Taoism - The Way of Life | Page 2
SACRED STORIES / HISTORY
T
aoism is a Chinese religion centered around the Tao - something undenable which can only be experienced by the ideal Taoist (one who pracces the religion Taoism). The religion was originally founded (originally introduced to others) by Lao-Tse, a wise man who lived between 604 and 531 BCE around the me of Confucius who founded Confucianism, another Chinese religion. He founded the religion as a soluon to avoid the war, conict and disrupon around him. In his mes of sadness, Lao-Tse decided to write a book called “Tao-te-Ching” which is today like the Bible for Taoism with the “Chuang-tzu” (another Bible for Taoism) second to it.
O
riginally, Taoism was not considered a religion but rather a combinaon of psychology (the study of the mind) and philosophy (the study of the order of the universe). In the year 142 CE, it is believed that Lao-Tse Lao-Tse himself appeared to a hermit named Zhang Daoling and informed him that the world would end and only peace would exist aerwards. Lao-Tse also said that all who followed him would go into i nto another life. Through following Lao-Tse, Zhang Daoling and his followers would be given powers to control the fate of mankind. Zhang went on to found the Tao ist religion in Mount Qingcheng - this was the birth of the religion Taoism. In the year 440 CE, China made it a state religion and Lao-Tse was upheld as a kind of God. As it became a state religion, Taoism gained popularity and was now one of the 3 great religions of China next to Buddhism and Confucianism. However, Taoism did not last long aer the end of the Ch’ing family lost rulership over China in 1911. Wars began and Taoism’s history was almost completely erased. Only aer years and years of dierent ruler ships and government types, Taoism was once again allowed and people began to pick it up.
C
urrently, Taoism has around 20 million Taoists and is mainly pracced in Taiwan. In North America alone there are about 30,000 Taoists of which 1,720 are in Canada. The ways of Taoism
Taoism - The Way of Life | Page 3 have also made their way into North American culture with acupuncture, herbalism, holisc medicine, meditaon and maral arts quickly gaining popularity.
MOUNT QINGCHEN QIN GCHENG G WHERE TAOISM TAOISM WAS BORN.
Taoism - The Way of Life | Page 4
BElIEfS / ACTIOnS
THE TAO
I
n every religion there is a fnal goal which every person who is part of that religion tries to reach. In Taoism, it is the Tao. The word “Tao” translated into English means the “path” or the “way”. In Taoism, it cannot be dened but only experienced. It is believed to be what everything is made of and therefore it ows through everything as well. YIN-YANG Simply put, it is the way the universe universe works and the universe itself; it is everything. Each Taoist believes that the Tao, “in its mode of being unseen, we will see its mysteries; in the mode of the seen, we will see its boundaries.” boundaries.” This means that basically when we cannot see the Tao, we will be faced with a mystery of it and when we can see the Tao, we will know its limits and therefore our own limits. Every Taoist’s nal goal is to sync (become intune) with the Tao. Tao. Since there are no ocial Gods for Taoism (the Tao is their only goal), Taoists do not pray like other religions. Instead, Instead, they look within (inside) themselves to nd inner peace and the answers to life’s problems. The Yin-Yang symbol of this religion shows how the Tao has balance and how each in dividual Taoist must look for balance themselves. Yin is connected with darkness, femininity, passivity and water, while Yang is light, masculinity, acvity and air. Yin and Yang are opposites and always stay perfectly balanced when they are inside the Tao (or simply, the universe). Therefore, each Taoist must balance the same op posites in his or her own life. CH’I
C
h’i translated means “air” or “breath.” In Taoism it believed to be the energy ow or life force that is in everything. Taoists believe that everything comes from the ch’i. Taoism stresses the belief that ever Taoist must try to prolong their life and be healthy
Taoism - The Way of Life | Page 5 (both mentally and physically) and to do this they must take care of and feed their ch’i. There are many methods in Chinese medicine that help the ch’i travel all throughout the body. There are meditave medita ve breathing exercises exercises to help balance the levels of Ch’i in one’ss body by allowing the ow of Ch’i, imagining it as a current of one’ energy. Another method, called hsing-ch’i tries to make the Taoist breath like like they do when they are in the womb of their mothers - Taoists believe this is very powerful for a long life and even immortality. THE PURPOSE OF LIFE
I
n Taoism, the ideal (best behaved) Taoist should live in sync with the Tao. If this is done, the Taoist will never have to ght or struggle during their lives. A Taoist doe this by being unnotced - his acons must be so in tune with his or her surrounding environment environment that no one noces if he or she was there or o r not. Therefore, the Taoist must not do anything that is out of TAI CHI CH I sync with the Tao but must do everything that is in sync with the Tao. The Chinese call this wu-wei which means that the Taoist “never acts, yet there is nothing it does not do.” Taoists believe that this will keep them alive for as long as possible giving them immortality (eternal life, a long life, or superhuman physical powers). Acons such as dieng, exercise (Tai Chi which is designed for Taoism) and being mindful keep the Taoist in sync with the Tao as the Taoist is not causing harm to himself or others but rather helping himself and others. DEATH AND THE AFTERLIFE
T
aoists believe that life and death are 2 sides of the Tao. Death is simply when Yang changes to Yin in the Taoist’s life to balance the universe. Taoism teaches that every Taoist should not be afraid of death or wish to die but should live life normally unl they die naturally.
