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Background: Based
on the teachings of one
man, Lao Tze. The first
mention of Lao Tze is found
in an early classic of Daoist
speculation, the Chuang-tzu
(4th-3rd century BC), so
called after the name of
its author. Since Lao Tze,
many other Daoist writers
have been recognized.
Sacred Book: Tao-te
Ching, or the "Classic
of the Way of Power"
by Lao Tze is the basic
text of Daoists. Daoism
also recognizes the Chuang-tzu,
the Lieh-tzu, and related
writings.
The Nature of God:
The Dao (Way) is not a personal
god, but a force which exists
over all. It is something
"formlessly fashioned,
that existed before Heaven
and Earth;" "Its
name (míng) we do
not know; Tao is the byname
that we give it. Were I
forced to say to what class
of things it belongs I should
call it Immense." Tao
is the "imperceptible,
indiscernible," about
which nothing can be predicated
but that latently contains
"the forms, entities,
and forces of all particular
phenomena." "It
was from the Nameless that
Heaven and Earth sprang;
the Named is the mother
that rears the Ten Thousand
Beings, each after its kind."
 Human
Condition: At birth
a person is nearest its
perfection; it is free of
rules and compulsions, not
restricted by morality,
and has no sense of obligation
to society; it is in the
undiminished vitality of
the newborn state. Daoists
think of the newborn as
an "Uncarved Block
(p'u) of wood." "P'u
is uncut, unpainted wood,
simplicity." After
birth, however, society
and government "tamper"
with the original nature.
Society carves this wood
into specific shapes for
its own use and thus robs
the individual piece of
its original totality. "Once
the uncarved block is carved,
it forms utensils (that
is, instruments of government);
but when the Sage uses it,
he would be fit to become
Chief of all Ministers.
Man should equally renounce
all concepts of measure,
law, and virtue."
Eternity: Life and
death are but one of the
pairs of cyclical phases,
such as day and night or
summer and winter. "Since
life and death are each
other's companions, why
worry about them? All beings
are one." Man "goes
back into the great weaving
machine: thus all beings
issue from the Loom and
return to the Loom."
What is Salvation?
To return to the simplicity
of the newborn - unfettered,
uncluttered, and unfashioned.
How is a person saved?
A person returns to the
Way by means of quietism:
variously called "non-intervention"
(wu-wei), "inner cultivation"
(nei yeh), or "the
art of the heart and mind"
(xin-shu). Whereas worldly
ambitions, riches, and (especially)
discursive knowledge scatter
the person and drain his
energies, the saint "embraces
Unity" or "holds
fast to the One." That
is, "he aspires to
union with the Tao in a
primordial undivided state
underlying consciousness."
"Embracing Unity also
means that he maintains
the balance of Yin and Yang
within himself and the union
of his spiritual (hun) and
vegetative (p'o) souls,
the dispersion of which
spells death."
Notes: Daoism has
a multitude of expressions
and teachings, some of which
are quite divergent from
others. In this short capsule
Daoism is presented in its
most basic, oldest form.
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