Taoism

Background (size/demographics)

This religion began around 2000 years ago in China. The name of the religion stems from the Chinese word, “Tao” meaning the way. It is believed that Lao Tsu (or Tzu) founded the religion circa 550 B.C. Taoism started out as just a philosophy; it was not until 142, when Zhang Daoling founded the “Way of the Celestial Masters” sect, that Taoism became an organized religion. Before then, people just followed principles of Taoism as they saw fit. According to Patheos.com, there are 20,000,000 followers of Taoism. Before China became a communist country, Taoism was one of the biggest religions there.

The Three Purities

Divinity and Beliefs

Taoism is a polytheistic religion; the realms of their gods are heaven, immortals, rivers, mountains, and land. The three purities were the highest gods of Taoism. They are “The Celestial Worthy of the Primordial Beginning” (“The Jade Pure One” or “The Universally Honored One of Origin”),  “The Celestial Worthy of the Numinous Treasure” (“The Supreme Pure One” or “The Universally Honoured One of Divinities and Treasures”), and “The Celestial Worthy of the Way and its Power” (“The Grand Pure One” or “The Universally Honored One of Tao and Virtues”). The Jade Pure One is the bigger of the three deities, and is known as the “source of learning and the primordial author of the first Taoist scriptures. The Supreme Pure One shows Taoist scriptures to humans and lesser deities. The Grand Pure One is the god who is the most involved with humans. Other Taoist deities are the Five Emperors of the Five Directions, the Jade Emperor, and the Four Heavenly Emperors. (For more information on Taoist gods click here.)

There are many principles that Taoists follow. Some are:

  • The One: the spirit of Tao, which is believed to be the “essential energy of life”
  • Wu and Yu: not-having and having (respectively)
  • Te: virtue or awareness of the Tao coupled with the ability to adhere to the Tao
  • Tzu Jan: naturalness
  • Wu Wei: going with the flow
  • Yin Yang: the principle of complementary forces that are in harmony with each other
  • Ch’i: the energy that permits life and connects it to the world

 

Example of a translated Tao Te Ching

Religious texts

 

The two main Taoist texts are the Tao Te Ching and the Chuang-tzu. The Tao Te Ching (Dao De Jing, Daode Jing, or Lao-Tzu) is the biggest Taoist text. It was written circa 300 B.C. Similar to the Bible, there was not one author of the Tao Te Ching, although some believe Lao Tzu. The book consists of eighty one short chapters. The Chuang-tzu was published after the Tao Te Ching, but they began working on it before the Tao Te Ching. Chuang-tzu is given credit for writing the Chuang-tzu. The Tao Te Ching is more about the fundamentals of Taoism (“the Way”), while the Chuang-tzu contains more reflections.

 

 

 

Places of Worship and Worship Practices

Taoist Temple

Although taoists do not always worship in temples, that is where they worship their deities. There are many practices in Taoism: feng shui, recitation, talismans, and mind and body activities. Feng shui uses the Taoist principle of Yin Yang, to create spaces that allow the right balance of energies in that particular space. Recitation is the repetition of texts from the Tao Te Ching. This practice is believed to “cure sickness, banish evil spirits, bring good luck, prolong life, and bring humans beings closer to the Tao.” Talismans are used for purification, healing, and protection. The talisman is a piece of paper with a symbol or word on it. Each talisman was (or is) handwritten by a “qualified” person. The mind and body activities are designed to purify one’s physical and mental beings. These activities include meditation, Tai Chi (form of martial arts), breathing, exercising, and diet. A typical Taoist diet does not contain meat, grains, beans, and alcohol.

Comments

  1. Once again, it was really interesting to learn about a religion that I wasn’t familiar with beforehand. I was surprised by how many deities there are, but I suppose that’s why it’s considered a polytheistic religion. This is unrelated to the content of the blog, but I enjoy the layout of your post because it’s pleasing to the eye to have the pictures staggered with each other, and the separation of the paragraphs gives it a clean-cut and professional look. Overall, it was a great post!

    • Priya Hosangadi says:

      It was so interesting to hear about Taoism. I’ve heard a little about Taoism, but I’ve never really learnt about the basics behind the religion and its ideologies. It was also interesting to learn that some of the words or ideologies that we attempt to follow in our religion today trace back to taoism. I always appreciate hearing about religions that aren’t talked about a lot and understanding places of worship that differ from the more commonly discussed places, like a church. I think its great that your talking and teaching us about these religions. Looking forward to reading about another religion in your next blog post!

  2. It is very interesting how much I have forgotten about all of these religions since studying them in high school. I think it is fascinating how it originally started as a philosophy and then morphed into a religion. Although I do not know anyone who practices taoism, I am very familiar with feng shui. My mom loves feng shui, therefore every room in my entire house is set up to maximize positive energies. Funny story about that, when my mom came to visit me at school I left her in my room while I went to return a book to a friend down the hall really quick and when I came back she was reorganizing my room to match feng shui practices. Overall, it is very interesting to learn about all of these different religions and how they connect to my personal life.

  3. Avery Sims says:

    I would debate that Tao is neither polytheism nor monotheism. The deities aren’t like beings that are worshiped, but more like model figures that represent a sort of self goal. It is much more of a lack of theism that drives it. No deity to tell you what the rules are.
    In a sense, it is about looking at the obvious bad, and obvious good. Not doing the bad, and doing the good. It only became organized and added the deities about 800 years after its adoption as a sort of philosophical and spiritual frame of reference.

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