TAOISM

                                  TAOISM             

Confucius was a Chinese thinker who lived around 500 BC. The ethical system that takes his name has at various times been considered a religion, a method of moral behavior, and a structure of government. It is better described as a family oriented perspective.

Taoism is a Chinese philosophy that also had it start around 500 BC, about the same time Buddhism started.

Confucianism emphasized domestic values. Taoism emphasized living in harmony with nature. Buddhism emphasized the alleviation of acquisitiveness in oneself.

In Taoist thought, existence resulted not from the Big Bang or from Adam and Eve but from the way an individual lived a simple and balanced life in tune with existence. That kind of life was known as the Tao.

Taoism is more than a religion or a philosophy. Taoism is a system of attitudes and practices directed at one’s own nature. It is about self-acceptance. About realizing who one is and living accordingly. About trying to resolve the contradictions in life according to one’s nature.

Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism came together in China because some of their concepts overlapped, and from that blend Zen was developed.

Common to all is the recognition that there is no logic to existence. You are an observer and an unintentional participant of everything outside of your nature. You own nothing, and you owe nothing.

No action is required. Everything and everyone will be itself, as you remain yourself.

These three viewpoints may differ in various ways but they have a few characteristics in common.

n  Knowing others is intelligence, knowing oneself is wisdom.

n  Being aware of when to speak and when not to speak.

n  Being content to be simply oneself without comparing or competing.

n  Realizing that the truth is not always beautiful.

Countless practices and systems of belief exist to help people find answers. The challenge is finding a practice or system that matches one’s nature.

In Taoism everything is relative. This means most answers are not worth chasing.

Taoism takes this a step further to teach that many questions don’t have an answer at all because you yourself are the answer. In other words, a Taoist reaches the point of acceptance where you, “as you are” literally becomes the answer for a majority of the questions you face.

Taoism teaches that the past is long gone and the future is not here yet. So why get all worked up about either one? You are here now, so right now is what matters.

A Taoist outlook doesn’t mean to stop being yourself. It means to not be attached to the past, and to not expect anything from the future. In the words of Lao Tzu, author of Tao Te Ching, knowing others is intelligence, knowing yourself is wisdom.

Zen was a mishmash of Taoism and Confucianism. It was brought to China from India by the Indian monk Bodhidharma in the mid-600s, but it quickly shed its Indian connections.

Zen practice encourages mediation. That is, silent sitting without thinking.

 Zen also encourages one to ask questions and then ask more questions until the mind literally says enough is enough and just yields. Zen then takes this a step further and one asks a few more questions just to be sure mind has learned to be empty of questions.

Here are three Zen stories.

n  A monk went to a Zen master and said, “If I work very hard, how soon can I be enlightened?”

The Zen master said, “Ten years.”

The monk said, “I mean if I really stick at it, how long . . . .”

The master said, “Twenty years.”

”Wait,“ the monk said, “You don’t understand.”

“Thirty years,” the master said.

n  An ancient king said to a Zen master, "I am going to pose a question. Can you answer?"

The master said, "Please ask your question."

The king said, "I have already asked."

The master said, "I have already answered."

The king said, "What did you answer?"

The master said, "What did you ask?"

The king said, "I asked nothing."

The master said, "I answered nothing."

Someone queried Shunryu Suzuki, “What do you think of all of us crazy Zen students?”

Suzuki replied, “I think you're all deeply enlightened until you open your mouths.”