Daodejing Influence

In order to become a virtuous person an individual must become one with the Tao, an example of a good life is found in Chuang Tzu – Basic writings, “If you do good, stay away from fame. If you do evil, stay away from punishments. Follow the middle; go by what is constant, and you can stay in one piece, keep yourself alive, look after your parents, and live out your years.” (Section three, p46). In order to become one with the Tao and individual must understand the Way and example of the Way “…For this reason, whether you point to a little stalk or a great pillar, a leper or the beautiful Hsi-shih, things ribald and shady or things grotesque and strange, the Way makes them all into one.” (Section two, p. 36) The Way is having the ability to consider all things one. Looking at the creatures of the world without bias and treating everything and everyone as equal. In order to follow the Way one must gain enlightenment, to gain enlightenment one must heavy focus on meditation. Taoists believe that time is cyclical, not linear as many in the West believe, therefore time repeats itself, has no beginning and no end. Tao is considered to be the first cause of the universe, and is the force that

Complied during the Warring States Period, the Daodejing is widely known as one of China’s famous philosophy literature. This text reflects the general lament of a civilization that has been worn down from war and seeks to find peace by teaching people how to live by “the Way”. From a war-torn perspective, the Daodejing deems war and government corruption as evil and traces them back to greedy and power-hungry motives. As a successor to Confucius, it still carries some of his ethics. Because of its mystical overtones, it has acquired a large variety of interpretations. Its main teaching is if a person does nothing, then peace will be restored; it is the concept of non-action or 无为。When a person does not try to interfere and allows things to

The Daodejing expresses a great interest in balance in life. The Daodejing introduces the Yin (陰) and Yang (陽) and its ways. Yin and Yang balance the good and bad to create a virtuous situation. Daoism is presented as a much more spiritual way of life. Laozi urges people to follow ‘the Way’ (道) as it leads to a more rewarding, humbling, and virtuous life.

While Confucius and Laozi differed in their views about virtue with others, they both require some form of harmony. Confucius thought a gentleman enacted certain virtues such as benevolence, justice, filial piety, and loyalty, and these are important in order to reach the Way through ritual to avoid shame. He felt ritual depended on the harmony of these virtues, but it did not take precedence, because "harmony cannot be sought for its own sake, it must always be subordinated to ritual". Instead, ritual is equal to a love of learning, because there is no limit of knowledge to gain. While he recognized those who can act without comprehension, he felt learning trounced innate knowledge. In contrast, Daoists believe simplicity provides a better life for the people than wisdom from learning, because it can lead to artifice. Laozi felt "when the great Way is neglected there arises benevolence and justice". He felt virtue only arises after the harmony of the Way has disintegrated. According to Daoists, harmony arose from the Way in the form of yin and yang, which regulates everything on heaven, earth, and in humans. This principle, however, requires that our actions are already predetermined, and they cannot affect harmony. Each individual would have to have an immense amount of trust for this system to work. However, in Confucius' society individuals would be able to

Daoism also known as Taoism, was a philosophical and radical text written by Laozi (Lao-tzu) who was the curator of the royal library of the Zhou dynasty in China. Daoism pertains to the way of nature and immortality which was a tradition of self-cultivation and longevity techniques. Much of Laozi’s teachings were associated with Daode Jing that focuses on Dao as a “way” or path. This was based on an appropriate way to behave and to lead others (Fisher, 2014). These teachings were also enlarged more forcefully by Zhuangzi, who asserted that the best way to live in a disordered civilization is to become removed from it ("Patheos library,"). Daoism did not exist until the Celestial Masters clique was founded in 184 CE by Zhang Daoling, which was based the clique on spiritual communications from the sacred Laozi. The Celestial Masters engaged in complex ritual practices, including piety to a huge range of divinities and immortals, and thousands of Taoist texts were formed over the centuries.

In “The Daodejing,” Laozi, similar to many prominent Chinese philosophers before and after his time, discusses his unique perspective of the “Way.” There is much controversy, however, regarding whether Laozi was the actual author of this text or was even a real person, and “his” work is thought to have been a composite. (For the purpose of clarity, throughout this paper, the author(s) of “The Daodejing” will be mentioned as Laozi.) Laozi’s vision of the “Way” is exceptionally challenging to define using words because of its metaphysical nature. Although this term is somewhat difficult to envision, it is what mankind should aspire and take action to be aligned with. According to Laozi, in “readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy,” the “Way” (or dao) is the “source, sustenance, and ideal state of all things in the world” (Laozi 158). It can be best thought of as the underlying guiding force of all events that occur in the universe, and mankind is closer to the “Way” when they realize that all things are interconnected and have an effect on one another. As might be expected, this vague definition isn’t a foolproof depiction of the eighty-one chapters in the “Daodejing,” but one is able to grasp a basic understanding of Laozi’s ineffable doctrine. Although numerous chapters are meaningful and could provide substantial analysis, this paper will focus in on Chapter Twelve. Ultimately, this chapter adequately and efficaciously compresses the teachings of “The Daodejing” into

Philosophy in China flourished during the tumultuous time of the Warring Period and, as a result, new ideas emerged. One school of thought, teaching inaction and balance, became known as Taoism. In the Tao Te Ching, a master, someone who follows the Tao, holds many virtues such as humility and discipline. A master of the Tao should live in a state of complete balance and practice “not-doing.” Because of its infinite complexities, the human language cannot completely define the Tao.

