...Taoism: Origins, History and Beliefs Joseph R Batson Regis University Taoism is one of the “Three Doctrines”, along with Buddhism and Confucianism that has helped to shape Chinese culture and history (Molloy, 2013.) Taoism is based on the earliest beliefs of the Chinese people, and includes several elements of the ancient indigenous religion. These include a belief in spirits, both good and bad; the concept of T’ien, translated as Heaven, and described as an impersonal divine force and a cosmic moral principle; the discernment of patterns in nature, some easy to see like the progression of seasons, others not so much like the ripple of waves; and Yin and Yang, two opposing yet complimentary principles such as light and dark or hot and cold (Molloy, 2013.) The actual origins of Taoism are shrouded in mystery. The founder was Lao Tzu, meaning “old sage” (Chebucto.ns.ca, 2014) a legendary figure who may or may not have existed, and possible may be the blending of several historical figures (Molloy, 2013.) Lao Tzu, according to traditional stories, was born in the early sixth century BCE (circa 600 BCE) and worked as an archivist at the imperial court. Eventually Lao Tzu tired of his position and travelled to Western China, where he was stopped by a guard and asked to write his teachings down. This writing, which consisted of five thousand Chinese characters, became the Tao Te Ching (The Way and Its Power, considered to be one of the central scriptures of Taoism (Chebucto.ns.ca...
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...Taoism Tao Eternal Paradise Master Manifestations Darkness When I first read the Tao Te Ching, my first thought was that Taoism doesn’t follow the “supernatural” or any supreme God or being. Taoism is not only a religion deriving from China, but also, a philosophy. Everything is based on coming back to the center and “balancing your life to live in perfect harmony.” The Tao will always remain in a state of equilibrium and could never falter. People can get confused with Taoism, referring to the Tao as a person. The Tao is portrayed as “the way” or “the path.” Opposites such as dark and light, love and hate, male and female, and the famous Yin and Yang embody the whole of Taoism. One cannot coincide without the other. If not for the nature of the Tao, then people would not remain balanced in the universe and become troubled. To become one with the Tao, a person must leave all aggression and anger behind and live life passively, allowing everything to happen accordingly. You have to remain at peace with oneself. There is always a correct way to do everything. Another way to become united with the Tao is to practice the “wu-wei” or the “doing without doing.” Everything will fall into place and come out right, according to Taoism, if everyone does nothing. Let nature take its course. When reading the Tao, certain passages stuck out to me. I tried to interpret them into what I thought the message was. Chapter 55 talks about extending life, even superficial things...
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...name of Taoism, the way of correspondence between man and the tendency or the course of natural world." Alan Watts, from his book: "Tao: The Watercourse Way." "We believe in the formless and eternal Tao, and we recognize all personified deities as being mere human constructs. We reject hatred, intolerance, and unnecessary violence, and embrace harmony, love and learning, as we are taught by Nature. We place our trust and our lives in the Tao, that we may live in peace and balance with the Universe, both in this mortal life and beyond." Creed of the Western Reform Taoist Congregation 1 History of Taoism: Tao (pronounced "Dow") can be roughly translated into English as path, or the way. It is basically indefinable. It has to be experienced. It "refers to a power which envelops, surrounds and flows through all things, living and non-living. The Tao regulates natural processes and nourishes balance in the Universe. It embodies the harmony of opposites (i.e. there would be no love without hate, no light without dark, no male without female.)" 2 The founder of Taoism is believed by many to be Lao-Tse (604-531 BCE), a contemporary of Confucius. (Alternate spellings: Lao Tze, Lao Tsu, Lao Tzu, Laozi, Laotze, etc.). He was searching for a way that would avoid the constant feudal warfare and other conflicts that disrupted society during his lifetime. The result was his book: Tao-te-Ching (a.k.a. Daodejing). Others believe that he is a mythical character. Taoism started...
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...Taoist Music: The Great Depiction of Yin-Yang Philosophy Taoism, also known as Daoism, is an indigenous Chinese religion with its origin traced to the sage Laozi (Lao-tzu), a philosopher of ancient China believed to have lived in the sixth century B.C.E (Little 115). In Chinese, Dao means "way" or "path,” which is the appropriate way to behave and to lead others — but the Daode jing also refers to Tao as something that existed "before Heaven and Earth," a primal and chaotic matrix from which all forms emerged. The Classic of the Way and Its Power (Dao de jing or Tao-te-ching) introduces the doctrine of the Tao and serves as a guide for Taoists’ behavior and experience. The Dao de jing teaches the importance of cultivating simplicity, detachment, of virtue, and of living in harmony and balance with the natural world which implied visually in the well-known symbol Ying-Yang, also known as the Tao Chi disk (Little 116). As common in other religion, music has long played an integral part in religious practice. Taoists believe that music is a way to communicate with the spirits, to improve and deepen faith, and to achieve inner harmony and balance; therefore, the significant function of Taoist music is demonstrated of how Taoism doctrine are reflected in elements of music such as tones, instrumentation, and chants in Taoist rituals and ceremony. The main theme of Taoism is resided in the Yin and Yang symbol, also referred to as the Tai Chi disk. The yin-yang doctrine is based...
