Taoism+&+Shinto+Presentation+(by+Jeffrey+G.+Rosenberg+&+Timothy+H.C.+Robinson)

Taoism

Toaism has held its roots in China since around 300 BCE. It is not considered a formally organized religion. Instead, it is viewed as a strain of thought or philosophy; this makes it hard to cite a specific date of origin. Taoist thinking first formed as a result of disagreement with certain aspects of Confucianism. Some accounts of Laozi, (one of the founding thinkers of Daoism) suggest that he conversed with Confucious in search of philosophical advice. Confucianism has traditionally been the ethical and religious basis upon which Chinese culture has been built. Taoism was created as an alternative "way" to that standard.
 * Time and Place of Origin:**

Yang Zhu is considered to be one of the earliest Daoist figures. Yang Zhu is credited for altering the concept of self-preservationism already existing in Confucianism. Self-preservaion to Confucianists is a method of mainting a heirarchichal respecful family structure in which the youngest members respect their elders based on age. Daoism regards self-perservation as being more defined by nature than by family. Thanks to Yang Zhu, self-preservation to a Daoist is a method of maintaining one's self by preserving the primordial way of nature.
 * Key Figures:**

Laozi is widely considered to be the founding father of Taoism. Very little of his life is actually known but the myths surrounding him have served as guidelines for Daoist thought and lifestyle. His actual date of birth is unknown and there are many accounts of when he lived, most fall between 600 and 400 BC. His birthname is rumored to be Li Erh and he is widely assosiated with his thoughts surrounding "doing nothing" and avoiding any interfearence with nature. Laozi come to the paradoxical conclusion that to achieve anything one must begin with its opposite; to be strong one must retain weakness. He argued that in this way we all achieve a type of extreme balance. He is often considered the writer of the Daodejing but the chances that he actually wrote the whole thing are minimal. It is said to be confirmed that he wrote at least 9 of its chapters.

Like Yang Zhu and Laozi, Zhuang Zi believed that one should adhere to the "way" or the to laws and teachings of nature rather than trying to derive their own methods of doing things. However, more than his counterparts, Zhuang Zi recognized the world of human interaction a little more head on. As a result, Zhuang Zi addressed, in discussions and his writing, how to transcend human points of view, how to learn to see humans as a minuscule component of the universe and to adhere to the rules of the universe as a whole. Zhuang Zi's ultimate goal was to see the universe as a whole and to never search for differentiations within it. Zi's teachings tend to be considered more conscious than Laozi's; acknowledging that a decision to align one's life with the way of the universe as a whole is a constant conscious effort as apposed to a state of ignorance requiring no knowledge of the universe at all.


 * Major Taoist Texts: The Daodejing and the Zhuangzi**

It is said, that when Laozi left Asia for the west he was stopped at the border and asked to record his knowledge to be left behind for the west. Myth says that these recoding he made were the origins of the Daodejing (Tao Te Ching), the most vital document attached to the study of Taoism. It is essentially an eclectic mass of journal entries teaching how to understand the and follow the true "Dao" as a means of finding happiness. With chapter titles like "Army" "Self" "Contentment" and "No End" the Daodejing teaches Taoism by demonstrating how Taoist thought plays out in society. It addresses things like government and sin explaing how they do and do not follow Taoist teaching.

Daodejing Quotations:

"When Everyone in the world knows beauty as beauty, ugliness appears"

"Thus be constantly without desire"

"The violent do not attain a natural death"

"In doing nothing there is advantage"

"Things may gain by losing and lose by gaining"

"Do not exalt the worthy" "Do not value goods that are hard to come by" "Do not display objects of desire"


 * Divine Entities:

Taoism, the Daodejing, and Laozi all make suggestions of a higher force or entity, but they all address it "Tao" as "the way". This "way" however is different from the "way" in which Taosim says you should live your life. This "way" is considered to be the energy in which all stuff originated from. According to Taoism this Dao existed as pure chaos long before the creation of any physical matter. Within this divine force of energy there are also "yin" and "yang" energies. They are not necessarily any type of energy in particular but they exist in equal and opposite quantities. In the early days of Taoism, deities were still strongly attached to the philosophy. There was a Queen Mother of the East and a King Father of the West. These deities are most likely reflective of a balance of yin and yang.

Taoism in China Korea and Japan:

Taoism is exclusively indigenous to China, however, it has reared its head in many other parts of the world. For example, the Japanese seem to never have practiced Taoism knowingly but in many ways the philosophy has seeped into their culture. Much of Japans superstition, especially those regarding demons and spirits, hold their roots in Taoism. Similarly, Taoist influence has leaked its way into Korea; never dominating over Buddhism or Confucianism. However, it never established itself as an autonomous religion. Korean scholars rarely viewed it as more than a romantic influence or literary theme. **


 * The Chill Taoist Music:

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Reference List:

1. Hoff, Benjamin, 1982. //The Tao of Pooh//. New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc.

2. Morton, W. Scott, 1995. //China: Its History And Culture//. New York: Second McGraw-Hill, Inc.

3. http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/speical/china_1000bce_daoism.htm

4. http://www.iun.edu/~hisdcl/h425/Daoism.htm

5. http://www.patheos.com/Library/Taoism/Beliefs/Ultimate-Reality-and-Divine-Beings.html