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Taoism
Zhuangzi
dreamt, that he was a butterfly,
When
he woke up, he thought:
After
he had thought for a little while longer, he asked himself: Written by Knud Erik Andersen |
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Taoism, henceforth Daoism, is the religion of China, the only religion, which has arose from China. The concept of Tai Chi is very central in the Daoism and for that reason it might be interesting for practitioners of Tai Chi to know a little bit about the Daoism. The Daoism is the only so-called "real" religion, which arose in China. In that respect you can forget about Confucianism, which is not regarded as a religion, but rather as a philosophy or a teaching of moral. The other important religion in China, The Buddhism, originated from India. The Daoism arose for about 2500 years ago in the end of the Zhou dynasty. It has it starting point in two works The Dao de jing (Tao Teh-King) written by the legendary author Laozi and Zhuangzi written by Zhuang Zhou. The two works makes the core in the Daoism. What's very typical for the way of thinking in the Daoism is among others the idea that the of the origin of the Universe happened by itself and from that the ideal about "non-action" Wuwei. The concept of Dao or "The path" which have given the name to the school is of course very central, but very difficult to explain, you have to read the Laozi for yourself and try to understand. Yin and Yang are two very known concepts in the West, The Five Elements are less known, but are important especially for those, who study Chinese medicine. Taiji is also a Daoist concept, which has given the name to The Taijiboxing, Taijiquan. It means the utmost, or the original. Except being a way to look at the World, through times there have been different ways to practise the Daoism. There have been different kinds of meditation, breathing techniques, gymnastic, sexual techniques, alchemy, diet techniques etc. There are many stories about the Daoists aim to obtain immortality. The alchemists work to find a immortality pill which has cost many lives, many has lived as hermits in celibacy, others has performed rituals at the court, all depending on what was the need. Of course the Daoism has developed through the 2500 years and there have been written many texts, which have been preserved and gradually have been translated to Western languages and in this way reveals more and more about the mysteries of Daoism. The Daode jing The classics on the Path is ascribed to Laozi, which means the old master. He is considered to have lived at the same time as Confucius around 500 years B.C. The work consists of about 5000 characters and contains some mysterious and poetic verse. The text circles around the concept of Dao, The Path, which in its basic is describes as undescribable. Never the less it is emphasized over and over again, that Dao can be used for something. The Zhuangzi The work Zhuangzi, which means the master Zhuang, are for eldest parts, written by Zhuang Zhou, who lived about 300 years B.C. But it also consists of text written by his disciples and their followers. Zhuang's philosophy is closely related to Laozi's, whom he mentions many times with great admiration. However he express his thoughts in a different and much more personally form. Anecdotal and gives one's imagination free rein with a wealth of logical quibbles. It is one of the Chinese literatures undisputed masterpieces. One of the most famous chapters, is the one about Zhuangzi and the butterfly, which makes us think about the mystery of our existence in the most simple and most beautiful way. The Daoism in China today It's difficult to say exactly who, where and how many, who are Daoists today in China. The official Chinese side is very cautious about religions, now they are supporting them official, but not in reality. The rich and many cultures of China has after 1949 suffered a serious blow. The religions, The traditions of Art, The traditions of Craftsmanship etc. which have been on its way through a, compared with other cultures long history, have in a short time almost been wiped out. What's left now is, often only watered-down shadows of the pried of the past. Regarding the Daoism, a great deal of the old knowledge have been brought to safety outside the mainland of China, mainly in the Chinese communities outside China. But Western scientist has since the opening of China to the outside World, described the Daoism thoroughly, and the principal works of the Daoism such as the Daode jing and the Zhuangzi has been translated to almost every language. So in the West we have already had a part of the benefit of reading about the Daoist traditions and ideas of previous times. Those who lives, as the Daoist monks and nuns of previous times lived with the Daoism, are by now very few. It's difficult to point out exactly, which areas are characterized by the Daoist way of thinking today. For example the language is characterized by previous times ideas and morality. Just as the social convention and all in all the understanding of the World is characterized by the past, where the Daoism have had a great influential factor. So even though the communists declared themselves for being atheists, the basic is their linguistic and cultural hereditary which are permeated with the ideas and believes of the past. Thus no Chinese can't say they are not influenced by the Daoism. Before 1949 the Daoist priests have been performing the rituals and ceremonies, giving advise, cure, and teach. Most of these functions has been by the communists been regarded as "Feudal Superstition". Officially the Chinese Communist Party's policy has been religious liberty since 1949. But already in 1950 some religious movements were limited in their freedom of action. From 1950 to 1966 the conditions for the religious were still more difficult, until the Culture Revolution put a stop to all religious activities. During the Culture Revolution all religious activities was categorized as one of "The Four Old" and "Feudal Superstition", which only was to to suppress the people. Churches and temples were used for other things or torn down. Monks and priests were pursued in the thousands. Religious celebrations and holidays were deleted or changed to communist or general festive days. Thus the traditional religious New Year according to the lunar calendar were, changed to the Spring Festivities. Public religious ceremonies wasn't seen before after 1979, where some religious liberty were begun, which has existed until today. The borderline for, when a Chinese is a Buddhist or a Daoist are in practise often very vague. People often make use of the Buddhists, when it comes to problems concerning death and by the Daoists when it concerned life. Today many Chinese prefer to keep a low profile about their faith, if the wind should change once more. The traditional Chinese medicine and health exercises One area, where the Daoism has an enormous, but so to speak hidden influence today, is in the way to treat ailments. Many thinks that religion and treatments of ailments have to do with driving out evil spirits. But you have to bear in mind, that the |
