Summary of Lao Tzu Concepts

The main concepts that form the life philosophy of Tao Te Ching - the work ascribed to Lao Tzu himself - are the following: Tao, emptiness (wu), nondoing (wu-wei), and Fu (returning).

- Tao is the main concept of Taoism too . In Tao Te Ching it is described as the creator and sustainer of the universe. It points also to the Taoist Heaven and the way or method of attaining the unity with the Creator which is the main Taoist goal. 

- Wu (translated as emptiness) is the concept of keeping your mind empty in order to achieve the the natural state of the mind (buddhahood, in Buddhism).

- Wu-Wei (translated as nondoing) refers to the philosophy of non-action. Wu-Wei is not mere inactivity or passivity, but action according to the Tao or the Way of Heaven.

- Fu means return(ing). In the philosophy of Tao Te Ching the entire universe folows a kind of circlar movement that starts and ends in the same point. This is the yin-yang cycle which is the very nature of the Tao.

The Way of the Taoist Disciple

May be described as the total commitment of following the Tao. In this respect, the disciple must practice non-doing and emtpy his mind.

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