 Daoism is a Chinese philosophy that is linked to the philosopher named Dao Zhu. This philosophy has been instrumental to the folk religion primarily practiced by the people in the rural areas of China. At some point it was the official religion of the country when it was under the Tang dynasty. So in a way, we can say that Daoism is both a philosophy and a religion at the same time. The primary emphasis of the teachings of the Dao is to do things that are natural and to go with the flow, or as athletes would say, be in the zone. This concept is called Wu Wei, which can be translated as non-action, effortless action, or action of non-action, which sounds like a contradiction, but it all makes sense later on. The foundational philosophy of Daoism was built on the way things in the nature appear to flow seamlessly, like the clouds journeying from east to west and the waves of the sea crashing on the seashore. The religion, on the other hand, came from the belief that a cosmic force regulated these natural occurrences by the Tao. For us to truly understand the principles of the Tao as both a philosophy and a religion, we need to go back to the very beginning when it started. The Origin of Daoism The story of the origin of Daoism is told by a historian named Xi Ma Tian. He tells the story of Dao Zhu, a curator at the Royal Library in the state of Chum and a natural philosopher. Dao Zhu was a man that believed in the harmony of all things. He believed that life would be a lot easier for people to live if they thought about each other's feelings and understood that their self-interest would not always be in the interest of other people. However, nobody really listened to him. Dao Zhu became increasingly tired of the people and the corruption he saw in the government. He became annoyed that he could not change the behavior of the people, and so he decided to go on exile. On his way out of China, he was spotted by the gatekeeper named Yin Xi. Recognizing him as a philosopher, Yin Xi stopped Dao Zhu and begged him to write a book for him before leaving civilization. Dao Zhu sat and wrote the book which is now regarded as the Tao Chi Ting, the book of the way. When he was done, he gave the book to Yin Xi and disappeared into the mist, never seeing what his philosophy would go on to achieve. On opening the book, Yin Xi was greeted with the words, the Dao that can be described is not the eternal Dao. The name that can be spoken is not the eternal name. This is the famous opening of the Tao Chi Ting. The Tao Chi Ting. While you might be tempted to look at the Tao Chi Ting as a scriptural piece, it is quite far from that. The Tao Chi Ting is a book of poetry that presents the simple way of following the Dao and living a peaceful life in a world of constant change. Tao Chi Ting is a strange piece of art. Apart from the fact that there has been no agreement on when it was written, some believe that the credited offer never really existed. And for those who believe Dao Zhu actually existed, some do not believe he was the author. They believe that the Tao Chi Ting is simply a compilation of why sayings put together in one book by an unknown scribe. However, is it of little or no importance whether the belief system originated from Dao Zhu and when or how it was written? Even the book itself would agree that these are immaterial and that the important thing is what the world says and what readers have come to understand from it. The main message of Tao Chi Ting can be summarized in this verse. Yield and overcome. Or empty and become full. Or bend and become straight. It encourages the reader to yield to the circumstances they are facing and let go of the less important stuff rather than fighting against life and other people. It reminds humanity that we are all connected to one another and the earth. It tells us that mankind can live in harmony if only people will be more concerned about how their thoughts and actions affect them, other people, and mother earth. Because those three are constantly in sync. The heart of the Daoist philosophy is living in harmony with the Dao, which is also known as the way. Which begs the question, what is the Dao? This is a question that can never be completely answered and even trying would be a waste of time. Man's understanding of the Dao can only get as far as the level of his mind and perception. The actual form of the Dao, what it is, looks like, feels like, or sounds like, if it has any of these qualities, no one actually knows. Furthermore, the Dao that we actually talk about is not the real Dao, at least based on the opening verse of the Dao di Jing that we quoted earlier. So what do we know about the Dao? Daoist philosophers describe the real Dao as an all-encompassing force that the human mind or senses can neither comprehend nor perceive. The consensus, however, is that although we cannot understand the true Dao, we must still strive to live in agreement with it. To live in agreement with the Dao is to follow the course of a river. A river already has a preset course or a number of courses. If you happen to be in the river, you can either swim in the opposite direction