Taoism Summary PDF

Preview

Summary

Taoism Summary Lecture Notes...

Description

The Old Master (Sonia) Taoism began with a man named Lao Tzu whose entire history remains uncertain. Various legends claim that he was conceived by a shooting star, carried in his mother’s womb for eighty-two years, and born as a wise old man with white hair. Confucius once visited Lao and compared him to a dragon because he was a creature beyond his own knowledge that confused and impressed him. The traditional account of Lao Tzu concludes with his departure from his homeland riding on an ox. Before passing through a gate, a gatekeeper asked him to leave a record of his beliefs. In three days Tao wrote a thin book called Tao Te Ching (translated to “The Way and Its Power”) which remains as the basic text of Taoist thought up until today. This is impressive because Lao Tzu never preached his beliefs or attempted to make his ideas popular. The Three Meanings of Tao (Sonia) There are three meanings of Tao. Tao translates to “path” or “way”. The first way to understand Tao is the way of reality which is too vast for the human mind to comprehend because it is just too great for words. The Tao Te Ching states that “The Tao that can be spoken is not the true Tao”. The second way of Tao is the way of the universe, or the norm that is the driving power in all nature. It is described as graceful, flowing, infinitely generous, and the mother of the world because it gives life to all things. The third form of Tao is the way of human life when it meets with the Tao of the universe, or the second form of Tao. Three Approaches to Taoism and the Taoisms That Follow (Brandon) There are three approaches to power in Taoism that exist. All of these approaches have arisen from China. These approaches were viewed as so dissimilar that, despite them all being in the same category, they were initially believed to have no more in common with each other than homonyms, meaning that they are named similarly but contain different meanings. However, all are engaged in vitalizing program that intend to Tao’s power as it flows through humans. Efficient Power: Philosophical Taoism (Brandon) This is the first species of power in Taoism. Philosophical Taoism aims to reduce the friction inherent in most of life’s actions and to conserve one’s vital energy. As with Zen, the notion of making strenuous efforts to achieve this goal is antithetical to the earliest Taoist teachings. Philosophical Taoists learn to conserve their power by expending it efficiently, and this is taught through a self-help program with teachers and students of Taoism. These programs help guide students on what they should do in the vitalizing regimens. Augmented Power: Taoist Hygiene and Yoga This form of Taoism is characterized by the “adepts” who are practitioners seeking to augment the amount of Tao that they normally have through different methods. They worked with something called ch’i, or vital energy, which flowed through their bodies; their goal way to further the flow of ch’i within themselves. They divided their works into three main sections, matter, movement, and mind. The first, matter, has to do with diet and experimenting with different foods to see whether or not there would be an increase in the flow of their ch’i; many medicinal herbs and pharmacopia were derived from such experiments.Additionally, they used breathing exercises to pull in ch’i from the atmosphere; ch’i in its most basic form. Movement, on the other hand, related mostly to tai ch’i chuan which was a mix of different movements derived from calisthenics, dance, meditation, yin/yang, and martial arts, with the goal of pulling ch’i from the cosmos and unblocking their internal flow. Finally, meditation could be seen as similar to raja yoga, however there were some distinct features. The taoist yogis tried to draw in the ch’i in order to spread it to others in an attempt to create harmony in the community. The taoist yogis were said to have boosted their self-consciousness in meditating in turn having pure consciousness; they didn't just perceive, they perceived what they perceived with.

