Taoism

Researched and edited by:
Liam Daniels,, Dorian Miller Mohak Maggie McGarrity

How did the religion develop? Did someone found the religion?

 * Taoism was likely created by combining different Chinese traditions to make up a religion. No one has any evidence suggesting this but the religion of Tao was most likely founded by “Lao-tzu”. “Lao-tzu” translated to English means “Old Master”. It is thought that he developed the religion at around 551-479 BCE. **** Legend says that when Lao-tzu was 80 years of age, he started a journey to the Western border of China because of the people’s unwillingness to follow the Tao. Upon reaching the border, a guard requested Lao-tzu to write his teachings. This became the 5,000 character long Tao te ching. **** However, it is possible that Lao-tzu never even existed, there is no evidence of his existence anywhere. **

Taoism was founded by a Chinese Philosopher named Lao-tzu. He is also known as the author of the “Tao Te Ching” which is one of the main Taoist texts. It is said that the religion was created around 2000 years ago.

"Lao Tzu" is, in fact, an alternate spelling of the original name, "Lao Tse".

Taoism was founded by the great Chinese philosopher called Lao-Tzu (or Laozi).

Are there any important days? Which ones? What happens on those days?
Taoist holidays are based astronomically. They celebrate during the equinoxes and solstices. The solstices are on the 21st of June and December and the equinoxes occur on March 20/21 and on September 22/23.


 * Taoist holy days are astronomically based. During the equinoxes or solstices, individual rituals or celebrations are practiced. The Winter solstice occurs from 21-23rd December. A Winter solstice is the shortest day in the entire year. Taoists call it the end of the old sun and the beginning of the new. **

How many gods does the religion have?
None. Taoists believe in Tao, the natural order of things. Their main goal is to become one with the Tao. Taoists learn the path of wu-wei, which is the technique of instead of trying to control situations, mastering them.

This religion has no gods like in Christianity or most other religions. The religion is based on the Tao, or “The Way”. It is a pantheistic religion because they do not believe in a god, but in another superpower.

The religion does not have any gods. The people need to follow tao or the way. They also believe that the universe works in a harmony together. They also do wu-wei. Wu-wei is the concept of doing things without any stress. It also means doing things without any hard work.


 * Taoism does not contain any “God” like religions such as Christianity or Islam do. This is called a pantheistic religion. Instead, the followers must follow the “Tao” or the way which will eventually be revealed if they do what they are told. Instead of praying, Taoists believe that they must participate in activities completely stress free. **

How do the followers contact or pray to their gods?
Taoism have various practices. One is alchemy which involves a good diet and exercises like meditation, martial arts and etc.The main concept of this is to turn a man to someone that lives longer. Exactly like turning lead into gold. Taoism have also got talismans which are short lines that can cure sick, give you luck and take away the evil demons.
 * The “Tao” translate into English means “The Way”. Instead of praying to God/s, Taoism followers do things such as massaging, breathing exercises, yoga, meditation, and martial arts. Practicing these activities results in becoming closer to the Tao. These exercises are called “internal alchemy”. These activities must be done with no stress whatsoever. **

Taoists do not pray to a god, because they do not have one. Instead they practice doing things such as meditation, martial arts, reading scriptures and yoga that they call a type of alchemy. They do this because they think that doing these activities will help you become closer to the tao.

What are the rules? What do people have to do in their lifetime?
Taoism propagates basic virtues comprising Compassion, Moderation, and Humility. They are also translated as kindness, simplicity (or the absence of excess), Lao tzu believed that people should not fight anything that has life force in it. One should try to keep yin and yang balanced (I will explain that in another question). Nobody is allowed to govern or tell someone to do something. Taoists believe that people should do what they want to do. If they don’t, it just defeats the purpose of wu-wei. One should always follow the principles of wu-wei which is to do effortless action.
 * Taoism has more characteristics of a way of living than a religion. However, you must always keep calm, must not have a short temper, and must be balanced with the yin and the yang. Also, they believe in not fighting or telling people of the bad that someone else did. Taoists should never have too ** **much of something either. You must always practice activities such as meditation, yoga etc.**

Taoists should try to keep what is known as yin and yang balanced. They have to follow the rules of their religion and try to avoid fighting. They have to practice daily religious activities such as meditation, martial arts, etc.

