TAOISM
History of Taoism
Tao can be roughly translated into English as path.
The founder of Taoism was Lao-Tse (604-531 BCE). He was a contemporary of
Confucius. It started as a philosophy but evolved into a religion in 440
CE when it was adopted as a state religion. At that time Lao-Tse became
venerated as a deity.
It, along with Buddhism and Confucianism, became the three great religions of
China. Taoism currently has about 20 million followers, and is primarily
centred in Taiwan. About 30,000 Taoists live in North America; 1,720
in Canada (1991 census).
Taoist Beliefs
Beliefs include:
- Tao is the first-cause of the universe.
- The goal of everyone is to become one with the Tao.
- Development of virtue is one's chief task. The Three Jewels
to be sought are compassion, moderation and humility.
- Yin (dark side) is the breath that formed the heavens. Yang (light
side) is the breath that formed the earth. They symbolize pairs of
opposites, such as good and evil, light and dark, male and female.
Intervention by human civilization upsets the balances of Yin and Yang.
- Each person must nurture the Ch'i (air, breath) that has been
given to them.
- Time is cyclical
- Five main organs and orifices of the body correspond to the five
parts of the sky: water, fire, wood, metal and earth.
Taoist Texts
These include:
- Tao-te-Ching (the Way of Power) was believed to have been written by
Lao-Tse. It describes the nature of life, the way to peace and how a ruler
should lead his life.
- Chuang-tzu (named after its author) contains the teachings of Lao-Tse.
Some Internet References
Return to the OCRT home page; return to the
Religions and Ethical Systems.