor. On the other hand Lao Tzus Tao is eagerly followed by pragmatists who prefer their ethical principles devoid of artificial distortions. Philosophers, military strategists, and leaders of common people have a high regard for Lao Tzus approach to survival. At first, some preferred Lao Tzus, ethics of survival, while others embraced Chuang Tzu total intellectual freedom. Eventually, the two merged into an undivided Tao that covered the complete spectrum of Chinese thought, only to split into variations of all three aspects. Today, much of the spectrum remains. Unfortunately, division among Chinese causes a great deal of confusion among foreigners, who do not have different words for the different aspects and are usually ignorant of Taos complex history. Ang Lees execution of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon shows how myths, magic, reality, essence and identity are as blended and confused in our 21st Century digital world as they were in ancient Chinese society when the boundaries between sage, magician, religious radical and politics were often imperceptible. Failure to throw away words and analogies used as supports leads to distortion and imbalance if lingering fantasies continue after a concept is realized. Consequently, before the arrival of a DVD with production notes, Tao Circles response was to first enjoy Lees work as a beautiful, entertaining film, absorb its cultural essence before carefully dismantling the myths, metaphors and stereotypes that were necessarily exploited for box office appeal. Access to interviews and commentary contained in Ang Lees production notes made Tao Circles first response humorously naive. Lee is a magician with an amazing skill to manipulate subtleties to erase boundaries between reality and fantasy. For one hundred fifteen minutes we visit exquisite, natural, sites in 19th Century China. Under Lees direction, an actor who never held a sword becomes a master swordsman; two dancers are transformed into martial artists and a member of Lees production crew leads an armed detachment in search of his kidnapped Manchurian bride. Lees photographer is a fellow magician who masters light and lighting to transform sets into illusions of secluded places for intimate love scenes and grand locations into settings for choreographed violence. A martial arts coach, stuntmen, stuntwomen and Lees construction crew perform their magic with
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wires, cranes and apparatus to create the illusion of marital artists defying the laws of gravity by running up steep tall walls, flying over serene waters while fighting for a sword that captures the destinies of the films leading characters. Whether Ang Lee is a Taoist, or not, is a question that remains unanswered. He is, however, an illusionist and he is, without doubt, alluding to Taoist myths, metaphors and stereotypes. Essential supports for rationalizations are automatically eliminated when Lees production notes reveal the magic tricks behind the illusion. To many who are totally unfamiliar with Tao, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon may serve as an example. To those superficially interested in Tao, Lees film depicts Chuang Tzus mystical branch of Taoism, quite different from Lao Tzus natural way. To Tao Circle, both the DVD and Lao Tzus Tao-te Ching were artificial supports, treated as two mirrors, each reflecting an image viewed from multiple perspectives, all barely related to one, eternal, indescribable Tao. This mental equivalent of an obsession with mirrors was the most serious obstacle to accessing our essence and achieving the Tao. So, our all too human obsession with mirrors had to be eradicated, but gradually and with great care. !"#$!&+$+3$!%&'(.*.+'$&'4$!%&'(3+%9&*.+'$ Tao Circles crisis was caused by the inability to distinguish between being synchronized and in harmony with 21st Century Scandinavian ecology and being out of synch. Lao Tzu, like other Chinese sages, made decisions by using I Ching to consider all aspects of every critical factor. Using the weather as a prototype, I Ching's hexagrams arrange essential elements in three major categories: heaven, earth and man. Comparing Da Lius The Taoist Calendar with Western calendars gives Tao Circle clear warnings. Western sun calendars are more consistent, but I Ching's lunar based calendars are constructed to integrate nature, prophecy and philosophy. I Ching synchronizes and correlates everything. In respect to the heavens, an I Ching based calendar predicts cycles of the moon. For earth it maps the waxing and waning of seasons. For people, it, predicts compatibilities and conflicts between personalities. The Chinese lunar calendar and Tai Chi Chuan are the only consequences of Tao and I Ching that we can make obvious. Consistent with Tao Circles corner bookstore origin and standards, our transition and transformation is based on the translation in Alfred Huangs The Complete I Ching: 10th Anniversary Edition. Of the many uses to which I Ching is put, Huang values the Tao I the most. Huangs book differs from those of the most respected Western authors translations of I Ching in two respects. First, the Tao of transition and transformation is embodied in the sequence and the names of the hexagrams. Second, the sixty-four hexagrams represent sixty-four different stages in a connected rising and falling of recurring change. I Ching is about change and transition. So the dancelike transitions during changes between postures make the connection between Tao of I and Tao of Tai Chi Chuan obvious to any familiar with Huangs translation of I Ching. However, the fundamental principles and the consequences and ethics of their applications are usually incomprehensible to any who have not received adequate instruction.