Taoism (also known as Daoism) is a Chinese philosophy attributed to Lao Tzu (c. 500 BCE) which contributed to the folk religion of the people primarily in the rural areas of China and became the official religion of the country under the Tang Dynasty. Taoism is therefore both a philosophyand a religion. It emphasizes doing what is natural and "going with the flow" in accordance with the Tao (or Dao), a cosmic force which flows through all things and binds and releases them.

Dubbing himself Occult Master of Great Purity, Master Zhang Dao-Ling was one of the many contributors to a widespread Chinese religion known as Taoism; it has been argued as not being a religion but, more of a “way” – hence the Chinese translation of “Tao,” which means way or “path.” It is guidance towards further understanding the phenomenon of existence and purpose as well as achieving happiness. Taoism has been seen as “…one of the three pillars of Chinese thought… they are abstractions – what they name are not monolithic but multifaceted traditions with fuzzy boundaries” (Stanford Encyc. Of Philosophy, Laozi). It is often interchangeable with Daoism and defined more in a philosophical sense by some scholars while others define it as a

Dao simply means “the way”. For Confucians, tien bestows “human nature”, and in following our human nature we are in fact following the dao; by cultivating the dao we educate or civilize ourselves (from Doctrine of the Mean, in Chan, 1963:98). The Daoist school of Chinese philosophy has adopted it as its central concern; and its principal proponent, Lao Zi-whose ideas are set forth in the Dao De Jing (Book of the Way and Its Power)- speaks of the dao as eternal and nameless. To interpreters of the dao, it is “the way of man’s cooperation with the course or trend of the natural world” (Watts, 1992;xiv). According to the Dao De Jing (Lao Tzu [Zi], 1998: Chap. 37), “Tao [dao] invariably does nothing (wu-wei) and yet there is nothing that is done”.

Written by Zhang Longxi, The Tao and The Logos, can be respectively referred as two symbols in the philosophy of Chinese and western culture. “Tao” was originally put forward by Lao Zi, a great philosopher and ideologist in about 571 BC, China. He supposed that everything in the world was running in accordance with “Tao”, the very beginning and rule of cosmos. It also led human beings to find truth. Absorbed into other philosophy schools, “Tao”, for thousand years, has a profound impact on Chinese culture.

In “The Daodejing,” Laozi, similar to many prominent Chinese philosophers before and after his time, discusses his unique perspective of the “Way.” There is much controversy, however, regarding whether Laozi was the actual author of this text or was even a real person, and “his” work is thought to have been a composite. (For the purpose of clarity, throughout this paper, the author(s) of “The Daodejing” will be mentioned as Laozi.) Laozi’s vision of the “Way” is exceptionally challenging to define using words because of its metaphysical nature. Although this term is somewhat difficult to envision, it is what mankind should aspire and take action to be aligned with. According to Laozi, in “readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy,” the “Way” (or dao) is the “source, sustenance, and ideal state of all things in the world” (Laozi 158). It can be best thought of as the underlying guiding force of all events that occur in the universe, and mankind is closer to the “Way” when they realize that all things are interconnected and have an effect on one another. As might be expected, this vague definition isn’t a foolproof depiction of the eighty-one chapters in the “Daodejing,” but one is able to grasp a basic understanding of Laozi’s ineffable doctrine. Although numerous chapters are meaningful and could provide

Taoism is a religious, philosophical and ritual tradition originating in around the 3rd or 4th century. I plan to pursue how the religion was affected by the culture in which it arose. Specifically focusing on the fact that there are no real deities in Taoism. How Taoism, or Daoism, was shaped and influenced by Chinese culture, as well as presenting how Daoism has formed and prospered in Chinese civilization with both Confucianism and Buddhism as an influence. The teachings of the Dao De Jin, or Tao Te Ching, and other religious text will be explored in the context of societal influence.

“Cultivate it in oneself and its Virtue will be genuine… Cultivate it in one’s village and its Virtue will be long lasting. Cultivate it in your state and its Virtue will be abundant” (The Daodejing, 57. 4-7). The Daodejing is the book, composed of many philosopher’s views and philosophy through poetry, for the belief of Daoism or Taoism. Like many other of Chinese philosophies, Daoism, teaches not only the balance and unity in oneself, but unity and balance with the state as well. Philosophy unified the Chinese statehoods and balanced the people within the states. Though the states were often at war and dynasties often triumphed over one another, China was still unified under the Mandate of Heaven. Within the Mandate of Heaven, China was unified under one ruler that followed the way of heaven and receives blessings from the gods. If a ruler no longer went by the way of the heavens, then they would be overthrown and replaced by one that now received the blessings of the gods. As well as philosophy, agriculture of rice also unified people, villages, and the states. Rice farming required villages to work together and form a collective thought process, while other farming focused more on individualism. This brought villages together physically through agriculture practices while their philosophies united many as a whole throughout the states bringing stability and contentment throughout history. Therefore this text will explore how rice farming and philosophy, such as

Taoism and Buddhism are China's two major religions. Taoism is a Chinese philosophical, religious, and spiritual belief system that teaches one to flow with life and to be true to one's nature. Taoism is one of China's five religions. It is one of three philosophical teachings which also include Buddhism, and Confucianism. Taoism began in the in the late 4th century BC under the work of Laozi, in the Tao Te Ching. 'Tao' means 'way' and Taoism is sometimes expressed as 'the flow of the universe.' Taoism's central value is naturalness, which one achieves by freeing themselves from desire and selfish thoughts and behaviors and embracing simplicity in life. Taoism is also sometimes referred to as Daoism.