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Taoism
Origins
The founder of Taoism was a man known as Laotzu. He is said to have been born around the year 604 BC, but there is some doubt he ever lived at all. Almost nothing is known about him, not even his real name. Laotzu translates as the 'Old One' or the 'Grand Old Master'. It's widely believed that Laotzu was the keeper of the government archives in a western state of China, and that Confucius consulted with him. At the end of his life, Laotzu was said to have climbed on water and ridden west towards what is now Tibet, in search of solitude for his last few years. On the way, he was asked to leave behind a record of his beliefs. The product was a slim volume of only 5,000 characters, the Tao Te Ching or The Way of Its Power. He then rode off on his buffalo.
Theory
To Laotzu, the world was not a setter of traps but a teacher of valuable lessons. Its lessons needed to be learned, just as its laws needed to be followed; then all would go well. Rather than turn away from "the world of dust", Laotzu advised others to "join the dust of the world." What he saw operating behind everything in heaven and earth he called Tao (Dao), "The Way". Dao is the concept of Taoism. A basic principle of Laotzu's teaching was that this Way of the Universe couldn't be adequately described in words, and that it would be insulting both to its unlimited power and to the intelligent human mind to attempt to do so. Still, its nature could be understood, and those who cared the most about it, and the life, from which it was inseparable, understood it best.
Contributions
Over the centuries Laotzu's classic teachings were developed and divided into two divisions, the 'Cult of the Immortals' and 'The Way of the Heavenly Teacher'. The Cult of the Immortals offered immortality through meditation, exercise, alchemy and various other techniques. The Way of the Heavenly taught many gods, ceremonies, saints, special diets to prolong life and offerings to the ghosts. As time passed, Taoism increasingly became wrapped up in the supernatural, self-mutilation, witchcraft, exorcism, fortune telling, magic and ritualism. Taoist eventually produced a collection of over 1400 baffling scriptures known as the Daozang. But the basic Taoism that we are concerned with here is simply a particular way of appreciating, learning from, and working with whatever happens in everyday life. From the Taoist point of view, the natural result of this harmonious way of living is happiness. New Ager's today have embraced Taoism in the West, paraphychologyists and others who offer their own various interpretations of what Laotzu's religion.
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