Tao

I'm Buddhist, but welcome all discussions of Oriental Philosophy and Religion. As you probably know, there are at least three different sorts of Taoism. There is the Philosophical School based primarily on the Tao Teh-Ching of Lao Tze, and numerous later writers. There is the Alchemical School, that repeatedly attempted to find the Elixir of Life, the transmutation of base metals into gold, etc. The Alchemical School actually did make a number of discoveries and is still important to the practice of Chinese Herbal Medicine. The third major school formed part of the foundations of Imperial power. The Emperor's adherence to various Taoist rituals were necessary to maintain balance and the continued Mandate of Heaven. The ritualistic forms of the State School of Taoism were almost unbelievably rigid, strict and all-consuming.

Mostly in the West when one talks of Taoism it is the Philosophical School that is intended.

The legendary Lao Tse (perhaps 6th century BCE), who was universally regarded as the wisest man in the World, decided that he wanted to travel westward beyond the Chinese borders. Not wanting to lose such an important person, the Emperor would not permit his exit until he had written all of his wisdom into a book. Lao Tse calmly sat down beneath a tree and in less than a day wrote the Tao Teh-Chng, and promptly disappeared into the setting sun. When Buddhist monks appeared at the Western Gates it was mistakenly believed that Buddhism was simply the later flowering of Lao Tse's genius, and indeed there are a number of similarities in the Teachings.

BTW, Welcome to A2K. We hope to often read your views here.

Nice to meet you sir ...
Hello,

I am a big proponent of the triplex union you speak of in your statement of alchemy. I grew up in a traditional kung fu environment and was taught of the immortal fetus and internal alchemy from a young age. I am also in training to become a Traditional Chinese Doctor and entirely agree with your statement of their effect on TCM. I was never big on the entirely ritualist forms of Tao, mainly because I quite strongly align myself with the tao that can be tao'd is not the real tao. Though, through fully understanding function you may bring about formlessness, I find that strictness to too consuming with my life as it is now.

Thanks for the reply.

Yours,
Hastings

The Alchemical School of Taoism most probably grew out very ancient Chinese folkways and customs, and then was grafted onto the Philosophical School. The Alchemical School itself has several branches. You've already noted the Kung-Fu connection, where one who retains inner-balance and detached calm can withstand and conquer the emotional and impetuous. The pursuit of eternal life, wealth and good health has made a number of contributions to medicine and science. Closely associated though is a faith in magic, the supernatural, and plain old superstitions.

Though I've delineated several Taoist branches, in actual practice the divisions are not all that clear. Aspects of Official Taoist ritual can be found in the Alchemical School, and even some of the more fantastic folk-beliefs are sometimes discovered in the rarified thought of the Philosophical School. Popular modern films often feature Kung-Fu masters who mix Philosophical Taoism with magic and supernatural power to defy gravity, time and space. This makes for very popular films, especially where large Chinese populations exist.

If there is any single foundation underpinning all of the Taoist branches, it is probably in the ancient folkways that lie at the heart of Chinese culture.

I suppose that later we should write a bit about some of the writings within the Philosophical School of Taoism. It may surprise some how varied the approaches to Taoism have been by various philosophers over the last couple of thousand years. These days there isn't much interest in State Taoism, because those forms are today almost as extinct as the Dodo. Only those interested in the Court life of Chinese Dynasties are likely to care, and those are the sort of people who are quite capable of studying it on their own. BTW, Needham's history of Chinese technology is a wonderful source for those interested in the subject.

Isn't there anyone out there interested in the Tao?

I recently completed the Tao Te Ching, and I find Taoism appealing, and quite different from Confucian's teachings, since I read the Analects. Indeed, it is almost like a polar opposite in terms of its philosophy.

I'm interested in zen buddhism which is very likely a product of both Buddhism and Taoism. I see little difference between zen as we know it in the west and the philosophical school of Taoism.
Yes, welcome, Hastings.

I am, I just don't have anything interesting to say... sorry.

Edit: which doesn't mean I don't know anything about the subject... Because I do, just not as much as I would like. So please, continue...

What is the basic tenet of Taoist metaphysics? It seems to advocate "doing nothing"?

You mean doing what comes naturally?

It is hard to say just what the central tenent of Taoism is. The reason is that there are a number of different philosophical Taoist schools. Chaun-Tze's approach is not exactly the same as Lao-Tze, and the philosophies of Mencius and Mo-Tze are more different yet, and these aren't the only notable Taoist philosophers. Taoism is a big tent and it holds many acts.

The Tao Teh-Ching, the little book attributed to Lao-Tze, emphasizes the value of being in balance and in tune with nature. The social conventions are artificial and tend to obscure the natural essence of individuals. For Lao-Tze even naming a tree is to debase its natural beauty. If we dam up the natural, internal pressures (social, personal, etc.) build up and a price must be paid. The underlying nature of the natural world of which we are apart can not be named, or sculpted to fit human dreams. The happy man is the one who is fully in touch with their place in the natrual order. Being in balance, the wise man is strong and capable of drawing upon the hidden dynamic of nature.

Other Taoist philosophers make the illusory nature of the perceptual world, or love, or legalism the central focus of their philosophical writing. The Philosophical School of Taoism is also an important building block in Chinese martial arts, in the Alchemical School, and even the Taoist rituals that underpinned the Imperal system. Taoism, we should never forget, is closely related to Chinese folk culture that has been around far longer than written records. Hungry ghosts and other superstitions all make up parts of what we call Taoism.

Taoism certainly is quite different from Confucianism. Confucius, Master Kung, was concerned with building a harmonious social order. The family and society, in Confucius, are valued above the individual. Confucius was a very conservative fellow, whose philosophy placed high values on learning Chinese traditional materials and acquiring the morals and graces of a gentleman. The Chinese have a saying, "Confucian while young, Taoism in retirement and Buddhist at death". The Chinese tend to be a practical people, and have little difficulty belonging to several different belief systems at the same time. BTW, The Analectics should be required reading for anyone interested in Asian culture.

Thank you Asherman. I have read somewhere that in the Han dynasty, Taoism and Confucianism (and probably even a limited form of legalism) are the philosophy of the government. It is amazing that such philosophies of different ends of a spectrum can be accepted without conflict.

I'm reading along, thanks.

Is W. a Tao follower then.

Kevin Treadu does Tao.

Welcome to the forum.

Wanda

p.s. My last name is Hastings. =)

Excellent...very well said.