Taoism is a way of life rather than a
religion.
It is based upon writings called the
Tao Te Ching.
The teaching in the Tao Te Ching maintains
that a harmony exists between Heaven and
Earth and that this harmony can be found
by anyone, at anytime - all that is needed
is to follow the natural flow of Nature
called 'the Tao' or 'the Way'.
Taoism was already long established before
the Tao Te Ching was written. It probably
originated in the prehistoric shamanic roots
of Chinese civilization, an ancient nameless
tradition of nature wisdom, predating the
Yellow Emperor, who is said to have
reigned during the middle of the third
millennium BC.
Of course, this path was not called 'Taoism'
then. It was not called anything. It was only
much later when Buddhism came from
India to China that Taoism came to be
called by that name.
A confluence of Buddhism and Taoism led
to the Japanese Rinzai Zen and Soto Zen
traditions extant today.
In a sense, Taoism is still not called
anything, because its primary tenet is that
ultimate truth cannot be contained in or
expressed in words.
TOP. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NEXT.
| 
