Educational purposes

1. DAOISM

2. DAOISM
• Daoism, also spelled Taoism, indigenous religio-philosophical tradition that has
shaped Chinese life for more than 2,000 years. In the broadest sense, a Daoist attitude
toward life can be seen in the accepting and yielding, the joyful and carefree sides of
the Chinese character, an attitude that offsets and complements the ter moral and
duty-conscious, austere and purposeful character ascribed to Confucianism. Daoism is
also characterized by a positive, active attitude toward the occult and the metaphysical
(theories on the nature of reality), whereas the agnostic, pragmatic Confucian tradition
considers these issues of only marginal importance, although the reality of such issues
is, by most Confucians, not denied.

3. • The Yin Yang is the most well known Daoism
religious symbol. It is an image composed of an
circle divided into two parts; one black and
other white. Within each swirling or teardrop-
shaped half is a smaller circle of the opposite
color. Overall., the Yin Yang symbol signifies
the perfect harmonic balance in the universe.
• According to Daoist cosmology, the big circle
signifies the Tao (Dao), the source of existence.
Meanwhile, the black and white teardrop-shaped
halves signify the Yin-qi and Yang-qi, known as
the primordial feminine and masculine energies,
respectively. Daoist believe that the interplay of
the Yin-qi and Yang-qi created the manifest
world.

4. HISTORICAL
BACKGROUND
• Laozi (Lao-tzu), meaning “Old Master,” is believed
to have authored the Dao De Jing (Tao te ching or
The Book of the Way and its Power), dating back to
around third century B.C.E. According to myth,
Laczi was conceived by n shooting star and was born
of a virgin mother, who kept him in her womb for
82 years. He is considered as the first important
Daoist who is believed to be a senior contemporary
of Kung Fuzi (some said he even became Kung
Fuzzi’s adviser) although there is much debate on his
date and identity. The Chinese historian Sima Qian
wrote a biography of Laozi in the Historical Records
(Shih Chi) in the late 2nd century B.C.E. According to
his biography, he worked as a government archivist
but became frustrated with government corruption,
and sensing his unavoidable disgrace he left. Laozi
agreeably wrote two chapters about the Dao (Way)
and De (individual power), which came to be named
Dao De Jing or Laozi..

5. SACRED SCRIPTURES
The Tao te Ching or Dao De Jing, meaning The Book
of the Way and its Power. It is a mysterious collection
of igmatic remarks which many fand hard to
understand. The Dao De Jing has often been attributed
to Laozi, but some believe that it was a product of the
collective efforts among various groups in China, since a
closer analysis of the scripture reveals that there is no
integrated philosophy in the Dao De Jing instead, it was
a collection of sayings and proverbs, lines from popular
songs, and elever maxims coming from various
contributors with various concerns. It expounds on the
meaning of Dao and its accompanying concept of De-
the power or virtue acquired by a person by means of
living in harmony with Dao. It is said to have a
paradoxical element, meaning it contains assertions that
were ather contradictory and illogical, yet contain deeper
meaning which can be understood through intuition
than through rational thinking

6. SACRED SCRIPTURES The Book of Chuang Tzu/Zhuangzi historically romanized is an
ancient Chinese text from the late Warring States period (476- 221 BC)
which contains stories and anecdotes that exemplify the carefree nature
of the ideal Taoist sage. Named for its traditional author, “Master
Zhuang” (Zhuangzi), the Zhuangzi is one of the two foundational texts
of Taoism, along with the Tao Te Ching. The Zhuangzi consists of a
large collection of anecdotes, allegories, parables, and fables, which are
often humorous or irreverent. Its main themes are of spontaneity in
action and of freedom from the human world and its conventions. The
fables and anecdotes in the text attempt to illustrate the falseness of
human distinctions between good and bad, large and small, life and
death, and human and nature. Though primarily known as a
philosophical work, the Zhuangzi is regarded as one of the greatest
literary works in Chinese history, and
has been called “the most important pre-Qin text for the study of
Chinese literature”. A masterpiece of both philosophical and literary
skill, it has significantly influenced major Chinese writers and poets for
more than 2000 years from the Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) to the
present.

7. CONCEPTS/BELIEFS
Daoism can be best understood by discussing its concepts and beliefs. Some of its concepts
include the;
•Dao or the “way of nature”
• De “ virtue/ proper” adherence to Dao or “action through inaction” which gives
importance to humility and noncompetition, naturalness, and naturalism, and non-
aggression; • Yin Yang or the balance of nature or universe; and
• Chi-Qi or the natural energy of life force that sustains living beings,

8. THE DAO
• The Tao lends its name to the religious tradition Wade-Giles, Tao Chiao; Pinyin, Daojiao
and philosophical tradition (Wade-Giles, Tao chia; Pinyin, Daojia) that are both referred to
in English with the single term Taoism.
Tao or Dao is the natural order of the universe, whose character one’s intuition must
discern to realize the potential for individual wisdom, as conceived in the context of East
Asian philosophy, East Asian religions or any other philosophy or religion that aligns to
this principle. This intuitive knowing of life cannot be grasped as a concept. Rather, it is
known through actual living experience of one’s everyday being. Its name, Tao or Dao
(Chinese (help·info)), came from Chinese, where it signifies the way, path, route, road, or
sometimes more loosely doctrine, principle, or holistic belief.