Chinese already were civilized in our Stone Age and their culture, has through times produced much knowledge and many discoveries. Thus the Daoists has developed astronomy, alchemy, chemistry, medical science with chiropractic, medicine, acupuncture, teachings on nutrition, physical education etc. The Yellow Emperors Internal Classic, which core originates from the 2. century B.C., are permeated by the Daoist way of thinking, and today the Daoism is also recognized as being a important part of the Chinese medicine, which has as we know turned a great deal towards new Western methods. The theory about Yin and Yang and balance, are generally accepted in Chinese way of thinking and it has a great influence to everyone. Today Chinese medicine often is a mixture of traditional and Western medicine. Even though all kind of sports and athletics has gain a footing in China, the old healing exercises, which mainly originates from the Daoism, has had an incredible growth. Qigong or Daoyin as it's called, has never been as popular as now. There are literally educations and hospitals, which exclusively practise qigong. This is a tradition which the Chinese, even from the official side, is very proud of. The government try to subdue the religious aspects, but because the practise mainly is practise of the mind, it hasn't been practical in practice to pull it down to the same level as other athletics and Western medicine. These exercise systems includes many times the theoretical concept of Yin and Yang, The Five Elements and other Daoist concepts. Maybe they don't talk so much about Gods etc. and it doesn't look like a service etc., but in basic it's about religious concepts about the Universe. So you can say, that a great deal of the Chinese culture is a form of non-ritualized practical Daoism. The Taoist way of thinking A great deal of the Daoist way of thinking are focused upon, what's tiring and what's nourishing, what's kept and what's degenerated. In contrast to Christianity and many other known religions, which are focusing on a life after death and a promise of better times. Everything, which happens, happens in relation to our present existence, any reference to, what's happening after death are often explained with the term 'to step into another phase of existence' inexplicable, as it ought to be. This is realistic and encourage each and every individual to get as much out of their lives as possible here and now, while at the same time realize the need of making others happy, too. You have to realize, there are minorities of people, who enjoy seeing others suffering on their expense, but the majority, are happy by bringing joy and happiness to others. This is of course not the only opportunity, but it's the most used. What's unfortunate, is that most people tries to give materialistic joy, by buying presents without actually thinking about, what the person is trying to say or do. Often it seem as there's a lack of sincerity, which is the cause of the lack of simplicity in our existence. Chapter five of the Laozi gives a glimpse of mercilessness in many religions: "Heaven and Earth isn't good for Man, the gives birth, they treat their offspring as straw-dogs". This is incomprehensible, until we understand the meaning of the word "Straw-dog". If we go way back in history, we will be able to find an explanation to the word "Straw-dog", which says it was used to lead a burial procession, so it could draw all the wickedness on the way. Before the funeral they were carefully made ready and kept an eye on, because they were soon to be used, but after the funeral, they were burned to destroy all the bad influence that had been drawn to them. When something has served its purpose, it will be ruthless destroyed. The Daoism support this if you are a sage or a leader, a principle maybe, who consider the many on the expense of the few? How can you then know, what's good for the People? There's a story about a peasant and his son, whose horse run away, to return with a bunch of wild horses. The son broke his leg, when he tried taming the horses etc... Here we can see, there are nobody, who can foresee, what would be beneficial and what would be catastrophic. Heaven and Earth reacts inconsiderate, because there are shown no consideration to anybody, things happens and a result occur. We have the ability to think, which deceives us, make us believe we can control the battle, which we can manage, if it's not going to be to confused. We only need to be a witness to a accident, to realize, how thin the tread is, that is holding us up. Then what is it, that protect and what is it that degenerate? According to chapter eight, water is a good example: "Water whish to make good for every creature, it doesn't fight to gain a specific position, but places itself where, no one else wants to be. This makes it, a reflection of the principle". Resistance makes you tired, it's much better to follow the flow. What's stiff breaks easily under pressure, what's flexible are kept. Actually we do not control the events, so we have to do it as good as possible. What else can be kept? Chapter nine explains:
"To
hold a vase
filled with water, without
spilling
a drop, is impossible. So
don't fill it. The literature It's very extensive, to try to explain a single concept or a single discipline in the Daoist practise and there are of course just as many ways to understand the Daoism as there are people. That's why it would be an impossible task to try to explain further about the Daoism here, but I recommend, you to go to the library and borrow some books, which goes more into the depth.
©1999 Knud Erik Andersen
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