What is Daoism?

in ancient china somewhere around the year 500 bce the great scholar laozi was working as a keeper of records for the ruling dynasty his name lao tzu literally translates to the old master and the story implies that he was a scholar of some prominence having an important position within the empire and being a very greatly learned man but one day possibly because of political instability and the increasing immorality of the rulers lao tzu became disillusioned with his job and position and decided to give it all up he left his position as keeper of records all of his belongings and started walking his destination away from china into the mountains to live the rest of his life as a hermit but just as lautzer reached the very borders of what was then china he was stopped by a guard by the name of jin-chi who recognized the old master his reputation had preceded him and the guard recognized him as a great scholar after lao tzu had explained his intentions to leave china and live as a hermit the guard would not let him pass unless he would disclose to him some of his great knowledge lautzer agreed and proceeded on the spot to write down in text a summary of his knowledge in about 5 000 chinese characters or 81 brief chapters he then handed the text to the guard before stepping across the border into the unexplored frontier never to be seen again the text that he wrote down became known as the dao de jing and is also sometimes named after its author laut and it became the most central and foundational text of taoism one of china's most important and significant religious and philosophical traditions [Laughter] [Applause] the story i just told you is of course very romantic and fascinating but the problem with the story is that it most likely isn't true we aren't even sure if the old master himself lao tzu is even a real historical person but that doesn't change the fact that the text that he wrote down the text that is attributed to him the dao dejing has become one of the most important and influential texts in world history and especially for the traditions of taoism and chinese religion in general taoism is considered one of the main religious traditions of china alongside confucianism and buddhism not to call it a religion in the western sense can become somewhat problematic as we will see but we should not neglect its importance the name taoism is based on that central concept called dao it is mentioned and talked about in all the central taoist texts and serves as a kind of unifying theme it can sometimes be spelled tau with the t but this is the same word that is just written differently because translating chinese characters can be very difficult because it's a completely different language a completely different alphabet but so what is the dao we can consult the very opening chapters of the dao de jing to maybe get an answer quote the tao way that can be articulately described is not the unchanging tao or way the name that can be said out loud is not the unchanging name okay so that wasn't very helpful obviously but it is an important starting point to understand this concept the dao to these philosophers and writers is something that cannot be described it cannot be articulated it cannot be understood in any conceptual sense so really the whole enterprise of me trying to explain this to you goes against the very foundational idea of the thing i am trying to explain but i'm gonna try anyway the word tao literally means as you may have seen from the translation a way or path it is a word that has a very long history in the chinese and long precedes laozi and taoism itself it can mean a literal way or path like one you walk on but can also mean path as in a certain school of thought or a tradition like we would say like a path to enlightenment or something like that in ancient china then there were many different daos the the school of confucius known as confucianism was one kind of dao and the school of mozar which was another philosopher it was another tao so thou was used to denote a certain path or way to truth or the right way to structure society or the cosmos to use more modern examples we could see communism as a kind of dao or fascism also as a kind of dao in in general sense that kind of approach to life and the world in general that is also a dao but sometimes during the so-called warring states period in the last few centuries bce there appeared some philosophers and writers who would turn the concept of the dao on its head completely the first among these is thought to be lao tzu the old master but as i said it is quite likely that he never actually existed many scholars today instead believe that the dao de jing may have been composed by many different authors and the name lao tzu being used as a kind of pseudonym for this larger group of writers this was quite common back in ancient times but regardless of its actual authorship the text is obviously very old and still served as the foundational text for what would become taoism as the or maybe the first text in that kind of school of thought we have found copies of the text from around 300 bce so we know that at least it is from that early on in history the second central text comes a century or two later and is known as the druntz named after its author well trump who lived sometime in the 4th century bce this text very much expands on the themes discussed in the dao de jing and let me tell you this text is one of my absolute favorite pieces of literature in the world it is just filled with incredibly engaging philosophical ideas and and discussions but at the same time also contains a great deal of humor and irony and bizarre imagery it's just absolutely magnificent these authors in their text as well as other similar thinkers at the time present a new theory or idea of what the dao is one that is often kind of a commentary on other schools of thought at the time especially in the drantzer who lived after both confucius and moz so he even talks about these other philosophers in his text and then in his text he often critiques them and so his idea of the dao is often in response to or in kind of like a play with these other philosophers two lao tzu and dranzer the dao is no longer just a path or way to follow to truth in a kind of ironic twist the dao becomes the very