Religions : Taoism : A Misunderstood Religion

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

Tao-te Ching (in English pronounced “dow deh jing”) is believed to be written by Lao-tzu (6th century B.C). However, it is not for certain that he wrote the book. Lao-tzu is translated as “Old Master”. He was born in the state of Ch’u in China. It’s been said that he worked in the court of the Chou dynasty. The day that he was leaving the court to start his own life, the keeper of the gate urged him to write his thoughts as a book. Lao-tzu’s work mostly illustrates Taoism –a religion founded by Chang Tao-ling A.D. 150. His main purpose in this piece is practicing peace, simplicity, naturalness, and humility. Lao-tzu believes that people are overloaded with temporal objects in this world. He recommends his readers to let go of everything

I disagree, do not believe that a religious higher power does not have to be a conscious power. In the case of Taoism, you consider them to be a religion even though the Tao is not a conscious higher power. While religions do require some sort of higher power, I do not believe it needs to be a conscious one. On the contrary, the higher power just needs to be able to keep the followers of a religion on the right track in life so that they can live the right way. For instace, Taoists lead a life of inaction in order to life as the Tao. The higher power should also have some involvement in the creation of the world and the afterlife. In the case of Taoism, the Tao does both, it is the creator and it is also the barrier between heaven and earth.

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

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

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.

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

Taoism is a polytheist religion. Taoists believes that the universe is divided into human being and gods. The latter is further divided into gods and ghosts. Each kind of god has

Han China also believed in Taoism which is also known as Daoism. Taoism comes from the root word “Tao”which means path or way. It was considered the main religion of Han China. Taoism was based on opposites. For example, a common saying was “there would be no love without

Taoism was founded on the principles of Tao Te Ching written by Lao-Tzu a Chinese philosopher living in the 4th century BCE. It

In eighty-one petite chapters, the oldest source of Taoism teaches humans how to live a pure, honorable life, and is followed by millions in the East. As well as an Eastern following, certain themes compliment yet conflict with that of Western Philosophy. The Tao represents Eastern philosophy, and influences all people, of both Eastern and Western descent. The Tao is best represented in two of its chapters; Chapters 29 and 44.

The idea of Taoism is expanded more through Stephen Mitchell’s explanatory introduction of the Tao Te Ching. Mitchell translates that “the teaching of the Tao Te Ching is moral in the deepest sense” and that it is ”unencumbered by any concept of sin” seeming to not reject that evil is alive but instead seeing it as an “a state of self-absorption which is in disharmony with the universal process” (ix). This idea is expressing how being concerned with evil behavior should not be a priority and is not looked at when dealing with Taoism and its teachings. Taoism is in no concern of moral being and does not look at any type of higher power or code saying that what they are doing is wrong. There is a strong advocacy and support to “throw away morality and justice… holiness and wisdom… industry and profit” and then that is when everything will settle in place and people will “do the right thing” (19).

The religions, Confucianism and Taoism, both originate from indigenous Chinese beliefs and practices. Although they come from the same area in the world, they have several differences alongside their similarities. Additionally, they both are influenced by the Tao; however, they have different meanings behind the concept. Taoism can be summed up as appreciating all that is natural; whereas Confucianism is ideal society model created through a lifetime of relationship dedication. Neither of these religions worship a “god,” but they do have their own unique form of worship. The likenesses and differences of Confucianism and Taoism can be found in their beliefs and concepts of self-cultivation, texts, and society and nature.

Both Buddhism, Taoism, and Hinduism in religious context compare through origin, philosophy, and their social structures including their outlook on women. These three religious show south east Asian roots, cultural beliefs, and social conflicts and solutions.

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.