Lao-Tse: Life and Work of the Forerunner in China (Paperback)

by Atrium International (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
In ancient China, a man called Lao-Tse followed a vision of truth that culminated in one of the most sublime religious texts known to humankind: the Tao Te Ching. Its simple profundity is recognized today in every corner of the world: "The Tao which can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name which can be named is not the eternal name."

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.

From the Inside Flap
In every culture heralds of Truth have appeared at times of critical development in order to help people on their spiritual path. The lives and work of many of these Truth-bringers is described in the Forerunner Book Series. The series came into being in the early 1930's in connection with In the Light of Truth: The Grail Message and its author, Abd-ru-shin (Oskar Ernst Bernhardt, 1875-1941). Among those associated with him, there were a few who, in his proximity, gained an insight into spiritual connections in historical events. They wrote down what they beheld, but did not consider themselves the authors of the volumes. For this reason, the books appeared and still appear without indication of author, and with the notation, "Received in the proximity of Abd-ru-shin through the special gift of one Called for the purpose." The Forerunner books do not present fanciful pictures of the past. Rather, they describe historical happenings in their imperishable form. Everything that has taken place is recorded in the annals of time, so that we of today may develop our perceptions from those events. What becomes apparent is that in the course of millennia mankind was repeatedly shown ways to find the Truth. But instead of accepting the Truth, people adapted It toward earthly objectives and deflected that which did not fit in with their personal world view. Had it been otherwise, writes Abd-ru-shin:

"...there would now be only one uniform teaching here on earth, issuing from the Will of God. There would not be so many kinds of denominations. All the teachings that have come to the earth in the past would, united, form a single flight of steps to the pedestal on which the Truth is to stand... There would be no differences in the interpretations, much less differences in the teachings themselves!--For all teachings were at one time willed by God, precisely adapted to the individual peoples and countries, and formed in complete accord with their actual spiritual maturity and receptivity... The bringers of all the individual teachings were Forerunners of the Word of Truth Itself..." The struggle between value systems and religions would be impossible if only the simple recognition that all religious wisdom, every proclamation of Truth came from one source. The Forerunner Book Series can (and should) pave a way for this recognition in that it depicts the Truth-bringers of past eras, their lives and their teachings, free of every-thing the human mind has concealed in the past. The complete Forerunner Series of nine books (see listing at the beginning of this volume) includes five monographs about:

Ephesus (Hjalfdar in prehistoric times)

Zoroaster (Zarathustra) in Iran

Lao-Tse in China (this volume)

Buddha in India, and

Mohammed in Arabia

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Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: Grail Foundation Press (June 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1574610082
• ISBN-13: 978-1574610086
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,488,560 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Sweet piece of fiction, February 4, 2000

By	Robert Eliason "Rob" (Front Royal, Virginia USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a very sweet story about a time, place, and man that was the construct of the author of this book. Historians and philosophers will continue to debate whether Lao Tzu ever existed or, if the Tao Te Ching was the work of many men. This book, however, portrays a decidedly Judeo/Christian perspective to the man called Lao Tzu and his life and times. The book is inacurate in it's portayal of life and philosophy/religion during the Han Dynasty. The author clearly misrepresents the history and beliefs in ancient China in a desire to mold Chinese thinking into a monotheistic belief system. If the reader is willing to set aside the historical and philosophical truths of the Chineses culture, the story is set forth as a very sweet parable. As someone who takes the Chinese culture seriously, I was not able to do so.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bringing to life Times Past!, November 1, 1998

By A Customer

On first reading, this book is a refreshing story of one of mankinds' most respected spiritual guides. The text transports one easily to ancient China, and recreates the scenes vividly! On deeper relection, the books true value becomes apparant and the deep spiritual truths become alive in the present. Great lessons for today are contained here. A book of truest insight!

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great, June 15, 2004

By	"poporolo" (a brave new world) - See all my reviews

don't get on history or in all of its essence. just get best out of it. it has a lot of good stuff