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Tao
''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'' , came from Chinese, where it signifies the way, path, route, road, or sometimes more loosely doctrine, principle, or holistic belief. Laozi in the ''Tao Te Ching'' explains that the ''Tao'' is not a name for a thing, but the underlying natural order of the Universe whose ultimate essence is difficult to circumscribe because it is non-conceptual yet evident in one's being of aliveness. The Tao is "eternally nameless" (''Tao Te Ching''-32. Laozi) and to be distinguished from the countless named things that are considered t ...
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Taoism
Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Tao'' (, 'Thoroughfare'); the ''Tao'' is generally defined as the source of everything and the ultimate principle underlying reality. The '' Tao Te Ching'', a book containing teachings attributed to Laozi (), together with the later writings of Zhuangzi, are both widely considered the keystone works of Taoism. Taoism teaches about the various disciplines for achieving perfection through self-cultivation. This can be done through the use of Taoist techniques and by becoming one with the unplanned rhythms of the all, called "the way" or "Tao". Taoist ethics vary depending on the particular school, but in general tend to emphasize ''wu wei'' (action without intention), naturalness, simplicity, spontaneity and the Three Treasures: , compassio ...
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Laozi
Laozi (), also known by numerous other names, was a semilegendary ancient Chinese Taoist philosopher. Laozi ( zh, ) is a Chinese honorific, generally translated as "the Old Master". Traditional accounts say he was born as in the state of Chu in the 6th centuryBC during China's Spring and Autumn Period, served as the royal archivist for the Zhou court at Wangcheng (modern Luoyang), met and impressed Confucius on one occasion, and composed the ''Tao Te Ching'' before retiring into the western wilderness. Chinese folk religion considers he then became an immortal hermit or a god of the celestial bureaucracy under the name Laojun, one of the Three Pure Ones. A central figure in Chinese culture, Laozi is generally considered the founder of philosophical and religious Taoism. He was claimed and revered as the ancestor of the 7th10th century Tang dynasty and similarly honored by modern Chinese with the surname Li. His work had a profound influence on subsequent Chinese re ...
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Tao Te Ching
The ''Tao Te Ching'' (, ; ) is a Chinese classic text written around 400 BC and traditionally credited to the sage Laozi, though the text's authorship, date of composition and date of compilation are debated. The oldest excavated portion dates back to the late 4th century BC, but modern scholarship dates other parts of the text as having been written—or at least compiled—later than the earliest portions of the '' Zhuangzi''. The ''Tao Te Ching'', along with the ''Zhuangzi'', is a fundamental text for both philosophical and religious Taoism. It also strongly influenced other schools of Chinese philosophy and religion, including Legalism, Confucianism, and Chinese Buddhism, which was largely interpreted through the use of Taoist words and concepts when it was originally introduced to China. Many artists, including poets, painters, calligraphers, and gardeners, have used the ''Tao Te Ching'' as a source of inspiration. Its influence has spread widely out and it is one of ...
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Yin And Yang
Yin and yang ( and ) is a Chinese philosophical concept that describes opposite but interconnected forces. In Chinese cosmology, the universe creates itself out of a primary chaos of material energy, organized into the cycles of yin and yang and formed into objects and lives. Yin is the receptive and yang the active principle, seen in all forms of change and difference such as the annual cycle (winter and summer), the landscape (north-facing shade and south-facing brightness), sexual coupling (female and male), the formation of both men and women as characters and sociopolitical history (disorder and order). Taiji or Tai chi () is a Chinese cosmological term for the "Supreme Ultimate" state of undifferentiated absolute and infinite potential, the oneness before duality, from which yin and yang originate. It can be compared with the old '' wuji'' (, "without pole"). In the cosmology pertaining to yin and yang, the material energy, which this universe has created itself out ...
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De (Chinese)
''De'' (; ), also written as ''Te'', is a key concept in Chinese philosophy, usually translated "inherent character; inner power; integrity" in Taoism, "moral character; virtue; morality" in Confucianism and other contexts, and "quality; virtue" ('' guna'') or "merit; virtuous deeds" ('' punya'') in Chinese Buddhism. The word Chinese ''de'' is an ancient and linguistically complex word. The following analyzes it in terms of semantics, graphics, and etymology. Meanings The '' Hanyu Da Zidian'', provides twenty meanings for ''de'' , translatable as # Rise, go up, climb, ascend. [] # Morals, morality, virtue, personal conduct, moral integrity, honor. [] # Denoting a wise/enlightened person with moral character. [] # Kindness, favor, grace, graciousness. [] # Grateful, gratefulness, thankful, indebted. [] # Benevolent rule, good government, good instruction. [] # Objective regulations/rules. [] # Quality, nature, basic characte ...
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Yinyang
Yin and yang ( and ) is a Chinese philosophy, Chinese philosophical concept that describes opposite but interconnected forces. In Chinese cosmology, the universe creates itself out of a primary chaos of material energy, organized into the cycles of yin and yang and formed into objects and lives. Yin is the receptive and yang the active principle, seen in all forms of change and difference such as the annual cycle (winter and summer), the landscape (north-facing shade and south-facing brightness), sexual coupling (female and male), the formation of both men and women as characters and sociopolitical history (disorder and order). Taiji (philosophy), Taiji or Tai chi () is a Chinese cosmological term for the "Supreme Ultimate" state of undifferentiated absolute and infinite potential, the oneness before duality, from which yin and yang originate. It can be compared with the old ''Wuji (philosophy), wuji'' (, "without pole"). In the cosmology pertaining to yin and yang, the mate ...
