1. Early Religions: Taoism
Student Led Tutorial by:
Jess, Kim, Julia, Jackie, Jackie P., and Mehek

2. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

3. Introduction The Tao Ta Ching made the following proclamation:
“The Tao gives birth to the one,
The one gives birth to two,
The two gives birth to three,
Three gives birth to all things.”
Tao is the force that existed before all things.
One: refers to the mechanism of balance the Tao gave the world.
Two: refers to the birth of opposites.
Three: refers to the birth of heaven, earth and all of humanity.

4. History of Taoism The founder: Lao-Tzu (604-531 B.C.E)
He was searching for a way that would avoid the constant warfare and other conflicts that disrupted society during his lifetime
The result was his book: Tao-te-Ching (a.k.a. Daodejing).

5. Began as a combination of psychology and philosophy
Originated in China
Became a religion in 440 C.E.
Main religion along with Buddhism and Confucianism in China
Support for Taoism ended in 1911
Communist victory in 1949 caused low religious freedom
Some tolerance has been restored under the reign of Deng Xiao-Ping

6. What is “Tao”? Defined as “way” or “path”; natural way of the universe
It is “everythingness” but has no characteristics
Includes balance between opposite forces
To be a Taoist means to practice and respect the way of nature, to maintain balance
“Self-so”

7. KEY FIGURES

8. Emperor Huang Di The Emperor visited a hermit to ask him a question
The hermit’s response was the teachings of Tao
Because of the impact of Tao, the Emperor changed the way he governed his people; he became compassionate and was seen as a healer
Named “Yellow Emperor”
He created harmony within himself and his kingdom
He is recognized as the greatest emperor of China

9. Lao Tzu Is thought to be the founder of Taoism
Scholars are unsure for the following reasons:
-Lao Tzu means "old master", which is a title and not an actual name.
-The wisdom of Lao Tzu seems to be through the work of three different people.
-He may have been a man named Li Erh, an achivist at the royal palace of Luoyang

10. Chuang Tzu Wrote a book full of the teachings of Tao
When he died, the groundwork for Taoism had been laid
Older temporary of Confucious
Left the royal court when he was very old.
Wrote the Tao Te Ching, a short collection of wise verses, when he was leaving the province of Ch'u and was asked to leave behind some reckoning of his wisdom.

11. KEY RITUALS, PRACTICES, AND SYMBOLS

12. Key Practices and Rituals
Main goal is to achieve balance and harmonize Chi (energy) in the body.
Acupuncture: Application of tiny needles to one of 800 pressure points
Feng Shui: Aligning objects to specific areas of the room to maintain the best flow of spiritual energy.
Tai Chi: Slow, choreographed movements to harmonize flow of Chi in the body.

14. Ying and Yang Ying: the Moon - female force - receptive, passive, cold
Yang: the Sun
- male force
- force, movement, heat
Represents the good and evil
in ourselves
The idea of balance

15. Other Symbols They see the North and South poles as divine
Chinese dragons and phoenixes are also recognized

17. BELIEFS

18. Wu Wei Wu Wei: Not doing/taking action Let nature take its course
One should act in a manner that does not jeopardize the natural world
Sense of Effortlessness
Yu Wei: Taking Action

19. Spirit Beings Immortals: Spiritual Beings of primary importance
Taoists have great respect for such beings
They exist in a place where they are able to experience:
No troubles
Effortless existence of physical freedom
Here they
Are ageless
Eat only air
Enjoy the power of flight
- Drink nothing but dew

20. Purpose of Life Life should be lived by the Tao
Everything is relevant, relative, and interdependent
Focus: attaining immortality (eternal life, longevity, attainment of superhuman physical abilities)

21. How to attain Immortality
In order to achieve this, one must focus their attention and control on:
body through diet, exercise, and mindfulness
breathing
exploring alchemy with the goal of finding elixir of immortality
behaving in a moral way that is in harmony with Tao
searching for the Isle of Blessed (where the Spirit Beings reside)

22. Death and Afterlife Two aspects of reality
Transformation from being to non-being
It should not be feared or desired, but accepted

23. NUMBER OF ADHERENTS AND INFLUENCE IN THE 21ST CENTURY

24. Number of Adherents
Currently there are approximately 20 million followers that are primarily located in Taiwan
About 30,000 Taoists live in North America
1,720 Taoists live in Canada
30,000 in North America!
1,720 in Canada?

25. Influence in 21st Century
Taoism has a significant affect on North American and Worldwide culture
- Acupuncture
- Tai Chi
- Feng Shui
Many medicines that come from Taoism are used today
Taoists are involved with herbals and practice healing using different kinds
Ying Yang symbol is drawn and used all around the world in the 21st century, even though most people don’t understand its true meaning

26. Other Interesting Facts
"Be still like a mountain and flow like a great river." Lao Tse
"Different Chinese philosophers, writing probably in 5-4 centuries B.C., presented some major ideas and a way of life that are nowadays known under the name of Taoism, the way of correspondence between man and the tendency or the course of natural world." Alan Watts, from his book: "Tao: The Watercourse Way."

27. "We believe in the formless and eternal Tao, and we recognize all personified deities as being mere human constructs. We reject hatred, intolerance, and unnecessary violence, and embrace harmony, love and learning, as we are taught by Nature. We place our trust and our lives in the Tao, that we may live in peace and balance with the Universe, both in this mortal life and beyond." Creed of the Western Reform Taoist Congregation
[source:

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