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Taoism

"It lies in the nature of Grand virtue

Lao Tzu: Tao Teh Ching, Sec. 21

To the Taoist, there is one way of living, a concept called "Li," which has been translated in many ways in the Western world. Some have called it "lifestyle," "philosophy"," and "way of life" (Mou, 1999). The Taoist explains it simply as "the way things are and should be."

To the Taoist, the person who commits murder and the person who has bad table manners are equally guilty of violating "Li." Lao Tzu explains it thusly: "Where there is impossibility, there is possibility; and where there is possibility, there is impossibility. It is because there is right, that there is wrong; it is because there is wrong, there is right...Thereupon the self is also the other; the other is also the self."

The identity of Lao Tzu, (literally, "old master") is disputed by scholars, but whoever Lao Tzu is, he is best known for his Taoist work, the Tao De Jing.

Taoism is the most mystical of the major schools. As the name suggests, the focus on the Dao, or the Way. Now, what is the Tao? Nature follows the Dao, while humans with their conscious wills go against the Dao. The goal of the Taoist is to harmonize with the Tao and thereby become one with the cosmos, with nature, with all things.

Looking at that quote again, what seemed simple and basic, within the framework of the Tao becomes rich with meaning, yet quite simple.

When a Westerner tries to study the Tao, the tendency is to try to describe one thing in terms of the others (to use knowledge). The Taoist says "Look at this method, some components take place. They either have similarity or not. It means, the difference, which separates the components, precedes similarity. Nevertheless, there are situations when no difference/similarity is seen and, like the result of this, there is no analogy (Zehou, 1999).

For example, thinking has no visible analogy. Explain th

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Taoism. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 15:00, September 25, 2025, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1707102.html