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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. Sinologist Jean François Billeter describes wu-wei as a "state of perfect knowledge of the reality of the situation, perfect efficaciousness and the realization of a perfect economy of energy", which in practice Edward Slingerland qualifies as a "set of ('transformed') dispositions (including physical bearing)... conforming with the normative order". Definition Sinologist Herrlee Creel considers wu wei, as ...
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Chinese Chán
Chan (; of ), from Sanskrit '' dhyāna'' (meaning " meditation" or "meditative state"), is a Chinese school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. It developed in China from the 6th century CE onwards, becoming especially popular during the Tang and Song dynasties. Chan is the originating tradition of Zen Buddhism (the Japanese pronunciation of the same character, which is the most commonly used English name for the school). Chan Buddhism spread from China south to Vietnam as Thiền and north to Korea as Seon, and, in the 13th century, east to Japan as Japanese Zen. History The historical records required for a complete, accurate account of early Chan history no longer exist. Periodisation The history of Chan in China can be divided into several periods. Zen, as we know it today, is the result of a long history, with many changes and contingent factors. Each period had different types of Zen, some of which remained influential while others vanished. Ferguson distinguishes t ...
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East Asian Religions
In the study of comparative religion, the East Asian religions or Taoic religions, form a subset of the Eastern religions. This group includes Chinese religion overall, which further includes Ancestral Worship, Chinese folk religion, Confucianism, Taoism and popular salvationist organisations (such as Yiguandao and Weixinism), as well as elements drawn from Mahayana Buddhism that form the core of Chinese and East Asian Buddhism at large. The group also includes Japanese Shinto, Tenrikyo, and Korean Muism (Korean shamanism similar to Chinese Wuism), all of which combine Shamanistic elements and indigenous ancestral worship with various influences from Chinese religions. Chinese salvationist religions have influenced the rise of Japanese new religions such Tenriism and Korean Jeungsanism; as these new religious movements draw upon indigenous traditions but are heavily influenced by Chinese philosophy and theology. All these religious traditions, more or less, shar ...
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Intuition
Intuition is the ability to acquire knowledge without recourse to conscious reasoning. Different fields use the word "intuition" in very different ways, including but not limited to: direct access to unconscious knowledge; unconscious cognition; gut feelings; inner sensing; inner insight to unconscious pattern-recognition; and the ability to understand something instinctively, without any need for conscious reasoning.Intuition and consciousness – Rosenblatt AD, Thickstun JT. Psychoanal Q. 1994 Oct;63(4):696-714. Intuitive knowledge tends to be approximate. The word ''intuition'' comes from the Latin verb ''intueri'' translated as "consider" or from the late middle English word ''intuit'', "to contemplate". Use of intuition is sometimes referred to as responding to a "gut feeling" or "trusting your gut".Wilding, M.How to Stop Overthinking and Start Trusting your Gut ''Harvard Business Review'', published 10 March 2022, accessed 21 September 2022 Psychology Freud According to Si ...
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Mu (negative)
The Japanese and Korean term ' () or Chinese (), meaning "not have; without", is a key word in Buddhism, especially Zen traditions. Etymology The Old Chinese * () is cognate with the Proto-Tibeto-Burman *''ma'', meaning "not". This reconstructed root is widely represented in Tibeto-Burman languages; for instance, means "not" in both Written Tibetan and Written Burmese. Pronunciations The Standard Chinese pronunciation of (, "not; nothing") historically derives from the Middle Chinese , the Late Han Chinese ''muɑ'', and the reconstructed Old Chinese *., p. 518. Other varieties of Chinese have differing pronunciations of . Compare Cantonese ; and Southern Min ( Quanzhou) and ( Zhangzhou). The common Chinese word () was adopted in the Sino-Japanese, Sino-Korean, and Sino-Vietnamese vocabularies. The Japanese kanji has readings of or , and a (Japanese reading) of . The Korean is read (in Revised, McCune–Reischauer, and Yale romanization systems). The Vie ...
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Wuji (philosophy)
In Chinese philosophy, ''wújí'' (, meaning 'without limit') originally referred to infinity but came to mean the "primordial universe" prior to the "Supreme Ultimate" state of being ( ''Taiji'', ) in the Neo-Confucianist cosmology of Song China. '' Wuji'' is also a proper noun in Modern Standard Chinese usage; for instance, Wuji County in Hebei. The word ''Wuji'' Chinese ''wuji'' "limitless; infinite" is a compound of the nothingness concept of wu and ''ji'' (ridgepole > limit, extremity, utmost). In analogy with the figurative meanings of English ', Chinese ''ji'' "ridgepole" can mean " geographical pole; direction" (e.g., ''siji'' "four corners of the earth; world's end"), "magnetic pole" ''Beiji'' "North Pole", ''Nanji'' "South Pole", ''yangji'' "positive pole; anode" ''yinji'' "negative pole; cathode"), (''baji'' "farthest points of the universe; remotest place"). Common English translations of the cosmological ''Wuji'' are "Ultimateless" (Fung and Bodd ...
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