Taoism has approximately 40 million followers. This religion began in China and spread to Tibet and Japan. One such work entitled, "Tao Te Ching" (treatise of Tao and its power) was written in the 4th century BC by several authors, however was not considered a "holy book" or seen as divine revelation. Taoists built temples and practiced various rites (we would describe as magic) and developed Taoist philosophies. At death the soul merges with the spirits of the ancestors which are embodied in the yin part of the Tao. In Taoism the objective is not to "know" because absolute truth is not knowable, the objective of man is to be "at one" with the Tao. They carefully observe the flow of events and make decisions that will create or achieve the favorable balance necessary to maintain the status quo.
This helps explain the pragmatic approach that the Chinese have towards politics, social movements or conflicts. The idea was that the forces within the Tao flowed back and forth between positive and negative creating the life one had, and man's lot was to observe this flow and adapt to it in order to find balance. The force was separated by the Tao symbol of yin and yang (Yin - black, negative, earthly, feminine Yang - red, forceful, heavenly, positive). The Tao had two elements which, when balanced, produced a good life. Taoism taught that there was a force in nature called the Tao.
He rejected social organizations (the federal political system of the times) and withdrew from society to live as a hermit. He believed in the perfect unity and harmony of nature. To experience God, man had to look within himself and nature. He was a humanist and believed/taught that man was at the highest level. Lao-tzu (604-517 BC) Known as the "Old Master." Let us begin with the two religions from China first: Taoism and Confucianism. For example, in Japan, political or other type of leaders will resign their positions if they lose face (failure, social embarrassment). They are more concerned with what is socially appropriate rather than sin, salvation or the end of the world.Far Eastern religions are usually associated with the country's politics.fireworks, kites used to keep evil spirits away). These religions have an element of "animism," believing in the presence of good and evil spirits that need to be appeased in various ways (e.g.The spirit of past generations is maintained so long as the present generation keeps their memory alive. They practice various forms of ancestor worship.They accept the idea that truth is universal, but since individuals only have part of this universal truth, each person's idea of truth is different.All are a mix of beliefs taken from different cultures, and many of the teachings are common to all four.Two of these come from China, one from Japan and the other, Buddhism, began in India but spread eastward and then worldwide.Īll four of these religions have common traits: We are ready to examine the four religions in the Far Eastern category of world religions.
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