Identifying And

Understand Moral Value

In Various Religions
Including : Taoism

Taoism

 Taoism, also known as Daoism, is an

indigenous Chinese religion often
associated with the Daode jing (Tao
Te Ching), a philosophical and
political text purportedly written by
Laozi (Lao Tzu).
Taoism recognises Laozi as its
founder and Zhuanzi as one of its
most brilliant representatives.

Laozi depicted as Taoist God

 Another important figure in the

development of Taoism is Chuang Tzu,
which translates to master Chuang,
is known as the second founder of
Taoism.
The founder of organized Taoist
religion was Zhang Daoling.
The most important Taoist text is Tao
De Jing (The Way and Its Power), a
5000-character synopsis of Taoist
beliefs reportedly written by Lao-tzu
shortly before he died.

 Two other important Tao texts are the

Tao The King (a series of wise
sayings) and the Writings of Chuang
Tzu which a discourse written by the
Taoist philosopher Chuang Tzu, which
appeared a few centuries after Laotze's reported death.

 Tao Te Chin is the most influential

book in Chinese literature.
It has been the object of at least a
thousand commentaries and has
been translated into English more
than forty times. The book was
probably developed over the
centuries and evolved into its
present form around the fourth
century.

The Principles Of
Taoism

 There are four principles of Taoism Tao, De (te), Wu wei and Pu.
Tao In English, Tao means road,
pathway, channel or doctrine.
De (Te) is an active expression of Tao.
It is related to a complicated concept
of 'De'- power, virtue and integrity.
De is the nurturing of the 'Tao'- or the
path. De is inculcating the habit or
imbibing the 'Tao.

 Wu Wei literally means without action.

It is the central concept in Taoism. In
fact, it emphasizes that a human
beings must be in harmony with the
universe.
Pu relates to simplicity and is symbolic
of the state of Wu Wei. It epitomizes
the state of pure perception sans
prejudice. It is supposed to be an
inactive stage of receptiveness.

Concept Of Yin and Yang

 Tao also has the principle of keeping

balance and harmony with the
universe; this is known as Yin and
Yang.
The concept of Yin and Yang is that
the universe must constantly be kept
in balance with its opposites;
meaning that there must be a
balance between good and evil, hot
and cold and light and darkness.

 One tradition states that Yin (the

dark side) represents the breath that
formed the earth. Yang (the light
side) symbolizes the breath that
formed the heavens.
The most traditional view is that 'yin'
represents aspects of the feminine:
being soft, cool, calm, introspective,
and healing while "yang" the
masculine: being hard, hot,
energetic, moving, and sometimes
aggressive.

The Morality Of
Religion Taoism

 Taoist ethical thinking reflects Taoism

canon and discipline.
Ethical and moral concepts of the
Taoism, absorbs both the ethical and
moral values of the Taoism, but also
absorbed ethical and moral values of
both Confucianism and Buddhism.
Taoism ethics is mainly implemented
by the power of the gods.

 The Taoism guides the people

consciously abide by ethics with
beautiful illusion of immortality
longevity.
On the other hand, the Spirit power
of blessing the good and punishing
the evil forces the people to comply
with the ethics.
In addition, Taoist moral book brings
the Taoist ethical and moral thinking
more focused systematic and more
popularized.

 Chi also spelled ch'i or qi is variously

known as the "breath of heaven,"
mystical breath, the "breath of
nature" and the "quality of spirit".
Taoists advocate a life of simplicity,
and encourage their followers to
perform good deeds not bad ones,
and seek inner peace through the
cultivation of optimism, passivity,
and inner calm.

 Taoists emphasize naturalness,

personal freedom and happiness.
Taoists believe that sickness is often
caused by sin and bad deeds that
disrupt the healthy flow of chi.
Taoism morality is based on the
Three Treasures of Taoism and they
need to be charitable, thrifty and do
not push ahead of others.

Here are Taoisms Ten Precepts which the

individual is expected to uphold:
Do not kill but always be mindful of the host
of living beings.
Do not be lascivious or think depraved
thoughts.
Do not steal or receive unrighteous wealth.
Do not cheat or misrepresent good and evil.
Do not get intoxicated but always think of
pure conduct.
I will maintain harmony with my ancestors
and family and never disregard my kin.

