Aim: what is Taoism and to
what extent has it had an
impact on the world?
Taoism
(The Way, The Path)
Tao = the force, the energy
“May the force be with you.”
Definition
• 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.”
Summarize!
So is it a religion?
• Sort of.
• Depends on the time period and
how it was practiced.
Back to Taoism
• Taoism is living in harmony with
nature; the universe.
• Taoism is all about getting the
“balance right” between one’s self
and the universe.
• Taoist concepts, beliefs and practices:
• Tao is the first-cause of the universe. It is a
force that flows through all life. "The Tao
surrounds everyone and therefore everyone
must listen to find enlightenment."
• Each believer's goal is to become one with the
Do not
Tao.
copy
• The priesthood views the many gods as
manifestations of the one Tao, "which could not
be represented as an image or a particular
thing."
• Time is cyclical, not linear as in Western thinking.
• Each person must nurture the Ch'i (air, breath)
that has been given to them.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Yin
Moon
Night
Dark
Cool
Rest
Feminine
North
Winter
Right
Introversion
Earth
Even
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Yang
Sun
Day
Light
Warm
Active
Masculine
South
Summer
Left
• Extroversion
• Heaven
• Odd
• I Ching (Tao Te Ching) or “Book of Changes”
– Lao Tsu
• Yield and overcome;
Bend and be straight.
• -- Tao Te Ching (22)
• He who stands of tiptoe is not steady.
He who strides cannot maintain the pace.
• -- Tao Te Ching (24)
• What is firmly established cannot be uprooted.
What is firmly grasped cannot slip away.
• -- Tao Te Ching (54)
• Stiff and unbending is the principle of death.
Gentle and yielding is the principle of life.
• Thus an Army without flexibility never wins a battle.
A tree that is unbending is easily broken.
• The hard and strong will fall.
The soft and weak will overcome.
• -- Tao Te Ching (76)
Founder?
• The founder of
Taoism is believed
by many to be
Lao-Tse (Lao Tzu)
(604-531 BCE), a
contemporary of
Confucius.
He lived in?
Origins
• Taoism started as a combination of
psychology and philosophy but evolved
into a religious faith when in 440 BCE it
was adopted as a state religion.
• The fact that Taoism was considered to
be religion during the Zhou Dynasty
indicates that Lao-Tse was considered to
be a…
• prophet and or deity.
Mandate of Heaven
• What is the Mandate of Heaven?
• A traditional belief amongst the Chinese
that “Heaven” gave a mandate to an
individual or a family to rule over other
human beings. They were supposed to do
what was best for those they ruled. If
“Heaven” withdrew its mandate it would
send a sign for all humans to recognize
such as a natural disaster.
• How might the Mandate of Heaven be
used for political purposes in ancient
China?
HINT
Mandate of Heaven
• Although older than formal Taoism, the
source of the Mandate of Heaven and
Taoism appears to be in much older
Chinese animism and Chinese culture.