Taoism
Throughout history, Taoism has been one of the most influential religions of Eastern culture. This is certainly one of the most unique of all religions. Many Taoists, in fact, do not even consider it a religion; and in many ways it is not. Taoists make no claim that the Tao exists.1 That is what essentially separates Taoism from the rest of the world religions: there is no heated debate or battle over Taoist doctrine; there have been no crusades to spread the religion. The very essence of Taoism is quite the opposite. Taoism’’s uniqueness and open-endedness have allowed the religion to flourish almost undisturbed and unchanged for over two thousand years. The founder of Taoism was a man named Lao Tzu, who lived around the year 604 B.C.E. According to Chinese legend, Lao Tzu was an archivist in the imperial library at Lo Yang was known for his knowledge, although he never taught.2 When Lao Tzu left his position at the library, he went to the Chinese province of Chou. At the border, however, he was stopped and forced to write down his teachings. During this time, he wrote the Tao Te Ching, the major scripture of Taoism.3 After Lao Tzu’’s death, a man named Yang Chu (440-366 B.C.E.) took up his teachings.4 A naturalist and philosophe . . .
Through non-action the answer is revealed through ones own existence. Eventually this developed into a society based on Mazdaism, a Zoroastrian sect, where every believer was charged five bushels of rice. 19 Although the believers followed the basic Zoroastrian worship format, they worshipped different gods: the Tao instead of Ahura-Mazda, and the various Chinese folk gods in place of the Persian Angels. The second statement is that the Tao is knowledge, meaning that the Tao is the utmost form of understanding and wisdom and that to understand it means to understand all. "31 The way to attain unity with the Tao involves no effort, ambition, discipline, or education. Humility results from self-esteem and happiness in one’’s status. The fifth statement tells that the Tao is ““being””, or the process of becoming, which characterizes reality. Among them were: the T’’ai-i (Supreme Unity) sect, founded by Hsiao Pao-chen in approximately 1140; the Chenta Tao (Perfect and Great Tao) sect, founded by Liu Te-jen in 1142; and the Ch’’üüan-chen (Perfect Realization) sect, founded in 1163 by Wang Che. when they were mentioned in the Hsi tz’’u, an appendix to the I Ching. ””33 Thus, as Taoism is a religion of non-action, Lao Tzu and his followers discouraged the practice of rituals. Confucianism works for the public welfare, Taoism concerns the individual. 9 Yin and Yang are defined as the two forces in nature. 15 Alchemy and superstition became highly popular during this period of time, as Taoists tried to escape reality rather than to control the artificial and unnatural. 6 He wrote fifty-two books in response to the Tao Te Ching, thirty-three of which still survive today.
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Acceptance Essays