Taoism - The Way of Life | Page 6
SACRED lITERATuRE / SCRIpTuRE THE TAO-TE CHING
T
he Tao-te Ching (translated to Classic of the Way of Power) is the basic bible of religious and philosophical (meaning of life) guidance for every Taoist. Its origin is argued by Taoists all over the world whether it was put together over centuries or wrien, only by Lao-tzu (“Master Lao”). In the beginning, people believed Lao-tzu wrote it all himself but over me Taoists began to doubt whether he was real at all. However, now scholars believe that he was probably a historical gure (relevant person in history) but maybe not the only writer of the Tao-te Ching. To nd out when the Tao-te Tao-te Ching was wrien is dicult as it does not talk about any events, events, people or places during the me but it is lled with wisdom, poetry and guidance for every Taoist. The Tao-te Ching has 81 short chapters which are meant for the ideal ruler to follow. The ideal ruler is wise and acts in such a way that he is not noced both because he does what needs to be done and does not do what he shouldn’t. THE CHUANG-TZU
T
he Chuang-tzu named aer its rst author “Master Chuang” was wrien in the 4th or 3rd century BCE and added to over me. It has between 33 to 53 chapters depending on the edion (version) and is second to the Tao-te Ching as a guide to living in sync with the Tao. While the Tao-te Ching is a manual for the ideal ruler, the Chuang-tzu is a guide to living a private , individual life. In the book, policians in i n power are ridiculed and disregarded disregarded because they seek power and aenon which no Taoist should desire. The Chuang-tzu also speaks of Death and Immortals. The Chuang-tzu says death is another aspect of the Tao where the ideal individual becomes one with the Tao. Immortals are perfect people who the Master Chuang was believed to have invented in
Taoism - The Way of Life | Page 7 order to explain the ideal individual but some people believed the immortals were real and decided to map their geogr geographical aphical locaon to learn their secrets and become like them. OTHER TAOIST TEXTS
T
he Tao-te Ching and the Chuang-tzu are the basic texts of Taoism but there are other texts which teach dierent parts of Taoism Taoism like the Lieh-tzu (book of “Master Lieh”) which teaches that no maer a human’s acons he has no chance of changing the way things happen. The Kuan-tzu (book of “Master Kuan”) teaches of how the “heart” governs the body and if the body submits to the heart, the mind can become desireless and be come one with the Tao. The T’ai-p’ing Ching (“Classic of the Great Peace”) and the Pao P’u Tzu (“Master Embracing Simplicity”) teach methods of achieving immortality using alchemy (magic), special diets and so on to prolong life (make their life longer) and try to gain immortality.
