Taoism

TAOISM
SYMBOLS
• The Yin and Yang is the most well-
known Daoist religious symbol.
• It is an image composed of a circle
divided into two swirling parts: one
black and the other white.
• Overall, the Yin and Yang symbol
signifies the perfect harmonic balance
in the universe. For example, day and
night; birth and death.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
• Laozi (Lao-tzu), meaning “Old Master,” is
believed to have authored the Dao De Jing (Tao
te ching or The Book of the Way and its Power),
dating back to around third century B.C.E.
• According to myth, Laozi was conceived by a
shooting star and was born of a virgin mother,
who kept him in her womb for 82 years; Laozi
was said to be born with flowing hair, which
signified that he would become a wise man.
• He is considered as the first important Daoist
who is believed to be a senior contemporary of
Kung Fuzi
• The historian Sima Qian (145-86 BCE) tells the
story of Lao-Tzu, a curator at the Royal Library
in the state of Chu, who was a natural
philosopher
• Lao-Tzu believed in the harmony of all things
and that people could live easily together if they
only considered each other's feelings once in a
while and recognized that their self-interest was
not always in the interest of others
• Lao-Tzu grew impatient with people and with the corruption he saw
in government, which caused the people so much pain and misery.
• He was so frustrated by his inability to change people's behavior
that he decided to go into exile.
• As he was leaving China through the western pass, the
gatekeeper Yin Hsi stopped him because he recognized him as a
philosopher.
• Yin Hsi asked Lao-Tzu to write a book for him before he
left civilization forever and Lao-Tzu agreed. He sat down on a rock
beside the gatekeeper and wrote the Tao-Te-Ching (The Book of the
Way). He stopped writing when he felt he was finished, handed the
book to Yin Hsi, and walked through the western pass to vanish into
the mist beyond.
• Sima Qian does not continue the story after this but, presumably (if
the story is true) Yin Hsi would have then had the Tao-Te-
Ching copied and distributed.
• All that is known of Lao-Tzu comes from the
classic work Records of the Grand Historian by
the Han Dynasty writer Sima Qian (86 BCE).
• Sima, working from older historical and literary
documents, claims that Lao-Tzu was one of the
curators at the Royal Library in the state of Chu
and was known as a philosopher.
• He advocated a deep, connective empathy
between people as the means to peace and
harmony and claimed that such empathy was
possible through recognition of the cosmic force
of the Tao which had created all things, bound
all things, moved all things, and finally loosed all
things back into their original state. Aligning
one’s self with the Tao, according to Lao-Tzu,
brought one into harmony with the universe and
enriched one’s life; opposition to the Tao only
brought frustration, unhappiness, and anger
which resulted in bad behavior.
• The wars continued and various schools
of Chinese philosophy were established which
tried to suggest the best way to end the violence
and establish a moral government that would
care for its citizens. Lao-Tzu, according to Sima
Qian, persisted in his efforts to convince people
to accept the Tao and live a life in harmony with
each other and the universe, and when he finally
understood they never would listen to him, he
abandoned human society for self-exile.
Sacred Scriptures
1. Dao De Jing- meaning “The Book of the Way
and its Power.”
▫ THE TAO-TE-CHING IS AN ATTEMPT TO
REMIND PEOPLE EVERYONE COULD
LIVE TOGETHER PEACEFULLY IF
PEOPLE WOULD ONLY BE MINDFUL OF
HOW THEIR THOUGHTS AND ACTIONS
AFFECT THEMSELVES, OTHERS, AND
THE EARTH.
• Is not a 'scripture' in any way. It is a book of
poetry presenting the simple way of
following the Tao and living life at peace
with one's self, others, and the world of
changes
• The Tao-Te-Ching is an attempt to remind
people that they are connected to others and
to the earth and that everyone could live
together peacefully if people would only be
mindful of how their thoughts and actions
affect themselves, others, and the earth
2. Book of Chuang Tzu/Zuangzi- it consists of
delightful parables, metaphors, and poetic
passages, and is praised for its high literary value
which represents the most significant
formulation of early Daoist thought.
• Zhuangzi is divided into three sections: the