Are there any sacred books? What are they called?
The main Taoist text are called the Tao te ching Zhuangzi Daozang which is divided into three sections like the Buddhists Tripitak. Here are the sections The zhen which includes shangquig (a school of taoism) texts. The xuan which is texts from lingbao school. The shen which is texts from I don't know yet.
 * The two most famous/main texts are called the Tao te ching which translated to English literally means "Classic of the Way of Power" and the Chuang-tzu. The Tao te ching is also known as "Lao-tzu's Five Thousand Words" because it is 5,000 characters long and it is said to be written by Lao-tzu. However, it is nearly impossible to find the time period in which it was written. It includes 81 short sections which have a poetic way about them. The Chuang-tzu has a big focus on the supposed founder of Taoism, Lao-tzu. It is made up of 32 chapters and there are many anecdotes and fables which teach about the way of life in Taoism. It is the 2nd most important text after the Tao te ching. **

The sacred book for Taoism is called Tao Te Ching, which means “The Way and it’s Power”. It is divided into 81 chapters and made up of about 5,000 Chinese characters. It contains advice on life and descriptions of the universe and nature. Some people believe that it was written by Lao-Tzu, but today people think that it is really a collection of many writings that were written by unknown people.

What do the holy buildings look like?
Actually there is no way to define the exact look of the holy buildings. Nearly all of them have got curved roofs on the top but all of them have different architecture.
 * The buildings are generally called Gong or Goan in Chinese. However, they are more like a wall where Taoists complete different rituals or ceremonies. There are also Taoist buildings but they don't have a set design. Som **[[image:http://www.china-tour.cn/images/China_Pictures/Chengdu_Pictures/Qing-Yang-Palace.jpg width="193" height="138" align="left"]]** e temples are caves where you can meditate, others are like grand palaces and many different things such as meditation, yoga, celebrations, and rituals can be practiced there. Some people would say that Buddhist temples and Taoist temples look very similar but that is a matter of opinion. A Taoist temple will look like an Asian style, symmetrical **** and often there will be some letters or symbols over the doorway. **
 * <(Maggies) **

Taoist temples are often called Gong, Guan, or Miao in Chinese. These are where Taoists can come to perform traditional ceremonies. They can come in many different forms, but most look like Chinese palaces although some can look like simple huts or even caves. When these temples are buildings, they are often symmetrical and are used for Taoists to meditate, celebrate, perform rituals and to practice martial arts in.

What happens to you when you die?
Taoists believe that death is another phase of phase of life and they have to accept it. Taoists also believe that if they do the right things in the world then they will be granted immortality. Taoism places great value in life and it does not believe in life after death.
 * There is little talk about the concept of a "hell" after you die. Instead, some Taoist believe that there are Buddhist islands (Peng-lai, Ying-chou, Fusang) where everyone is immortal and lives forever. On these islands, every item is rich and luxurious. Immortality is important because it shows that you have gained the ability to be in sync with the Tao. There are different processes to be successful in becoming immortal such as diets, prayers, exercises etc. What was considered the best option was to be in solitude in a cave. Even though this is true, Taoists are told not to care about the afterlife because they are supposed to live the life they have and be in the now because the after life is considered a part of the same life. **

Taoists are not afraid of death and neither do they want it. Taoists enjoy the life that they have and place a lot of value in it. They believe that the afterlife is just part of their actual life, and that the afterlife exists as part of the actual life. If Taoists do the right things in their lives and follow the Tao, they might be given immortality.

