What is Taoism:

While many Taoist worship god (or gods) and ancestors, Taoism (or Daoism) is officially considered nontheistic. Much like Confucianism, Taoism arose in China during a time of political and social chaos. In fact, Taoism arose side-by-side with Confucianism. Independently, the two are considered philosophies and not religions. However, when the two philosophies of Confucianism and Taoism are combined a religion emerges.

Like Yin and Yang, Confucianism and Taoism are considered by their practitioners as counterpoints to each other. Yin is considered an expression of feminism, soft and indirect. Yang is masculine, harsh and rational. Taoism represents the Yin of the universe while Confucianism represents the Yang.

Origins of Taoism:

To best understand Taoism, one must understand its founder, Lao Tzu (640 – 524 BC). Lao Tzu, meaning Old Master, lived in the Ch’u Jen hamlet in the Li Village of Hu Hsian in the state of Ch’u, China. Lao Tzu’s, surname was Li and his personal name was Erh (meaning ear). Much about Lao Tzu’s life is difficult to verify historically. However, what is probably true is that at the age of around eighty, Lao Tzu, upset with the hypocrisy and degradation of society, hopped on his water buffalo and rode to Tibet, making him the world’s first hippie.

Legend says he stopped at the border and wrote the Tao Te Ching (meaning The Way and its Power), a small book consisting of about 81 chapters filled with parables and proverbs. The Tao Te Ching is now considered the gospel of Taoism.

Teachings of Taoism:

Tao

Lao Tzu’s withdrawal from society was an attempt to understand the Tao (meaning “path” or “way”), an indefinable cosmic force that governs the natural world. When writing about the Tao, Lao Tzu writes:

The way that can be spoken of

Is not the constant way;

The name that can be named

Is not the constant name.

The nameless was the beginning of heaven and earth;

The named was the mother of the myriad creatures.

Hence always rid yourself of desires in order to observe its secrets;

But always allow yourself to have desires in order to observe its manifestations.

These two are the same

But diverge as they issue forth.

Being the same they are called mysteries,

Mystery upon mystery-

The gateway of the manifold secrets.

According to Lao Tzu the Tao is an uncreated creator and elemental source of order. Tao is a force of the universe which cannot be defined or independently understood. Only through Te is Tao manifested into a form which can be understood.

Te

According to Taoism, the Tao is actualized by Te, meaning “power”. The Te’s core nature is made up of three elements:

1. Moving ahead
2. The eye
3. “Heart-and-mind”

The Te makes particular the power of the Tao, and is the intrinsic nature which makes a thing what it is and what it should be. In other words, Tao makes a tree exists, Te makes it a tree. Tao is why the tree exists and Te is how the tree exists. Tao is why you exist, Te is what you should be. Human virtue is to live in accordance with Te which expresses Tao. This is done through wu-wei.

Wu-wei

Wu-wei, meaning “non-doing”, does not mean literally to do nothing. Wu-wei is the teaching that one’s existence should be natural and in accordance with the natural impulse of the universe, or Tao. Much like a sculptor shapes a stone by carving with the grain instead of against the grain. Te is the grain, and we are the sculptors shaping our lives.

By eliminating one’s attachments and desires, one can find the core of reality, void of artificial concerns. It is within this void, or emptiness, that a state of quiet contentment can be found:

The highest perfection is like imperfection,

And its use never impaired.

The greatest abundance seems meager,

And its use will never fail.

What is most straight appears devious;

The greatest cleverness appears like stupidity;

The greatest eloquence seems like stuttering.

Movement overcomes cold,

(But) keeping still overcomes heat.

Who is calm and quiet becomes the guide for the universe.

Through meditation, hygienic habits, dietary habits, physical discipline, and mental discipline, one seeks to find the grain or direction of the universe (Te) and align their ch’i with it.

Ch’i

Ch’i, or Qi, is a vital energy or “life spirit” which animates and regulates all things. The Ch’i must be nourished by a variety of means, including: meditation, breath control, and sexual control. According to Taoism, the Ch’i is gathered in the body in the “ocean of breath” located just below the navel. By envisioning the breath (or energy) as a visible line or lines moving through the body one can allow the Ch’i to saturate the whole body. Nourishing the Ch’i will allow one to find proper physical, mental, and spiritual balance.

Yin and Yang

Yin and Yang are central to the teachings of Taoism. Yin is a feminine force of the universe manifested in forms such as music, love, and philosophy. Yang is a masculine force manifested in forms such as tradition, law, and order. The two forces complete and confirm each other, male is completed by female, light is confirmed by darkness. Yin and Yang represent the polar forces of Tao and is represented by a circle divided by a curved line, one half white and the other half black. Within each side is a small circle of the opposite color, representing the idea that within one side is the seed of the other. From the balance of Yin and Yang arise five elements:

1. Wood – Corresponding to Spring.
2. Fire – Corresponding to Summer.
3. Metal – Corresponding to Autumn.
4. Water – Corresponding to Winter
5. Earth – Sustains the four seasons and is sustained by the four seasons.

Emptiness

Emptiness is the goal of every Taoist. According to Taoism, it is within emptiness one can find meaning, order, and the purpose of the universe.

Thirty spokes join at the hub of a wheel, but it is the hole that makes it useful;
We fashion clay into a pitcher: but its use comes from the void within;
The doors and windows we make in a house function because of their emptiness;
Thus we gain benefit from what is and usefulness from what is not.

Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching