Taoism Symbol Taoism

TAOIS

Quotations:

"Be still like a mountain and flow like a great river." Lao Tse

"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." Lao Tse 9

History of Taoism

Tao (pronounced "Dow") can be roughly translated into English as path, or the way. It "refers to a power which envelopes, 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.)" 9 

The founder of Taoism was Lao-Tse (604-531 BCE), a contemporary of Confucius. (Alternate spellings: Lao Tze, Lao Tsu). He was searching for a way that would avoid the constant feudal warfare and other conflicts that disrupted life during his lifetime. The result was his book: Tao-te-Ching

Taoism started as a combination of psychology and philosophy but evolved into a religion in 440 CE when it was adopted as a state religion. At that time Lao-Tse became popularly venerated as a deity. Taoism, along with Buddhism and Confucianism, became the three great religions of China. With the end of the Ch'ing Dynasty in 1911, state support for Taoism ended. Much of the Taoist heritage was destroyed during the next period of warlordism. After the Communist victory in 1949, religious freedom was severely restricted. "The new government put monks to manual labor, confiscated temples, and plundered treasured. Several million monks were reduced to fewer than 50,000" by 1960. 11 During the cultural revolution in China from 1966 to 1976, much of the remaining Taoist heritage was destroyed. Some religious tolerance has been restored under Deng Xiao-ping from 1982 to the present time. 

Taoism currently has about 20 million followers, and is primarily centered in Taiwan. About 30,000 Taoists live in North America; 1,720 in Canada (1991 census). Taoism has had a significant impact on North American culture in areas of "acupuncture, herbalism, holistic medicine, meditation and martial arts..." 11

Taoist Beliefs and Practices:

* Tao is the first-cause of the universe. It is a force that flows through all life.

* The goal of everyone is to become one with the Tao.

* The concepts of a personified deity is foreign to Taoism, as is the concept of the creation of the universe. Thus, they do not pray as Christians do; there is no God to hear the prayers or to act upon them. They seek answers to life's problems through inner meditation and outer observation.

* Time is cyclical, not linear as in Western thinking.

* Yin (dark side) is the breath that formed the earth. Yang (light side) is the breath that formed the heavens. They symbolize pairs of opposites which are seen throughout the universe, such as good and evil, light and dark, male and female. Intervention by human civilization upsets the balances of Yin and Yang. The symbol of Taoism, seen at the top of this page, represents Yin and Yang in balance.

* "The Tao surrounds everyone and therefore everyone must listen to find enlightenment." 8

* Five main organs and orifices of the body correspond to the five parts of the sky: water, fire, wood, metal and earth.

* Each person must nurture the Ch'i (air, breath) that has been given to them.

* Development of virtue is one's chief task. The Three Jewels to be sought are compassion, moderation and humility.

* Taoists follow the art of "wu wei", which is to achieve action through minimal action. "It is the practice of going against the stream not by struggling against it and thrashing about, but by standing still and letting the stream do all the work. Thus the sage knows that relative to the river, he still moves against the current. To the outside world the sage appears to take no action - but in fact he takes action long before others ever foresee the need for action." 1

* One should plan in advance and consider carefully each action before making it.

* A Taoists is kind to other individuals, largely because such an action tends to be reciprocated.

* Taoists believe that "people are compassionate by nature...left to their own devices [they] will show this compassion without expecting a reward." 1

Tai Chi

There is a long history involvement by Taoists in various exercise and movement techniques. 5,6 Tai chi in particular works on all parts of the body. It "stimulates the central nervous system, lowers blood pressure, relieves stress and gently tones muscles without strain. It also enhances digestion, elimination of wastes and the circulation of blood. Moreover, tai chi's rhythmic movements massage the internal organs and improve their functionality." Traditional Chinese medicine teaches that illness is caused by blockages or lack of balance in the body's "chi" (intrinsic energy). Tai Chi is believed to balance this energy flow.

Taoist Texts

These include:

  • Tao-te-Ching ("The Way of Power," or "The Book of the Way") is believed to have been written by Lao-Tse. It describes the nature of life, the way to peace and how a ruler should lead his life.

  • Chuang-tzu (named after its author) contains additional teachings.

Some Internet References

  1. "Taoism - A Beginner's Perspective" is at: http://students.missouri.edu/~sacredw/tao.html

  2. "The Taoist Canon: A guide to studies and reference works" at: http://helios.unive.it/~dsao/pregadio/tools/daozang/ 

  3. The "Taoism Information Page" is at: http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/gthursby/taoism

  4. The "Taoism Depot" contains many translations of TAO, and a Taoism Discussion Forum. See: http://www.edepot.com/taoism.html

  5. "Is Tai Chi the Ultimate Exercise?," an essay on Tai Chi at:
     http://www.utah.edu/stc/tai-chi/articles.html  

  6. "The International Taoist Tai Chi Society" ® is the largest non-profit Tai Chi group in the world. See:
     http://www.taoist.org

  7. "Some Recent English-Language Publications on Taoism," at: http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/gthursby/taoism/newbooks.htm (link may be broken)

  8. "Taoism," at: http://ssd1.cas.pacificu.edu/as/students/vb/Taoism.htm

  9. Western Reform Taoism has an excellent web site which publishes their creed and beliefs on dozens of important topics. See:  http://wrt.org/ 

  10. "Tao Resource" is a web site that imports authentic Taoist products to help people improve their "personal or sacred space, to build a small Taoist shrine or even to construct a large Taoist temple." This site is well worth perusing. It has sections showing altar tables, bells & chimes, jewelry, statuary, personal altars, etc. See http://www.taoresource.com/ 

  11. The Taoist Restoration Society (TRS) is "a U.S. nonprofit corporation dedicated to the rehabilitation and rebirth of China's Taoist tradition." See: http://www.taorestore.org/intro.html