FIRST TWO PAGES OF THE TAO-TE CHING
Taoism - The Way of Life | Page 8
SACRED plACES
W
ith Taoism being quite dierent from other religions especially western religions, there is a lack of sacred places like the ones we nd in western religions. And, for the few that exist, there is very lile informaon on them as each Taoist is not ex pected to travel great distances to worship but to rather to remain where he or she is and simply meditate and nd peace with the Tao. One of the most known sacred Taoist places is Mount Qingcheng where the birth of Taoism as a religion happened. The few other sacred places that do exist originated from the Chuang-tzu and the immortals it speaks of. These immortals are believed to live in the sacred mountains which are so large l arge in height that they are said to be like ladders between Heaven and earth. These mountains are located all across Asia and are common sacred places for other Chinese and Hindu religions. All throughout these mountains there are temples. In addion to the mountains mountains,, there also exists a temple complex (a number of buildings grouped together) called the Bei Wudang Shan which is a common place for Taoist meditaon. Taoists believe any sacred place is not a place of worship but rather a place where the Tao is stronger in energy. Therefore, at any sacred place, a Taoist does not pray but rather medidates deeply.
A TEMPLE AT AT MOUNT QINGCHEN QING CHENG G
Taoism - The Way of Life | Page 9
STAIR ST AIRWA WAY Y TO A TEMPLES TEMP LES ON MOUN M OUNT T TAI TAI SHAN SH AN
Taoism - The Way of Life | Page 10
SACRED TIMES
I
n Taoism, the majority of holidays celebrate the birth of immortals from the Chuang-tzu. Apart from those holidays, one of Taoism’s major fesvals is the New Year which signies a rebirth of Yang (the posive side of Yin and Yang). During the rst day of this celebraon, Taoists employ a child to carry a bright red ball followed by a dragon dance as symbolism for the Yang hidden within the Yin.
A TAOIST TAOIST DRAGON DRAGO N LIKE THE TH E NEW YEAR’S TAOIST TAOIST DRAGON
Taoism - The Way of Life | Page 11
MONKS PREPARE TO EAT DURING A TAOIST FESTIVAL
MONKS READ SCRIPTUR SCR IPTURE E AND MEDIT MEDI TATE TOGETHER
Taoism - The Way of Life | Page 12
BIBlIOGRApHY INFORMATION SOURCES
•
•
•
Anonymous. “ Taoism - Religion ReligionFacts. Facts.”” Religion Religion,, World Religions, Comparave Religion - Just the facts on the world’s re ligions. ReligionFacts. 05 Jan. 2009 . Gray,, Marn. “Sacred Mountains of China.” Sacred Sites: Gray Places of Peace and Power. 05 Jan. 2009 . Sacred Desnaons. “Sacred Mountains.” Sacred Sites at Sacred Desnaons - Explore sacred sites, religious sites, sacred places. 05 Jan. 2009 .
IMAGES
•
•
• • • •
•
Front Cover Image: hp://lh3.ggpht.com/_DS8qj9jK9uA/Rb3vJHtFTeI/ AAAAAAAABw4/BRJYWNEuE6E/Picture+068.jpg Image 1: hp://lh6.ggpht.com/_1Lvwsz9Iypw/Rziko1V2xrI/ AAAAAAAAAiQ/DWbhWrK5_6Q/DSCF1869.JPG Image 2: hp://www.lawsoncorp.com/Ying%20Yang.gif Image 3: hp://www.chiacupuncture.com/taichi1.JPG Image 4: hp://www.taopage.org/laotzu/tao_te_ching_b.jpg Image 5: hp://lh5.ggpht.com/_1L hp://lh5.ggpht.c om/_1Lvwsz9Iypw/RzilqlV2x5 vwsz9Iypw/RzilqlV2x5I/AAAAAAAAA I/AAAAAAAAAkI/zr_eSDJNxdk/DSCF1876.JPG Image 6: hp://www.sacred-desnaons.com/china/images/tai-shan/ stairway-c-sacredsites.jpg
Taoism - The Way of Life | Page 13
•
•
•
Image 7: hp://lh5.ggpht.com/_4k3sKm9VLtY/R4_xNsZ2I/ AAAAAAAAANc/UgIYJoBx7gc/1 AAAAAAAAANc/UgIY JoBx7gc/100-0088_IMG.JPG 00-0088_IMG.JPG Image 8: hp://photography.naonalgeographic.com/stacles/NGS/ Shared/StacFiles/Photography/Images/POD/t/taoist-fesval481962-lw.jpg Image 9: hp://farm2.stac.ickr.com/1096/1397458650_ b1fda7e7da_o.jpg
“Perfect activity leaves no track behind it; perfect speech is like a jade worker whose tool leaves no mark.”
“Perfect acvity leaves no track behind it; perfect speech is like a jade worker whose tool leaves no mark.”