9. DEITY/GOD (DAO AS THE ORIGIN OF
ALL BEINGS)
• Indescribable, lies under the surface of sense perception, and unifies obvious opposites on a
different level. Daoists also believe that the Dao can only be found inside us, in thoughtful
emptiness from which all power and lifeoriginates in all directions; it is “Nothing” within all of us
where all our energy comes from.
• Unlike the Abrahamic religious, Daoism does not have a God, for Daoists believe that the
universe originated from the Dao, which created and controls the universe and distanly guides
things on their way. Instead, they worship dieties, who are gods of a particular role, and they
traditionally worship Laozi not only as the first god of Daoism but also as the representation of
the Dao. Most of the dieties worshipped by the Daoists were borrowed from other cultures, but
they are within the universe and are subject to the Dao. The Daoist pantheon has often been
described as a divine administration which reflects the secular governments of Imperial China.
• ■For the Daoists, the Dao possesses heavenly qualities, is mysterious,

10. THE DE
“Non-competition in Emptiness” is said to be the other side of the principle of “inaction in nature”. For
Daoists, inaction means a person’s outward actions, and emptiness is the corresponding inner state, which also
means “absence of desire”. Daoists believe that when a person becomes peaceful, that person acquires power to
overcome all things without having to complete with others. In line with this, humility and avoiding competition
with others are two virtues which Daoists value most. Lastly, “contentment with what is” is another expression
of inaction in nature and of non- competition in emptiness. By following the way of nature, a person can attain
comtentment. For Laoizi, the way of happiness is contentment. “There is no greater sin that the desire for
possession, no greater curse than the lack of contentment.”
• The De, which means virtue or the proper adherence to Dao, is another basic concept in Daoism. It
encourages inaction in nature and advocates the quiet and passive nature of a person so that the Dao, or the
creative principle in the universe, may act through them without interference. People should simply follow the
Dao and must do nothing on their own. In this regard, Laozi professed a distance for culture and civilization for
they are products of human activity and proof of humanity’s tampering with nature.

11. WU-WEI
Wu wei is an ancient Chinese concept literally meaning “inexertion”,
“inaction”, or “effortless action”. Wu wei emerged in the Spring and Autumn
period, and from Confucianism, to become an important concept in Chinese
statecraft and Taoism. It was most commonly used to refer to an ideal form of
government, including the behavior of the emperor. Describing a state of
unconflicting personal harmony, free-flowing spontaneity and savoir-faire, it
generally also more properly denotes a state of spirit or mind, and in
Confucianism accords with conventional morality.

12. YIN YANG
Yin, Chinese for “female” or “moon,”
represents darkness, femininity, passivity,
and the earth. Yang (“sun” or “male”)
represents light, masculinity, activity, and the
heavens. The balance of yin and yang were
seen to influence health and order within an
individual, society, and the entire universe.

13. QI/CHI
In traditional Chinese culture and the East Asian
sphere, qi, also ki or chi in Wade-
Giles romanization, is believed to be a vital force forming part of any living entity.
Literally meaning “vapor”, “air”, or “breath”, the word qi is often translated as “vital
energy”, “vital force”, “material energy”, or simply as “energy”. Qi is the central
underlying principle in Chinese traditional medicine and in Chinese martial arts. The
practice of cultivating and balancing qi is called gigong.

14. WORSHIP AND OBSERVANCES
Ritual or liturgical expressions are important to the Daoist religion. These include
ritual initiation meant for purification and renewal in the life-cycle and development of
the human person. Daoist priests are licensed to perform rituals of specific traditions.
One form of ritual is exorcism, performed in cases od sickness with the goal of
gaining victory over the evil spirits. Other rituals are performed in the formof festivals,
especially New Year. In these rituals, incense is a cebtral aspect, together with the
sacrificial offering of sacred writings such as paper charms which contain the prayers
of individual, bearing their names and the intentions which are burned as part of the
rutual. Those who will perform such as rituals are encourage to prepare for them by
fasting and by having a spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation.

