Taoism Flashcards
Who was Lao Tzu?
Founder of Taoism; had a mysterious life, his life is a legend, He wrote the tao te ching to share his ideas with everyone, he had a simple life, he was a librarian
Tao Te Ching
“The and it’s power” the main text of Taoism written by Lao Tzu
Themes: humility, being one with nature
Style: short poems using metaphors and poetic language
3 meanings of Taosim
- The way of ultimate reality (their concept of God)
- The way of the universe
- The way of human nature
Transcendent
above and beyond normal
Imminenet
here now, with you
3 branches of Taoism
Philosophical, Vitalizing, and religious taoism
Philosphical Taoism
Main concern is to conserve your chi
-get rid of friction
Vitalizing Taoism
Main concern is to increase your chi 3 m's Mind Matter Movement
Religious Taoism
Main concern is to increase your chi to share it with others
Methods are different from vitalizing taoism to do so
Needs a priest to conduct a ritual and prayers
Chi
your vital energy
Flow
a maximum capacity of challenge and skills; bring happiness and joy to your life
Wu Wei
acting without pure effectiveness, not trying too hard. You don’t automatically get Wu Wei in you have to work for it
Creative quietude
when you want to be creative you have to be quiet first. You have to quiet your brain
Naturalism
taoists try to fit into the natural flow of nature
Yin yang
there is some dark in the light and light in the dark. Some good in everybad some bad in every good
Taoist Ethics
you should not be too excited whenn something good happes or sad when something bad happens. Humility about fitting in rather than standing out
Taoism:
the focus is on nature; no manners, don’t care about being formal, more poetic, metaphorical, you want to be a sage
Confucianism
the focus is on social relationships; cared about order, rules and manners; formal, the writing are prose, straightforward; usually having to do with being a gentlemen