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Beginners are simply told that the movements embody I and the chi force generated and controlled by Tai Chi Chuan is one of the consequences of Tao. Though this uncomplicated explanation of Tai Chi Chuan, Tai Chi and Tao is more than enough to satisfy a superficial curiosity, it falls far short of understanding the first chapter in Lao Tzus Tao-te Ching. :&+$!;75($<=&*7%&)>$?@+)+/.@&)$A%&/9&*.(9$ Countless errors by accepted academicians have proven beyond reasonable doubt that I Ching is fundamental to comprehending Lao Tzus first chapter. The combination of Lao Tzus Tao-te ching and the I Ching is the basis for a the ecological pragmatism that is the basis of philosophy that is the foundation of Chinese culture. Despite its age, the principles of change and transition that support I Ching philosophy apply to individuals in our 21st Century global community. Tao Circles updated and briefly summarized version of ecological pragmatism begins with the knowledge that our primitive species is part of an evolving ecology. Individual understanding of our changing circumstances is divided between experience, fantasy, language and rules. For Chinese sages, I Ching was a means of understanding changes observed in the heavens, in the ecology and in people. Ethical systems were based on this understanding. Lao Tzus contribution, was the ultimate ethical system described based on the ecological imperative. It stresses that whenever ecological balances are disturbed, natural corrections occur, some of them potentially lethal. Thus survival depends on a harmonious relationship with a constantly evolving ecology. Tao-te ching declares harmony with nature is essential. Consequently, Tai Chi is a means by which Taoist act in harmony with a changing ecology and Tai Chi Chuan is Tao Circles way of demonstrating that behavior and patterns of reasoning that are contrary to Tao are infinitely exploitable. Our message, the consequences of conformity to the Tao are almost invariably superior to other options Nevertheless, Tai Chi Chuan is a noun and Tao is an adverb that governs Taoist actions. The connections between the advanced martial art that dominated the 19th Century Kung fu world, the concept that changed Chinese philosophy and the adverb that still influences ethics in the 21st Century is difficult to make, especially for people who are not martial artists, have not studied philosophy and apply what they judge to be normal morality. The Chinese have succeeded for centuries, because that which an academician might label ecological pragmatism others accept as simply natural. In other words, sages agreed that Tai Chi is the ultimate from the I Ching and Tao is the natural way. Everything else is subject to vigorous and sometimes lethal conflict. Myths and metaphors can be used to reveal or distort complex aspects of reality. However, failure to throw away the myths, metaphors, words and analogies we use as supports leads to distortion and imbalance when lingering fantasies continue after a concept is realized. Lao Tzus natural way is devoid of artificial distortions. Taoists eliminate all unessential supports once the reality is revealed, but deciding between supports that are necessary and harmful distortions can be
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exceedingly difficult. Some myths, metaphors, words and analogies are our only contacts with certain aspects of reality. Time, space and language are perfect examples of very useful, yet imaginary concepts. Without them and mathematics, the likelihood of human survival in increasingly hostile environments is greatly reduced. Lao Tzus way asserts that Tao is unique. He separates it from all concepts, real and/or imaginary. Wing-Tsit Chan refers to The Way of Lao Tzu as The Classic of the Way and Its Virtue, a book written by a commoner. That the century he was born, his place of birth, both are a product of mere speculation. History is absolutely certain; however, that Lao Tzu was born in an age of rampant war; dominated by autocratic rulers, noblemen and ambitious warlords. Unlike religious martyrs, who are invariably killed: political reformers, scholars and revolutionaries, who are usually killed or imprisoned or warriors who meet similar fates, Lao Tzu simply wrote a book. There is no record of his birth, death or his disappearance. Though vastly separated by time, distance and culture, Tao Circle is, nevertheless, part of his legacy. B.