Inner Chapters, Outer Chapters, and
Miscellaneous Chapters.
CONCEPTS/BELIEFS
1. The Dao
2. Deity/God (Dao as the origin of all
beings)
3. The De
4. Wu-Wei
5. Yin Yang
6. Qi/Chi
• According to Laozi, the Dao, which is the
essential concept and creative principle in
Daoism, existed before the world. It is
undetectable, indistinct, shapeless, and
indefinable, it is the foundation of all being, and
the way in which nature and the universe exist.
• All things come from it, and are nourished by it,
that is why sometimes the Dao is called
“Mother.” Dao is the origin of heaven and earth
and it is also the way in which heaven and earth
now live.
• The Dao is distinct from God. It is not a being for
it is the origin of all beings, and its great virtue is
that it does everything but desires nothing. It is
“emptiness”, which does not compete with other
forces but is content with itself. This
contentment, when practiced by people, will
enable them to lead good lives (Ching 1993).
Deity/God (Dao as the origin of all beings)
• Unlike the Abrahamic religions, Daoism does not have

a God, for Daoists believe that the universe originated
from the Dao, which created and controls the universe
and distantly guides things on their way.
• However, the Dao itself is not God and is not
worshipped by the Daoists. Instead, they worship
deities, who are gods of a particular role, and they
traditionally worship Laozi not only as the first god of
Daoism but also as the representation of the Dao.
• Most of the deities worshipped by the Daoists were
borrowed from other cultures, but they are within the
universe and are subject to the Dao.
• For the Daoists, the Dao possesses heavenly
qualities, is mysterious, indescribable, lies under
the surface of sense perception, and unifies
obvious opposites on a different level.
• Daoists also believe that the Dao can only be
found in silence since it is heavenly and beyond
change. For the Daoists, God is found inside us,
in the thoughtful emptiness from which all
power and life originates in all directions; it is
the “Nothing” within all of us where all our
energy comes from.
Qi/Chi
• The qi refers to the natural energy or life force that
sustains living beings. Qi literally means “air’ or
“vapor.” It is the fundamental substance of nature
and living beings, as well as life force. It refers to
matter, which is continuous, energetic, and
dynamic. It is sometimes translated as “material
force” or “vital force.” It is considered as the
foundation of body and life. Daoists believe that
everything is made up of qi and will eventually
return to qi. Because of this, people should not be
afraid of death, for life and death are but phases of
the circulation of qi (Sharma 1993).
• While some believe that qi is a separate force
from the physical world, some think that it
comes from physical matter, while others believe
that matter arises from qi. Daoists believe that
the balance of qi is the key to a healthy life and
longevity. Qi is considered as the basic
component of everything that exists, which gives
form to life and makes things happen. It is
considered as the root of the human body, the
basis of human health.
• qi is life-force—that
which animates the
forms of the world.
• Every person has a
normal or healthy
amount of qi, and health
is achieved when there is
balance and harmony in
its flow (Kohn 2003).
Worship and Observances
• Ritual or liturgical expressions are important to
the Daoist religion. These include ritual
initiation meant for purification and renewal in
the life-cycle and development of the human
person.
• Daoist priests are licensed to perform rituals of
specific traditions. One form of ritual is
exorcism, performed in cases of sickness with
the goal of gaining victory over the evil spirits.
• Other rituals are performed in the form of
festivals, especially New Year.
• In these rituals, incense is a central aspect,
together with the sacrificial offering of sacred
writings such as paper charms which contain the
prayers of individuals, bearing their names and
the intentions which are burned as part of the
ritual. Those who will perform such rituals are
encouraged to prepare for them by fasting and
by having a spirit of forgiveness and
reconciliation.
1. Meditative Practices
• Humility and non-competition are among the most

