Tao Te Ching
Su Che 呂洞
(Su Zhe)
1039 – 1112 CE
Great writer of the Tang and Sung dynasties
Famous politician and essayist, one of "The Eight Great Men of Letters of the Tang and Song Dynasties,” exiled for his political criticisms; Su Zhe skillfully criticized social conditions in an effort to influence the emperor into creating better living situations for the common person. Champion of reforms to help the poor and protect them from the rich and powerful and also to help the rich realize that their hoarding and selfishness only made them more vulnerable to revolt, robbery, and revolution. The temple where he lived and taught is now a museum and one of China’s more famous cultural attractions.
Lineages
Confucian Politicians
Eras
Chinese
5 Kingdom of Dali 大理国 (937 – 1253 CE)Northern Song (960 – 1127 CE)
Liao dynasty (907 – 1125 CE)
Western Xia 西夏 (1038 – 1227 CE)
Sources
Quotes by Su Che (12 quotes)
“Bestowing honors embarrasses those who don’t receive them…Prizing treasures pains those who don’t possess them… Displaying attractions distresses those who don’t enjoy them to the point where they cause trouble.”
Chapters:
3. Weak Wishes, Strong Bones
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“Going from one to two is the origin of all delusion.”
Chapters:
10. The Power of Goodness
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“Emptiness has no form. It takes on the form of the ten thousand things. If emptiness had its own form, it could not form anything else. Thus sages have no mind of their own. They take on the minds of the people and treat everyone the same.”
Chapters:
11. Appreciating Emptiness
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“just as waves rise from a river and return to the river… Only what returns to its nature becomes still and enduring, while what does not return to its nature is at the mercy of others and cannot escape.”
Chapters:
16. Returning to the Root, Meditation
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“Confucius relied on kindness and justice, ritual and music to order the kingdom. Lao-tzu’s only concern was to open people’s minds”
Chapters:
19. All Methods Become Obstacles
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“People all drown in what they love… People chase things and forget about the Tao, while the sage clings to the Tao and ignores everything else.”
Chapters:
20. Unconventional Mind
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“Perception means to distinguish. Wisdom means to remove obstructions. As long as our distinguishing mind is present, we can only know others, but not ourselves.”
Chapters:
33. Know Yourself
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“Although it has no taste, shape, or sound with which to please people, those who use it can never exhaust it.”
Chapters:
35. The Power of Goodness
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“Oneness dwells in the humble, but it is not humble. Oneness is not like the luster of jade – so noble it cannot be humble – or the coarseness of rock – so humble it cannot be noble.”
Chapters:
39. Oneness
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“The reason sages of the past understood everything without going anywhere was simply because they kept their natures whole.”
Chapters:
47. Effortless Success
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“These twelve sayings refer to the Tao as it appears to us. Wherever we look, we see its examples. The Tao as a whole, however, is hidden in namelessness.”
Chapters:
41. Distilled Life
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“Losing something is the result of possessing something. How can people lose what they don't possess?”
Chapters:
2. The Wordless Teachings
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Quotes about Su Che (1 quotes)
“[Su Che], his father, and his brother are counted among the 8 great prose writers of the Tang and Sung dynasties. Although his commentary reflects his own neo-Confucian sympathies, it is also treasure by Buddhists and Taoists.”
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