Introduction
Understanding Taoism
Taoism, or Daoism, refers to both philosophical traditions associated with Daodejing and Zhuangzi, and religious traditions organized with rituals, lines, temples and cultivation practices.
The Dao represents the fundamental path or process of reality. The wu wei is not an absolute passivity: it evokes an unforced action, adapted to the circumstances and attentive to the transformations.
To be retained
Four essential principles
- Classical philosophy and Taoist religion are linked but do not confuse.
- The wu wei means action without undue hardship.
- Yin and yang express relational and changing polarities.
- Taoist practices are multiple: rituals, meditation, movement, breathing and community life.
Small timeline
A tradition shaped by history
Daodejing and Zhuangzi
Major texts of classical Taoist thought.
Organized religious movements
Appearance of Heavenly Masters and other communities.
Development of lineages and cannon
Rituals, alchemies and meditations are diversifying.
Globalized practices
Tai-chi, qigong and Taoist philosophy circulate worldwide.
Philosophy and religion
Historians often distinguish between ancient philosophical texts and later developed religious institutions, but this distinction helps to understand the sources, but Chinese traditions have also interacted and influenced each other.
Taoism coexisted with Confucianism, Buddhism and the Chinese popular religion.
Dao and transformation
Dao is not a personal god, it is the way, the spontaneous order and the process by which beings appear and transform.
Taoist religious cosmologies also include deities, immortals, heavenly administrations and rites, with great variations.
- Dao
- From, Power or Virtue
- Wu wei
- Yin-yang
- Simplicity and natural
Currents and lineages
Celestial masters, Shangqing, Lingbao and Quanzhen are among the great historical traditions. Temples and local communities also have specific practices.
What research can and cannot say
Tai Chi and certain forms of qigong are studied for balance, mobility, stress or quality of life. The results are for specific physical exercises. Qi, immortals and Taoist cosmologies belong to traditions and are not established as measurable physical phenomena.
References