Thematic Connections Between Lao-Tzu's Tao-te Ching & Martin Luther King, Jr.
Despite common belief that there would exist no comparisons between Lao-Tzu's Tao-te Ching and Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail," there is actually a very significant underlying theme to be found in both. In the Tao-te Ching, Lao Tzu says, "The great Way is easy, yet people prefer the side paths." The interpretation of this passage is understood to be that the key to happiness (great Way) is easy, yet people prefer to make choices, sometimes causing more hardships than anything (side paths). Accordingly, this is the essential premise in Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" since it ultimately says that all people have to do to be happy in life are the simple things, yet they go ahead and complicate them because of choices. Rather than just going with the flow and following the "great Way" to lead them, one would rather make choices (that ultimately lead to hardships, in many cases). .
The aforementioned passage from Lao-Tzu is referring to racism, at it's finest, mentioning that it only exists since people choose to take those "side paths" and allow for its existence. In passages throughout Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail," there are ample amounts of examples conveying this same underlying theme. The fact that the Negro community was left with no alternatives to the side paths, the fact that it is sometimes easier to follow the crowd and be destructive when in a larger group, and the fact that even the white supporters (who chose the positive side paths) faced adversity due to their choices are all instances amongst different passages of the text where this theme can be recognized. .
Not too far into his letter to the clergymen, Martin Luther King, Jr. addresses in one passage that, "It is unfortunate that demonstrations are taking place in Birmingham, but it is even more unfortunate that the city's white power structure left the Negro community with no alternative.
It is this idea that both Martin Luther King, Jr. and the teachings of the Tao Te Ching have in common. ... The Tao Te Ching would teach to "Express yourself completely, then keep quiet." ... The Tao Te Ching differentiates quite clearly between good and bad. ... What difference between yes and no? What difference between success and failure? ...
The two main doctrines of Taoism are the Tao Te Ching and the Zhuangzi. ... The Tao Te Ching and the Zhuangzi originally did not promote moral values. ... A set of five precepts was soon developed based on the Tao Te Ching. ... The yin and yang is supposed to symbolize the balance between opposite elements in the cosmos: action and non-action, hot and cold, light and dark, etc. The alternation between the two gives the cosmos the energy necessary to sustain itself. ...
He is credited with writing the Tao Te Ching, the first book to capture Taoist beliefs and thoughts. This is often debated, however, on the grounds that Lao-Tzu may have been the pen name of several sages working together to create the Tao Te Ching (2). ... To satisfy this request, Lao-Tzu wrote what he called "The Book of 5000 Characters".(3) This later became known as the Tao Te Ching. When translated, Tao Te Ching means "The Classic Way and Virtue", Tao meaning way or path, Te meaning virtue, and Ching meaning classic(1). ... One well emphasized point of the Tao Te Ching is the co...
The starting point for understanding the philosophy of Lao- Tzu in his work Te- Tao Ching is understanding what he means by the Tao, or the Way. ... Te- Tao Ching is no exception. ... Te- Tao Ching has many implications toward the creation. ... Chapter forty- two is only one of many within the text of Te- Tao Ching. ... The words within Lao- Tzu's Te- Tao Ching can be interpreted differently by each individual. ...
By fracturing the sequence of the stories he tells and interjecting them with chains of associated ideas, memories, and anecdotes, Tristram allows thematic significance to emerge out of surprising juxtapositions between seemingly unrelated events. ... Emma's biases cause her to invent an attachment between Harriet and Frank and blind her to the fact that Harriet actually has feelings for Knightley At the same time, Frank's desire to use Emma as a screen for his real preference causes him to believe mistakenly that she is aware of the situation between him and Jane. ... The main arg...
TAO TE CHING: A Literary Analysis Essay The book Tao Te Ching by Lao Tsu, and translated by Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English, is a book about Lao Tsu's feelings on life and taoism. ... In the Tao Te Ching, it can be depicted from its writings that there is a character of a protagonist and thus, also that of an antagonist. ... The first chapter of Tao Te Ching talks about the embodiment of Tao itself. ... Taoism in the Tao Te Ching does not consist of specific rules but rather it tells us how the sage lives and can emulate some of this characteristics....
Parallels between Eastern and Western Philosophy Historically, philosophical ideas have been essentially divided between the east and west. ... The ideas of German philosophers Martin Heidegger and Arthur Schopenhauer resemble the philosophies of Taoism and Buddhism, respectively. ... There are similarities between eastern and western philosophy. ... There is also a resemblance between Heraclitus? ... The idea of Martin Heidegger resembles the philosophical ideas of the Taoists. ...
The concepts and ideals of Chinese culture are the basis for Lao-Tzu's book, Tao Te Ching. 3500 years ago, the Chinese developed their belief that everything in the universe has an equal, a balance, or harmony. ... As you will see, many similarities exist between these two philosophies, even though they were written almost 1000 years apart. Lao-Tzu was born sometime between 600BC and 400BC. ... It is a system of philosophy, science and art that has been used for thousands of years as a method of connecting people with Heaven and Earth "seeking a balance between opposites in all...
This is why all data within Lockheed Martin must be secured for Lockheed Martin's protection and the protection of the Department of Defense. ... WIN-T Security Satellite Communication On the battlefield, a communications link is a lifeline - a vital connection to comrades & commanders. ... Lockheed Martin understands the communications needs of the todays warfighter. ... If the line-of-sight connection is obstructed, WIN-T will automatically switch to airborne nodes. ... Lockheed Martin's technologies expand the capabilities of secure intelligence sharing. ...