%*7#$&'4$*"#$1#&(*($$ Te is Tao endowed in the individual things and Lao Tzus Tao-te Ching is about the cultivation of te. In other words, te is the effect of Tao on an individual. The fact that there are as many variations of te as there are individuals combines with the I Chings harmony of opposites reasoning to confront Western minds with a subtle but formidable challengeuniqueness. Te, generated by learning and genetics, is the basis of individual uniqueness. When the either/or reasoning and zero-sum ethics that dominates Western thinking make Tai Chi impossible for Tao Circle beginners, individual responses vary. Some immediately dismiss Tao, the I Ching and Tai Chi as flower power nonsense. Those ignorant of harmony of opposites reasoning attempt to interpret Tao and Tai Chi in terms of something they already know. For them, Tao functions like a carnival mirror, distorting images of the new things they encounter into familiar forms that resist the changes and transitions necessary for learning Tao. Tai Chi Chuan is a realistic approach to Tao and te reality, and probably the easiest. Nevertheless, there are often serious logical and psychological obstacles. Language and cultural habits present special problems. The words: essence, essential, complement, complementary and chi; key words that are troublesome in English. They become serious barriers to understanding when translated into Swedish and Danish. For example, despite spellings very similar to English, (complement is translated komplement) neither Swedish nor Danish dictionaries include balance and harmony as synonyms. Essence, the most important word, is almost the same in all three languages, but none of the languages make the important connections with experiences in Tai Chi Chuan or Taoist meditation. Chi, an essential aspect of Tao, is translated from Chinese as life-force in English. In addition to a method of accessing individual essence, Tai Chi Chuan develops and maintains the te and generates an advanced Taoist defense strategy if te is
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aggressively threatened. The consequences of opposing Tai Chi Chuan as a martial art are more than enough to eliminate any hippy notions of flower power. Most important, Tai Chi Chuan eradicates the psychological, linguistic and cultural barriers by offering the opportunity to actually experience Tao as a means of survival. To avoid extinction, ones survival depends on individual priorities being in synch with ecological priorities. Nature enforces strict conditions on all living things. Accordingly, inability to distinguish between being synchronized and in harmony with ecology amounts to a severe crisis. Failure to avoid and/or correct being out of synch with nature is uncomfortable at best, and potentially lethal. For beasts, violence, sex and intellect vie with each other for top priority. Nature determines an individuals essence Tao and te, leaving few, if any, options for individual preference. For example, lions and tigers are both predators. Competence in combat (violence) determines whether an individual can kill game or defend a territory against competition from other predators. Fertility and mating opportunities (sex) will determine whether there is a future population. And learned ability to adapt to environmental challenges and changes (intellect)is often critical for survival. As individuals a tiger, hunting by himself, is equal to any lion: but lions usually hunt in prides, led by lionesses. Whether hunting alone or hunting as a pride is more efficient, depends on the abundance and type of game available. The Tao and te of lions that hunt in prides differ from the Tao and te of tigers. Care and training of the cubs, strategy of the hunt and killing of game; all crucial to survival of the pride, depend on lead lioness intellect. Violence and sex determine the dominant male role in the pride. He eats first and sires the cubs, but any male that can defeat the lead male has the right to take over the pride, kill all of the cubs and sire the new offspring. Lionesses have no other option but to watch her cubs slaughtered and submit. Elephants are not predators; but vegetarians that forage for food. Consequently their Tao and te differs radically from lions and tigers. Elephant herds, usually much larger than prides of lions, are invariably led by females who select routes and care for the young. Nature determines the hereditary, matriarchal, hierarchy for lead elephants. Male elephants do not usually bully calves or females, except when the bulls are in musth. Musth is a seasonal condition associated with mating. A bull elephant in musth will attack practically anything, including females and humans. Te emerges from Tao. Though Tao of individuals on the hunt are practically the same, Tao and te of lions differ from Tao and te of tigers. Tao and te of Tigers is more individualistic and therefore more difficult to describe. They do not hunt in prides. Females may have their own territories. Both males and females are usually more amiable than lions in respect to sharing territories. As vegetarians, elephants differ radically from the big cats. The te of the herd differs from the te of the pride. Most relevant, the Tao and te of the tiger and dragon are linked, by calendar