Vicarious Power/ Intermingling of Powers(204-207) The chinese facing problems such as epidemics, marauding ghosts, and rains, helped bring forth religious Taoism. Tao Chiao, the Taoist Church, sprung up in the second century A.D. This school was anchored in a pantheon whose three originating deities included Lao Tzu. The measures this school created to help with the issues being faced were similar to those of free-lance soothsayers, psychics, shamans, and faith healers. As well, from these divinities sacred texts appeared which were accepted as true without reserve. Because of how Religious Taoism is set up, it tends to a seen as superstitious but an actual understanding of energy is hard to grasp; what is important is that Taoism completes its goal to make cosmic energy available for ordinary villagers. The texts of this school have rituals that when performed correctly have magical effects. traditional magic was understood as occult powers trapped for us in the visible world. under the rubric of magic, the Taoist Church developed ways to harness powers for humane ends. AS well, all 3 powers discussed so far the same goal which to maximize Tao's animating te. It also focuses on how Ch'i can be increased and gathered and distributed to people. The conflict with these powers is that there is no grand separation of them, the line is very thin, and they tend to intermingle frequently. Creative Quietude/Wu Wei (Anne 207-210) Creative Quietude combines within a single individual two seemingly incompatible conditions- supreme activity and supreme relaxation. These seemingly incompatibles can coexist because human beings are not self-enclosed entities. They ride an unbounded ea of Tao  that sustains them. One way to create is through following the calculated directives of the conscious mind. When you create through the conscious mind, the results tend to smack more of sorting and arranging than of inspiration. Genuine creation comes when the more abundant resources of the subliminal self are somehow tapped. For this to happen. Certain disassociation of the surface self is needed. The conscious mind must relax, stop standing in its own light, and let go. Wu Wei is the supreme action, the precious suppleness, simplicity, and freedom that flows from us, or rather through us, when our private egos and conscious efforts yield to a power not their own. Taoism says to get the foundations of self in tune with Tao  and let behavior flow spontaneously. Action follows being, new action will follow new being, stronger being, and wiser being. Tao f lows in and flows out again until all life becomes a dance in which there is neither feverishness nor imbalance. Water is the closest parallel to the Tao  in the natural world. It holds a power unknown to hard and brittle things. It makes an appropriate analogue ro Wu Wei i s the clarity it attains through being still. Other Taoist Values (Matt) Taoists reject all forms of self assertiveness and competition. They see it as unnecessary, as it causes people to focus on things that aren’t important and goes against the idea of being in harmony with other people and things. They believe that the world is full of people who want to best others, be ahead, stand out, and/or cause trouble. Their disagreements with such mentalities and lifestyles are shown in the Taoist saying, “The ax falls first on the tallest tree”. Those that choose to stand out or try to get ahead of others are the ones most likely to fall in the end. Essentially, Taoists value humility; the honor cripples and hunchbacks as they believe that they are the representation of self effacement and what it means to be humble. Their strong focus on humility is also shown in their disinterest towards things that the majority of individuals in the world would consider important. An example of this is presented in the story of Chuang Tzu visiting a ministry in a neighboring town. The story is about Chuang Tzu’s response to a minister who feared that Chuang Tzu was visiting his ministry to take his job. Chuang Tzu replies by telling a story of a bird which flies on a long journey from the southern ocean to the northern ocean, and only lands on a sacred tree, eats only the Persian Lilac and drinks from a Magic well. As the bird is flying, an owl hoping to feast on a rat’s carcass sees the flying bird, and yells for the bird to “shoo” in fear that it would steal the carcass. Thus, Chuang Tzu compares the rat carcass to the ministry; the ministry and being a minister may be important to some, but not to Taoists as there are other things that are more important. This story is a microcosm of the world

and the many other things that people may value, such as fame and material desires, which Taoists view as unnecessary. In addition, Taoism puts emphasis on their attunement with nature. For example, they stay away from using words such as “conquering” or “conquest”, just as the British had used when they successfully reached the peak of Everest. Rather, they would use words such as “befriend”. Their respect for nature is shown within Chinese Art, and the best Chinese Art (according to the Author) had come from times when Taoism had predominated. Moreover, their attunement towards nature and naturalism and simplicity is shown in their refusal to hold ceremonies; Chuang Tzu refused to let his followers hold a funeral for him when he passed. Taoists value lifestyles which are simple, and believe that nature should be embraced. They view modern western cultures as the antagonist to this Taoist ideals as we harm nature in order to power our societies. Hence, they idealize primitive cultures. The Yin/Yang Symbol (Regan 215-219) Drawing further from Chinese culture and symbols, the yin/yang symbol is an integral part of Taoism. The symbol is a representation of the harmony that comes from the basic opposites in life: good/evil, active/passive, positive/negative, summer/winter, male/female, etc. He explains how though the two are split in half, they are connected and balance each other out. The yin/yang symbol is contained within a circle representing Tao, eternal wholeness. The round shape is also representative of life as a whole, as it is a full circle to come to the “realization that all is one and all is well.” (Smith, 215) There is great wisdom found in this symbol, according to some Taoists, who maintain that the yin/yang symbol holds better access to the world’s secrets than any type of philosophical discussion. Contrary to the west, Taoism does not see good and evil as direct opposites. Instead, the yin/yang principal still hold true with this. The example of the farmer is given to exemplify that one does not know the outcome of something they see as bad, or “evil”. At first, the farmer’s horse runs away, only to return days later with multiple other horses. Then the farmer’s son is thrown off one of the horses and breaks his leg, only for the military to come the next day for a draft, however the son’s leg is broken so he is exempt from service. This whole example is given to show the good within the evil, or vice versa. Similar themes are seen with life and death in Taoist values. Though death is admittedly a somber occurrence, Chuang Zhu makes the point that once on dies, they have reentered the state in which they were born, fully completing the circle....