So it begins and moves gracefully through the various paradoxes of existence, harmonizing light and shadow. It is difficult for a modern reader to approach this text without wondering about the life and times of the man who wrote it.
Lao-Tse (or Lao-Tzu, as it is sometime spelled) was a name, and little more; the details of his life have been lost to history. Only the work survived...until now. Mystics of all times and places have taught that every event that has occurred is forever recorded in the annals of time. An associate of Abd-ru-shin, author of the spiritual classic In the Light of Truth: The Grail Message, has made a spiritual connection to that ageless record and here reports what it reveals about the life of the sage called Lao-Tse.
There is no indication of author in this, or any other book in Grail Foundation Press' Forerunner Series. Those who made the connection were able to see truly, and to write down what they saw, but they do not consider themselves authors of the volumes. For this reason, the books appear with the simple notation, "Received in the proximity of Abd-ru-shin through the special gift of one Called for the purpose."
The text follows chronologically through the life of Lao-Tse in a style that reveals the sage as simultaneously human and transcendent. Some of the most touching passages tell of Lao-Tse's childhood and the reactions he inspired in his often-confused parents: "Li-Fu-Tai lived in the constant expectation of discovering his ancestor in his son. At the very least, this boy was bound to be completely different from all other sons of men. He watched the child constantly, but at the same time he suffered many a disappointment. [The boy] developed exactly like other healthy children. In time he learned to walk and talk, he fell into the water and reached a fire. When he got into some childhood mischief, the father was annoyed by his son's naughtiness. But his mother tempered the punishments and softened the rebukes...To her all the child's actions...seemed to spring from the same source; an immense thirst for knowledge...He asked few question, preferring to find his answers through experiencing."
There's an immediacy in this prose, as the author who does not claim authorship transports us back through time, to witness the emergence of one of the greatest sages ever to live. This book is inspiring and compelling--worth the reading for anyone who cares about humankind's spiritual legacy.