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folklore, to the I Ching as the third and fifth sign of the Chinese lunar calendar, where the elephant plays a decisive role. The lion isnt mentioned. This and much more were revealed in 1991, when the Chinese American author of Chinese New Year: Fact & Folklore sent a copy from Ars Ceramica in Ann Arbor Michigan to Tao Circle in Stockholm. Some examples, the soul of this ancient civilization was originally dramatized in four beginnings of the year celebrations, one for each solstice, but now the Chinese observe three New Years: the peoples New Year, the lunar New Year the farmers New Year. The tiger and dragon are two of twelve animals, each with its individual Tao, te, and personality. The author begins his first chapter The Chinese civilization is the only one which has developed and used two parallel calendar systems, and thereby, one might say, has enjoyed the best of both worlds. To Tao Circle, the history of the Chinese New year reveals how the I Ching and divination linked empyreal and imperial power, how the tiger and the elephant made crucial links between the illiterate peasant whose labor planted and harvested crops, and the royal astronomer, whose mathematics calculated the dates for planting and the moon cycles that controlled the tides. Our conclusion, the mind of the Chinese is mirrored in the I Ching the culture in the lunar calendar. The two are inextricably linked to nature and twelve animals by the horoscope. They are understood by applying I Ching. The result, however, is a series of contradictions that are amplified by Tao Circles use of Tai Chi Chuan. We are clearly challenged to resolve fundamental issues that have been the basis of violent conflicts between Chinese factions represented by Ang Lees film Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. !"#$C&/#D$C.'/7)&%.*E$&'4$C799#%$-&9F$$ Differences between Neo Confucianisms Chou Tun-I and Chu Hsi, regarding Tai-chi, and I are key to Tao Circles 21st century resolution. Chou Tun-Is formulation of Tai-chi (The Great Ultimate) marks the influence of Lao Tzus Tao on Confucian philosophy of I Ching. Whereas Chou Tun-I and his Neo Confucianist followers used I Ching as a basis for inspiration, Chu Hsi limited the Book of Changes to divination. Before Chu His, Neo-Confucianism showed Buddhist and Taoist influence. In addition to stripping Neo-Confucianism of the Buddhist and Taoist influence. Wing-Tsit Chan distinguished between Chous Great Ultimate (Tai-chi) that is identical with material force and Chus Great Ultimate that is identical with principle. Tao Circles resolution accepts our experience of Tai Chi Chuan as proof of Chous Grand Ultimate. Nevertheless, we have to acknowledge Chus contribution to Tai Chi theory. The two scholars agree that virtue is the basis of leadership. So, from our 21st century perspective, Chous Chuang Tzu inspired Buddhists and Taoists focused on broad applications, while Chus purists excelled in principles of divination. Both are needed if the I Ching is to meet very real challenges presented by rapid change and transition driven by the digital technology. So, for Tao Circle purposes, taking one side or the other is unnecessary. What use can our 21st Century, global community make of Chou Tun-is (10171073), Neo-Confucianist, Chinese, philosophy? Chans quotes Huang Po-chia
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Although other Neo-Confucianists had opened the way, it was Master Chou who brought light to the exposition of the subtlety and refinement of the mind, the nature, and moral principles. (p. 461) Tao Circle has been forced to ask aggressive questions about Lao Tzus natural way. The actual topic of the book is how a sage approaches administration. However, Chan claims that the main objective of Tao-te ching is the cultivation of te. Tao is common to all, but te is Tao endowed in the individual things. Rather than strict rules enforced by rigid hierarchies, Lao Tzus sage is a singularity whose subtle influence emerges naturally from his Tao and Te. Question, is Tao simply ancient Chinese superstition, compounded: a utopian fantasy, or a leftover made popular by hippy flower power? Can it survive against the aggressive, egoistic market inspired values of the 21st Century? What does Tao demand from individuals? Summer camp has answered Tao Circles questions and erased the doubts any doubt. For over three decades, Lao Tzus Tao has preserved the Tao Circle against formidable challenges, both from within and from the outside. Lao Tzus natural way of administration works. Tao is real. Te is real. Tai Chi Chuan is a gentle integration of mind and matter that is exceedingly capable of defending both. Administration by a sage singularity is practically invisible, as everything is accomplished naturally. The sage singularity demands nothing of individuals, but relies on their Tao and te. 1#E+'4$G.%%+%(D$GE*"($&'4$G#*&F"+%($$ Tao, on the other hand, is indifferent, unique and unrelenting. Nevertheless, every individual in Tao Circle learns to trust and to depend on Tao. Though Tao-te ching never mentions I Ching, Tai Chi Chuan demands at least a fundamental understanding of the intimate relationship between the two. Mastering change and transition is essential to Lao Tzus Tao and Tai Chi Chuan. At summer camp, the consequences of deviation from Tao become obvious, especially in respect to reactions to other peoples Tao and te. Tai Chi Chuan combat and Wei chi games show how ignorance of Tao is infinitely exploitable. Thirty-nine years of experiencing and experimenting with Tao, but never mentioning it, except in the name of our organization, is ample proof that Tao concerns actions, not words. The first chapter of Lao Tzus Tao-te ching is all that need be remembered. But you have to read the whole book to understand why. William S. Dockens III Summer 2013

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