Taoism:

"Taoism is based on the idea that behind all material things and all the change in the world lies one fundamental, universal principle: the Way or Tao. This principle gives rise to all existence and governs everything, all change and all life. Behind the bewildering multiplicity and contradictions of the world lies a single unity, the Tao. The purpose of human life, then, is to live life according to the Tao..."

Taoism (sometimes written as Daoism) is the English name for:

(a) a philosophical school based on the texts the Tao Te Ching (ascribed to Laozi and alternately spelled Dào Dé Jing) and the Zhuangzi.
(b) a family of organized Chinese religious movements such as the Zhengyi ("Orthodoxy") or Quanzhen ("complete reality") sects, which collectively trace back to Zhang Daoling in the late Han Dynasty;
(c) a Chinese folk religion.

The Chinese character Tào or Dào ("Way").The English word "Taoism" is used to translate the Chinese terms Daojiao and Daojia. The character Tao (or Dao, depending on the Romanisation scheme one prefers) literally means "path" or "way", but in Chinese religion and philosophy has taken on more abstract meanings. The compound Daojiao refers to Daoism as a religion; Daojia refers to the activity of scholars in their studies. It must be noted that this distinction is itself controversial and fraught with hermeneutic difficulty.

Chinese alchemy, astrology, cuisine, several Chinese martial arts, Chinese traditional medicine, fengshui, and many styles of qigong breath training disciplines have some relationship with Taoism.

Taoism is not a belief-centered religion, and there are no known Taoist creeds. At the same time, certain characteristic beliefs or assumptions can be identified.

Beyond the Chinese folk religion, various rituals, exercises, or substances are said to positively affect one's physical health (even to the point of immortality); align oneself spiritually with cosmic forces; or enable ecstatic spiritual journeys. These concepts seem basic to Taoism in its elite forms.

Philosophical Taoism:

Philosophical Taoism does not refer to one Taoist school or group of philosophers. Philosophical Taoism is a part of Xuanxue and other lineages. Ultimately the distinction between "philosophical" and "religious" Taoism is as difficult to define as Taoism itself. "Religious" Taoists may never have read Laozi or Zhuangzi or any of the Daozang, and being called a Taoist may even seem unfamiliar or artificial.

Philosophical Taoism emphasizes various themes found in the Dao De Jing such as "nonaction" (wu wei), emptiness, detachment, the strength of softness (or flexibility), and The Zhuangzi such as receptiveness, spontaneity, the relativism of human ways of life, ways of speaking and guiding behavior.

Taoist commentators have been puzzled by the opening lines of the Dao De Jing, which has usually been translated:

The way which can be uttered, is not the eternal Way.
The name which can be named, is not the eternal Name.


(Source : wikipedia)

Taoist Quotes:

- Tao Te Ching:

"The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth.
The named is the mother of ten thousand things.
Ever desireless, one can see the mystery.
Ever desiring, one can see the manifestations.
These two spring from the same source but differ in name;
this appears as darkness.
Darkness within darkness.
The gate to all mystery."

- Lao Tzu::

"When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete, everybody will respect you."

"When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be."

"If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading."

"To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders."

"He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still."

- Chuang Tzu:

"The man in whom Tao acts without impediment does not bother with his own interests and does not despise others who do. He does not struggle to make money and does not make a virtue of poverty. He goes his way without relying on others and does not pride himself on walking alone. While he does not follow the crowd, he won't complain of those who do. Rank and reward make no appeal to him, disgrace and shame do not deter him. He is not always looking for right or wrong, always deciding "yes" or "no"." (The way of Chuang-Tzu, Thomas Merton)

"Chuang Tzu dreamed that he was a butterfly, fluttering about, not knowing that it was Chuang Tzu. He woke with a start, and was Chuang Tzu again. But he did not know whether he was Chuang Tzu who had dreamed that he was a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming that he was Chuang Tzu. Between Chuang Tzu and the butterfly there must be some distinction: this is what is called 'the transformation of things.'"

- Huanchu Daoren (16th Century):

" Business and scholarship pass away with the person, but the soul is forever like new. Fame and fortune change with the generations, but the spirit is always the same. Enlightened people surely should not exchange the lasting for the ephemeral."

"When you are but slightly involved in the world, the effect the world has on you is also slight. When you are deeply enmeshed in affairs, you machinations also deepen. So for enlightened people simplicity is better than refinement, and freedom is better than punctiliousness."

" When the rich and well-established, who should be generous, are instead spiteful and cruel, they make their behavior wretched and base in spite of their wealth and position. When the intellectually brilliant, who should be reserved, instead show off, they are ignorant and foolish in their weakness in spite of their brilliance."

"Do not think about whatever service you may have done for others; think about what you may have done to offend them. Don't forget what others have done for you; forget what others have done to offend you.""

"When those who give charity do so without any sense of self-satisfaction and without any thought of reward, even a small gift is great. Then those who aid others calculate their own sacrifice and demand gratitude and recompense, even a great gift is small."

"If those who give are conscious of their own generosity and those who receive feel indebted, they are no longer family but rather strangers doing business."

"When you meet dishonest people, move them with sincerity. When you meet violent people, affect them with gentility. When you meet
warped people, inspire them with justice. Then the whole world enters your forge."

"Your own feelings may be reasonable or unreasonable; how can you expect others to always be reasonable? It is useful to see things in this light and thereby correct the contradictions in your expectations for yourself and others."

"In adversity, everything that surrounds you is a kind of medicine that helps you refine your conduct, yet you are unaware of it. In pleasant situations, you are faced with weapons that will tear you apart, yet you do not realize it."

"Unexpected hardship refines people; if you can accept it, both mind and body will benefit. If you cannot accept it, on the other hand, both mind and body will be harmed."

"People's shortcomings should be treated with tact; if you expose them crudely, this is attacking weakness with a weakness. When people are stubborn, it requires skill to influence them; if you treat them with anger and spite, this is treating stubbornness with stubbornness."

"Generosity should begin lightly and deepen later, fro when it is first rich and then lessens, people forget the kindness. Authority should begin strictly and loosen up later, for if it is loose first and then strict, people will resent the severity."

- Master Lu:

"When your mind is empty of prejudices you can see the Tao. When your heart is empty of desires you can follow the Tao."

- To read a complete version of the "Tao Te Ching" in english, please click here.

Home - News - Current Projects - Scripts - Videos - Casting - Agent - Influences - Quotes - Spirituality - Inner Quest
Biography - Awards - Testimonies - Ethics - Mission Statement - Links - Dedications - Contact

© 2006 - Không-Lô Pham - All Rights Reserved - All scripts, plot summaries, synopsis, concepts and ideas presented in this website are copyrighted and protected under international laws. Web design by Lô Pham.