Daodejing: Primary Documents Of Daoism

Tao Te Ching is one of the most well-known Chinese philosophical scripture believed to be penned between 6th and 4th Century BC and authored by Lao Tzu. It has been a bedrock for the ancient spiritual and religious tradition of Taoism. Tao Te Ching includes two books of poetic verses explaining principle aspects of Taoism such as the metaphysical concept of ‘Tao’ roughly translated as the Way or the path, the consequences of action and inaction, virtue and the juxtaposed behavior of nature. The first book discusses the manifestation of the Way and how it directs us in harmonizing with our own qualities, morals and virtue which eventually help us in harmonizing with the working of the nature. The second book deals with the difficulties of governing

These two pieces both argue a certain inability for one thing to exist without another. In The Daodejing, this concept applies to all things. Laozi argues that nothing can exist without its opposite, and that “difficult and easy give form to each other./Long and short

Confucian and Daoist views were important for the shaping and development of mankind in the past. They were views that existed among the eastern Asian countries. They had both similarities and differences in the way they shaped out self-knowledge and self-cultivation. Also there was other outside forces that played a major role in their theories. Nature and art were said to have helped shape the human race as we know it.

Ancient China has three philosophies: Confucianism, Legalism, and Daoism. These three philosophies explain how people should behave and how the government should rule the people. The philosophies were guidelines to the people. Confucianism, Legalism, and Daoism have different values, beliefs, and ideas of what is important and expected, but the main goal is to work towards peace and harmony. These cultures are the same way in being rewarded due to their actions, but different in government regulation because of the people in command.

Within the 81 verses of the “Daodejing”, there are two ways to understand them. One part being “The Way” and the other being “Virtue.” “The way” is “a natural and uncorrupted way of being that pervades everything in heaven and earth, from all beings in the cosmos to humans”. (Norton) In addition, virtue is “The power inherent in each thing in its natural state and the force that allows humans to reach their full potential.” (Norton)

Amidst the chaos of political instability and constant warring of the Zhou era, arose many intellectual thinkers that brought such a profound impact in the fields of politics, religion, and philosophy. Even to this day, their influence can be seen on the many matters of China. Confucianism became the paramount school of thinking and later significant philosophies such as Daoism and Legalism gained immense recognition as well. Each party had their own proposals for creating an idealistic political society where the many problems they faced in their everyday lives could be eliminated. All three approaches were very distinct but at the same time, they contained similarities as well. In my reasoning, I find that Confucianism and Daoism

The Daodejing is a collection of chapters from ancient China. The chapters explain why things happen the way they do. In order to understand everything that exists and the way it exits, the Daoists explain “dao” which means the way. The way helps people to find their way to excellence during a time of turmoil and strife. Life as it is known is uncertain and unclear. Daodejing uses a non-logical approach to explain the uncertainties in life. The authors of this ancient text use contradictions to prove their points because logic cannot always be used as a guide. Contradictions help to find balance and teach people to live in a world without having a full understanding of things. According to chapter 15, it was stated that “those who prize way-making

Also, the main concept was dao “the way” which is the way of the cosmos. People who follow this philosophy lived by the doctrine of Wuwei which said they should live in harmony with nature and disengage from the world. Daoist affected China by bringing a doctrine that said there should be less government and more self sufficient communities. They also berated Confucianism for caring about superficial issues.

This text often emphasizes the Heaven as the supreme power over everything below it. In contrast to Heaven, which represents purity, power, and righteousness, Zhuangzi depicts humanity as people that interfere with the natural way, like their punishment for criminals, as well as creative beings that can come up with ideas about the world and themselves, like knowing what is right and what is wrong. Although he accepts the Dao, he does not believe that people can truly learn the Dao by thought or books. Instead, using one’s intuition and prior experience is a greater teaching tool than studying about the Way. Zhuangzi’s text is intended to make the people aware that trying to learn the purpose of life is a fruitless task. He teaches that there is a time to talk and a time to think, and he even encourages to do both. His idea of the ideal man is a someone whose actions make him a perfect example for human morality. In Daoism according to Zhuangzi, the ideal man, also known as Zhenren 真人, was associated with perfect or wise person. Because of his perfection, the ideal man accomplished endless life and enduring fame. He was not subject to the lowly desires and dangers of the earth. In some cases, the ideal man is used to define a Chinese philosopher because of their wisdom and heightened spirituality. Other translations for the Zhenren were the “enlightened one” or the “Spiritual