principle of existence and the universe these new so-called taoist writers and philosophers had an ironic view of the dao to use the words of the scholar brook siporin in this context dao was precisely what is free of purpose and specific guidelines the exact opposite of the traditional meaning of tao that dao which cannot be described or articulated is often explained as the way of nature that the universe and nature has a natural flow or process to it and that this is the dao now this isn't untrue it's pretty accurate but the tao is also much more than that the dao especially in the drones is like the very substance of existence and the world it is a kind of oneness that hides beneath all apparent multiplicity in an early section of the drawn sir the author has a wonderful way of explaining this the tao is like the wind he says that travels through different holes of different shapes and sizes and depending on the shape and size of the hole this wind makes different kinds of noises so the things in this world including us can be seen as these noises that the wind expresses each noise is like the individual things in the world they are created by the emptiness of the holes but ultimately they are all the wind that is the dow that is whistling in different tones quote a light breeze brings a small harmony while a powerful gale makes for harmony vast and grand and once the sharp wind has passed all the holes return to their silent emptiness so in a way the dao is everything and at the same time it is nothing in particular it's something that cannot be understood or grasped but at the same time it is the very essence of everything that we experience it is a natural way in which it flows and unfolds and this flow is very central to the taoist text that i mentioned with this foundation in mind what then is the actual message of these daoist texts since we can only summarize it very briefly the goal of human life is to live according to or live in harmony with the tao whereas other schools of thought often focus their dao on following certain societal principles for example confucius was very ritualistically focused performing the right ritual showing filial purity towards your parents the taoist authors went the completely opposite way the way of the tao is simple it's spontaneous and it's free it critiques the ritualism of the confusion thinkers for example their formal legalisms and practices instead one should live in utter simplicity flowing with the dao when rejecting one's individual self this flowing with the natural way of nature is often expressed through the concept of wu way often translated to inaction or action without intent now inaction should not be seen as a kind of apathy or just sitting around doing nothing instead it refers to a kind of acceptance of the events of life and the flow of the universe wu way means to not go against our nature not to impose our individual will on events but simply to let them happen to let the dao do its thing as it were like water we should flow with the rhythm of the natural way and to be in harmony with it instead of resisting the wave and being destroyed we should ride the wave quote the consummate person has no fixed identity the spirit man has no particular merit the sage has no one name but inaction is at the same time the ultimate action it is not passivity but action without effort there's a difference so just like nature the sage gets the most done through inaction quote the sage produces results and does not brag about it he produces results but does not praise himself for it he produces results but does not boast about it he produces results because that's what he would do and he gets things done without using any force lao tzu also has a great section about water quotes the greatest good is like water water's virtue is that it benefits all creatures but contends with none it resides in places most men hate thus it takes after the way or tao so this has clear ethical implications the sage the sort of enlightened man is supposed to be light like a feather he flows like water and does not get in anyone's way quote he is good to those who are good and good to those who are not good quote therefore the wise man embraces the one and becomes the model for all under heaven he does not make himself seen and therefore is as bright as the sun and moon does not consider himself good and therefore is a pattern for all does not denigrate others to make himself look good and therefore gets the credit does not make himself like the arrogant grip of a spear and therefore becomes a staff of support in short the concept of wu wei is of course very complex and complicated but in simple terms it is a kind of living in harmony flowing with the way of the universe and the nature around us not imposing ourselves or our will upon it but instead simply living in harmony with the dao the dranzer is a little bit rougher in its expressions of these kinds of ideas to its author dranzel himself the self or ego is to be conquered and destroyed as it ultimately isn't real the only thing that actually is is the dao that expresses itself in different melodies like to use the previous metaphor but this also has profound implications for the ethical and philosophical ideas and discussions that he presents in this work in often very humorous ways he likes to tell stories that completely destroys any certainty around a certain subject in an argument between say confucius and mozu both have very strong opposing opinions about certain things but according to dronse no one can ever truly know who is right and who is wrong instead when the difference between me and you between this and that is destroyed there is no longer any talk of right and wrong instead there is just the dao playing its different melodies port this is also that that is also this that posits a this and a that a right and a wrong of its own but this also posits a this and a that a right and a wrong of its own so is there really any of that versus this any right versus wrong or is there really no that versus this when this and that right and wrong are no longer coupled as opposites that is called the course as axis the axis of all courses arguing for a certain philosophical position is imposing our own self our own will upon the way of nature the way of the tao and thus