[1] In the context of East Asian philosophy and East Asian religions, Tao is the natural order of the universe whose character one's human intuition must discern in order to realize the potential for individual wisdom. [19] In contrast to the esotericism typically found in religious systems, the Tao is not transcendent to the self nor is mystical attainment an escape from the world in philosophical Taoism. It cannot be perceived but it can be observed in the things of the world. Like water it is undifferentiated, endlessly self-replenishing, soft and quiet but immensely powerful, and impassively generous. This led to some philosophical and political conflicts between Taoists and Confucians. Cheng Yi followed this interpretation, elaborating on this perspective of Dao through teachings about yin-yang interactions, the cultivation and preservation of life; and the axiom of a morally just universe. Mongolian slang for a dead bush. It is a universal principle that underlies everything from the creation of galaxies to the interaction of human beings. But even the name Tao can lead Westerners to think of Tao in the same way that they think of objects. He only rarely speaks of the t'ien Dao (Way of Heaven). The most closely related English words are "track" and "trek", while "trail" and "tract" are derived from other cognate Indo-European roots. The Tao causes the people to be fully in accord with the ruler. ...... The archaic pronunciation of Tao sounded approximately like drog or dorg. Ceiling in 10,000 Buddhas temple in Hong Kong. The Nameless is the origin of Heaven and Earth; Verified Purchase. Laozi in the Tao Te Ching explains that the Tao is not a "name" for a "thing" but the underlying natural order of the Universe whose ultimate essence is difficult to circumscribe due to it being non-conceptual yet evident in one's being of aliveness. An early surviving text to describe the Tao is the Tao Te Ching, written by Lao-Tzu (The old master). Since 1982, when the International Organization for Standardization adopted Pinyin as the standard romanization of Chinese, many Western languages have changed from spelling this loanword tao in national systems (e.g., French EFEO Chinese transcription and English Wade–Giles) to dao in Pinyin. ② (for a course (of food); a streak (of light); etc.) It is the source of the Universe and the seed of its primordial purity resides in all things. Tao is difficult to define because it is, by definition, beyond human understanding. No beginning, no end. The Named is the mother of all things. [Tao] means a road, path, way; and hence, the way in which one does something; method, doctrine, principle. Tao is the universal principles and laws. All things in the world come from being. Thus, the religious life is not an elite or special journey for Neo-Confucians. Several sections of the works attributed to Chuang Tzu are dedicated to critiques of the failures of Confucianism. And there is a lot of flexibility and freedom in Taoism as well. Dao is written with the Chinese character 道 in both Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese. It has its main principles like order, nature, peace, simplicity, morality and detachment. That sort of thinking is misleading: Thinking of the Tao as some sort of object produces an understanding of the Tao that is less than the reality. The Tao cannot be described in words. Tao Te Ching Theme #1: TAO—The Tao is the infinite, common source; eternally present within you. The tao/dao "the way" English word of Chinese origin has three meanings, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. TAO (Therapy Assistance Online) is an online library of engaging, interactive programs that help you learn life skills and bounce back from disappointments and stumbling blocks. Buddhism and Confucianism particularly affected the way many sects of Taoism framed, approached and perceived the Tao. Tao (/daʊ/, /taʊ/) or Dao (/daʊ/ DOW; from Chinese: 道; pinyin: Dào [tâu] (listen)) is a Chinese word signifying the "way", "path", "route", "road" or sometimes more loosely "doctrine", "principle" or "holistic beliefs". But it is not a term forged by the Taoist mind - it belongs to the spiritual heritage of ancient China. The traditional interpretation of the 道 character, dating back to the (121 CE) Shuowen Jiezi dictionary, was a rare huiyi 會意 "compound