Taoism

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Term Paper Title	Taoism
# of Words	2068
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	8.27

Taoism

Taoism is one of the two great philosophical and religious
traditions that originated in China. The other religion native
to China is Confucianism. Both Taoism and Confucianism
began at about the same time, around the sixth century
B.C.E. China's third great religion, Buddhism, came to
China from India around the second century of the
common era. Together, these three faiths have shaped
Chinese life and thought for nearly twenty-five hundred
years (Hartz 3). One dominate concept in Taoism and
Buddhism is the belief in some form of reincarnation. The
idea that life does not end when one dies is an integral part
of these religions and the culture of the Chinese people.
Reincarnation, life after death, beliefs are not standardized.
Each religion has a different way of applying this concept to
its beliefs. This paper will describe the reincarnation
concepts as they apply to Taoism and Buddhism, and then
provide a comparison of the two. Taoism The goal in
Taoism is to achieve tao, to find the way. Tao is the
ultimate reality, a presence that existed before the universe
was formed and which continues to guide the world and
everything in it. Tao is sometimes identified as the Mother,
or the source of all things. That source is not a god or a
supreme being, as Taoism is not monotheistic. The focus is
not to worship one god, but instead on coming into
harmony with tao (Hartz, 8). Tao is the essence of
everything that is right, and complications exist only
because people choose to complicate their own lives.
Desire, ambition, fame, and selfishness are seen as 1
hindrances to a harmonious life. It is only when a person
rids himself of all desires can tao be achieved. By shunning
every earthly distraction, the Taoist is able to concentrate
on life itself. The longer the person's life, the more saintly
the person is presumed to have become. Eventually the
hope is to become immortal, to achieve tao, to have
reached the deeper life. This is the after life for a Taoist, to
be in harmony with the universe, to have achieved tao
(Head1, 65). To understand the relationship between life,
and the Taoism concept of life and death, the origin of the
word tao must be understood. The Chinese character for
tao is a combination of two characters that represent the
words head and foot. The character for foot represents the
idea of a person's direction or path. The character for head
represents the idea of conscious choice. The character for
head also suggests a beginning, and ...

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