Samuel Montes

DAOISM Milagros Torres

Veronica Ramirez
Janine Zamarron
BELIEFS
Though Daoism recognises many gods there is no overarching divinity. Instead, at the heart of the very
earliest Chinese vision of the cosmos, there is the Dao, the origin of all. Dao means the way. The Dao is
the origin of everything and the ultimate aim of all Daoists. The Dao is Heaven, Earth and Humanity. The
Dao cannot be defined because it exists beyond all forms. In the words of the great Daoist sage, Lao Zi:
That which can be named is not the true Dao. The Dao teaches wuwei, the way of no-action and no-
selfishness. This means to live in a plain and modest way and not to struggle for material gain.
Daoism regards life as the most valuable thing and pursues immortality. Life can be prolonged through
meditation and exercise. People should train their will, discard selfishness, and seek to be a model of
virtue. With high moral sense and good exercise, one can maintain energy throughout ones life. To
achieve this, Daoism stresses the need for a peaceful and harmonious environment as a very important
external condition.
The process by which the Dao gave rise to reality is defined in the classic text, Dao-De Jing, as follows:
The Dao gives birth to the One.
The One gives birth to the Two.
The Two gives birth to the Three.
The Three give birth to the Ten Thousand.
These words describe how the Dao, the essence of all, gives birth to Nature (the One) which in turn gives
birth to Yin and Yang (the Two). Yin and Yang are opposites which must always be in balance:Yin is female,
moist, cold, the moon, autumn and winter, shadows and waters. Yang is male, dry, hot, the sun, spring and
summer, brightness and earth. The need to balance yin and yang can be applied to everything, including
martial arts (Tai Chi), food (macrobiotics) and the arrangement of living conditions (feng shui).
From the perpetual striving of Yin and Yang arises the ThreeHeaven, Earth and Humanity. Humanity must
try to balance the opposites of Heaven and Earth.
The principle of balancing yin and yang is also the basis of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
SIGNIFICANT LEADERS
SIGNIFICANT EVENTS
6th to 2nd centuries B.C.E. - The holy manuscripts were composed.
2nd century to 2nd century to C.E. Lao Tzu was deified. Cults of individuals searching for
immortality and a holistic philosophical system called correlative cosmology emerged.
6th to 11th centuries - A distinct Taoist identity formed. The Taoist Canon was compiled. A
standing pantheon (officially recognized group of deities) emerged. The term tao-chiao
(teachings of the Tao) came into widespread use. Internal alchemy (a form of physical-spiritual
cultivation that applied alchemical practices metaphorically) developed.
11th to 14th centuries - The following new (mostly short-lived) Taoist sects appeared: The
Perfect Great Way, the Teaching of the Great Unity, the Way of Pure Brightness, the Correct
Method of the Celestial Heart, the Spiritual Firmament, and the Way of Complete Perfection.
These sects produced new scriptures, moral lessons, ritual forms, healing arts, and/or monastic
practices, many of which survive to this day.
14th to 20th centuries -Taoism was distilled into the Orthodox Unity and Complete Perfection
lineages, the two major sects of Taoism that survive today. The Ming Canon, the last official
collection of Taoist sacred texts, was compiled. Gymnastic and physical cultivation techniques
like tai-chi chan and chi-kung were developed.
20th to 21st centuries - Taoism was disrupted by a series of political events (including the
Communist Revolution in 1949 and the Great Proletariat Cultural Revolution in the 1960s and
1970s) and then reestablished in China. Taoism also spread to Western countries.
 TIMELINE
Taoist communities,
new age
movements, and
physical-spiritual
cultivation groups
The Tao Te formed. The Way of
Ching, Chuang the Celestial
2nd Masters, the first
Tzu, Nei-yeh,
centu actual Taoist
Huai Nan Tzu, community, began.
and Ma-wang-tui ry
Cultivation groups
manuscripts B.C.E. called the Highest
were composed. to Purity and Numinous
This is known as 2nd Treasure received
the Classical revelations of sacred
centu scriptures. The
Period.
6th to LaoryTzu was practice of Taoist
2nd to
2nd C.E.
deified. Cults of alchemy) began.
6th
centuri individuals
centuries
searching for
es
immortality and
B.C.E. a holistic
philosophical
system called
correlative
HOLY BOOKS
Tao Te Ching
The key book of Taoism was compiled around the 3rd century BCE. It's called the
Tao Te Ching (Dao De Jing or Daode Jing) - The Way and Its Power, and is also
known as the Lao-tzu.
This short book of around 5,000 Chinese characters is divided into 81 brief
chapters filled with short, enigmatic paragraphs of advice on life, and poetic
descriptions of the nature of the universe.
Taoists regard the Tao Te Ching as the essential guide to living a full spiritual and
ethical life.
No one person wrote the Tao Te Ching. Although elementary textbooks usually say
it was written by Lao Tzu (Laozi) this is untrue. The book is probably a collection of
the proverbs and sayings of many anonymous people over a long period of time.
The earliest Western version of the Tao Te Ching was a Latin translation made by
the Jesuits in the late 18th century.
Chuang-tzu
Another important book is the Chuang-tzu. Although this was published after the
Tao Te Ching, its compilation began earlier. Like the Tao Te Ching, although it is
attributed to a man named Chuang Tzu (Zhuangzi), it is a collection of the wisdom
of many different people.
QUOTES
SYMBOLS
PICTURES