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...| Confucianism and Taoism | | Chinese Politics [Date] | Confucianism and Taoism are some of the major religions in China. They have greatly influenced the culture of the Chinese people as well as their world view. The connection between the two religions has influenced many people over time. It can also be said that when the principles of both philosophies are put together, the outcome is a well-rounded person. The following is a discussion of the principles and philosophies behind these two religions as well as how the two religions interact and connect to influence an individual. Confucianism is a religion that bases its philosophy and principles on the teachings of Confucius, a Chinese philosopher who lived between 551 and 478 BC. The Philosophy behind Confucianism is humanism. Confucian devotees have a positive view of human beings and human nature. The world in the Confucian religion is seen through the ideal of humanism. This means that devotees of Confucianism hold it true that human beings are improvable, teachable and perfectible. Human beings can become perfect through individual and shared effort for example self-creation and cultivation. The general philosophy of Confucianism emphasizes individual and governmental morality, rightness of social relationships, sincerity and justice of the whole community.All devotees of Confucianism should practice ethics that are exemplified by the propagation of virtues or principles. There are many virtues that adherents...
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...In Chinese religion there are three traditions that have been practiced including folk religion, taoism and confucianism. This trio can also be known as the three dimensions and has had a significant impact on buddhism throughout the years. Taoism is a way of living in harmony with a group of individuals. This can also be said as living with the tao which would mean living with the path or basically getting along with one another. A significant piece of taoism is tao te ching which helped to teach various characteristics to Laozi. Laozi was the founder of tao te ching and really had a major impact on the chinese religion through the teachings from the book. Also through taoism there is wu wei a perception that Laozi uses to reveal in taoism...
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...Throughout history western and eastern philosophies have developed a vast segregation from one another. The geographical and cultural distance between eastern and western civilization determined massive differences between the two. On the other hand, the works of ancient Greek philosophers like Socrates, and some eastern philosophies like Taoism have many of the same or common ideas and concepts. Both eastern and western philosophies regardless of having similarities have distinctive differences when examining the view of the conception of the good. In this rgard, each philosophy is noticed to have beliefs that strive for followers to improve their lives and to be on a path of self-purification. This essay will primarily focus on understanding the basics of the conception of good in Taoist philosophy as well as the basic conception of good according to Socrates. While analyzing we will also determine if the Taoist conception of good is more reasonable than that of Socrates. In Taoism, the Tao is worshiped as the first-cause of the universe and is a developed philosophy, which promotes self-purification of an individual to meet Taoist ideals. Taoists believe that nature and the earth is constantly in flux. Simply, the only constant in the world is change. An essential element of the Tao is a term P’u or the un-carved block. P'u is translated to the words "uncarved wood" or "uncarved block." This is a metaphor that implies that each living being is given our personality at birth...
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...The practice of Taoism are somewhat confusing. Unlike religion such as Christianity, there is nothing to tell you what to do and not do. The closest book similar to bible is the Tao Te Ching. The problem that this book causes, is that everything is in riddles. This leads to multiple interpretation of Laozi's teachings. Other then that aspect, Taoism is quite simple. The Taoist believed that there is a balance in everything throughout the Universe, good and bad, small and big, and the Yin and Yang. Their goal in life is to be harmonious with all. Compared to the other great religion of China, Buddhism and Confucianism, Taoism is by far the most optimistic. There’s a famous Chinese story that explains this concept really well, known as the Vinegar Taster. In this story there are 3 different vinegar taster,...
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...The thinking of business behavior with Taoism philosophy Each one must forget what they have learned in college. But you must make sure everything you learned in your college is a part of yourself before you forget. There may have some contradictory in my idea. However, it is logical and true. If a person wants to be a master in business, the knowledge which he learned before can be strength or even weakness in his or her future development. Some concepts, principles and models in business can really help us to know business well. But these stuffs are basic level in people's growth. Meanwhile, you must take these stuffs carefully to set them as your common sense. You must put it to be part of your body. However, you cannot overly rely on it. Because the knowledge is not only achieve success but also destroy a person. Professional knowledge can easily set a pitfall and cage to limit your divergent thinking. It will teach you a traditional method to push you into there. It is going to block your abilities and imagination and emotional intelligence to deal with problem in perfectly. We should combine our professional knowledge, our thinking and sensitive insight together to achieve success in our business. In general, It is hard for most of people in the world. That is reason why there were many people who had business but only a few can run business well or even famous on it. My opinion just comes from Chinese Taoism philosophy. A good example can explain my opinion...
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...Compare and contrast Daoism (Taoism), Legalism, and Confucianism. Daoism, Legalism, and Confucianism share similarities as they worked together to form schools of thought that worked to exercised a deep influence in Chinese political and cultural traditions. They also worked to bring political and social stability to China during the years of the Zhou dynasty and the period of the warring states (Bently, Ziegler & Streets, p.100). The differences among the three is Confucian’s involved themselves in society by holding government positions and made concrete efforts to solve political and social problems while promoting harmony in public life. The Daoism’s believed that it would be pointless to focus on social activism. Instead they focused their time trying to understand the principles of living in harmony as they believed that someday there would be harmony to society as a whole (Bently et. al. p.103). The Legalists were unlike the other two. They did not concern themselves with ethics, morality or property nor did they care about the place of human beings in nature, instead, they placed their focus to the state, which they sought to strengthen and expand at all costs (Bently et. al. p.104). What did each system stress as most important? Daoists thought that they should withdraw from the world of politics and administration so that humans could not live in harmony (Bently et. al. p.103). Legalists’ sought to channel as many individuals as possible into...
