The Tao, Te Tao

Daoism emphasizes not resisting nature and focuses on the harmony of opposites within the flow of the Dao (which is the path or course of nature). I think that is a good viewpoint, because working with instead of against nature is more productive. We have issues with respecting nature, and now having to deal with the results of that disrespect. Daoists believe that society suffers when it disregards the Dao and that humans can not conquer nature. I believe that this importance and supremacy of nature is important on more than one level, the most important one to me being human nature.

Confucianism is a way of being loyal to the government and loving and caring for one’s family. Daoism is a way in living in harmony with the Tao. Both of these religions strive for peace and

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

16. What is Daoism? How did Daoism impact China? Why was China able to accept two very different belief systems, Daoism and Confucianism? Daoism is a philosophy created by Laozi that is focused on introspection and gaining harmony natural principles of the world.

Daoism means “Followers of the way”, although Dao does not means only “way”. According to the BBC religion, the word Dao or Tao can include several concepts such as “the source of creation”, “the ultimate”, “the unnameable” ,“the way of nature as a whole”, “the natural universe as a whole” and “the inexpressible and indefinable.” In Taoism they believe in way of living in which there were not many rules and believes in the philosophy of inaction. They say that you can find happiness through nature and harmony. Also this is where yin and yang come from. As we can see, there are major differences between Daoism and Confucianism, but one of them is very important, the life after death.

Who is Lao Tzu? What is the purpose of Tao Te Ching? Why did Lao Tzu write Tao Te Ching? “Lao Tzu was a Chinese philosopher credited with founding the philosophical system of Taoism…He is thought to have lived in the 6th century BEC” (Mark). Lao Tzu’s philosophy of non-action has a great impact on future generations, because it can make the country become peaceful. Tao Te Ching was primarily writing to the rulers and the emperors of that time, he wants all the countries and subsidiary countries in China can coexist together peacefully, hoping that there will be no more wars. The poetic style of Tao Te Ching makes it universal, because it teaches people how to think and to behave well in an manner that can be acceptable and understandable

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.

Daoism has everything to do with nature. It plays the most important role in human development and knowledge . It states that humans should help

Jack Kerouac was an American writer known for his most famous novel On the Road. Jack Kerouac was born as Jean-Louis Lebris de Kerouac on March 12, 1922 in a neighborhood known as “Little Canada” located in Lowell, Massachusetts. Kerouac was born to Leo and Gabrielle who were immigrants of Quebec, Canada. Growing up in a French-Canadian household Kerouac spoke on french up till the age of seven. He was raised in a Roman Catholic faith which was a very strong influence throughout his life, and his writing. He was the youngest of three children.

The Foundations of Chinese Civilization Present in the Book of Songs In the multiple dynasties that span China’s history, the Zhou Dynasty is one of upmost importance. The Zhou Dynasty reigned from 1100 BCE to 222 BCE and can be considered one of the most influential dynasties due to a work of literature called the Book of Songs. The Book of Songs contains over 300 lyrical poems describing quotidian life in the Zhou dynasty. These poems were written by female and male authors that utilized metaphors to illustrate the events, tribulations, and opinions of the general public.

On March 11, 2011, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake damaged a large portion of the eastern coast of Japan and formed a tsunami that caused nuclear reactors to become unstable. These three nuclear reactors that became unstable, made an already devastated place turn into a very hazardous place to be. The tsunami alone did insurmountable damage to the buildings on the east coast, this also resulted in thousands of people’s deaths. The tsunami blocked multiple roads and highways, cut off water and electricity for millions of households, and created an unfortunate situation for the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plants. The nuclear power plants and the tsunami created a national crisis in Japan

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

Confucianism and Daoism are both chinese religions. They both incorporated religious practices with daily activities in a way that it pertained to philosophy as well as religion, making the secular sacred. Confucianism was grounded in ethics and virtuous socio-political conditions. Daoism, also known as Taoism, sought to establish the proper relation between humans and the cosmos through discernment of the Tao, or Way. Confucianists are more concerned with social relationships and Taoism is of a more broader nature and more mystically oriented and more philosophical. They both focused on relationships that humans had with each other as well as the relationships that humans had with nature. They were atheistic in a sense that they had no

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.

When the topic of religion or philosophy comes to mind, Taoism is often unheard of and is shrouded with mystery. While this is true, its rich history and ideologies are both profound and intriguing. Taoism is one of the oldest and most ancient philosophies known to mankind. There are many theories as to just how old the customs are. Taoism is also referred to as Daoism which is a more precise way of articulating the word in English to match the pronunciation of the Chinese word. Taoism is often entitled as a philosophy or a religion. However, certain time frames set it to be either a religion or a philosophy. For example, back in the 2nd century, Taoism was mainly a religion. Nowadays, it is treated more as a philosophy due to its complex ideas. Many philosophical writings and poetry in the Tao Te Ching, many believe it to be a philosophy. On the other hand, there are many religious aspects of Taoism such as reciting the Tao Te Ching or giving offerings. While Taoism is a more uncommon religion, its origin, ideology, practices, and persecutions have been studied immensely.