What is Taoism? - Bobba

Transcript, References & Disclaimer below:

Transcript:
Taoism is a philosophy from ancient China. It's not known for sure how old Taoism is, but it could be as much as 4700 years (1). Ancient China developed an advanced civilization well ahead of Europe and went through a "Golden Age of Philosophy" (2) while much of Europe was still tribal. 

Compared to all the other philosophies of the world, Taoism is very simple, practical and easy to comprehend. Taoism is the only philosophy of antiquity with a sense of humour. As a rule, the ancient Chinese did not approve of complex philosophies and always kept their sacred texts very relevant. Being based on diagrams, Chinese text is very concrete, making all the Chinese philosophies very direct with very little room for speculation or assumptions.

The ancient Taoists based their philosophy on their observations of the most reliable thing known to them, Nature. The ancient Taoists saw that Nature had a circular flow that kept everything in balance. They noticed that everything had a necessary and corresponding opposite. From this observation came the concept of the yin-yang. The yin-yang motif symbolizes the natural balance of opposites, such as life and death; male and female; night and day; good and evil.

The Taoists understood the importance of the natural balance of opposites. They understood that life would be far more peaceful and more rewarding if they didn't resist Nature's circular flow. They saw that when one resisted and opposed Nature, life became unnecessarily complex and this would lead to a life of stress and unhappiness.

Taoism is about completely identifying with Nature and not resisting the natural processes. Taoists understand that everything in Nature is designed to succeed and by identifying fully with Nature one could live a life of contentment. Taoists believe Nature and the Universe are following an intelligent pattern and this pattern of intelligence they called the Tao. 

The Taoists didn't see Nature or the Universe as something that required a controller or a boss. They saw Nature and the Universe as something that takes care of itself. Apart from a total trust in the wisdom of Nature and the Universe, there is nothing else a Taoist must believe. Every Taoist is in a position to trust their intuition and interpret the teachings of Nature for themselves.

Apart from behaving in accordance with Nature and trusting your own true nature, there is nothing a Taoist must do. There are no rituals; no special diets; no costumes; no gurus; no donations; or any other wacky stuff.

Taoism teaches us that there is nothing wrong in simply being our natural selves and therefore Taoism is free from rules or restrictions. Nature has provided us with the intuition and everything else we need to survive. All any of us need to do is trust the process of Nature.

References:
(1) http://www.taoism.net/ikuantao/origin/home.htm
(2) http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/core9/phalsall/texts/chinrelg.html

Disclaimer:
Whenever the word "Taoism" is used on this channel, it is Philosophical Taoism that is intended. Philosophical Taoism should not be confused with Religious Taoism, which involves deity worship and ritualistic magic. Superstition, dogma and most of the other trappings of "religion", are of little interest to Philosophical Taoists.

Although every care has been taken to represent the authentic Taoist philosophy, the information presented on this channel is often my personal view and may differ from other followers of Tao. These differences occur because all people are free to interpret the teachings of Nature for themselves. I am neither an academic nor a sage and I don't claim to have any special insight. I'm simply a being sharing my journey of discovery.

I welcome all your questions and comments.
Bobba

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Tao
• Taoism
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• Dao
• Daoism
• FAQ
• Bobba
• Ancient
• Chinese
• Philosophy
• Nature
• Yin
• Yang
• Universe
• Intelligent
• Pattern
• Natural

[bernadettemarlene]

Simply put.. I have been listening to Alan Watts a lot lately and sometimes I get confused by the complexity of his lectures. This has helped me to understand more. Thank you <3

[TaoFAQ]

@bernadettemarlene Thank you!

[NYXFLYX1]

I think this is a great explanation of Tao in a nutshell and dispels a lot of the cumbersome and wrong ideas that have come to be associated with the Tao and Taoism

[TaoFAQ]

@NYXFLYX1 Thank you!

[PokemonMasterJedi]

Are Taoists on the light side or are they morally neutral?

[TaoFAQ]

@PokemonMasterJedi The Ancients taught if one follows their True Nature, right and wrong would cease to have meaning. Does this mean one can harm others? This question never occurs to one who has experienced their True Nature, as it wouldn’t to a child - where the thought of harming anything is beyond all understanding. Unfortunately, our child’s mind was all too soon swept away by our cultural indoctrination, so we all end up confused adults, struggling to make sense of moralistic teachings.

[TaoFAQ]

@Q8yGodfather Why are there criminals? Are criminals born or are they simply a result of the environment in which they were raised? If a dog is severally beaten as a puppy, is he a bad dog if he bites out of fear? Rather than punish the criminal after he has victimise another; wouldn't it be far better identify root cause of all criminal behavior and eliminate victimisation for all time? Until we start looking at old problems with new eyes, we are just spinning our wheels and going nowhere.

[yinyangnature]

@dstrong1337 That's so great to hear! Please always remember, the Taoist teachings don't claim to be any better than any other wisdom. For Taoism is about the unity of all life; and it is only through this understanding that we will achieve peace and harmony on earth.

[dstrong1337]

Just did a project on Taoism and your video helped me greatly

[Karma7711]

if only we could do this in the world we live in. there are so many restrictions by laws its rediculous.

[ModernDeism]

@bernadettemarlene been listening to alot of his stuff lately as well.

[yinyangnature]

@Sm00th727 Philosophical Taoism. It has been said Philosophical and Religious Taoism are only similar by name.

[jaiminhas]

I didn't ment Religion, I meant Philosophy*

[jaiminhas]

And also, Taoism is one of the Religions that are not in Religious war. Killing people just because of their religion? Let the Taoism be a lesson for all of those who thinks that God helps if we fight, kill or show importance. I think that's all I've learned from Taoism I think I might be wrong in something. Bad part is that here in Portugal we don't have taoists nor converting to Taoism ;(

[jaiminhas]

I have to say that Taoism is the real Religion I always liked to convert. Why? Because I'm a christian and everything here is always about going to churches, praying to God and Jesus, go to religious festivals and when they say if we do not go or do any of these "God will punish us". I don't understand why all the workships and prays? Taoism is all about finding a path and contact with Nature and feel a new self inside one self and not workshiping Gods for helping us or demanding something

[Sm00th727]

Is this philosophical Daoism or is it religious Daoism? Because there are monks who dress "funny" and they do perform rituals such as meditation, the burning of incense, and the burning of "false money" as well as chant hymns. Now if this is about the philosophy of it good job. But I know that there are practices that are maintained and implemented by Daoist Monks

[eljaytomas123]

@yinyangnature Arigato! (Thanks!) I think that would be a great idea. On the off-topic, Your videos are very inspiring and inviting, Bobba. I already have an unquenchable interest to this philosophy! I hope you make more inspiring videos! My report will be in a few days so wish me luck!