15. MEDITATIVE PRACTICES
Humility and non-competition are among the most important virtues in Daoism. These virtues,
together with naturalness and naturalism, as well as non-aggression and passive rule, manifest
the fundamental virtue of wu wei. The physical appearance of the Daoist sage exemplifies the
virtue of humility, for on the outside the sage may dress shabbily but his mind is full of
wisdom and his heart, full of compassion. The sage also manifests the virtue of non-
competition by not competing but emerging victorious nonetheless. The sage has achieved
oneness with the Dao by understanding its simplicity; his mind is undistracted that is why he is
able to discover the simplicity in the Dao. In this regard, he is likened to a cat, which has much
in common with the sage. Like the cat which does not deviate from its own nature and being
fully aware of the situation at hand, it always lands on its feet no matter what. (Brodd World
Religions: A Voyage of Discovery).

16. MORAL PRACTICES
Physical and spiritual techniques are just as important as ethical or moral techniques or
practices. Daoists put emphasis on ethical behavior by incor- porating it into their
practices. They value the need for a moral life, of good works as well as of ritual
atonement for misbehavior (Ching 1993). Daoism values the virtues of naturalness,
behaving as nature dictates, not as caused by social pressure or personal pride; and
naturalism, which entails resisting temptation to meddle with nature. Daoists tend not
to initiate action; instead they wait for events to make action necessary, avoiding letting
their own desires and compulsions push them into doing things. Generally, Daoism,
just like other religions, disapprove of killing, stealing, lying, and promiscuity. It
promotes philanthropic, selfless, and humane behavior. Good behavior is seen as an
essential part not only of self-improvement but the world as a whole.

17. GOAL PRACTICE’S
To obtain longevity and immortality
⚫use of potions (led to the practices of alchemical experiments
which made lasting contributiin in various fields such as chemistry,
medicine, and pharmacology).
⚫ practice meditation (includes experiments with one’s self,
specially the body through the use of methods of inner alchemy,
associated with yoga abd other forms of meditation)
⚫breathing technique (to be in contract with qi, for longevity and
to counter aging.
To dispel illness or suffering
•Jiao Festival (or the rite of cosmic renewal, celebrated to redicate
the local temple and to renew the whole community by cleansing
and hardships.
• Refain from eating grain (based on the Daoist belief that illness is
caused by three corpse worms which reside in the body, and eating
grain will encourage these worms to stay.
• Confession and purging of one’s sins (based on the belief that
illnesa may be caused by wrongdoings).

18. SELECTED ISSUES
FATALISM
Like any other religion, Daoism has its share of issues. One of them is that Daoism
has often been criticized for propagating laziness or espousing a fatalistic attitude in life
by letting nature take its course and reminding Daoists to just go with the flow. A
closer examination of the wu-wei, however, would reveal that inaction in Daoism
simply means avoiding unnatural actions by not doing forced or aggressive actions. It
means performing all one’s actions with natural and unforced attitude.

19. SUPERSTITION
• Another issue encountered by Daoism is the belief in superstitious practices For instance, there is a
misconception that Daoists involves sorcery, which includes the drawing of signs, chants, and other
practices which led to the potion that Daoism promotes superstitious practices. But the practice of ancestor
worship has been an aspect of Chinese culture which found its way in Daoism, similar to the Shinto practice
among the Japanese, this Daoists often find themselves in temples, praying to their ancestors for guidance
in their everyday lives. Dacists also pray as a way of remembering their source to repay kindness and sow
gratitude. They believe that all things have spirits, and that deities of the heavens and earth are all around
us. They are always) around us to guide, protect, and bless us, thus we should always see to it that we
show our gratitude to them by performing rituals such as praying and using incense as a medium of
communicating with the deities, for they believe that when the precious incense burns in the golden incense
burner, the smoke travels up to the heavens. According to Daoist scriptures, the offering of three sticks of
incense is important if one wishes to convey a message to the deities, who in turn will shower them with
blessings Daoists believe that the left hand must be used to offer the incense, because the left hand
represents the yang, which symbolizes respect. They believe that by doing so, they are showing sincerity to
the deities, and they believethat a rincore heart can reach the heavens

20. URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Another issue in Daoism is environmentalism. Daoists believe in the dictum “leave nature
alone and nature will thrive.” Daoism has advocated a utopian vision of society characterized
by order and harmony, and an emphasis on self-cultivation as a means of achieving social
harmony. One should have a healthy relationship with nature and it should begin with one’s
own body. Daoism advocates the idea that we should follow the lead of nature instead of
controlling it, for humans are natural creatures who should live in harmony with nature.
Daoism emphasized the balance of opposites and the interde pendence of all things, which can
be interpreted as an ancient equivalent of today’s notion of the ecosystem. China’s excessive
movement toward urban development at present is seen as being inconsistent with the Daoist
belief in the importance of living in harmony with nature. Daoists believe that social harmony
will be achieved through a return to nature.

21. THANK YOU