it is it goes against the principle of wu way or inaction it creates a false sense of self that thinks it is right when in reality right and wrong is relative the author often does this in the drawnce he points out how our quest for knowledge or truth is ultimately in vain because it is based on multiplicity and difference but this isn't necessarily a kind of nihilism even if some people have interpreted it as such there are sections of the dronzer when the author takes very clear ethical positions and still holds on to certain principles of kindness and compassion the point is to question the arrogance of some scholars of his time and people who are constantly arguing over the right dao or the right truth he is ironically responding by saying that the true tao is that which neglects that any of your truths are absolutely true at all there's plenty more fascinating parts and aspects of these books if you're interested in the subject i highly suggest you read these books both the dow beijing and the drawn so they can easily be found in translations in different bookstores online as i said they are the very foundations of the taoist tradition there is also a third text called the lietze which is not as famous as the other two but is still often considered a foundational text these three are often considered like a holy triad of taoist scriptures the drawn sir the dao de jing and the lyrics even if the lyrics often becomes a kind of forgotten third wheel even in this video obviously of course these early taoist works also takes inspiration from earlier existing religious traditions in china many scholars believe that the authors like dranzer comes from a shamanistic context which was a common form of religion in the region at the time and some of the early taoist practices may have been connected to these shamanistic traditions but we know very little of this as it isn't mentioned in any of the texts another common theme is this i'm sure you all recognize this symbol as the yin yang symbol it is also probably the most common symbol used to represent taoism indeed the school of yin and yang which existed prior to the taoist authors greatly influenced them the concept of yin and yang can in brief be summarized as the interconnectedness and complementary relationship between opposites in the universe there can be no up without doubt no dark without light no hard without soft and so on in the dow dejing he writes quote there could be no existence without non-existence no difficult without easy no long without short no high without low and without the sounds of musical instruments and human voices where would their harmony and cacophony be it is clear that what we call taoism is very highly influenced by previous traditions that flourished in china previously and at this time including the school of yin and yang and many others and this becomes especially clear as taoism later on would start to develop into something that we recognize more as a religion you see many people today tend to divide taoism into two branches or types philosophical taoism also known as daojia and religious taoism sometimes called dao zhao now philosophical taoism refers to the early taoist texts and writers that we have discussed so far like laozi dranzel and lietze and their kind of speculative form of taoism religious taoism by contrast refers to a more systematic and organized form of taoism that developed later on and would come to dominate in history this form of taoism still has the same text the drawn so daodejing is on as foundational but it also includes complex rituals various deities a clergy and alchemical practices among many other things this division however between philosophical taoism and religious taoism is somewhat problematic and anachronistic however it is often a construction by modern writers who wish to sort of extract the pure or original form of taoism the philosophical one and separate it from what came later which is seen as superstitious and irrational strange religious practice but thankfully many scholars today have started to question and reject this idea instead what it's considered philosophical taoism could simply be seen as the theoretical aspect of the practices of religious taoism and vice versa the early taoist writers most likely practiced certain forms of shamanism alchemy or other practices that would today be seen as irrational or superstitious so in my opinion we should probably start to forget about this distinction between philosophical and religious taoism but that isn't to say that there isn't a difference between these early taoist writers and the more institutionalized traditions that were developed later indeed by the time of lauter and johnson and all the way up to basically the second century a.d and during the han dynasty there was no organized form of taoism there was no group who called themselves taoists so for the first few centuries what we call taoism was simply a very loosely connected group of individual scholars or writers who shared similar cosmological and metaphysical ideas and who were likely inspired by the dao de jing in particular in the second century ce specifically in the year 142 the figure zhang dao ling was visited in a dream by lao tzu he claims who at this point had been started to be associated with a deity and who gave him the title celestial master and zhang daoling subsequently founded the so-called way of the celestial masters this can be said to be the first organized form of taoism and thus to sum the start of so-called religious taoism from this point on this school and many others would develop into strong religious institutions that sometimes held political power in china but always remained a strong component of society to go through all these various different schools or traditions that we call taoism and history is frankly beyond the scope of this video and also my own knowledge to be honest but i would love to cover it in a future video but in very simple terms from the 2nd century onwards that would develop a multitude of different organized forms of taoism which could differ very drastically from each other the only thing that they all had in common was a certain connection to these early texts like dranzer the the daodejing and so on as well as also other later texts that they all saw as