Taoism

Taoism

Introduction

        From early childhood, I was always fond of watching action-packed martial arts movies.  In many movies, the hero gets badly beaten by the gang of villains and then a mentor finds him and teaches him how to fight and find his destiny. That depiction of discipline, rigorous training, and selfless effort always motivated me. These movies had one thing in common, a black and white sign. I always wondered what it was until last year I found out that it is the sign of Yin and Yang and is associated with the Taoism. This is what intrigued me to choose Taoism for this project. It would help me to dive deep into the history, rituals, eschatology and increase my understanding of this religion.[pic 1]

                                                                                                 Figure 1 : Yin-Yang Symbol

Brief Historical Background

        There is a common belief that Lao Tzu was the founding father of Taoism, which in fact is not entirely true. In the 4th century B.C, Lao Tzu of China left a book behind, which soon became as Tao Te Ching, Taoism’s Holy Book. However, in the Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu referred to the “Tao masters of antiquity. So the question arises that to whom he was referring?

                                                                                                                                                                                  [pic 2]

                                                                                                        Figure 2 : Lao Tzu

                            Taoism surfaced from a shamanic tradition that was being followed in China since the ice ages. Shamans had immense power over the elements, converse with the animals and had knowledge of the use of plants. They were called the healers and diviners. What little is known of Lao Tzu is that he was from the state of Ch'u. The teachings of shamanism inspired their culture. It is also evident from Tao Te Ching in which he spoke of shamanic values and understanding of nature. During the warring of kingdoms era, Taoism emerged as a significant Chinese religion. Different philosophies expired, Chinese people searched for the answers in the age of continuous mayhem and chaos. Lao Tzu summarized the answer in Tao Te Ching. It was a philosophy originated from a combination prehistoric Chinese mystical traditions and contemporary thought. Though it gained some popularity during Lao Tzu’s lifetime, until the 2nd century A.D  Taoism did not have a significant impact in China.

        It was the year 500 A.D, almost 8000 years after Taoism was formed that its sacred text was given an organized shape. The properly organized sacred text is known as “The Three Caverns.” The primary focus was on “external alchemy” before the 11th century. It involved practices that sought to unite the practitioner with the Tao by controlling external circumstances to achieve peace and harmony. External alchemy emphasized with the unearthing of a mineral compound to achieve immortality. The idea of external alchemy warned out eventually, because of continuous failure and the numerous poisonings that had occurred. The concept of internal alchemy started becoming more popular among Taoist community as Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism began to spread. Giving more importance to breathing control and meditation practices and inclining to spiritual needs of an individual as a way of achieving spiritual elevation. This  Buddhism- overlayed religion remained as a supreme religion until the 18th century A.D when Taoism saw a decline in followers and popularity as well.

        Taoism is one of the five officially recognized religions in China. Though Taoism it spread to Southeast Asia and even in some areas of the west. Today, outside China Taoism is not very popular, but it has a strong historical impact. It is responsible for changing and shaping the culture of China. The concepts of yin and the yang and “chi” have immense philosophical importance. It is not being practiced heavily in the contemporary world, none the less it accomplished its goal by integrating its philosophy with the world.[pic 3]

Figure 3: TaoismTemple 

Tradition and Beliefs

        Taoism is more like a philosophy and less like a religion. In short, the Taoism can be defined as “the way of living”. In contrast to other philosophical practices, it accepts the world around them as it is, without even asking questions of why. The Taoist equips himself with the positivity while assessing the world around them. A Taoist experience the world moment by moment and finds comfort in doing so. Nature can explain the 'Tao' or the way. They consider everything in life as beautiful and necessary for helping an individual to become harmonious.[pic 4]

                                                                                                 Figure 4: Monks, Celebrations.

The beliefs of Taoism include:

The Tao: The Tao is spirit and order, it is not an entity. Though some of the followers worship Lao Tzu, the Tao is not even a God. It is impossible to define pure Tao, but it can be found in different forms such as-as natural physical forces, yin yang, and chi.

Ying and Yang: It is a belief that represents the balance between the forces which are opposite in nature. Ying and yang describe how these forces are interconnected and complementary in the natural world.  It also describes that how these opposite forces are responsible for giving rise to each other as they interrelate.

Chi: Chi is the life force in everything. Taoist believes that the flow of the chi is the thing which is responsible for the flow of the universe. Often depicted in several of the martial arts styles like Tai Chi, representing how this mysterious life force can be controlled and manipulated.