Taoism
is one of the two great philosophical and religious traditions that originated in China. The other religion native to China is Confucianism. Both and Confucianism began at about the same time, around the sixth century B.C.E. China's third great religion, Buddhism, came to China from India around the second century of the common era. Together, these three faiths have shaped Chinese life and thought for nearly twenty-five hundred years. One dominate concept in and Buddhism is the belief in some form of reincarnation. The idea that life does not end when one dies is an integral part of these religions and the culture of the Chinese people. Reincarnation, life after death, beliefs are ...
Want to read the rest of this paper?
Join Essayworld today to view this entire essay
and over 50,000 other term papers
|
is not a god or a supreme being, as is not monotheistic. The focus is not to worship one god, but instead on coming into harmony with tao. Tao is the essence of everything that is right, and complications exist only because people
choose to complicate their own lives. Desire, ambition, fame, and selfishness are seen as hindrances to a harmonious life. It is only when a person rids himself of all desires can tao be achieved. By shunning every earthly distraction, the Taoist is able to concentrate on life itself. The longer the person's life, the more saintly the person is presumed to have become. Eventually the hope is to become immortal, to achieve tao, to have reached the deeper life. This is the after life for a Taoist, to be in harmony with the universe, to have achieved tao.
To understand the relationship between life, and the concept of life and death, the origin of the word tao must be understood. The Chinese character for tao is a combination of two characters ...
Get instant access to over 50,000 essays.
Write better papers. Get better grades.
Already a member? Login
|
and seeming. Your soul does not glide out of a familiar sea into an unfamiliar ocean. That which is real in you, your soul, can never pass away, and this fear is no part of her".
In the writings of The Tao Te King, tao is described as having existed before heaven and earth. Tao is formless, stands alone without change and reaches everywhere without harm. The Taoist is told to use the light that is inside to revert to the natural clearness of sight. By divesting oneself of all external distractions and desires, only then can one achieve tao. In ancient days a Taoist that had transcended birth and death, achieved tao, was said to have cut the Thread of Life.
The soul, or ...
Succeed in your coursework without stepping into a library.
Get access to a growing library of notes, book reports,
and research papers in 2 minutes or less.
|
CITE THIS PAGE:
Taoism. (2007, December 24). Retrieved April 24, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Taoism/76350
"Taoism." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 24 Dec. 2007. Web. 24 Apr. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Taoism/76350>
"Taoism." Essayworld.com. December 24, 2007. Accessed April 24, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Taoism/76350.
"Taoism." Essayworld.com. December 24, 2007. Accessed April 24, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Taoism/76350.
|
Save
Report