of the current or hold on to something and stay still or just let go and let the stream lead when it is headed. A lot of people strive throughout their lives swimming against the current without even knowing it. The mind is somewhat preconditioned to think that it can and must be in control of the environment to survive, which is completely wrong considering that many of the processes that keep us alive are barely under our control. Things like digestion, blood flow, healing of wounds, things like our autonomic body functions, the weather and the future are not within our control at all. In the philosophy of flow, we move along with the current of the river and align ourselves with its natural course. It is called the path of least resistance. It allows nature to unfold and take its due course without any resistance from us. The Daoist philosophy is more about doing nothing and letting the river guide you rather than trying to take control of it. Man has always wanted to be control of life. However, Daoists believe that human efforts to control life are counterproductive. This is because these attempts are almost always in the opposite direction of the current, making you move slower than you would naturally have. Daoism teaches that trying to alter our counter-nature will never work, so it's better to do nothing and let nature run its course. Now we know that not trying or not doing anything might feel like a lazy approach to life. However, every time man tries to change something, they did this by creating other problems. Although the intentions behind these attempts might be completely out of good will, they always end up on the wrong side of history because they were not following the natural course. Look at the pursuit of happiness, for instance. People set out every day in pursuit of what they think is happiness, money, property, fame, career. All these things are what humans have tied to their happiness. Ironically, for many people, the pursuit of all these things is the very cause of unhappiness that they face. Another big flaw in the human mind is trying to be something or someone else. Life has given a person everything they need to survive, but we always end up envying others and trying to be like them. There's a quote in the Zhuangji, another prominent Daoism literature, and it goes like this. The one-legged creature is envious of the millipede. The millipede is envious of the snake. The snake is envious of the wind. The wind is envious of the eye. The eye is envious of the heart. This gives an accurate description of how most humans are. We tend to forget what we already have, and instead are struggling against the flow of the current by envying what other people do have. Most people try as much as possible to be another person just to fit into a man-made societal construct or idea or standard. In summary, Daoism teaches that in nature, there's none better than the other. Everybody has everything that they need to survive and thrive, and it is a waste of time and resources to live life trying to be another person. In the Tao Te Ching, Lao Zhu writes, When people see things as beautiful, ugliness is created. When people see things as good, evil is created. Being and non-being produce each other. Difficult and easy complement each other. Long and short, define each other. High and low oppose each other. Four and half follow each other. So, how do you master the art of not trying? There are a lot of suggestions from Daoist philosophers. To start with, Zhang Ji relates the benefits of going on the middle path. That is, that one should avoid stretching themselves beyond their means. Instead, they are to stay centered and thereby conserving health and staying close to their nature. Here's a verse from the Zhang Ji that really explains it. Follow the middle. Go by what is constant. And you can stay in one piece. Keep yourself alive. Look after your parents and live out your years. Lao Zhu believed that the Tao is constant and anyone who seeks the Tao learns something new every day. So, do not limit yourself to a belief system. Rather, let go. Keep an open mind and let the universe show itself to you in its true form. Making attempts to change your natural course is a wasteful activity. The same as trying to dim our view of nature through man-made constructs. One would have to let knowledge go till they are at the point where they feel tranquility on the inside rather than burdening themselves with too much knowledge. It is at this point that your mind is now open to the Tao. In this empty state, there is content. And being able to feel contentment is the true meaning to happiness. The Taoist describe this process as the fasting of the heart. Being able to unlearn something every day brings the Taoist to the point of non-action. This is the art of not trying. Where nothing is left unaccomplished and everything works itself out. Well, that's all for today's video, guys. Thank you very much for watching this video to the end. If you enjoyed it, hit the like button. Don't forget to subscribe and turn on the post notification for more videos like this. And I'll see you guys on the next video.