Are there any religious symbols and writing?
The most common symbol to be associated with Taoism is the Yin-Yang. It is a circle that has both a black half and a white half. The white half is the yang and the black side is the yin. Each half has a smaller circle in in it that is filled with the color of the opposite side. Yin and Yang are considered two different things. They are opposites, and represent things such as positive and negative or hot and cold. Although they are opposites, it is said that they can not exist without each other. Their religious symbol is called yin and yang. Yin is the black side with a white circle in it and yang is the white side with a black circle in it. Here is a table about what they represent: Chinese doctors believe that a person gets sick by either having too much of yin in them or too much of yang in them.
 * Yin || Yang ||
 * Positive || Negative ||
 * Female || Male ||
 * Night || Day ||
 * Passive || Active ||
 * Moon || Sun ||
 * Intuitive || Logical ||
 * Cold || Hot ||
 * Soft || Hard ||
 * The most important symbol by far is the yin and the yang. It is a black and white circle as shown to the right. The yin is the black side and the yang is the white side. **
 * The yin(black side) is more positive while the **** yang (white side) is more negative. The Yin and the Yang are complete opposites. One can not be without the other because then there would be an imbalance with the world. The picture shown to the right shows the original yin and the yang. (Maggies) ---> **

Is there any special clothing?
There is no dress code in Taoism as this religion does not believe in regulations
 * In earlier times, Taoists would wear robes made out of silk and very colorful. However, in modern day times, there is no specific code for clothing or special clothing **** that must be worn to their place of worship, events, or rituals. **

Taoists do not have a specific piece of clothing that they have to wear to go to special events, prayers, or other things. Earlier, they used to wear colorful and bright pieces of clothing that were usually made out of silk to festivals and other events.

Where is the religion most common?
China Taiwan Vietnam Cambodia
 * Taoism is most common in Asia, particularly in Mainland China, Japan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Vietnam. However, China tried to shut down Taoism in their country but it did not pass. In fact, China is the ** **country where most Taoists practice.**

Taoism is most common in China, but it is also common throughout the rest of Asia.

How many people believe in the religion?
It is estimated that the number of Taoists worldwide range from twenty million or even as high as 400 million in China In Taiwan 7.5 million people (33% of the population) follow Taoism. In Singapore 8.5% of the population identify themselves as Taoist There are also small numbers of Taoists in the Western world.
 * It is very hard to count how many followers of Taoism there are because some people may be following the way but may not consider themselves a Taoist. However, there is believed to be around 5 million true followers worldwide mainly in China and surrounding countries of China, and North America. One ** **third of the population in Taiwan is presumed to be Taoists. Approximately 30% of the Chinese population follow Taoism as well, one of the most practiced religions in China.**

Nobody really knows how many Taoists there are in the world, because they easily get mixed with some other religions such as Confucianism. Despite this, some people believe that there are almost five million Taoists currently in the world.


 * Taoists believe that in the beginning, there was just a material which was the yin and the yang. When the force began to move different directions and started circulating and after a while formed the shape of the world, our universe. Then, the first man was created from the yin and the yang that was left over from creating the world. **

What makes Taoism different from other organized religions?
Taoism is not as organized a religion like Christianity or Islam. It provides more of a philosophical guidance and understanding of living ones life. First of all, there is no strong opinion on anything and does not in a way you govern things. Another reason is that the main activities Taoist believes do is meditation,martial arts and physical body exercise. But in most of the organized religions, offering prayer to god is fundamental to practicing the religion.

What is the difference between Taoism and Confucianism?
Taoism and Confucianism originated at the same place and around the same period.Both are philosophical in nature but, there are basic differences between the two religions.Taoism puts emphasis on how to live in harmony with oneself, other living things, nature and universe but does not offer any strong guidelines.On the other hand,Confucianism is more specific about what one should do and one should not and strongly believes in one living an ethical life.Confucianism also stresses the need for ritual and music whereas Taoism focuses on nature.

Why is Taoism not popular as organized religions?
The reason for Taoism not being as popular as other organized religions is that fact that Taoism has never been institutionalized.Taoism is am individualistic religion.


 * Does this Religion have a Leader? **

Taoists do not have a specific leader or leaders, and there never really have been any. Taoists may consider Lao-Tzu as their leader. He was the one that they believe founded this religion. He is also known as the author of the Tao Te Ching, which is the Taoists most sacred text.

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