Laozi gathered eighty-one short texts and placed them into two books. Book one contains thirty-seven and Book two consist of thirty-eight. Each passage falls into one or more themes. These themes are; the Way, Non-desiring, Knowledge, Value, Non-action, Nothingness, and Nature. In the thirty-seven chapters each one describes a different aspect of The Daodejing.

While the Way can be considered an intangible idea of how to live your life, others believe it is an omnipotent force that shapes all things and cannot be named. Confucianists believe the former, where they have a superior chance of achieving a better life through ritual. Daoists, however, trust in nonaction, in not interfering with nature, to have a better and longer life. Conversely, the Daoist idea can only hold true in an ideal society, since it would be hard to employ. I will argue that a Confucianist society is better, because it relies on action in a society, the use of virtue with rituals to learn, and the overall betterment of the self to create order in the community as a means of reaching Way.

Before parallels can be drawn between ideals and paths in Daoism, Daoist philosophy and Dao must be defined. It is hard to put Daoist Philosophy into a nice, neat sentence because of the complexity and vast amount of information on the subject. For the intent of this paper, Daoist philosophy is defined as a Chinese philosophy that takes a more naturalist approach to religion and way of living. It is the connection between imitating nature and harmony. Dao is defined in Chapter 1 as the constant moving “everything” that surrounds us. It is not tangible, it is just what it is, and you do not know exactly what this something is.

In the past, I would find myself valuing materialistic things and not much else. My life would be focused on doing things in order to obtain objects that I didn’t necessarily need. The Daodejing turned that around for me when it stated, "In a home it is the site that matters; In quality of mind it is depth that matters; In an ally it is benevolence that matters; In speech it is good faith that matters; In government it is order that matters; In affairs it is ability that matters;

In “The Daodejing,” Laozi, similar to many prominent Chinese philosophers before and after his time, discusses his unique perspective of the “Way.” There is much controversy, however, regarding whether Laozi was the actual author of this text or was even a real person, and “his” work is thought to have been a composite. (For the purpose of clarity, throughout this paper, the author(s) of “The Daodejing” will be mentioned as Laozi.) Laozi’s vision of the “Way” is exceptionally challenging to define using words because of its metaphysical nature. Although this term is somewhat difficult to envision, it is what mankind should aspire and take action to be aligned with. According to Laozi, in “readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy,” the “Way” (or dao) is the “source, sustenance, and ideal state of all things in the world” (Laozi 158). It can be best thought of as the underlying guiding force of all events that occur in the universe, and mankind is closer to the “Way” when they realize that all things are interconnected and have an effect on one another. As might be expected, this vague definition isn’t a foolproof depiction of the eighty-one chapters in the “Daodejing,” but one is able to grasp a basic understanding of Laozi’s ineffable doctrine. Although numerous chapters are meaningful and could provide substantial analysis, this paper will focus in on Chapter Twelve. Ultimately, this chapter adequately and efficaciously compresses the teachings of “The Daodejing” into

Daoism is synonymous with Taoism; in this religious philosophy, the way of nature is central theme of life. It was founded by Lao Tzu in 500BC in China. Lao is believed to have authored the “Dao de Jing”, which details the Daoist beliefs. Dao is a concept, a way, a principle that will lead a person to a happy, peaceful life. Dao can be achieved by incorporating the Three Jewel of Taoism that are humility, simplicity and compassion in one’s life. According to Dao, de Jing “The Way to Heaven is to benefit others and not to injure”.15 Further, there is no concept of good and evil, the Dao is simply the universe, which is perceived as a self- sustaining entity that generates energy called qi. Like other Chinese traditions, Daoist also have great reverence for the spirits of ancestors as well as spirits of nature that is plants, animals, rivers, etc. 16