A question for taoists

[nantogph]

I am giving a report on taoism and i would like to know what the basic philosophy of taoism is from someone who is a practicing taoist. For example, what are the right and wrongs in your religion? Do you worship or meditate? How did the world come to be? What happens after you die?

[Marblehead]

I am a Philosophical Taoist so I can't speak to your questions but I am sure there are some who will share their knowledge with you.

[Gerard]

No religion, fortunately.

 

Basic philosophy: connect with the universe you have within and harmonise the whole thing. Monumental task which requires a great amount of discipline and patience. Use the natural environment as the main setting for your practice and strive for doing without doing. This last part is very difficult to attain but the longer you progress the more it makes sense and takes place.

 

After you die? Worry about the huge task you have ahead while you are still alive

[dust]

I'm fairly new here, but it seems to me that there aren't many "religious Taoists" around, so... your question, as asked, might well go unanswered.

 

I would suggest that Taoism is first and foremost a philosophy, or way of looking at things, and not a religion to be practiced.

 

There is no obedience to authority, there is no prayer for help, there is no Hell for sinners.

 

(In my opinion) worship, fixed morals, systematic structure, etc.. these are all antithetical to the ideas of Laozi and Zhuangzi.

 

And as far as the cultivation side -- qigong, taiji, meditation, dietary practices, etc -- these all came later, and while useful (and I do practice qigong & meditation myself), they are not intrinsic to Daoist philosophy, and are not necessary in order to "follow the Way"

 

That's not how everyone sees it, but... in my opinion...

[henro]

You might look here:

 

http://daoistfoundation.org

 

and

 

http://www.daoiststudies.org

[PLB]

Comment removed by author for being too grouchy.

Sorry about that.

Edited October 22, 2014 by PLB

[sillybearhappyhoneyeater]

religious daoism is the belief that all things in the universe are connected by one "way."

there are multitudes of gods and godesses, and the basic premise of the whole thing is devotion to cultivating the dao.

there is nothing intrinsically wrong or right about religious daoists - consider that Yuzi and Zhang Daoling both went to beseech kings to stop killing -

Daoists are essentially interested in all parts of life, be they philosophical, practical, religious, or other - so daoism connects all things through the religious and philoshical understanding of the practice of elixir.

Daoism is unique in that sense, because it is the only religion which views its main priority as development of the person, as opposed to focusing on the end goal of recieving a reward for good behaviour.

or more to the point, most religions believe in being let out of prison at the end of life, while daoists belive they can do it in this life and then become immortal.

[woodcarver]

The Tao Te Ching is a pretty short read. It's more reputable than people on a forum and quoting it will get you a good grade.

[Harmonious Emptiness]

I am giving a report on taoism and i would like to know what the basic philosophy of taoism is from someone who is a practicing taoist. For example, what are the right and wrongs in your religion? Do you worship or meditate? How did the world come to be? What happens after you die?

 

rights and wrongs?

 

depends in what. The I Ching describes the functions of reality so as to help decide right course of action. The right course of action being that you do not stray from your true nature which will guide you to peace, tranquility, love, few desires, modesty, and an intuitive guide beyond lists of do's and don'ts.

 

worship or meditate?

 

Daoists do recognize the authority of Heaven. "Man is led by Earth, Earth is led by Heaven, Heaven is led by Dao, Dao is led by it's perfect nature." The word "worship" has many connotations in English which perhaps may or or may not apply as it confines, and even anthropomorphizes, something which is beyond the grasp of ideation.

 

how did the world come to be?

 

Yin and Yang came together and had a everything.

"The One gave birth to the Two, the Two gave birth to the Three, and the Three gave birth to the myriad things."

There are variations on what this means, but mostly, Oneness is before the birth of Yin and Yang which were the unified character of One. The three, I'm not sure. Perhaps the combination of form and formlessness being two things, yet a third as well.

 

what happens when you die?

 

Depends. Supposedly, if you want to, you can practice in life and be accepted into sort of the offices of Heaven. Taking the imperial exams was a huge deal in China. In a way, life is the imperial exam, (but I don't know that anyone's actually said that before). Though, while this is one answer, it's not the only one. There are many Daoist syncretists too though.

