Don’t do to others what you wouldn’t want done to you

Tzu-Ssu teaches about Tao. He says that the fulfillment of human nature is called the Tao, and that the cultivation of the Tao is called true learning. He speaks of the mature person and of the sincere person. The mature person pays attention to what is happening in his/her inmost self. In a persons inmost self , he/she will find sincerity. And this will be valued above all things if the person is a mature person. His definition of a sincere person is one who “does the right thing without trying, understands truth without thinking, and acts always in keeping with the Tao.”

He gives a lot of credit to man. He assumes that every man/woman is inherently good inside. He even says that humanity and understanding are innately in our nature, and that in fulfilling ones own nature, one can fulfill the nature of other people.

Tzu-Ssu uses an analogy out of The Book of Songs: “When you carve an axe handle, the model is near at hand”. This is true, for when you carve an axe, you are using an axe to do it. But the real truth lies in the application of this to humans. When we deal with people, we already have the perfect model of behavior inside us. We are told to “Just act sincerely, in accordance with your true nature.”

I find that there are many similarities between Taoism and Buddhism. These philosophers seem to have faith that a person only needs to look within to seek anything that is.