What is the Chinese philosophy based on the teachings of Lao Tzu?
Taoism (also spelled Daoism) is a religion and a philosophy from ancient China that has influenced folk and national belief. Taoism has been connected to the philosopher Lao Tzu, who around 500 B.C.E. wrote the main book of Taoism, the Tao Te Ching.
What is the basic belief behind the philosophy of Taoism?
The core of the basic belief and doctrine of Taoism is that “Tao” is the origin and law of all things in the universe. Taoists believes that people can become deities or live forever through practicing certain rituals and austerities. They also practice a philosophy of wu wei, or inaction.
How do you understand these philosophical words of Lao Tzu?
Lao Tzu’s philosophy advocates naturalness, spontaneity and freedom from social conventions and desires. In the Tao, which means the way, Lao Tzu refers to the ultimate order of things and ultimate basis of reality.
Why did Lao Tzu create Taoism?
Toward the end of his life, Laozi saw that the Zhou Dynasty had lost the Mandate of Heaven, and the dynasty was devolving into chaos. Yinxi would not let Laozi pass without giving him wisdom, so Laozi wrote down what he knew. This writing became the Tao Te Ching, or the central doctrine of Taoism.
What is the uniqueness of Taoism?
The very essence of Taoism is quite the opposite. Taoism’s uniqueness and open-endedness have allowed the religion to flourish almost undisturbed and unchanged for over two thousand years. The founder of Taoism was a man named Lao Tzu, who lived around the year 604 B.C.E.
What are the values of Taoism?
Taoist thought focuses on genuineness, longevity, health, immortality, vitality, wu wei (non-action, a natural action, a perfect equilibrium with tao), detachment, refinement (emptiness), spontaneity, transformation and omni-potentiality.
Why do you think Lao Tzu compared the best kind of human beings to water?
Deified Lao Tzu looks peaceful because he knows who he really is. Lao Tzu liked to compare different parts of nature to different virtues. He said, “The best people are like water, which benefits all things and does not compete with them. It stays in lowly places that others reject.