Early Religions: Taoism
Student Led Tutorial by:
Jess, Kim, Julia, Jackie, Jackie P.,
and Mehek
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Introduction
The Tao Ta Ching made the following proclamation:
“The Tao gives birth to the one,
The one gives birth to two,
The two gives birth to three,
Three gives birth to all things.”
• Tao is the force that existed before all things.
• One: refers to the mechanism of balance the Tao gave
the world.
• Two: refers to the birth of opposites.
• Three: refers to the birth of heaven, earth and all of
humanity.
History of Taoism
• The founder: Lao-Tzu (604-531 B.C.E)
• He was searching for a way that would
avoid the constant warfare and other
conflicts that disrupted society during his
lifetime
• The result was his book: Tao-te-Ching
(a.k.a. Daodejing).
• Began as a combination of psychology and
•
•
•
•
•
•
philosophy
Originated in China
Became a religion in 440 C.E.
Main religion along with Buddhism and
Confucianism in China
Support for Taoism ended in 1911
Communist victory in 1949 caused low religious
freedom
Some tolerance has been restored under the
reign of Deng Xiao-Ping
What is “Tao”?
• Defined as “way” or “path”; natural way of
the universe
• It is “everythingness” but has no
characteristics
• Includes balance between opposite forces
• To be a Taoist means to practice and
respect the way of nature, to maintain
balance
• “Self-so”
KEY FIGURES
Emperor Huang Di
• The Emperor visited a hermit to ask him a
•
•
•
•
•
question
The hermit’s response was the teachings
of Tao
Because of the impact of Tao, the
Emperor changed the way he governed
his people; he became compassionate and
was seen as a healer
Named “Yellow Emperor”
He created harmony within himself and
his kingdom
He is recognized as the greatest emperor
of China
Lao Tzu
• Is thought to be the founder
of Taoism
• Scholars are unsure for the
following reasons:
-Lao Tzu means "old
master", which is a title and
not an actual name.
-The wisdom of Lao Tzu
seems to be through the
work of three different
people.
-He may have been a man
named Li Erh, an achivist at
the royal palace of Luoyang
Chuang Tzu
• Wrote a book full of the
•
•
•
•
teachings of Tao
When he died, the groundwork
for Taoism had been laid
Older temporary of Confucious
Left the royal court when he
was very old.
Wrote the Tao Te Ching, a
short collection of wise verses,
when he was leaving the
province of Ch'u and was
asked to leave behind some
reckoning of his wisdom.
KEY RITUALS, PRACTICES, AND
SYMBOLS
Key Practices and Rituals
• Main goal is to achieve balance and harmonize
•
•
•
Chi (energy) in the body.
Acupuncture: Application of tiny needles to one
of 800 pressure points
Feng Shui: Aligning objects to specific areas of
the room to maintain the best flow of spiritual
energy.
Tai Chi: Slow, choreographed movements to
harmonize flow of Chi in the body.
Ying and Yang
• Ying: the Moon
•
- female force
- receptive, passive, cold
Yang: the Sun
- male force
- force, movement, heat
• Represents the good and evil
•
in ourselves
The idea of balance
Other Symbols
• They see the North and South poles as
divine
• Chinese dragons and phoenixes are also
recognized
BELIEFS
Wu Wei
• Wu Wei: Not doing/taking action
• Let nature take its course
• One should act in a manner that does not
jeopardize the natural world
• Sense of Effortlessness
• Yu Wei: Taking Action
Spirit Beings
• Immortals: Spiritual Beings of primary
•
•
•
importance
Taoists have great respect for such beings
They exist in a place where they are able to
experience:
– No troubles
– Effortless existence of physical freedom
Here they
– Are ageless
– Eat only air
– Enjoy the power of flight
- Drink nothing but dew
Purpose of Life
• Life should be lived by the Tao
• Everything is relevant, relative, and
interdependent
• Focus: attaining immortality (eternal life,
longevity, attainment of superhuman physical
abilities)
How to attain Immortality
• In order to achieve this, one must focus their
attention and control on:
– body through diet, exercise, and mindfulness
– breathing
– exploring alchemy with the goal of finding elixir of
immortality
– behaving in a moral way that is in harmony with Tao
– searching for the Isle of Blessed (where the Spirit
Beings reside)
Death and Afterlife
• Two aspects of reality
• Transformation from being to non-being
• It should not be feared or desired, but
accepted
NUMBER OF ADHERENTS AND
INFLUENCE IN THE 21ST CENTURY
Number of Adherents
• Currently there are approximately 20
million followers that are primarily located
in Taiwan
• About 30,000 Taoists live in North America
• 1,720 Taoists live in Canada
30,000 in
North
America!
1,720 in
Canada?
Influence in 21st Century
• Taoism has a significant affect on North American and
Worldwide culture
- Acupuncture
- Tai Chi
- Feng Shui
• Many medicines that come from Taoism are used today
• Taoists are involved with herbals and practice healing
•
using different kinds
Ying Yang symbol is drawn and used all around the
world in the 21st century, even though most people
don’t understand its true meaning
Other Interesting Facts
• "Be still like a mountain and flow like a great
river." Lao Tse
• "Different Chinese philosophers, writing probably
in 5-4 centuries B.C., presented some major
ideas and a way of life that are nowadays known
under the 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
[source:http://www.religioustolerance.org/taoism.htm]
Thank You for Watching our
Presentation!