Hengyang (CNS) -- "The Way that can be told of is not an unvarying way," goes the first line of the Tao Te Ching, the primary scripture of Daoism. When scholars from the west and the east sit together to talk about Tao, the ancient Chinese philosophical thinking of nature and harmony, how do they approach it?
Insightful opinions were shared between noted Chinese linguist Xu Jialu, former vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, and Martin Palmer, director of the International Consultancy on Religion, Education and Culture (ICOREC), during the International Forum on Taoism, held in Hengshan Mountain of central China's Hunan Province on October 24.
Tao, without an exact definition, depicts the rules of the universe and human beings, which can only be understand through deep thinking, said Xu, whose research focuses on critical interpretation of ancient classics.
Palmer has been fascinated by Taoism, which advocates harmonious growth of all things in the universe, ever since 1995, when he conducted an environmental protection project in coordination with the Chinese Taoist Association.
He said Tao refers to "The Way," meaning a path that people can follow. He enjoyed the witty and inspiring way Taoism uses to illustrate deep thoughts, such as the story about Iron-Crutch Li, added Palmer.
Iron-Crutch Li was a handsome young man before his soul left his body. His soul had to accept an ugly, hunchbacked and crippled new body after he became one of the immortals. The lesson is that inner perfection is far more precious than appearance.
With a 2,500-year history, Taoism still remains enlightening in teaching people how to respect nature and pursue harmony, said linguist Xu.
In the west, people have been arguing about whether human beings have the right to ask from the earth without giving, said Palmer. The Taoism notions of nature worship "inspired me a lot," he added.
When asked by a student whether the wisdom in current society is not as good as ancient times, Xu said the wisdom of ancient sages have been affecting the entire world for almost 25 centuries, from Greek Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, to Indian Gautama Buddha, to Chinese Laotse and Confucius; scholars of our age should bring forward wise theories about interpersonal relationship, as well as that between human and society.
Xu and Palmer agreed on further communication of Chinese and Western scholars.
