Religious Traditions Of Taoism

3 Pages 768 Words

Overview
Taoism is a principal philosophy and system of religion that began in China. It is based on the teachings of Lao-tzu in the sixth century B.C. and on subsequent revelations by Chuang-tzu and others. It advocates a simple honest life, and noninterference with the course of natural events. (dictionary.com, 2004.) It has remained in China and been used hand-in-hand with Confucianism. It has slowly spread west, and in these hectic times, it is being used as a reprieve from today’s troubled world. The main theme of Taoism is to align oneself with Tao, or “the way.” It is the natural order of things. Taoism combines a way of living as one with nature, mediation, and worshipping and rituals to combine a philosophy into more than a religion – into a way of life.
Yin and Yang
The symbol of yin and yang is the graphical representation of Tao. Yin is the female side of nature, and is represented by the black part of the circle. Yang represents the male side and is the white side of the circle. Together, they represent balance. Without yin, the yang side would be unbalanced, and vice-versa. This applies to everything in nature. Day and night balance each other out. Floods balance out fires. Peace balances out chaos. When our lives are calm, they are balanced. The theory of yin and yang helps to show Taoists that when things are chaotic, something is out of balance. We must reflect and meditate to analyze these imbalances and work to get our lives back in harmony.
The Principle of Non-action
Taoists believe that the art of “We Wei” or non-action is the path to Tao and salvation. Wu wei does not mean that you sit and wait for things to happen to you. This means that you reflect on your actions before you do them, and see how the will affect nature and those around you. It saves energy in that you are not “swimming upstream,” but rather you are examining the current to find the best way to approach a...