The name Tae Kwon Do comes from Chinese characters which are pronounced “Tai Quan Dao”. Do is the Korean pronunciation of Chinese character Dao, which literally means way, road, or route. The founder of Tae Kwon Do, General Choi Hong Hi, said that the Do (or Dao) is a way of benevolence and rightness paved by sages in ancient times, such as Confucius, Laozi (Lao-tzu), and so on. The purpose of learning Tae Kwon Do is to pursue the Dao, the way of life to lead a carefree and moral life and build a strong body through regular and scientific training. Regarding the Dao, I would like to talk about the thought of Laozi since he was the senior of Confucius, and Laozi specifically wrote about the Dao in Dao De Jing which means The Book of the Dao (Way) and De (Virtue). Laozi encourages people to approach the Dao (Way) through De (Virtue) by keeping natural state. He emphasizes people to act naturally with simplicity and humility as the De (Virtue), which is to treat people and see things spontaneously with selfless and identical mind, while Confucius advocates the principles of humanity to treat people with benevolence and rightness. Both the idea of Laozi’s natural living and Confucius’s harmonious living is to pursue the Dao. Living in simple, humble, soft, selfless, and tranquil, or harmonious life makes no enemy. Hence, it is invincible.

According to an ancient Chinese historian, who wrote the earliest known record of Laozi two thousand years ago, it is said that young Confucius adored and visited old Laozi more than twenty-five hundred years ago. Confucius was interested in rituals and asked Laozi about the ceremonies of the ancient kings. Laozi responded with his advice, “The ancients you admire are dead, and their bones are rotten. Only their words remain. Those wise men rode carriages when times were good, but when times were bad they slipped away. I have heard that the clever merchant hides his wealth as if he has nothing and that the man of superlative virtue acts dumb so he can avoid calling attention to himself. Get rid of your pride and ambition, for they will be of no benefit to you. This is all I have to tell you.” Afterwards, Confucius spoke to his disciples, “I know birds can fly, fish can swim, and animals run. But dragons are in the clouds, they are unfathomable. When I met Laozi, it was like meeting a dragon.”

Laozi is considered as a mysterious figure because he left us The Book of the Dao (Way) and De (Virtue) that consists of just over five thousand words. He then disappeared, making us speculate that this old man finally achieved his way of life anonymously and immortally. In the beginning of the book, Laozi explained that,

Not everything can be explained through words, much less the Dao. A person who understands the Dao cannot easily explain it to a person who does not understand it, just like a person who can observe the moon cannot easily describe the moon to a person with visual impairment.

Laozi teaches us that the dark can always become light and contains potential for growth and long life, while the light can only become dark and results in decay and early death. Laozi chose the dark; new moon to present this vision was the Dao. He tells us the Dao is between Heaven and Earth, it is the gate of Heaven. It is empty but inexhaustible, it waxes and wanes, it is distant and dark, and it is the light that does not blind. Every month the moon grows from nothing to a luminous disc and pulls the tides. The oceans feel it, plants and animals feel it, and we feel it. When the moon is completely full, it withholds its brightness, being soft, tranquil, and humble, while the moon is completely empty, it conceals its potential power. Despite the elusiveness and namelessness of the Dao, Laozi tells us we can approach the Dao (Way) through De (Virtue). The Dao is the dark, the body, the essence, the Way, and De is the light, the spirit, the function, the Virtue. The Dark gives the light a place to shine. The light gives the dark a chance to appear. The Dao is an insentient and invisible principle of nature. Virtue is power to act and moral excellence according to the standard of the Dao. In Chinese, Two characters the Dao (Way) and De (Virtue) forms a word that means morality. Virtue is the manifestation of the Dao. The Dao is what Virtue contains. Without the Dao, Virtue would have no power. Without Virtue, the Dao would have no appearance. Virtue is the Dao at work. Virtue is what we cultivate.

The Book of the Dao (Way) and De (Virtue), which has eighty-one chapters, has been inspiring innumerable people in the world. If Laozi had not headed west for living in reclusion or a gatekeeper of the most strategic Pass in all of China had not asked him for instruction, he would not have wrote the small book and we would not have had this chance to learn his vision about the Dao, because he said those who understand the subtlety and mystery of the Dao do not necessarily talk, and those who talk do not necessarily understand. The fact is, anyway, it is fortunate that he left the small but profound and unfathomable book that is broadening our horizons. In chapter eight, Laozi described that,

Water stays in low places and it is naturally pliant, it can take any kinds of shapes. Water is deep and still, it provides an accurate reflection of things. Water is the source of creation; it is the bloodstream of the Earth. The nature of water is pliancy, and yet it can carve out mountains and penetrate the ground. There is no strength it can not overcome and no firmness it can not penetrate. Water is soft and being formless, simple, and humble, accordingly it can overcome the hardest things and benefits the world without affectation.

The moon tirelessly and effortlessly shows us that something comes from nothing. Laozi asks us to emulate the aspect of the moon, being soft, tranquil, selfless, simple, humble, and natural. We should maintain softness and humility like the moon has great power but humble, like water has no purpose of its own but has an unpretentious nature benefiting the world. Firmness is not necessary strength, while weakness actually is strength. Plants are tender and supple when alive, but they become dry and brittle when dead. A huge tree is stronger than a small soft grass, but when a strong wind comes, the huge tree always gets uprooted, while the small grass just sways back and forth. One who is brave in firmness will die. One who is brave in pliancy, however, will survive. Water is soft, but it can penetrate strong stones. We should learn from nature and conceal our sharpness, withhold our brightness, hide our strength, and act without contending, help without receiving. As a result, nothing and no one can contend with us, so we can come closer to the Dao. In a word, pursuing the Dao makes us invincible. The Dao follows nature; its original nature is nature. The substance of the Dao is empty, but its function is inexhaustible.