The Story

When East meets West… when Lao Tzu wrote down the 81 verses of the Tao Te Ching 2,500 years ago in ancient China, he may not have realised the impact its philosophy would have millenniums later in the West and the newly-emerging profession of life-coaching.

When Julia from Taiwan met Nick from England on a coaching course, they didn’t realise at first that they had a common interest in the work of Lao Tzu. This joint interest soon became a course project. As we explored a few verses of the Tao, we began to see how Lao Tzu’s teachings could be related to personal development and coaching principles.

On this blog we intend to continue this work by exploring one verse of the Tao Te Ching each week. We invite you to join us on our journey and add your own thoughts to deepen our learning. How do you interpret Lao Tzu’s message? And how does it speak to you as a coach?

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Verse 32

The eternal Tao has no name.
Although simple and subtle,
no one in the world can master it.

If kings and lords could remain
centered in the Tao,
all things would naturally obey.
Heaven and earth would rejoice
with the dripping of sweet dew.
Everyone would live in harmony,
not by official decree,
but by their own goodness.
When you have names and forms,
know that they are provisional.
When you have institutions,
know where their functions should end.

Knowing when to stop,
you can avoid any danger.
Rivers and streams are born of the ocean,
and all creation is born of the Tao.
Just as all water flows back to become the ocean,
all creation flows back to become the Tao.

[For Personal Development]

  • Living in integrity is the path to inner peace and makes law obsolete.
  • Like quantum physics, the Tao tells us that the deepest level of reality is an energy field of infinite power from which all creation is born.
  • Knowing when to stop; all things have limits. You win only if you know when to walk away from the black jack table.
[For Coaching]

  • Living in integrity is the path to true fulfilment (Coach U Guiding Principle #9).
  • The art of coaching is simple and subtle, yet it produces powerful results.
  • Holding the vision for the clients, all actions will fall into place.
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