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...Domenico Sano 1997 REL2000 04/15/2012 Chinese Culture; Taoism doctrine and religion Chinese culture involves many different religions and philosophies. A peculiarity of Chinese religions is that they are mutually exclusive and can be taken simultaneously for different functions throughout life. Each town has the religion inherited from the ancestors. This aphorism is widespread in China more than in other countries. Scholars say that primitive religion of the Chinese, and people leaving near them, was the ancestor worship, and the force of nature, which they thought themselves endowed with spirits. Confucianism and Taoism precisely these two primitive religions have obviously permeated both philosophical and religious systems more important in Chinese history. Taoism was created about 2500 years ago in China. Since its inception it has two complementary aspects: one related to social life, human relations, moral values and the government, on the other hand the mystic, which aims to transcend daily life and society, to obtain a higher plane of consciousness and become a sage, a visionary who has managed to merge and understand the universe. The sage is related in the spiritual and earthly events. Unites both aspects: the intuitive wisdom and practical knowledge or contemplation and social life. The Chinese for its tranquility compares with the image of the wise and their movements with the King’s image. In the sixth century BC, Chinese philosophy was developed in two...
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...ASIAN RELIGIONS NARRATIVE ROUGH DRAFT: TAOISM I am Taoism, also known as Daoism. I am considered both an indigenous Chinese religion and philosophy due to the diversity of Taoist belief. My philosophical side accepts death as a natural returning to the Tao while my religious side is magical and emphasizes health and healing as ways to gain immortality. The root word in my name is Tao, which means “way”, is the central harmony. Tao is part of all things yet greater than all things. It refers to the road extending in one direction. For example, a road with many forks and or directions is not considered Tao. Tao is not a substance nor can it be perceived. It is often described as formless, nameless and defying convention. You could say it is...
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...different reactions by the men represent Confucianism which thought that the vinegar is sour which represented the sour things in life, Buddhism represented the bitterness in life, and Taoism which focused on the sweetness of the vinegar. Hoff uses these examples to show that even though something may taste sour in the case for confucianism, with the correct outlook, it can be something sweet instead....
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...Think about his meaning and how it might be similar or different than key ideas of seeking the highest good in both Confucianism and Christianity. What is the relationship of right being to right doing in each of these three religions (Taoism, Confucianism, and Christianity)? Lao-Tsu (570-490 B.C.) wrote the following on the highest good in his Tao Te Ching: The highest good is like water. Water gives life to the ten thousand things and does not strive. It flows in places men reject and so is like the Tao. In dwelling, be close to the land. In meditation, go deep in the heart. In dealing with others, be gentle and kind. In speech, be true. In ruling, be just. In business, be competent. In action, watch the timing. No fight; no blame." Write an essay of 750-1,000 words discussing this idea. 1. Think about his meaning and how it might be similar or different than key ideas in seeking the highest good in both Confucianism and Christianity. The philosopher, Lao-Tzu, wrote about the highest good in his Tao Te Ching. Lao-Tzu was known as the father of Taoism; a philosophical and religious tradition that origins from China by Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu that emphasizes to live with the Tao in harmony (Taoism, n.d.). Taoism is known to go hand-in-hand with Confucianism which is a mainly characterized as Chinese philosophical and ethical system rather than a religion that was based on the teaching of the Chinese Philosopher known as Confucius (Berling, 1996). This is due to...
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...from Hinduism and the oneness of god impacted the Sikhs and their literature. 2. What factors worked to turn the pacific movement of Nanak into the warrior caste of later Sikhism? The torture and death of Arjan and execution of Singh. 3. List the three major sects of Sikhism. What are the major characteristics of each? Udasis- order of holy men who follow the rules and principles that govern Hindu, Janism, and Buddhism. Sahajdharis- conservative and slowgoing, reject militant characteristics. Singhs- theology of reincarnation, non use of stimulants long hair on heads and faces. Chapter Eight: Chinese Religions Page 203: Answer the Following Questions 1. Are Taoism and Confucianism truly religions? Argue both sides. They are truly religions because they embody the concept of religion. Taoism cannot be classified as a religion with certain doctrines and practices but it has been converted to one with prescence of gods, temples, priests, and sacrifices. Confucianism is more of a philosophy of the Chinese people and has no sacred writings priesthood etc. but it has affected Chinese character and created cultic development. 2. Describe the Chinese concept of the yin and yang as a unifying explanation for the universe. A positive and negative force in nature. All nature, humankind, and events are a combination of both forces and when the forces are harmoniously combined life is the way it should be. 3. How could the hexagrams of the I Ching be viewed as a means...
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