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Early Chinese Thought • “Early Chinese religion shares much in common with the other early tribal religions of the world. There was a belief in spirits and in reverencing their ancestors. There was the universal belief in “animism,” which is the belief that everything is alive.”
Shang Dynasty • “During the Shang dynasty (1500? - 1100 B.C.E.) the omnipotent power that was believed to rule the world was called Shang Di and was thought of as a personal god, capable of being contacted by diviners.”
Zhou Dynasty • “During the Zhou dynasty (1100-256 B.C.E.) the conception of an impersonal power called Tian (usually translated as “Heaven”) came into common parlance. Tian was seen as an impersonal divine force that controls events on earth and as a cosmic moral principle that determines right and wrong.”
Patterns in Nature • “To survive, the Chinese people had to learn that while they could not often control nature they could learn to work with it when they understood its underlying patterns. Taoism may be traced back to this concern for finding-and working with-natural patterns.”
Yin and Yang • “After about 1000 B.C.E. the Chinese commonly thought that the universe expressed itself in opposite but complementary principles: light and dark, day and night, hot and cold, sky and earth, summer and winter. The names for the two complimentary principles are yang and yin.”
Yin and Yang • “The yin and yang principles are not the same as good and evil. Yang is not expected to win over the force of yin, or vice versa; rather the ideal is a dynamic balance between the forces.”
Yin and Yang • “The emblem of balance is the yin-yang circle, divided into what looks like two intertwined commas. One half is light, representing yang; the other is dark representing yin.”
Yin and Yang • “Inside each division is a small dot of the contrasting color that represents the seed of the opposite. The dot suggests that everything contains its opposite and will eventually become its opposite.”
Yin and Yang • “Both forces are dynamic and in perfect balance as they change, just as day and night are in balance as they progress. We can think of yang and yin as pulsations or waves of energy, like a heartbeat or like breathing in and out.”
Ancestor Reverence • Chinese have felt that the people we love who die can influence our lives for the better or worse and therefore it is important to respect them and do rituals to keep the peace.
A Mysterious Force • The Chinese did not have a personal monotheist God, but they did have a sense of a great and mysterious force, perhaps something like the Hindu Brahman.
Tian • “All things ultimately derived from Tian, but it was more a personification of natural law than a real personality and was not directly worshipped. Heaven was understood as being remote.”
A Hierarchy of Being • There was a perceived hierarchy of being from the human and natural world to the ancestors and then the forces of nature until eventually you reached Tian.
Unity • “One basic principle that has run through Chinese thought from the beginning is that the universe is a unity in which all things fit together. If humanity aligns itself with it, all will be in harmony.”
The Goal • The ultimate goal will always be to find a way to bring one’s life into harmony with this greater unity. That is the place of contentment and serenity.
The Tao • “The unity in which all things fit together harmoniously is called the Tao.”
The Experience of Tao • “The Chinese believed there were three realms where Tao could be experienced: nature, human society, and one’s own inner being.”
Temperaments • Those seeking solitude would find themselves leaning in the direction of Taoism and those needing to interact and serve others would lean toward Confucianism.
Tao (Dao) • “The mysterious origin of the universe, which is present and visible in everything. This is the name for whatever mysterious reality makes nature to be what it is and to act the way it does.”
Tao (Dao) • “The Chinese character for Tao is commonly translated as “way,” but it has also been translated as “existence,” “pattern.” and “process.” Primarily, the Tao is the way that nature expresses itself-the natural way. Human beings can unite themselves with the Tao in the way they live.”
Laozi (Lao Tzu) 600 B.C.E. • The legendary founder of Taoism. His name means “old master” or “old child.” In the most famous picture of Laozi, he rides an ox as he leaves China.
Tao Te Ching • The classic scripture of Taoism. Its teachings fostered the most liberal thinkers in ancient China.
Yang • The active aspect of reality that expresses itself in speech, light, and heat.
Yin • The receptive aspect of the universe that expresses itself in silence, darkness, coolness, and rest.
Zhuangzi (Chuang-Tzu) 300 B.C.E. • Author of the Zhuangzi, a book of whimsical stories that express themes of early Taoist thought. In his famous dream, he was not certain that he was not a butterfly.