 

 

By the way, I'm just putting this all in my own words. These are not "offical positions," so you might want to just quote me as "a guy who talks a lot that I met @thetaobums.com."

Edited October 24, 2014 by Harmonious Emptiness

[CloudHands]

You have to understand daoism is an old culture so there are many daoisms. In my understanding the taoism of the beginning is really not moral : there is no right or wrong but if you follow the rules of Nature (more or less similar to Dao) you'll make your life easier (salmons have very hard lifes... but that's how they are).

 

What I'll is not true but that may give you an Idea. You probably know "The Ant and the Grasshopper" a perfect daoist would be both an innersmiling ant and a silent grasshopper.

 

Amen

 

PS : you'll found non taoist sources very suitable for a report !

[hod]

You best bet for info might be in some books that deal with religious Daoism.

 

One of the best, in my opion, on the subject of religious Daosim is Taoist Master Chaung by M. Saso. It can be hard to find, but very much answers the questions in your original post.

 

Another good one is The Monastery of Jade Mountain by Peter Goullart. Not so much about reilgious Daoism, but gives a great insight into Religious Daosim in China between WWI and WWII.

[mYTHmAKER]

Check out the Tao of Pooh

[Mdb]

For me daoism is the ability to keep your mind open and willing to accept new ideas and thoughts. I'm sure it would be nice to have black and white ideals for doing a report on daoism, but the reason many of the posts are kind of vague is because that is the whole essence of the religion. It is what drew me to it. There are no rights or wrongs or sets of rules. The only rules you will encounter are the rules of nature, the farther away you get from these rules the farther you will be removed from your natural being and natural calmness. It is not impossible to survive in this setting, but it is more stressful and more difficult.

[Stigweard]

Check out the Tao of Pooh

 

 

Bahahahah ... damn you mYTHmAKER ... I just spat my soy milk on my keyboard

[Stigweard]

I am giving a report on taoism and i would like to know what the basic philosophy of taoism is from someone who is a practicing taoist. For example, what are the right and wrongs in your religion? Do you worship or meditate? How did the world come to be? What happens after you die?

 

Some rather big questions there nantogph....

 

As was mentioned, Taoism is a pluralistic beast ... many different "versions" of it from orthodox, aesthetic, philosophical, folk, through to "Holy shit man stay the fuck away from those whack jobs!!"

 

If though you are looking to do a report I would recommend you look at this:

 

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/daoism/

 

That should be more than enough for your purpose

[doc benway]

FWIW, my teacher is from Taiwan and a practicing Daoist.

As far as I can glean from over a decade with him, the most important things to him are:

- observance of rituals related to his teachers and a variety of deities associated with different aspects of daily life and business, , I was fortunate enough to have participated in a few of these rituals

- meditation

- practicing and teaching Chinese martial arts

- a variety of other practices related to astrology and other Daoist "sciences", although I had very little exposure to this side of things

- to him, philosophy and theory are next to worthless, he believes they are by-products of skillful practice and he always advised us that any time spent studying was wasted time that could be spent practicing (meditation, qigong, martial arts). I'm not saying all Daoist feel this way but he made it clear that he did. It might be related to his martial focus.

- he referred to himself as a "disciple of Dao" and seemed to equate that most directly to the meditation practices and to how one leads one's daily life

[manitou]

I think one thing central to the ideology of Taoism is the concept "between aah! and ugh!...how much difference is there?"

 

This says to me that there is no measurement of good or bad. I think this is a common Taoist principle too. It might be easy to include this mindset in a paper. What's 'good' to you will be 'bad' to someone else. How many things in our lives started out appearing as 'bad', but turned into the best thing that could happen to us? The ultimate Taoist, IMO, is a nonjudgmental being who learns to live in the 'nonduality' of the Oneness of all, to develop a type of agape love for all individuals of the earth, including our brothers the trees, flowers, and animals; the ultimate Taoist, IMO, will possess the 3 Treasures as enumerated in the Tao Te Ching. The previous suggested to read the Tao Te Ching is the very best suggestion, IMO. It doesn't take long to read (although it can be a lifetime of study!). There are many components involved in being the consummate Taoist. In addition to the Love aspect, the sincere Taoist will really try to live life with his ego in his control, and in a state of Mindfulness that is with him daily. He will have learned that striving for the things in life that most people value are in reality empty shadows, that being in Oneness with the Life Force is the thing that we strive for most - an attitude of constant Mindfulness.

