taoism: a philosophy, a religion, and a way of life
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This is a full introduction to Taoism as a philosophy, a religion, and a way of life in Chinese history. To help the reader to understand it better, Taoism is compared with Buddhism, Confucianism, and western religion. Its implication in our modern world is also explored.TRANSCRIPT
Taoism: A philosophy, a Religion, and a Way of Life
By You-Sheng Li
(website: http://taoism21cen.com)
1. An Introduction to Taoism
As a philosophy of life, Lao Tzu (?604-484 BC) and Chuang Tzu (?
369-286 BC) were traditionally recognized as the founders. Its origin goes
back to the time when Chinese civilization began to emerge. Thus a sub-
school of Taoist philosophy takes the name Huang Lao referring to the
Yellow Emperor, the common ancestor to all Chinese, and Lao Tzu. After
Buddhism spread into China during the Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD),
Taoism developed into an organized religion.
Daoist culture has long permeated the everyday life of ordinary
Chinese people since it exerted great influences on social customs and
national consciousness. One of the greatest writer and thinker, Lu Xun
(1881-1936), once said, “China is totally rooted in Daoism.” As the result,
Taoism is the key to a better understanding of traditional Chinese culture.
Today, as a major religion in China, there are more than 1,600 temples and
more than 25,000 Daoist priests of the Quanzhen and the Zhengyi Sect,
though the number of ordinary believers is impossible to assess.
The highest ideal of a Taoist is to acquire immortality. To achieve this
goal, one must practice Taoism both inside and outside one's physical
existence. Inner practice involves physical and breathing exercises,
concentrated contemplation, and the taking of elixirs. Later, this type of
practice gradually came down to refining the interior elixirs ( neidan ). The
basic principle of this practice is still to cultivate the self both spiritually and
physically. External practice involves doing good deeds and helping others.
(1) The Concept of Tao
According to Lao Tzu, Chuang Tzu, and other authors, Tao has the
following features:
1) Tao created the world and everything in the world.
2) Tao is present in everything and it is the Tao that makes everything the
way it is. The functioning of the Tao in a particular existence is called the
virtue or the obtainment of Tao. Tao is immanent.
3). Tao is ineffable. Tao is also referred to as One, Non-Being since there is
really no name for Tao. Tao is beyond words. Words are part of our world
but Tao is not. We can intuit Tao but we cannot describe it. Tao is
transcendent.
4). Tao is also the law every existence has to follow. It is the underlying,
ordering, structuring force prevailing in everything and every space in the
universe. Man is the only known creature that can depart from Tao.
(2) Taoism as an Organized Religion inside China
Since some Taoists organized themselves into a religion in the second
century, Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism were the three main religions
in Chinese history. Chinese people usually visited their temples to worship
but did not officially join any of those religions. They could go to a Buddhist
temple one day, and a Taoist temple next day. Taoism as a religion showed
some striking features in Chinese history:
1. The fundamental belief of Taoist religion is that you do not have to
die physically, which is essentially what behind modern medicine and
science.
2. Taoist religion is based on the ancient Taoist philosophy, which was
famous for its atheistic view against Mohism and Confucianism
during the Axial Age (770-221 BCE).
3. The birth of Taoist religion in the second and third centuries was
associated with a massive uprising of peasants.
4. One of the major parts of religious practice of Taoism is sex.
5. After Buddhism entered China, the hybridization of Buddhism and
Taoism produced a more secular and practical form of Buddhism,
Chan or Zen, which is well known in the West.
(3) The Taoist Deity
It is clear that the early Taoist philosophers such as Lao Tzu and
Chuang Tzu did not pay particular attention to any god except Tao. They
only used the word gods occasionally in a casual manner. Chuang Tzu says:
“In the ancient time, yin and yang were in harmony; gods and spirits were
quiet and did not interfere with people.” Such a description about gods fits
well with the primitive primary society and the Taoist philosophy.
The Taoist religion that developed later introduced a large number of
deities for worshippers, though some of those deities came from folk cults
and Chinese traditions. Those deities were organised in a way that reflected
the secular history of the Chinese empire.
The Book of Changes mentioned, “Observing that the four seasons
rotate in order, Sage used the religious gods to educate the people. All
people under heaven obeyed him willingly.” Thus Chinese rulers had long
known the effectiveness of religious gods as a means to control the thought
of the people. Unlike in the West, religion shared power with the monarchy,
Chinese rulers used religions to control their people. Chinese emperors had
the power to close down any religions and, in fact, both Buddhism and
Taoism were banned sometimes but released later. Christianity was
established in China during the Tang dynasty (618-907) but vanished later
because of an official ban from the empress.