ideogram" or "ideogrammic compound". Read more. All four texts are used in modern Taoism with varying acceptance and emphasis among sects. Taoism tends to emphasize various themes of the Tao Te Ching and Zhuangzi, such as naturalness, spontaneity, simplicity, detachment from desires, and most important of all, wu wei. The Tao is not a thing or a substance in the conventional sense. [8] It is related to the idea of qi, the essential energy of action and existence. Keller considers it similar to the negative theology of Western scholars,[9] but the Tao is rarely an object of direct worship, being treated more like the Hindu concepts of karma or dharma or (to be more clear) Ṛta than as a divine object. Historical linguists have reconstructed Middle 道 "way" and 導 "guide" as d'âu- and d'âu: (Bernhard Karlgren),[29] dau and dau[30] daw' and dawh[31] dawX and daws (William H. Baxter),[32] and dâuB and dâuC. The use of 'Dao' in this context refers to the literal 'way' of Buddhism, the return to the universal source, dharma, proper meditation, and nirvana, among other associations. wrote the main book of Taoism, the Tao Te Ching. Historically, the concept of De differed significantly between Taoists and Confucianists. 2 often not capitalized : the path of virtuous conduct as conceived by Confucians. Besides these common 4th and 3rd tonal specifications dào 道 "way" and dǎo 道 (or 導) "guide", 道 has a rare 1st level tone dāo pronunciation in the regional idiomatic expression shénshendāodāo 神神道道 "odd; bizarre". It would be more appropriately rendered by "lead way" and "lode" ("way," "course," "journey," "leading," "guidance"; cf. John DeFrancis's Chinese-English dictionary gives twelve meanings for dào 道 "way; path; say", three for dǎo 道 (or 導) "guide; lead", and one for dāo 道 in an "odd, bizarre" idiomatic expression. The earliest recorded usages were Tao (1736), Tau (1747), Taou (1831), and Dao (1971). Boodberg noted that the shou 首 "head" phonetic in the dao 道 character was not merely phonetic but "etymonic", analogous with English to head meaning "to lead" and "to tend in a certain direction," "ahead," "headway". The Tao T'i Lun is an eighth century exegesis of the Tao Te Ching, written from a well-educated and religious viewpoint, that represents the traditional scholarly perspective. The Way of Man means, among other things, procreation; and eunuchs are said to be 'far from the Way of Man'. Confucius presents a humanistic 'Dao'. Confucianism was largely a moral system emphasizing the values of humaneness, righteousness, and filial duty, and so conceived De in terms of obedience to rigorously defined and codified social rules. Joseph Wu remarked of this conception of the Tao, "Dao is not religiously available; nor is it even religiously relevant." The combination of chuo 辶 "go" and shou 首 "head" (numbers 162 and 185 in the Kangxi radicals) signified a "head going" or "to lead the way". In Zhongyong (The Doctrine of the Mean), harmony with the Absolute is equivalent to integrity and sincerity. Hundreds of collections of Pali and Sanskrit texts were translated into Chinese by Buddhist monks within a short period of time. The multitudinous branches of religious Taoism accordingly regard the Tao, and interpret writings about it, in innumerable ways. This is supported by textual examples of the use of the primary tao in the verbal sense "to lead" (e. g., Analects 1.5; 2.8) and seriously undermines the unspoken assumption implied in the common translation of Tao as "way" that the concept is essentially a nominal one. It might be more helpful to regard Tao as a system of guidance. The term dao 道 is analyzable in terms of Chinese characters, alternate dào "way" or dǎo "guide" pronunciations and meanings, a possible Proto-Indo-European etymology, and loanwords such as English Dao or dao. Each school of philosophy has its tao, its doctrine of the way in which life should be ordered. In Taoism, the basic, eternal principle of the universe that transcends reality and is the source of being, non-being, and change. It is known to have been written over 2400 years ago, but not much else is retained about the origins. [3], Some scholars make sharp distinctions between moral or ethical usage of the word "Tao" that is prominent in Confucianism and religious Taoism and the more metaphysical usage of the term used in philosophical Taoism