A History and Explanation of Taoism

Often referred to as a religion, Taoism (pronounced Dow-ism) has little in common with other religions. It is, in fact, ancient Chinese philosophy. It has been a popular state religion in China throughout history, but in today's world only twenty million people are said to be practicing Taoists, many of which live in China (7.5 million in Taiwan). [Taoism: Adherents, Wikipedia]

In the United States and Canada, Taoism holds only a small foothold of several thousand followers. This number has been growing slowly since the 1960s and the beginning of the cultural revolution. [Adherents]

To understand why Taoism is once again gaining popularity across the world, we must take a look at its history.

Traditionally, Taoism is thought to have begun with the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu, who was a contemporary of Confucius. Lao Tzu wrote the Tao Te Ching around 500 BC-the most important text used by Taoists across the world. The Tao Te Ching is the equivalent of the Torah in Judaism, the New Testament in Christianity, or the Qur'an in Islam.

Some scholars disagree as to whether Lao Tzu was a real person or just a mythical figure. As many believe the bible was written by several different authors over a period of time, the Tao Te Ching, may have been written by several authors over a period of three hundred years from 600 BC to 300 BC.

Taoism gained popularity at a time when China was going through much civil strife, and along with Confucianism, Taoism gave many people in China answers to their difficult existence. [Taoism (a.k.a. Daoism)]

In ancient China, the three main religious practices (Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism) intermixed and influenced one another. [http://chineseculture.about.com/library/weekly/aa030400a.htm">Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism] Though Confucianism and Taoism appear to be opposites of one another, they were never contradictory, and often were used side by side like the back and front of a hand. As Buddhism and Confucianism waned, [Taoist Religion] it was Taoism that filled the void. Taoism began its golden age with the Tang Dynasty, around 600 AD, nearly a thousand years after its beginnings. It would be another thousand years before its slow, almost total decline in the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries AD. [History of Taoism: Qing Dynasty, Wikipedia]

Taoism reached religious status during the Tang Dynasty [History of Taoism: Tang Dynasty, Wikipedia] in China, after 600 A.D., when the Tang rulers began to deify and worship Lao Tzu. Members of the Tang Dynasty claimed Lao Tzu as their ancestor. As a religion, Taoism has little of what makes other religions like Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam popular. Taoist gods were the gods of Chinese folklore, associated with Chinese culture, not Taoist teachings. Taoist texts speak little of an afterlife, and the Tao is not something to be worshiped, but used as a tool in daily life.

What does Tao mean?

Tao means "way." In a broad sense it is the "way" of the universe, or of life. Taoism is a very mechanical philosophy, an early attempt at psychology (trying to understand human problems, not with gods and dogma, but with attitudes and actions).

To be a Taoist simply means to be in touch with the way of nature. Ancient Taoists often believed that by simplifying life and acting as water does (flowing around obstacles instead of trying to go through them and always taking the low position when dealing with others) you could achieve a peaceful existence. [Tao, Wikipedia]

So is Taoism a religion, a philosophy, or what?

Because Taoism allows for much free thought, it's difficult to find two Taoists who have identical beliefs. There are many philosophical Taoists, and just as many, if not more, religious Taoists. As Taoism seeps slowly into western culture, Americans and Canadians most likely to practice on a regular basis aren't the religious, or even the philosophical, but rather those looking for a New Age method to sort out life's problems. [Taoism: Ageless Wisdom for a Modern World]

Taoism, in its simplest form, is philosophical Taoism. Most of the methods, teachings, and associations to gods or rituals in religious Taoism originated from Chinese folk religions or the personal beliefs of influential rulers, especially those of the Tang Dynasty.

Taoism is difficult to pigeon-hole as one thing or another. It continues to be something experienced, not discussed, as pointed out in the Tao Te Ching. "The Tao that can be trodden is not the enduring and unchanging Tao. The name that can be named is not the enduring and unchanging name." [James Legge translation]

Sources:
1. Taoism: Adherents, Wikipedia
2. Adherents, Adherents.com
3. B.A. Robinson, Taoism (a.k.a. Daoism), Religious Tolerance
4. Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, About.com
5. Taoist Religion, Sacred-Texts.com
6. History of Taoism: Qing Dynasty, Wikipedia
7. History of Taoism: Tang Dynasty, Wikipedia
8. Tao, Wikipedia
9. Ted Kardash, Taoism: Ageless Wisdom for a Modern World, Jake Dragon Online