Powers Taoism Essay Questions

What is the Tao Te Ching?

The book of the way and its power. This book, written by Lao Tzu, contains the principles of Taoism. It mainly focuses on Lao Tzu's view on what the Tao is and what its purpose is.

Describe in detail what the Tao is, what its purpose is in Taoism

Tao is translated to the "way" and it is the path that one travels on through Taoism. Tao is both the ultimate source and the principle of order in the universe. It is the Way of nature. The Tao is the "unified something" from which all things arise. It is an unseen force. It nurtures the natural world, meaning it is a guide for Taoists.

Chang Tzu's Relativity of Things - explain his concepts and what he means on his own existence

Chaung Tzu teaches the value of freeing the mind from mere assumptions about reality based only on relative truths and opinions. He dreamed he was a butterfly but then awoke to see he was a human (chaung tzu.) However, he shouldn't be swayed by his own insticnts, for he could still be a butterfly but hes dreaming that hes a human. Who is to say who we are or what we do?

Describe Wu Wei

A Taoist virtue that means "actionless activity" and "pure effectivness." To practice wu-wei is to be so perfectly in harmony with nature that nature's energy infuses and empowers the individual. However, practcing Wu-Wei does not mean doing nothing, for it is actually embracing the yin. It is the passive state, where one stays undisracted and stays on path, just how a stream can form a canyon just from staying on path. When you are in this state you let the energy of the Tao do the task. (achieve without acting) (nonvompetition)

Describe Yin

Magnetized to Yang. Yin is the negative, feminine, earthly component characterized by weakness. Taoism embraces the yin because many tend to go toward the yang side of things. Yin is not the opposite of yang, but it is a compliment of eachother.

Describe Yang

Magnetized to Yin. Yang is the positive, active, and masculine component characterized by strength. The Yang is seemed to be embraced more, but many do not realize we need the yin to have the yang.

Yin and Yang and how they compliment

Without one, the other one would not make sense. Both yin and yang are forces of magnetism. They are drawn together because they pefectly compliment eachother. All people are made up of both components.