Wu Wei • “No action,” no strain”; doing only what comes spontaneously and naturally; the ideal of effortlessness.” It is the way of nature.
Wu Wei • “If we look at nature, we notice that many things happen quietly, effortlessly: plants grow, birds and animals are born, and nature repairs itself after a storm. Nature works to accomplish only what is necessary, but no more.”
Qi (ch’i) • The life force. Working with qi is very important in Chinese medicine like acupuncture, which tries to free up blocked qi so that it can circulate freely throughout the body.
Philosophical Taoism • Taoism today contains elements of both philosophical and religious Taoism. But for our purposes we will be focusing on the philosophy of Taoism. “Early Taoism, while possibly influenced by shamanism, created literature that was philosophically oriented. Later, an organized religion emerged.”
Tao Te Ching • “The Tao Te Ching is the great classic of Taoism, accepted by most Taoists as a central scripture, and one of the world’s greatest books. Its title can be translated as “the classical book about the Way and its power.”
Tao Te Ching • “The eighty-one short chapters of the Tao Te Ching are probably the compilation of the work of many people, rather than a single author. The book shows some repetition, has no clear order, and exhibits a clear lack of clarity. In form, each chapter is more poetry than prose.”
Tao Te Ching • “It is possible that the Tao Te Ching was a political handbook, religious guidebook, or practical guide for living in harmony with the universe. Part of the genius of the book is its brevity and use of paradox; its meaning depends on who is interpreting it.”
The Tao • “The first chapter of the Tao Te Ching begins by saying, “The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao.” In other words, we cannot really put into words exactly what the Tao is-a fact that is ironic since the book itself uses words.”
The Tao • “Yet the book goes on to tell us that the Tao is “nameless; that is, it is not any individual thing that has a name-such as a door, a tree, a bird, a person. The Tao cannot be named because it has no form.”
The Tao • “But the Tao can be experienced and followed by every individual thing that has a name. The Tao Te Ching says that the Tao is the origin of everything and that all individual things are “manifestations” of the Tao.”
The Tao • “Although the Tao is the origin of nature, it is not “god,” because it does not have personality. It neither cares about human beings nor dislikes them-it only produces them, along with the rest of nature. Because the Tao makes nature move the way it does, it can be called the way or the rhythm of nature.”
Experiencing the Tao • “To experience the Tao, we must leave behind our desires for individual things, a concept that runs counter to everyday concerns. The Tao cannot be “known” in the same way that we see a car or hear a sound.”
Experiencing the Tao • “It cannot be perceived directly but rather by intuition, like the difference between hearing only musical sounds and recognizing a song.”
Images of the Tao • “The Tao Te Ching presents several powerful images wherein the Tao seems most active and visible. Contemplating them can help us experience the Tao, and by taking on some of the qualities of these images, we begin to live in harmony with the Tao that inhabits them.”
Images of the Tao: Water • “Water is gentle, ordinary, and lowly, but strong and necessary. It flows around every obstacle. Chapter eight praises it: “The highest good is like water.” It assists all things “and does not compete with them.”
Images of the Tao: Woman • “The female is sensitive, receptive, yet effective and powerful.”
Images of the Tao: Child • “The child is full of energy, wonder, and naturalness.”
Images of the Tao: Valley • “The valley is yin, and it is mystery.”
Images of the Tao: Darkness • “Darkness can be safe, full of silence and possibility.”
Images of the Tao: Simplicity • “Taoism urges its followers to eliminate whatever is unnecessary and artificial and to appreciate the simple and apparently ordinary.”
Images of the Tao: Gentleness • “Because Taoists pursue the gentle way, they hate weapons and war. The wise person loves peace and restraint and avoids all unnecessary violence.”
Images of the Tao: Relativity • “People see things from a limited point of view that is based on their own concerns. They see things in terms of divisions: I-you, good-bad, expensive-cheap, valuable-worthless, beautiful-ugly.” The Taoist wants to be aware of this duality and try to keep things in perspective.
Taoist View On: Education • “Give up learning, and put an end to your troubles.” Formal education is not a Taoist value, whereas in Confucianism it is a very strong value.
