TAOISMComparative Religions

FOUNDER ____________– born about

604 B.C.E. Met Confucius who

labeled Lao a _______________ Enigmatic Larger than life Mysterious

Lao supposedly became upset with the attitudes of the people and climbed on a _________________ and headed west

On this westward journey he was stopped and was asked to write down his

________________________ Three days he wrote He produced the Tao Te

Ching – The Way and Its Power (aka the __________)

Most scholars don’t believe Lao himself wrote the whole thing

They do agree that _____ man’s thoughts inspired the whole thing

THREE MEANINGS OF TAO Tao is the way of ultimate reality

Too vast for reason to __________________ It is the womb from which all _______ springs and

to which it returns Tao is the way of the universe

The norm The rhythm The driving power of ______________ It is spirit instead of matter

It can’t be _____________________ The more it’s drawn upon, the more it flows

Tao is the way of __________________________ It meshes with the Tao of the universe

THREE APPROACHES TO POWER AND THE TAOISMS THAT FOLLOW ___________________________Taoism ___________________________ Taoism ___________________________ Taoism All three of the above are different, but seek

to maximize the Tao’s meaning of ________ Summarizing the three together:

P.T. begins with interest in how life’s normal allotment of ______ can best be used. This leads to how ch’i can be ________ (V.T.). Finally, gathering the ________ energy of Tao is handled in R.T.

See these three as currents in a common _______

PHILOSOPHICAL TAOISM ___________________ Self-help oriented Teachers are really ______________ training

students in what they should understand An attitude to _______________ Has the most to say to the world Called “School Taoism” in _______________

Lao Tzu Chuang Tzu Tao Te Ching

________________________ is sought P. T. want knowledge that empowers (aka

wisdom) P.T. want to live in a way that

_____________ energy by not expending it in useless ways Avoid ______________ and _________________ Center on _______________ – pure

effectiveness Main objective is to align one’s daily life

to the Tao Ride its boundless tide and delight in its flow Find Creative Quietude – the balance

between supreme _____________ and supreme _____________

VITALIZING TAOISM Called Taoist Adepts

Wanted to increase the Tao at their disposalCenter on ____________ – vital energy

(breath)Main objective is to remove _____________

that reduce the flow of ch’i _________________ is the life force and these

Taoists love life!

Concentrate on three things to maximize ch’i _______________ _______________ _______________

Ch’i is taken in it’s matter forms (liquid, gas, solid) through movements like t’ai-chi chuan. The mind increases ch’i through meditation. The meditation

resembles ___________ “To the mind that is

___________, the whole universe surrenders.”

RELIGIOUS TAOISM Religious Taoism

__________________the shamans, psychics, faith healers, and soothsayers of the day.

Taoist church was founded in the ________ century C.E.

The Taoist priesthood made cosmic life-power available for _____________________

The church and it’s line of succession continues today in ______________

NATURAL ELEMENTS _________ impressed the

Taoists the most. Unobtrusive Adaptive Assumes the ________ of

its containers Seeks out the __________

places __________ what is hard

and brittle __________ canyons from

granite Erodes hills

Wisdom of water (wu wei) “Muddy water let stand

still will ____________”

HUMILITY Taoists value ________________. They

honorHunchbacksCripples

They point out the value of______________________________________________________

NATURALISM Taoists believe nature

should not be ________ and abused, any more than _______________ should be

Nature should be ___________________, not conquered.

Humans are at their best when they are in harmony with their ______________

Man is often seen as climbing with their bundles, riding a buffalo, or poling a boat The human self with its

journey The hill to climb The burden to carry But surrounded by the beauty

of __________________

IDENTITY WITH OPPOSITES Yin/yang

Polar opposites Day – _____________ ____________ – death Male – ____________

On cannot _________ without the other

The two meet, mesh, but remain _______________

CHINESE CHARACTER Chinese Character is best represented

by the two poles of Confucianism and Taoism Confucianism Taoism

Character Romantic

Behavior Calculated

Focus Connects the human to what transcends it

Boundaries Confucius roams within Society