Paganism and Daoism?

[Phi92]

Hello everyone!

 

It's very easy to notice the great simmilarity of (Neo-)Paganism and Daoism.

 

Worship of nature, herbal remedies, meditation and other spiritual practices, magic, superstition (astrology etc.)...

 

What is your opinion on Paganism?

 

What are the main differences between Paganism and Daoism?

 

In what way can they complement each other?

 

I'm looking forward to hear your opinions!

[zerostao]

phi92 , what are your views about pantheism?

[zanshin]

I was interested in paganism and Wicca in my younger days, but never could take it too seriously. Not a fan of worshiping anthropomorphic gods. I do like the idea of understanding what the current moon phase is and other natural observation. What I believe probably a combination of animism and pantheism. PRetty sure from reading some of the Taoist threads that I am not actually a Taoist, although I agree with Taoist ideas

[Phi92]

phi92 , what are your views about pantheism?

 

I believe Daoism is a form of pantheism. I think that it is more probable than theism.

 

I personally love a combination of pantheism and animism, although I'm still not clear on how that would work together.

[Phi92]

I was interested in paganism and Wicca in my younger days, but never could take it too seriously. Not a fan of worshiping anthropomorphic gods. I do like the idea of understanding what the current moon phase is and other natural observation. What I believe probably a combination of animism and pantheism. PRetty sure from reading some of the Taoist threads that I am not actually a Taoist, although I agree with Taoist ideas

 

What makes you think that you aren't a Daoist, if I may ask? I'm having the same doubts myself.

 

Also, in Wicca, as far as I know, nobody really believes that the gods are truly anthropomorphic. Most of them see those as visual representations of two energies - male and female (God and Goddess).

[zanshin]

I'm an animist because I think all things have their own spirit and a pantheist because I think we all part of the overall divinity of nature. To me, more Spinozan impersonal pantheism, I do agree with male and female energies. I prefer to think abstractly over assigning visual representations and personalities to spirits and energies. Seems to be some controversy over who and what is a Taoist in Taoist section here. Seems like the Pantheists take anyone, so if I have to pick a label that's the easiest most accurate one.

[Phi92]

Spinoza's thought was more panentheism than pantheism. Everything that is, is in God and God is in everything. There can be attributes which are beyond our cognition. But even so, I believe Spinoza was more of a naturalist pantheist, regarding the physical world to be the only thing that exists, without miracles, supernatural phenomena or souls.

[zerostao]

what i am contending on those other threads is that Taoism is more than Lao Tzu's philosophy.

i am not trying to be an exclusionary. pantheism, animism, and existentialism have a strong appeal to me.

to be true and authentic to oneself and to others is my ideal. and i like hegel's idea that we are transforming

to get to the next whatever and then we will transform to the next whatever.

[zanshin]

Deus dive natura.

 

Divinity and nature are one. I do not sing hymns to the sun or burn incense to the wind, but I love and honor them. I do like the idea of Te in Taoism, of being true and authentic in thought and actions.

[Phi92]

Well from Spinoza's point of view, science is the method of "revering" nature/God. You could even call Spinoza an atheist/materialist/scientific thinker and not be far from the truth.

[zanshin]

Yeah, Einstein expressed some pantheistic beliefs too.

[Phi92]

Yep, he was a fan of Spinoza

[zanshin]

I've have found more wonder, inspiration and reverence for how truly awesome nature and the universe is from scientific articles than from most religious texts. Although I probably do not properly understand either one.

[Apech]

I think paganism is more natural to human's as witness by the fact that we were all pagans for a long time before monotheism appeared. Seeing the divine in all things ... seeing there being an infinite expression of this ... including beings, intelligences of all kinds ... like the ideas fo Edward Butler http://henadology.wordpress.com/ and others ... polytheistic polycentrism ... or whatever you like to call it ...

[9th]

[Phi92]

This is how I roll:

 

[9th]

pay attention and you just might learn something...

 

[9th]

red moon rising

 

[Simple_Jack]

Hello everyone!

 

It's very easy to notice the great simmilarity of (Neo-)Paganism and Daoism.

 

Worship of nature, herbal remedies, meditation and other spiritual practices, magic, superstition (astrology etc.)...

 

What is your opinion on Paganism?

 

What are the main differences between Paganism and Daoism?

 

In what way can they complement each other?

 

I'm looking forward to hear your opinions!

This is an ambiguous question.

 

In the same way, you can say that "Daoism" has a great similarity to Buddhism, because it borrowed heavily from the latter.

[9th]

This is an ambiguous question.

 

In the same way, you can say that "Daoism" has a great similarity to Buddhism, because it borrowed heavily from the latter.

 

 

And in the same way, you can say that every wisdom tradition and religion across the globe has great similarity to each other because it has borrowed heavily from prehistoric shamanism.

[Simple_Jack]

And in the same way, you can say that every wisdom tradition and religion across the globe has great similarity to each other because it has borrowed heavily from prehistoric shamanism.

Can you clarify and back up this statement with examples of philosophical developments that were based off "prehistoric shamanism"?

[9th]

Can you clarify and back up this statement with examples of philosophical developments that were based off "prehistoric shamanism"?

 

 

To your satisfaction? No.

[zerostao]

i reckon that there is an ongoing crystallization of what some refer to as shamanism.

the same thing is going on with Spiritualism.

i look at the emergence of contemporay Mayan Spirituality as one example to both.

[Simple_Jack]

To your satisfaction? No.

Can you really compare the deep philosophical principles of Laozi's thought on the ideal rulership of a governmental system or it's utmost principles of human nature to the primitive belief systems of tribal communities?

 

Lao-Zhuang's development into a complex and comprehensive system of ethics, meditation, astrology, etc, was a continual development throughout China's history: With the development of it's metaphysical and world view, stemming from influences from many different thinkers of China's native philosophies and from the continual wave of influence of Buddhism on Chinese society.

[Apech]

Can you really compare the deep philosophical principles of Laozi's thought on the ideal rulership of a governmental system or it's utmost principles of human nature to the primitive belief systems of tribal communities?

If I may say so it is a mistake to think that primitive means ignorant or superstitious when it it actually just means first.

 

Lao-Zhuang's development into a complex and comprehensive system of ethics, meditation, astrology, etc, was a continual development throughout China's history: With the development of it's metaphysical and world view, stemming from influences from many different thinkers of China's native philosophies and from the continual wave of influence of Buddhism on Chinese society.

 

All these things are codifications of what human's originally understood intuitively. This is why the roots of Taoism is in shamanism.