Dao (Tao)

Lao-Tse is considered as the first philosopher of Taoist school. The Dao-de Jing (Tao-te Ching/Tao-teh King), attributed to Lao-Tse, is one of the texts the most sacred of Taoism. His Writings teach the philosophy of Tao, or the Way, which is the reality that exist naturally before and provoke all other things as the physical universe and all the things there. Te, which signify the virtue, is the energy of life in things and sense of the morality which establish the Way. The Tao can be found by feeling the unity in all the things - the fulfillment of the life as one with the nature and as one with the me inside. The talking wisdom of Lao-Tse is what attracts people to follow him and make him the teacher of Taoism.

Eighty percent of educations of Lao-Tse is dedicated to the function of the man and his role in the society by means of the virtue. It finds the courage, the generosity and the direction to be three virtues involved in all the moral systems. However, he wants that the really virtuous man made spontaneously check of what he feels authentically without being aware and concerned by approval of others. He believes that people have to " act without acting " by saying spontaneously and making what is rather authentically felt than playing the comedy for the others. It is to avoid the hypocrisy, the active result of people of manners of whom they think that the others will approve and will estimate them.

From the point of view Taoist, the Confucian virtues of humanity, justice, knowledge and wisdom are seen as bridges in the hypocrisy. It is because these virtues make distinctions between just and incorrect, a concept which is absent and useless in Taoism. In the new comparison with the educations of Confucius, Lao Tse underlines the peace of mind and the tranquillity of the spirit, whereas Confucius underlines the moral perfection and the social adaptation. Furthermore, Lao Tse feeds the nature of a person, whereas Confucius develops it completely. Thus, Confucius hopes for his followers to become one with the sky and Lao Tse opens himself to become one with the nature of the universe. Nevertheless, both teachers share a common interest to avoid extremes and live by the Golden rule.

Even more, Lao-Tse emphasize how important is it to be one with the nature since it provide the positive character. He considers the authenticity, the sincerity and the spontaneity as the "natural" characteristics that people were born with and possess. Moreover, he thinks that these qualities are destroyed by the education and the cultural influences. Moreover, he explain how a person is capable to dismiss all authority except the authority of himself and of his personal God. In this case, the God is understood to be all in the nature. Thus, people who knows and respects the authority of their inner nature knows where they belongs to.