Disclaimer
I just got acquainted with the “Tao Te Ching” from a translation by S. Mitchell. I never was much into that philosophic paradigm until today, so take my words with a bit of salt. As far as I understand, this is the fundamental philosophic work of Daoism, influencing Confucianists’ and Buddhists’ thinkers.
Brief about…
Daoism, as a philosophical movement, emerged in the East (let’s simplify – “China”) during the period from the 4th century BCE (475–221 BCE) and is attributed to Laozi. Its main work is the Tao Te Ching (also known as Tao Te King or Dao De Jing) means “the Way and its Virtue” in simplified Mandarin. About 400 years later, a Teacher appeared in Israel, Who claimed that He is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” It would be one thing if Christians were stretching that connection, as I am supposedly doing right now, but there is a (not‑so‑)small “but”…
Observation
What’s curious about this is that this philosophical movement (Daoism) emerged around the same time that Greece saw the rise and flourishing of its own school of philosophy (Socrates, Zeno of Elea, Plato, etc.), while in Israel the prophecies fell silent and the Glory of God departed from the Temple. In other words, I see that the revelation of true God has stopped being uniquely revealed to Israel and became available to nations at about the same time. The East is searching for the Way. The West is searching for Truth. Everyone is searching for Life. It’s curious how they intertwine with the claim of Jesus from Nazareth, isn’t it?