and most forms of Mahayana Buddhism;[4] others maintain that these are not separate usages or meanings, seeing them as mutually inclusive and compatible approaches to defining the principle. Taoist ideas have become popular throughout the … [21], The Dao, or Way, of Confucius can be said to be 'Truth'. This links it to the Proto-Indo-European root drogh (to run along) and Indo-European dhorg (way, movement). Dao 道 graphically combines the chuo 辶 (or 辵) "go" radical and shou 首 "head" phonetic. As such, Taoism’s Tao Te Ching, written by its founder Lao Tzu, is a practical philosophical manual with principles for achieving daily contentment.This is no easy task in a world full of “chaos, absurdity, and suffering,” but Lao Tzu is able to help us with his ancient wisdom. The Tao Te Ching is the oldest text and representative of a speculative and philosophical approach to the Tao. Furthermore, dao 道 is the phonetic element in dao 導 "guide; lead" (with the cun 寸 "thumb; hand" radical) and dao 檤 "a tree name" (with the mu 木 "tree; wood" radical). Tao definition, (in philosophical Taoism) that in virtue of which all things happen or exist. [14], The Tao is what gives Taoism its English name, in both its philosophical and religious forms. There is no single orthodox Taoist view of the Tao. No beginning, no end. This book explains what Tao is - the basic concept of Taoism - and how the Taoist disciples must behave to emulate it in his/her life. And being comes from non-being. This reduplication of shen 神 "spirit; god" and dao occurs in Northeast China speech. If you look to others for fulfillment, you will never truly be fulfilled. He emphasized the ethics of the Way. Everything we know about tao-chia Taoism - its concepts and practice - come from Tao-te ching (The Classic of Tao and Te) ascribed to Lao-tzu. What Is Tao TAO includes over 150 brief, effective, educational sessions covering over 50 common topics and skills related to mental health, wellness, and substance use issues. Look for fulfillment within. The evidence just summarized would indicate rather that "tao with the hand" is but a variant of the basic tao and that the word itself combined both nominal and verbal aspects of the etymon. The way of the Tao is the way of Nature and of ultimate reality. From the classic look of the NewSpeed 50 to the sleek and modern feel of the Quantum 150, Tao Motor offers a scooter to get across town in style. The devotional perspective of the Tao is expressed in the Ch'ing Ching Ching, a liturgical text that was originally composed during the Han dynasty and is used as a hymnal in religious Taoism, especially among eremites. Once the Tao manifests it is characterized by relativity and interdependence. The Tao can be roughly thought of as the flow of the Universe, or as some essence or pattern behind the natural world that keeps the Universe balanced and ordered. The workings of Tao are vast and often beyond human comprehension. Tao is the Way of all life. Pai-chang's statement plays upon this usage in the context of the fluid and varied Chinese usage of 'Dao'. This intuitive knowing of "life" cannot be grasped as a concept; it is known through actual living experience of one's e… The normal, mundane life is the path that leads to the Absolute, because the Absolute is contained within the mundane objects and events of daily life.[22]. It cannot be perceived but it can be observed in the things of the world. The name that can be named is not the eternal name. Tao is the basic concept of Taoism (the word "Taoism" itself is composed with "tao"). These ancient dao characters more clearly depict the shou 首 "head" element as hair above a face. Taoism has been connected to the philosopher Lao Tzu, who around 500 B.C.E. Cheng Hao regarded the fundamental matter of li, and thus Dao, to be humaneness. Mainly used in the Bing region of Mongolia. Jia Tao is different from Jiou Tao which is Taoism (religion). It's not always easy to draw accurate distinctions between ideas that are fundamentally Taoist and those that Taoism took in from elsewhere, especially Buddhism. In Lewis' thinking, God created the Tao and fully displayed it through the person of Jesus Christ. Definition of Tao. The Simplified character 导 for dao 導 has si 巳 "6th of the 12 Earthly Branches" in place of dao 道. 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