Under such political circumstances it was understandable that the
Taoist religion introduced deities to attract believers and please the emperor.
Without those deities, Taoism as a religion might not have been able to
survive to today.
The first three Taoist deities are called the Three Pure Ones, and the
major deity is the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning. The next level
is the Jade Emperor. There are disagreements regarding the proper
composition of this pantheon. Popular Taoism typically presents the Jade
Emperor as the official head deity. Intellectual Taoists, such as the Celestial
Masters sect, usually present Lao Tzu and the Three Pure Ones at the top of
the pantheon of deities.
(4) Taoist Influence on Chinese Medicine
Chinese traditional medicine has been developed under the influence
of Taoist philosophy and this association of Taoist religion with medicine
has been regarded as its major attraction to the people. In Chinese history, a
popular folk saying goes, “Nine out of ten Taoists are physicians.” The
difference between Chinese and Western medicine is mainly the part that
grew out of Taoist philosophy.
Chinese medicine considers the patient as a whole while Western
medicine considers the disease only. A major treatment in Chinese medicine
is to help the patient’s adjustment and strengthen the patient’s defense
against the disease. Chinese medicine sees the lack of harmony with nature
as a major reason why disorders develop.
Chinese medicine advocates moderation when fulfilling one’s
physical desires. Excess pleasure will weaken or damage our health. The
Taoist theories of yin yang and the five elements are the fundamental
theories of Chinese medicine.
Taoist breathing practices and Chinese acupuncture share the same
theory: Energy circulates along more than a dozen routs inside the body.
Because of the Taoist pursuit of longevity and immortality, tonic medicine
and hygiene are a major part of Chinese medicine. In other words Chinese
medicine emphasizes prevention.
2. Taoism in the Modern Western Perspective
(1) Introduction: The West and the East
In the West, God, the world, and I are three entities. Therefore you have
a God to please, a world to conquer, and most of all you have many peers to
compete with through your whole life. Even your pets have to compete with
other pets once a year at dog shows or cat shows. If you find this tiring or
even depressing, then you may well try oriental philosophy for a change. In
the East, God, the world, and I are all rolled together into one --- the big
One. Taoism seems to be the only philosophy and religion that encourages
the believers to live a prolonged, healthy, and happy life. They stress the
present life rather than the next one. They emphasize human nature rather
than asceticism. In Chinese history it was not Confucianism but Taoism that
led the way for Chinese medicine and science.
If we consider God, the world, and I as religion, science, and
philosophy respectively, Chinese culture was inclined toward the
philosophical or I side, while Indian culture was inclined toward the
religious or God side. In the ideal realm or heaven after death, Taoists have
both their individual souls and bodies, Christians have souls but Hindu-
Buddhists have neither. Hindu-Buddhists lose their individual identities to
join the cosmic pool of soul. Chinese people worshiped their ancestors who
functioned as messengers or mediators between men and God. Since the
ancestors they worshiped included their dead parents or grandparents and
they had a strong emotional bond with them, their concept of God remained
more vague and remote. It is like church goers in the West who are totally
focused on pastors or angels but never care much about God himself.
Ancient Chinese philosophy developed in pursuit of an ideal way of
secular life. Ancient Indian philosophy developed in pursuit of an ideal way
of religious life. Ancient Greek philosophy developed as a way to deal with
both God and the world. The main origin of violence in history was also
different: Invasion from outside for India, expansion of the present powers
for the West, and uprising from within for China. The Chinese peasant
uprisings were common but only reached a large scale occasionally. Chinese
peasant uprisings often took Taoism for their aspiration. Taoism is a
secularized and philosophized religion.
(2) The Vinegar Tasters
The three men are dipping their fingers in a vat of vinegar and tasting it; one man reacts with a sour expression, another reacts with a bitter expression, and the third reacts with a sweet expression. The three men are Confucius, Buddha, and Lao Tzu, respectively. Each man's expression represents the attitude of his religion: Confucianism saw life as sour, in need of rules to correct the degeneration of people; Buddhism saw life as bitter, dominated by pain and suffering; and Taoism saw life as fundamentally good in its natural state. (from the wikipedia )
(3) Moses vs Pan-Geng and Their Different Social Environments
With a super state functioning like the United Nations in today’s
world, the ancient Chinese people still lived in the genetically coded primary
society while the West started with secondary society.(see below for more
explanation) Moses led the Israeli people moved out of Egypt in the
thirteenth and early part of the twelfth century, B. C. Around the same time,
King Pan-Geng of the Chinese Shang dynasty moved the capital including
its residents. Pan-Geng’s move was much simpler and easier than Moses’
move but both met similar resistance from their people.
