Taoism Religion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Taoism Religion - Essay Example It does not matter whatever religion exists as long as the person becomes a good being to himself and to others. Basically, religions do not only teach morals but also focus on way of life. Rituals are being conducted to help the faithful improve themselves fully as a religious leader assists the religious members in their struggle to be good. The main focus of the paper is the religion Taoism. Taoism came from China as the country had a long history of formation. Taoism became an important part of the history of China though the origin of Taoism is hard to distinguish as it came from complicated roots and Chinese religions mixed as interactions happened. Other religions in China are Confucianism, Buddhism and popular religion. These religions flourished and interact with one another and cultural and traditional mixtures occur resulting to the Chinese religion. Taoism in particular cannot be distinguished easily as it encompasses almost everything about life. Its existence can be com pared to water that composes all bodies of water and even clouds and rain. The discovery of the ultimate purpose is not the same for everybody as pathways are different in that religion as the prominent quality is compared to water that never flows in the same way again. ... Taoism can also be analyzed based on its etymology. The religion comes from the word tao which means road or path as the same term was also used by non-Taoist people. Tao became prominent in Chinese philosophy as their beliefs tend to shape a method or technique and norms of conduct. The term tao first appeared as a philosophical word in the book Analects of the Confucians. They consider tao as the method of behavior for both individual and nation as they pertain to the term as a principle. For the Taoists, the term is not just a principle, it is substance in actuality. Chuang Tzu gave an explanation on the tao and belief of Taoists. According to him, tao is not a substance or a thing only but tao is the sum total of all existence including wastes as a questioner clarified his claim. The main concern of Taoism is the balance of forces which is constant and inseparable that the human mind cannot comprehend its existence. The belief states that humans are indivisible and parts of the o neness as the age of humanity is the same as the age of the sky and earth. As tao is considered as both method and entity, the question arose regarding the purpose of the method. The positive action has no basis in tao. In terms of morals, tao advocates relativity as right and wrong can pertain to the same object depending on the point-of-view. The advice for Taoist practitioners tends to be selfless and let the natural course maneuver the lives of the faithful. They follow the rhythms of nature and environment. Such characteristic of Taoism is called contemplative Taoism which is complemented by the so-called purposive Taoism. As the contemplative Taoism allows calmness for the practitioner, the purposive