Taoism

1. Taoism Comparative Religions

2. Founder • ____________– born about 604 B.C.E. • Met Confucius who labeled Lao a _______________ • Enigmatic • Larger than life • Mysterious • Lao supposedly became upset with the attitudes of the people and climbed on a _________________ and headed west

3. On this westward journey he was stopped and was asked to write down his ________________________ • Three days he wrote • He produced the Tao Te Ching – The Way and Its Power (aka the __________) • Most scholars don’t believe Lao himself wrote the whole thing • They do agree that _____ man’s thoughts inspired the whole thing

4. Three Meanings of Tao • Tao is the way of ultimate reality • Too vast for reason to __________________ • It is the womb from which all _______ springs and to which it returns • Tao is the way of the universe • The norm • The rhythm • The driving power of ______________ • It is spirit instead of matter • It can’t be _____________________ • The more it’s drawn upon, the more it flows • Tao is the way of __________________________ • It meshes with the Tao of the universe

5. Three Approaches to Power and the Taoisms that follow • ___________________________Taoism • ___________________________ Taoism • ___________________________ Taoism • All three of the above are different, but seek to maximize the Tao’s meaning of ________ • Summarizing the three together: • P.T. begins with interest in how life’s normal allotment of ______ can best be used. This leads to how ch’i can be ________ (V.T.). Finally, gathering the ________ energy of Tao is handled in R.T. • See these three as currents in a common _______

6. Philosophical Taoism • ___________________ • Self-help oriented • Teachers are really ______________ training students in what they should understand • An attitude to _______________ • Has the most to say to the world • Called “School Taoism” in _______________ • Lao Tzu • Chuang Tzu • Tao Te Ching

7. ________________________ is sought • P. T. want knowledge that empowers (aka wisdom) • P.T. want to live in a way that _____________ energy by not expending it in useless ways • Avoid ______________ and _________________ • Center on _______________ – pure effectiveness • Main objective is to align one’s daily life to the Tao • Ride its boundless tide and delight in its flow • Find Creative Quietude – the balance between supreme _____________ and supreme _____________

8. Vitalizing Taoism • Called Taoist Adepts • Wanted to increase the Tao at their disposal • Center on ____________ – vital energy (breath) • Main objective is to remove _____________ that reduce the flow of ch’i • _________________ is the life force and these Taoists love life!

9. Concentrate on three things to maximize ch’i • _______________ • _______________ • _______________ • Ch’i is taken in it’s matter forms (liquid, gas, solid) through movements like t’ai-chi chuan. The mind increases ch’i through meditation. • The meditation resembles ___________ • “To the mind that is ___________, the whole universe surrenders.”

10. Religious Taoism • Religious Taoism __________________the shamans, psychics, faith healers, and soothsayers of the day. • Taoist church was founded in the ________ century C.E. • The Taoist priesthood made cosmic life-power available for _____________________ • The church and it’s line of succession continues today in ______________

11. Natural Elements • _________ impressed the Taoists the most. • Unobtrusive • Adaptive • Assumes the ________ of its containers • Seeks out the __________ places • __________ what is hard and brittle • __________ canyons from granite • Erodes hills • Wisdom of water (wuwei) • “Muddy water let stand still will ____________”

12. Humility • Taoists value ________________. They honor • Hunchbacks • Cripples • They point out the value of • __________________ • __________________ • __________________

13. Naturalism • Taoists believe nature should not be ________ and abused, any more than _______________ should be • Nature should be ___________________, not conquered. • Humans are at their best when they are in harmony with their ______________ • Man is often seen as climbing with their bundles, riding a buffalo, or poling a boat • The human self with its journey • The hill to climb • The burden to carry • But surrounded by the beauty of __________________

14. Identity with Opposites • Yin/yang • Polar opposites • Day – _____________ • ____________ – death • Male – ____________ • On cannot _________ without the other • The two meet, mesh, but remain _______________

15. Chinese Character • Chinese Character is best represented by the two poles of Confucianism and Taoism