important virtues in Daoism. These virtues,
together with naturalness and naturalism, as well as
non-aggression and passive rule, manifest the
fundamental virtue of wu wei.
• The physical appearance of the Daoist sage
exemplifies the virtue of humility, for on the outside
the sage may dress shabbily but his mind is full of
wisdom and his heart, full of compassion. The sage
also manifests the virtue of non-competition by not
competing but emerging victorious nonetheless.
• The sage has achieved oneness with the Dao by
understanding its simplicity; his mind is
undistracted that is why he is able to discover
the simplicity in the Dao.
• In this regard, he is likened to a cat, which has
much in common with the sage. Like the cat
which does not deviate from its own nature and
being fully aware of the situation at hand, it
always lands on its feet no matter what.
2. Moral Practices
• Physical and spiritual techniques are just as
important as ethical or moral techniques or
practices.
• Daoists put emphasis on ethical behavior by incor
porating it into their practices.
• They value the need for a moral life, of good works
as well as of ritual atonement for misbehavior
(Ching 1993).
• Daoism values the virtues of naturalness, behaving
as nature dictates, not as caused by social pressure
or personal pride; and naturalism, which entails
resisting temptation to meddle with nature.
• Daoists tend not to initiate action; instead they
wait for events to make action necessary,
avoiding letting their own desires and
compulsions push them into doing things.
Generally, Daoism, just like other religions,
disapprove of killing, stealing, lying, and
promiscuity.
• It promotes philanthropic, selfless, and humane
behavior. Good behavior is seen as an essential
part not only of self-improvement but the world
as a whole.
Selected Issues
Fatalism
• Daoism has often been criticized for propagating
laziness or espousing a fatalistic attitude in life
by letting nature take its course and reminding
Daoists to just go with the flow.
• The example of running water exemplifies this
kind of unforced action, for when running water
in a stream encounters a rock on its path it does
not need to force its way to be able to pass
through, instead it just passes through its sides
for it to continue its path.
Superstition
• There is a misconception that Daoism involves sorcery, which
includes the drawing of signs, chants, and other practices which
led to the notion that Daoism promotes superstitious practices.
• But the practice of ancestor worship has been an aspect of
Chinese culture which found its way in Daoism, similar to the
Shinto practice among the Japanese, thus Daoists often find
themselves in temples, praying to their ancestors for guidance in
their everyday lives.
• They believe that all things have spirits, and that deities of the
heavens and earth are all around us. They are always around us
to guide, protect, and bless us, thus we should always see to it
that we show our gratitude to them by performing rituals such as
praying and using incense as a medium of communicating with
the deities, for they believe that when the precious incense burns
in the golden incense burner, the smoke travels up to the
heavens.
• According to Daoist scriptures, the offering of
three sticks of incense is important if one wishes
to convey a message to the deities, who in turn
will shower them with blessings. Daoists believe
that the left hand must be used to offer the
incense, because the left hand represents the
yang, which symbolizes respect. While offering
the incense, they will silently recite the spell
“Burning of the incense shall receive ultimate
peace.” They have to make sure that the distance
between the three incense
Urban Development
• Another issue in Daoism is environmentalism.
• Daoists believe in the dictum “leave nature alone and
nature will thrive.” Daoism has advocated a utopian
vision of society characterized by order and harmony,
and an emphasis on self-cultivation as a means of
achieving social harmony. One should have a healthy
relationship with nature and it should begin with one’s
own body.
• China’s excessive movement toward urban development
at present is seen as being inconsistent with the Daoist
belief in the importance of living in harmony with nature.
• Daoists believe that social harmony will be achieved
through a return to nature.

Taoism

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Taoism

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TAOISM

• Zhuangzi is divided into three sections: the

• Unlike the Abrahamic religions, Daoism does not have

• Humility and non-competition are among the most

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