Pan-Geng did not punish anyone in the end. What happened to those
who resisted Moses' leadership? They were much less lucky than the ones
who resisted Pan-Geng, since they were in a secondary society where the
cohesive force was generated by reward and punishment expressed as divine
will. According to the Bible (Numbers 16:2, 20, 21, 32, 35), “Two hundred
and fifty men of the son of Israel, chieftains of the assembly, summoned
ones of the meeting, men of fame. So they congregated against Moses…
Jehovah now spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying ‘Separate yourselves from
the midst of the assembly, that I may exterminate them in an instant'…And
the earth proceeded to open its mouth and to swallow up them…And a fire
came out from Jehovah and proceeded to consume the two hundred and fifty
men offering the incense.”
3. Taoist Philosophy for the 21st Century
Unlike the West, Chinese civilization started with a super state
functioning as police to keep peace in their isolated world just like the
United Nations in today’s world. If we divide all human societies into
two types: genetically coded primary society and man-made
secondary society, this relatively peaceful social environment allowed
the ancient Chinese people to still live in the primary society.
In primary society, human nature and instinct are enough to
keep the society harmonious and functional. Members are linked
together emotionally and psychologically, since their social interaction
was face to face. The ideal number of people in a primary society is
believed to be around 150. Bands and tribes are regarded as primary
societies. Bands or tribes were headed by headmen who had no
power to force their will on others. Their leadership was based on
persuasion and consensus.
Secondary society is created by man, and so it has an ideology
and a corresponding social structure to support the ideology. As a
creation by man, it has limitless possible types with different value
systems, different directions, and different structures while primary
society, dictated by genetics, has only one type. Social stratification
and institutionalized violence such as police and army are often
necessary to keep a secondary society stable in its present type and
restrain its members from seeking other types of society.
(http://taoism21cen.com, You-Sheng Li: A New Interpretation of Chinese Taoist Philosophy, Taoist Recovery Centre,
2005)
William Eckhardt found a close correlation between war
measured in the frequency of battles, empire measured in the total
area of empires, and civilization measured in numbers of geniuses
whose superiority was established by the consensus of encyclopedia
and textbook authors. While the whole world tended to spiral upward,
as a general rule during the last 5,000 years of human civilization,
regional areas had their ups and downs, rises and falls. When
expenditures exceeded incomes in the evolutionary process, then
came the falls, which were characterized by decentralization,
feudalization, or foreign conquest. In all cases, the way up not only
increased the quantity of civilization, empire, and war, but also
changed the social structure to one of greater inequality, indicated by
slavery, caste, class, social stratification, and so forth. It is justified to
call our civilization the civilization of war.(William Eckhardt: A dialectical evolutionary theory of
civilizations, empires, and wars. In: Civilizations world systems studying world-historical change, ed by S. K. Sanderson. Walnut
Creek, USA: AltaMira Press. 1995, p75-108.)
It is more than obvious that Eckhardt’s theory of warrig
civilizations does not fit in today’s world after the United Nations was
set up. Nor does it apply to ancient Chinese history (2200-476 BC)
when human nature was highly respected and Taoist lifestyle was
popular. We have apparently entered a new era that humans have
never experienced before, and we need a new way of life. The
ancient wisdom of Chinese Taoist philosophy provides a good choice.
At least, it is worthwhile to learn a little bit more about this ancient
way of life. Taoist philosophy emphasizes the value of naturalness
and simplicity, which are well complementary to the Western
philosophy of materialism. Some emerging trends indicate that the
world is coming closer to Taoist ideology.
The Universal Evolutional Pathways
The Universal Evolutional Pathways
Content 1. Physical World 2. Life 3. Culture 4. Conscious
Level 1 Non-being
Level 2 Being
Level 3 Elementary particles
Level 4 Atoms and electrons
Level 5 Molecules and the three phases ofmatter
DNA or deoxyribonucleic acids
Level 6 Objects Cells
Level 7 Planets and stars Tissues
Level 8 Galaxies Organs or functional body parts
Level 9 Universe Individual organism
Level 10 Primary society Culture Unconscious
Level 11 Secondary society Civilization Conscious
Level 12 Transcendenceculture
Rational thinkingsystems
Level 13 Spirituality