Taoism is a Chinese religion that was created over 2300 years ago. Laozi founded Taoism and it is believed he wrote the Tao Te Ching. Taoism has its own ethics, cosmology, deities, rituals, symbols, alchemy, sex practices, etc. It had a big impact on Buddhism in China.
Some of the ideas and rituals of Taoism are prehistoric. Legend has it that the yellow emperor is the creator of Taoism. Taoism became the state religion of the Han Dynasty and philosophical Taoism was created at this time as well. Taoism was the state religion of other dynasties as well. Later on, 2 sects of Taoism were created. Taoism fell out of favor and then it had revival.
Tao Te Ching
Tao Te Ching may have been written by several people over the centuries. Scholars are unsure if Laozi (Old Master) ever existed. Tao means the way. It is the substance from which all phenomenon arises. It is a similar concept to Brahman. Te means integrity. Ching means great book. There are 81 chapters in the Tao Te Ching. The chapters are full of paradoxes and it's poetic.
The 3 Jewel of Taoism is compassion, moderation, and humility. Selflessness is important. We are all connected, so we shouldn't be egoistic. We should be curious because life has many wonders. Yin and Yang are the complementary nature of reality. Male complements female, there is no night without day, and we need fire and ice. What we think of as opposites are simply compliments. We should detach ourselves from yin and yang; because they are always alternating. We should always be happy no matter what happens in the external world. We should be engaged in the world, but don't let it determine our emotional state.
Cosmology
The Tao (everything) comes from Wu Chi (nothingness). Yin and Yang emanated from the Tao. The 5 elements come from Yin and Yang. The elements are 'wood (lesser yang), fire (greater yang), earth (neutral), metal (lesser yin), water (greater yin)'. Every object has a vibration. The vibration determines how much of a polarity the object contains.
There are 3 Pure Gods they rule over the 3 celestial heavens. Pangu created the earth. Fuxi and Nuwa were the only people to survive the flood. They gave birth to everyone else. The Dragon King rules the ocean and can shapeshift to human form. The 8 Immortals are saints that have the power of life and death. Erlang Shen was able to see the truth with his third eye. There are many more characters, but this was just a sampling to get your fingers wet.
Some Taoists wear a talisman for protection. Meditation is important for Taoists. Some of them even do Tai Chi. Taoists making offerings to deities. There are Taoist festivals and holidays.
The 8 trigrams make up the hexagrams of the I-Ching. The turtle represents immortality. The Dragon represents yang. The Chou represents long life.
Neidan (Inner Alchemy) are physical, mental, spiritual exercises that increase the lifespan and it helps consciousness survive death. The practitioner of Neidan increases Chi (lifeforce), Jing (sexual energy), and Shen (spiritual energy). Waidan (Outer Alchemy) are elixirs made from plant, animal, and other substances. These elixirs were supposed to improve the body in some kind of way. Some elixirs were dangerous because they contained toxic substances.
These practices were known as bedroom arts. Men were supposed to conserve their semen unless they want the woman pregnant. The more often a man conserved his semen the healthier he would be. This is somewhat true. Women don't have to conserve anything because they are sexually unlimited. Sex was seen as a spiritual tool that can lead to better health and longer life. When men and women have sex they exchange Jing. Men have more Yang and women have Yin. Sex can be seen as the softening of men and hardening of women. Taoist men wrote sex manuals detailing on how to please women. Mantak Chia wrote many books about Taoists sex practices. They are very enlightening.
Mahayana Buddhism got mixed with Taoism in China. It is known as Chan Buddhism in China. It is called Zen Buddhism in Japan. Chinese people saw Buddhism as a lesser form of Taoism. This made it easy for them to accept it. Koans resemble verses in the Tao Te Ching.
Conclusion
As you can see Taoism is a wonderful religion. It is one of my faves. Taoism has great philosophy, cosmology, mythology, rituals, symbols, alchemy, and sex practices. You can learn a lot from studying this religion.
Mantak Chia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taoism
http://personaltao.com/teachings/taoism/taoism-101/
https://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/religion/taoism/history.htm
http://www.taoism.net/articles/mason/ethics.htm
https://sites.google.com/site/jdquirk/articles/three-taoist-jewels
http://taoism.about.com/od/cosmology/a/Cosmology.htmetj55y4j
http://thetaoism.com/what-is-taoism-3/what-are-some-daily-taoist-practices/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/taoism/rites/rites.shtml
http://www.taopage.org/taoism_symbols.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taoist_sexual_practices
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neidan
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tao_of_Zen
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