Episode 86, Taoism (Part I - The Life of Lao Tzu)

There was once a wise farmer named Oliver who, enjoying the evening’s sun at the end of a summer’s day, watched on as one of his prized horses escaped from his farm. That evening, having heard the news, Jack and Andrew came to Oliver’s farm to express their sympathies. Oliver turned to his neighbours upon their arrival and said, “maybe.” The next day the horse returned, but brought with it six wild horses. Jack and Andrew, seeing the horses from their homes, ran to Oliver’s exclaiming his good fortune. Olly turned to the men and said, “maybe.” The following day, Oliver tried to saddle and ride one of the wild horses. He was thrown off the horse’s back and broke his leg. Jack and Andrew came to offer their condolences for the misfortune. Sat upright in his bed, without a wince, Oliver spoke clearly to the men once more, “maybe.”  The day after that, conscription officers came to the village to recruit soldiers for the army, but because of his broken leg, Oliver was rejected.  Relieved, Jack and Andrew came to Oliver to proclaim how fortunately everything had turned out. Olly turned to them and answered, “maybe.” Contents Part I. The Life of Lao Tzu Part II. The Tao Te Ching Part III. Practices Part IV. Further Analysis and Discussion Links Tao Te Ching (Penguin) Lao Tzu (Stanford Encyclopedia) Taoism (Stanford Encylopedia) The Tao of Pooh and the Te of Piglet, Benjamin Hoff Compare Translations of the Tao Te Ching