Taoism > Definition
What is Taoism?
See also:
=>
=> new! Taoism Symbols
=> The Tao-chia (treats of the main trends of Taoism)
=> About Several Ways of Approaching Taoism
=> Adaptation to the Temporary Demands
=> Taoism Quotes
=> Abstracts
=> Online Resources
In fact there are several kinds of Taoism. One, the most known, is the religious branch. It has gods, and rituals like any other religious movement. There are also many mystical schools that follow esoteric disciplines in search of longevity and immortality, most of them dealing with alchemic recipes and philosophy. Also there is a branch called tao-chia - the school of tao or of unity with the tao - which has as its initiators the most famous Taoist masters such as Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu.
But what is tao-chia after all? What kind of Taoism is the way of unity with the Tao? I use to quote Alan Watts as for the definition of THIS Taoism. Here is what he says:
Taoism [is] the way of man's cooperation with the course or trend of the natural world, whose principles we discover in the flow patterns of water, gas, an fire, which are subsequently memorialized or sculptured in those of stone and wood, and, later, in many forms of human art.
In short, Taoism is a way of life trying to emulate the tendencies of nature (Tao), but it is not restricted to this alone. It follows nature but does so in a manner not familiar to the Western thinking. This approach is not a return to Mother Nature so familiar to the today New Age ideology. Rather it is a philosophy and wisdom acquired by simply observing the flow of natural events.
More about this "way of life" and especially about what "course or trend of natural world" means is fully explained in our email course approaching the initiation into Taoism [ click What about the sources of Taoism? These sources are, obviously, the ancient
works of the Taoist masters like the famous Tao-te ching (the Classic about Tao and its Characteristics), Chuang-tzu and Lieh-tzu. These books have some common features, that is they all present a similar knowledge and concepts like tao, yin-yang, wu and wu-wei. Is Taoism a way of life fitted to our present-day life? Of course, Taoism is
actual and may be followed by modern disciples as well! And what is worth it is not necessary to retreat from the turmoil of your life to follow the Tao. The Taoist spiritual journey starts for each of us here and now by trying to accommodate with the Tao. You may take the first step right now! And lastly, what is the benefit of this way of life entitled Taoism? The most important of all is the art of living in accord with the Tao. This art or path (way) is
studied through this website and all its included material. From this derives a lot of benefices such as the ceasing of general alienation from the very source of life and the discovery of the sense of living and the art of acting in accord with the Universal Power. ^
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