whynaut Posted February 18, 2011 I became entranced by Chuang-tzu's Basic writings. It is funny, insightful, and I was really surprised when I found out it was religious (or at least philosophical) as these three ideas rarely go hand in hand. Â It seems to me that the central theme of Daoism is really the idea of one thing and ten thousand things. That all things are a part of this one great thing. I think that the original founder of Daoism, Lao-tzu, was having a joke at all our expense when he called his idea Dao. As you all know, Dao mean simply "way" in Chinese. Before "Dao-ism" everyone had their own "dao". Dao of war, dao of courtly life, dao of this, dao of that. Then someone asked Lao-tzu, "What's your dao of?" And he must have answered, "Just, dao." In essence, he made up a belief that had no name. It was just "the way". Â And really, isn't that what Daoism is? It is all encompassing, it is everything and excludes nothing. To define it, you move further away from it because the act of definition boxes the idea in and sections it off from other things. It really is both one thing and ten thousand things. Â Â P.S. I cannot seem to be able to post on the discussion board. Can anyone tell me why? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KCHooligan Posted February 20, 2011 Hello, welcome! Â Rather insightful words about Lao Tsu and Daoism. Think I feel very similar about the subject of "the Way". Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheSongsofDistantEarth Posted February 20, 2011 Now that you've posted in lobby, you can post in discussion board. I like your observation, too. Welcome! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
