Lao Tzu, a Chinese philosopher and reputed founder of Taoism, was born in the province of Henan. According to tradition, he is the author of the Tao-te Ching, a book that has had enormous influence on Chinese thought and culture. It teaches that "the way" is realized through recognition and acceptance of nothingness; that is, knowing that weakness equals strength, happiness depends on disaster, and passivity is the greatest action.
             The Tao-te Ching is a poem that consists of approximately eighty-one stanzas. While many Taoists have their own personal interpretations the idea of Tao, there are five main concepts that run throughout the stanzas which all Taoists observe; the nature of the Tao, the idea of "the one," the theme of yin and yang, anti-Confucianism, and naturalism.
             "Tao is the pointing finger and, at the same time, the direction," or as the beginning of the Tao Te Ching, "The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao." "I do not know its name, so I call it Tao. If you insist on a description, I may call it vast, active, moving in great cycles." How then, to describe the indescribable, or to put into words that which is beyond words? The ancient sages say the Tao can only be referred to. It cannot be held, only experienced, it cannot be touched, only felt, and it cannot be seen, only glimpsed with the inner eye. Lao Tsu teaches that the Tao is eternal, unchanging, simple and has no body, which means that no limited, human language can fully express its essence.
             More a mode of living that an actual theology, Taoism asks that each person focuses on the world around them in order to understand the inner harmonies of the universe. It is a religious system heavily focused on meditation and contemplation. The Tao surrounds everyone and one must listen to find enlightenment.
             Secondly, Taoism is based on the idea that behind all material things and all the change in the world lies one fundamental, universal
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