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Tao Te Ching or The Way and Its Power - Coggle Diagram
Tao Te Ching
or
The Way and Its Power
Written by
Lao Tzu
, the mysterious founder of Taoism. No one knows who he was or if he was a singular person.
Philosophical Taoism
Seeks to align one's daily life with the Tao
Wu wei
literally means "inaction", but Taoists view it as creative quietude, pure effectiveness, or the combination of supreme activity and supreme relaxation
Desire to use one's ch'i to maximum effectiveness
Three Major Interpretations
Meditative Taoism
Work with mind, matter, and movement to increase ch'i
Matter: consumption of herbs, experimentation with the physical body, breath exercises
Movement: dance, meditation, martial arts
Mind:Accumulation and psychic transmission of ch'i
Seeks to increase one's available amount of ch'i
Increasing ch'i is a form of internal
alchemy
, which involves transformation of spiritual or physical substance.
Major emphasis on the power of meditation to achieve pure, clean consciousness
Basic Concepts
Tao
is literally The Way or The Path. It is the ultimate reality of the universe and the eternal law that governs existence
Ch'i
is life force or vital energy
Religious Taoism
Institutionalization of Chinese folk practices like magic and divination
Pantheon of deities that includes Lao Tzu
Cosmic powers become available to the masses through Taoist priesthood
Cosmological Principles
The Five Elements
--wood, water, fire, metal, and earth --explain change in the world as they exist in a continuous cycle of interrelation
Yin and Yang
represent the two complimentary forces found in the cosmos. Light/dark, high/low, etc. It shows how the idea of opposites is not one that exists in opposition, but harmony and support
