Essay on Exploring the Religion of Taoism

Taoism is a very complex cultural tradition. It is one the Three Teachings that, along with Confucianism and Buddhism, had a profound influence on Chinese ways of thinking and spiritual practice. The keystone work of

Taoism (also known as Daoism) is a Chinese philosophy attributed to Lao Tzu (c. 500 BCE) which contributed to the folk religion of the people primarily in the rural areas of China and became the official religion of the country under the Tang Dynasty. Taoism is therefore both a philosophyand a religion. It emphasizes doing what is natural and "going with the flow" in accordance with the Tao (or Dao), a cosmic force which flows through all things and binds and releases them.

The Tao cannot be named and is described as being eternal. The teachings of Tao-te Ching consists of 81 numbered stanzas of varying lengths which is in the form of poetry.The text supports variety of explanations.The teachings of Lao-tzu are the opposite of materialism, the pursuit for power, authority, and wealth. According to Lao-tzu, these weigh down the soul, which is contrary to its goal of realizing the highest truth. His anti-materialistic belief extends in his advices to the politicians of his times, to be silent observers, and to intercede only when it is essential, and then also unobtrusively. The Master acts and teaches without doing or speaking, lets things happen, knows when to let go, neither possesses nor expects. Lao’s political philosophy undoubtedly minimizes the power of the state. Moreover, there is definitely no room for aggression, and asserts that the good and wise leader will provide the people with what they need and not annoy them with promises of what they do not need. Lao-tzu believes that the leader allows the people to achieve good things for themselves by keeping people unawares that they are being ruled. He believed that one can be a good leader only when one learns to follow the Tao. He remarks that the eternal way is the

When first deciding to write my term paper on Taoism I thought it would be just another religion. In my research I found so many different translations that my head started spinning. There are really no known facts about the founder of Taoism, Lao Tsu, except that he was possibly a contemporary of Confucius. He was searching for a way that would avoid the constant feudal warfare and other conflicts that disrupted society during his lifetime. (Religious Tolerance, 2007) Since there are many aspects to Taoism in this paper I will do my best to explain what Taoism is and also explain some of its main concepts.

Taoism has the same worldview as Confucianism or ancient Chinese folk religion. Its philosophy operates within the same paradigms. It celebrates man's association and interdependency with nature. Moving on to a wider plane, the relationship between religion and the universe takes the form of veneration, which lies beyond the confines of time and space, ancestor worship and belief in the sovereign. The principles on which the system thrives even today include Ch'i, Feng Shui, interdependency between life and death, the Eight Immortals and the Ultimate Reality.

Before Emperor Wu of Han decided “oust others doctrines, the overwhelming Confucianism”[ Baisha Yi，易白沙 Kongzi pingyi shang 孔子评议上[Kritische Beurteilung von Kongzi, Teil 1], Qingnian zazhi 青年杂志,1916a, 571-576], which means use Confucianism as the only religion in China, Taoism was one of the most popular religions in China. In the beginning of the Western Han Dynasty, Taoism was the most important religion and philosophy, and it influenced political theory. What is Taoism? How had Taoism changed politics and activities of people who lived in Han dynasty? This essay seeks to answer these questions by examining the background and few important points of Wu-wei, one of the most famous Taoist thoughts.

Deity, there is thus perhaps no real Deity with the capital letter to be equated with the God of Western religion. We have seen that Heaven eventually becomes the term customarily used for the Supreme Ruler, but we now know that behind or beyond heaven, there are the workings of yang and yin which have their source in tao (Thompson, 6). There is nothing distinctively Chinese in the way whereby the forces of nature were personified or the heavenly bodies were believed to exercise a direct influence in human affairs, or the way in which otherwise inexplicable occurrences of disease and other misfortunes were attributed to malignant spirits. The deification of human beings characteristic of both family and folk religion is somewhat more exceptional, although not unique (Thompson, 7). The founder of Taoism is Lao Zi and Chuan Tze, the school advocates the doctrine that the Dao is the course, the principle, the substance, and the standard of all things, to which all of them must conform. Based on the Dao De Jing, Taoism promotes the belief that a person should live a simple life, not to strive for wealth, fame or power, which will only give one worries and trouble. The school favors the political principle of “achieving good government through

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

Taoism is an ancient Chinese religion dating back to the sixth century. The basic foundation of Taoism is a life philosophy and method

The Yin and Yang symbol above is associated with Daoism. It represents the idea that while there are opposing forces in the world (light and dark; good and evil), they work together to balance the world

1a) Taoism originated with a man named Lao Tzu. A shadowy figure, born about 604 B. C. Before his retirement from society, he left five thousand characters titled Tao Te Ching, or The Way and Its Power. He didn't preach he didn't organize or promote, he wrote a few pages on request, rode off on a water buffalo, and that was it as far as he was concerned

In order to become a virtuous person an individual must become one with the Tao, an example of a good life is found in Chuang Tzu – Basic writings, “If you do good, stay away from fame. If you do evil, stay away from punishments. Follow the middle; go by what is constant, and you can stay in one piece, keep yourself alive, look after your parents, and live out your years.” (Section three, p46). In order to become one with the Tao and individual must understand the Way and example of the Way “…For this reason, whether you point to a little stalk or a great pillar, a leper or the beautiful Hsi-shih, things ribald and shady or things grotesque and strange, the Way makes them all into one.” (Section two, p. 36) The Way is having the ability to consider all things one. Looking at the creatures of the world without bias and treating everything and everyone as equal. In order to follow the Way one must gain enlightenment, to gain enlightenment one must heavy focus on meditation. Taoists believe that time is cyclical, not linear as many in the West believe, therefore time repeats itself, has no beginning and no end. Tao is considered to be the first cause of the universe, and is the force that

In Chinese history, there were three main philosophies: Confucianism, Taoism, and Legalism. These beliefs helped shape Chinese culture as well as Chinese history. Not only did people believe in these ideas, but the three helped to govern the mighty Chinese dynasties. These dynasties all provided an impact to each doctrine; the philosophy that had the greatest impact was legalism because it ended the Warring States Period, provided structure, and strengthened agriculture, and the military of China. Although Confucianism, Taoism and Legalism had a few things in common and at times tried to resolve the same problem, they were very different from each other in their beliefs, character, and ways of life.

History - Taosim (also spelled Daoism) was founded in China during the 6th century B.C. It is based on the teachings of Tao Te Ching, a text written by the philosopher Laozi, the founder of Taoism.

Early Taoism in the 2nd century was founded in the ideas of the Taoist intellectuals who each added their own local religious rituals and beliefs. This helped to provide examples of the philosophy and to incorporate Taoism into the current views of the Chinese people. Some of these early rituals focused on meditation, breathing and the recitation of verses (Robinson 1). However, Taoism began to really