The Tao Te Ching, or Daodejing, is the central text of philosophical Taoism, an ancient Chinese mystical religion. It developed largely as a response to Confucianism, with its rigid hierarchical structure that inevitably imposed categories on the people with its assertion that filial piety, coupled with the observance of the rites and the appropriate inner attitude of reverence would lead to the best society and ultimately most moral of citizens. Under Confucianism, the Emperor was moral paragon; he was given authority by a transcendent power called The Mandate of Heaven tienming, which gave rulers authority as long as they were just. The Tao Te Ching was written, allegedly of course, by Lao Tzu. Lao Tzu was, according to legend, a member of the imperial court during the Zhou period, and Confucius, seeking advice regarding rites, filial piety and social order, sought out Lao Tzu, who brilliantly instructed Confucius on the meaninglessness of his concerns. The 5,000 characters of the Tao Te Ching are Lao Tzus teachings, which still have influence on China and the world even today. As I mentioned, Taosim developed as a response to Confucianism. Instead of focusing on rigid labeling of citizens, which the Taoists regarded as violation of the individual in some sense, they advocated a benevolent abstention on part of the ruler in meddling with the affairs of the people. It is best to lead from behind and let the people act naturally, as this will give rise to the most harmony and ultimately the best formulation of society. It is a philosophy of harmony. We are encouraged to see the interconnectedness of all life and things. There is no heaven, no hell, and maybe not even an afterlife, but I maintain to be a novice in the area of Taoist metaphysics at this point. The idea is that the cycle of birth and death brings all things back to where they came from: the Universe. There is no reincarnation. While the Taoists do maintain that, though we lose the body, we do not die, I am not convinced they believe we abide forever in some disconnected ethereal state. We are encouraged to look at the big picture when contemplating reality; for now, we have too many distractions. The Tao Te Ching tells us that it is because the room is empty that it is useful. Do not always look for what is there, but what is not and could be. The big picture, friends. Rock, arguably one of the hardest natural things to exist, can be carved and destroyed by the softest of things in the world: water. For the Taoist, the soft overcomes the hard, but people do not see this. Large, hard trees are those that are sought by the loggers for destruction and processing; not the young, flexible sapling; the big and hard will inevitably fall. So it is in this larger picture that we are urged to see that reality really exists. More later, and I will respond to what comments I can. More expansion later. Mark TheAtheist here it begins, friend.
Posted on: Sun, 20 Apr 2014 02:49:27 +0000