Daoism is about understanding that we are a part of nature.
Often referred to as Tao (dào in pinyin) in English, Daoism is the indigenous philosophy of China. Throughout the long history of China there are three well-respected philosophies, Daoism, Confucianism and Buddhism. The latter, Confucianism and Buddhism (originally from India) are relatively new schools of thought dating back around 2000 years. The principles of the Dao were first formulated in words and symbols by the sages of ancient China around 5000 years ago, but the Dao is believed to predate human civilization and transcend space and time.
The Dao literally means ‘The Path’, often translated as the ‘path of nature’. It has been translated as the Way, the Absolute, the Law, Supreme Reason, and the Mode. These different translations are not incongruent, for the use of the term for the Daoists differs according to the subject matter of inquiry. The Dao could be thought of as more of a passage, rather than the path. It is the spirit of cosmic change – the eternal growth which returns upon itself like the dragon, the symbol of the Daoists. It folds and unfolds, as do the clouds. Subjectively, it is the mood of the universe. Its absolute is the relative, which is captured in its primary symbol, the yin/yang. The Daoists believe that only by dwelling in its unity can one achieve true happiness, true freedom.
Traditional Chinese culture evolved almost entirely around the principles of the Dao, and today we can still experience the Daoist ideas through traditional Chinese arts including philosophy, medicine, martial arts, poetry, calligraphy, cooking and meditation. Daoism created the concepts of Qi, yin/yang, wuxing (five phases), systematic correspondence and wuwei (‘doing without doing’) to help explain and understand the universe.
Daoists views human beings as a tiny, but integral creature within the cosmos and suggests that our best hope for survival and success is to live in harmony with the great natural forces that formed us as well as our environment.
To go against the Dao is to swim upstream against a strong current – sooner or later you will exhaust your energy and be swept away by the cosmic currents of the Dao.
Daoists speak not of a supreme being but of a supreme state of being. This state exists within every human being and can be accessed through personal effort and self-discipline. This state is often referred to as ‘enlightenment’ in English. Daoism is primarily concerned with life on earth; therefore the Daoists believe we reap what we sow. A healthy body and mind is likened to the root of a plant, which provides the basis for flowering. Daily practice and self-discipline provide the basis for this healthy mind/body/spirit so that you have an opportunity to harvest the fruits of your life.
Lao Zi (old sage) is arguably the most famous Daoist with his 5000-word (81 chapter) poem on the Dao, called the Dao De Jing (Tao Teh Ching), The Way and its Power, written around 2500 years ago. Lao Zi (approx. 476BCE) did not invent Daoism; he simply claimed to describe an ancient way of life that had prevailed in China 2500 years before his time during the reign of Huang Di (Yellow emperor). Huang Di is considered the founding father of the Chinese civilization and both Lao Zi and Confucius believed him to be the foremost practitioner of the way. The greatest philosophical Daoist after Lao Zi was Zhuang Zi (Chuang Tze) who lived around 300-350BCE. Zhuang Zi was one of the greatest Daoist writers of antiquity and was renowned for his ironic sense of humor. He once famously remarked to his students upon waking from a nap in which he dreamt he was a butterfly that he could not tell for sure whether he were a man who had just dreamt he was a butterfly or a butterfly that was now dreaming it was a man.
When one understands that health is the foundation of human happiness in the world, one must look at ways we can improve our health through maximizing the activities (breathing, resting, eating, exercising and thinking) that naturally regulate the self-healing body. Dao is more than just a philosophy of life, it is a way of life, and the only way to realize it is to cultivate and practice.