 

Many of us who have followed this path for years have come to the conclusion that we are One with the Creative Force, that there is an "I Am" that lives within each of us which is a direct connection with the creative force. This is to say that there is nothing that philosophical Taoists 'worship' that is external. That everything in our bodies and outside of our bodies are part of the same dynamic; that we are all part and parcel of each other and the creative force behind it. It becomes a question of our own individual alignment with the forces that be.

Edited November 1, 2014 by manitou

[ChiDragon]

I am giving a report on taoism and i would like to know what the basic philosophy of taoism is from someone who is a practicing taoist. For example, what are the right and wrongs in your religion? Do you worship or meditate? How did the world come to be? What happens after you die?

 

I do study the Taoist philosophy but not a believer of the Taoist religion. The main philosophy evolved from Lao Tzi's philosophy of Wu Wei(無為). His definition of Wu Wei is "to let Nature take its course". In other words, take no adverse action to interrupt the course of Nature. In life, take no action to cause any harm to a person mentally or physically.

 

In the actual practice, it is to take good care of one's body by integrate oneself with Nature. Integrate with Nature is by eating the nutritious foods and breathe the fresh air which are provided by Nature. Fine tune one's body by practicing Chi Kung or Tai JI Quan to prolong life. Practice meditation for mental health and the inner being and Tai Ji Quan for good health and the physical being. These are the most basic concepts for the cultivation of the mind and body to attain the highest realm as a Taoist.

 

To answer your questions:

1. What are the right and wrongs in your religion?

Again, the philosophy of Wu Wei is not to create an adversity, such as interrupting or interfering with the course of Nature, then very thing would be turned out right.

 

2. Do you worship or meditate?

I do not worship, but I do meditate by performing Chi Kung abdominal breathing.

 

3. How did the world come to be?

No one can answer this question.

 

4. What happens after you die?

I will become ash and return to earth.

 

Note:

Please be advised that this is only my understanding about the Taoist practice. The others may not follow my philosophy in their practices.

Edited November 1, 2014 by ChiDragon

[Walker]

I am giving a report on taoism and i would like to know what the basic philosophy of taoism is from someone who is a practicing taoist. For example, what are the right and wrongs in your religion? Do you worship or meditate? How did the world come to be? What happens after you die?

You'll have seen by now that answers to your simple questions run a huge gamut, and yet, in spite of the seeming contradiction, we mostly don't argue too much over these differences in belied/practice/opinion/etc. Disconcern with central dogma is a common trait of most Daoists. Thus, while Daoism, like other religions/traditions, has many sects, they are important more because knowing one another's lineage allows us to.respect one another's spiritual ancestors and understand one another's backgrounds. Sects exist, but sectarianism, schisms, and the like are basically unheard of in Daoism.

 

Regarding your.questions,

 

Worship: mostly prayers of gratitude, occasionally requests for subtle guidance, to ancestral masters in Daoism with whom I have affinity. Some practitioners do not worship, while for others it is truly an art--learning how to pray properly can take ten years, or more.

 

Meditation: Yes, learning to still the mind is an important way to allow principles such as the wuwei ChiDragon mentioned become palpable in our lives. Much more can be said, as any semi-serious research attempt will quickly show you.

 

World's genesis: Clear, subtle yang qi and heavy, turbid yin qi separated and yet constantly interact with each other.

 

After death: Recycling,of all components in the body, physical and subtle, according to their qi. The heavy elements disperse into the physical world, the subtle/energetic elements disperse in the non-physical level of existence, and the original spirit eventually emerges in a new life somewhere in the vast Dao, in accord with its karma and affinities. However, again, there.is no dogma, much disagreement on this point, and a general contentment with most Daoists to say, "well, that's what the theory says, anyway, but of course, nobody can say 100% for sure, right?" And with that, the conversation usually reaches its natural conclusion, and like Steve said, time for more real practice with a still mind has arrived.

 

Speaking of which, I need to go stand. 无量天尊。