authoritative some of these figures like laozi became viewed as deities or gods and were given significant roles in the cosmology and metaphysics of the religion the practices and beliefs of these taoist traditions are varied and complicated the links between what is called chinese folk religion and taoism can be seriously blurry and we should abandon any such clear distinction they include belief and offerings to various deities spirits and demons alchemical practices and what we call chinese medicine these alchemical practices include both what we call external alchemy that is the physical manipulation of substances to create elixirs and such things as well as kind of internal alchemy devoted to cultivating one's own inner life and purine purifying one's soul from evil inclinations to use very western concepts to explain it it also includes elaborate rituals performed by a class of priests that include offerings and music among many other things different meditation practices related to the cultivation of inner energy known as qi a theme that prevails in the early text as well we find this in a lot of these traditions another famous component is different traditions associated with the search for immortality through different means for example there are many different aspects and fascinating things that i could dedicate future videos to the deities or gods of taoism are also very fasting for example and there are also components where taoism can appear very similar to other seemingly unconnected traditions there is talk about the microcosm of the human being being a reflection of the macrocosm which is obviously a very famous hermetic idea associated with the tradition of hermeticism and which also pops up in things like sufism this connection with other religious traditions is of course very significant for the development and history of taoism taoism like any other religious traditions of course changes and evolves over time and place and none of these meetings with other religions has been as significant as taoism's meeting with various forms of buddhism buddhism came to china very early on as early as the han dynasty in the 3rd century ce or thereabouts thus from the very earliest stage of organized taoism or religious taoism it was in contact with thinkers monks and philosophers from the buddhist tradition the interactions between these two religions would prove both fruitful and sometimes also competitive especially in the early period we find examples where there were great animosity between these two traditions there were examples of buddhists and buddhist leaders who would oppress and persecute taoists something that goes against the preconceived notion that buddhism is inherently peaceful or tolerant and open but there's also the example of the opposite with taoist leaders sometimes persecuting and oppressing buddhists but even if there have been these kinds of periods of awkwardness between these religions it has also been incredibly fruitful on both sides of the spectrum the particularly chinese forms of buddhism that developed often strongly adopted elements of taoism this includes schools like the tian thai school and especially chan buddhism more famous alone through its japanese name zen buddhism in chan or zen we find many influences from daoit's thought to the point that some authors have claimed that the true spirits of the early taoist writers like dranzer and laozi is actually carried forward not by the taoist themselves but by the zen buddhists rather than those pesky superstitious folk who call themselves taoists i hope this video has shown you that this kind of view should probably be viewed critically but it's also a good point to show just how much particularly chinese and japanese forms of buddhism owe to taoism and probably also the other way around in general religion in the far east often functions in a very different way than what we would expect from a western perspective on religion the lines between different religions is often very unclear as the they often had a more fluid you could say approach to religious differences even if of course there have been many periods of animosity and conflict as i have just talked about as we can see then taoism has taken on many different forms throughout history not only in its multitude of different organized forms but also through influencing and basically becoming parts of other religions altogether in the modern world there has been a resurgence of interest in taoism in the west this is often associated with the so-called new age movement and other new religious movements that tend to favor eastern religions or wisdoms practices like tai chi and feng shui often associated with taoism are commonly seen in the western context this of course quite different from the forms of taoism that tends to be practiced in china itself today which is often the case with kind of westernized forms of eastern religions in short taoism is a tradition that is very much still alive today the wisdoms contained in the doubt aging the dranzer and are appealing to readers today just as there were to those who lived 2 000 years ago they have inspired a vast amount of different religious and philosophical traditions both in native china but also lately in the western world perhaps they simply appeal to a universal human condition that longs for a simpler life one that is more in tune with the environment around us and the natural world however you choose to define that in taoism we are told to act without effort to be just humble and patient and perhaps above all to just simply let go and be one with the way of the universe and regardless of your opinion on these things that is a very tempting proposition i'll see you next time [Music] you

Channel: Let's Talk Religion

Views: 409,618

Keywords: What is Daoism, Daoism, What is Taoism, Taoism, Dao, Tao, Chinese religion, Eastern philosophy, Chinese philosophy, Laozi, Dao De Jing, Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu, Chuang tzu, Zhuangzi, Liezi, Eastern religions, Daoism Explained, Daoism vs. Buddhism, Taoism the philosophy, Taoism letting go, Wu Wei, Buddhism, Zen Buddhism, Tiantai Buddhism, Religion history, Daoism history, Spirituality, Let's Talk Religion

Id: fTPxh6Sn_gI

Length: 27min 54sec (1674 seconds)

Published: Sun Aug 23 2020