 I will maintain harmony with my

ancestors and family and never
disregard my kin.
When I see someone do a good deed, I
will support him with joy and delight.
When I see someone unfortunate, I will
support him with dignity to recover good
fortune.
When someone comes to do me harm, I
will not harbor thoughts of revenge.
As long as all beings have not attained
the Tao, I will not expect to do so myself.

 In verse 38 of the Daode Jing , Laozi

offers us a pithy and profound
overview of Taoisms understanding
of ethics and morality:
The highest virtue is to act without a
sense of self
The highest kindness is to give
without a condition
The highest justice is to see without
a preference

Taoism and Immortality

 Immortality is an important idea in

Taoism. Because all nature is united by
Tao, Taoists believe, immortality can be
attained.
Taoists also believe that immortality it not
something that can be achieved by
separating oneself from nature, like with a
soul, but rather is something achieved by
directing natural forces through the body,
creating more durable body materials,
using techniques such as breathing,
focusing sexual energy and alchemy.

 Numerous Taoist prayers are

dedicated to the spirits of
immortality.
Taoist painters have traditionally
chosen immortally as one of their
central themes. Famous Taoist
painting dealing with immortality
include Immortal Ascending on a
Dragon, Riding a Dragon, Fungus of
Immortality, Picking Herbs, and
Preparing Elixirs.

 In the old days, many Taoists spent

their whole lives looking for elixirs of
immortality. The Emperor Shi went
through great lengths to try and
achieve immortality.

Deities

 In the religion of Taoism there are

many deities; some Taoists consider
Laozi and Chuang Tzu as being
deities. Some of the Taoist deities are
the Three Purities, the Jade emperor,
the Four Heavenly Emperors and the
three divine officials. The Three
purities are the Celestial Worthy of
Primordial Beginning, the Celestial
Worthy of Numinous Treasure, and
the Celestial Worthy of the Tao and
its Virtue.

 The Three Purities where the highest

of the Taoists deities. In many Taoists
scriptures the Three Purities are a
form of Tao, all knowing and
everywhere.

 There was also a Taoist deity known

as the Jade Emperor. The Jade
emperor basically ruled the universe.
Another of the Taoist deities were
the Three Officials - the Official of
Heaven Official of water and Official
of Earth.
Each official had its own duties to the
universe. The Official of water
prevents disasters, the Official of
Heaven gives blessings and the
Official of earth forgives the sins of
mankind

The Three Pure Ones are the highest Deities in

Taoism

 The Three Pure Ones transcend the

entire hierarchy of Taoist deities. In
the middle is the ultimate highest
deity of Taoism, the Primordial
Heavenly Worthy. To your right is the
Spiritual Treasure Heavenly Worthy,
and to your left is the Supreme Way
Heavenly Worthy.

Internal Alchemy

 Taoists believe that a person is just a small

pattern of a greater pattern of the universe
and in order to understand the universe
one must understand himself.
In order to understand one s self a
persons mental and physical health must
be positive.
A way that Taoists achieve positive
physical and mental health is by internal
alchemy.
Internal alchemy is disciplining ones self
in order to balance ones internal and
spiritual energies.
Taoism has had a major impact on Chinas
mental health. It has also changed the
meaning of life in Chinese families.

 Internal Alchemy (neidan) a term

often used synonymously
withQigong- is the Taoist art and
science of gathering, storing and
circulating the energies of the human
body.
In Internal Alchemy, the human body
becomes a laboratory in which the
Three Treasures of Jing, Qi, and Shen
are cultivated, for the purpose of
improving physical, emotional and
mental health.

 Each of the Three Treasures used in

the practice of Inner Alchemy is
associated with a particular energetic
location:
(1) Jing, or reproductive energy, has
its home in the lower dantian (and
Snow Mountain area)
(2) Qi, or life energy, has its home in
the middle dantian
(3) Shen, or spiritual energy, has its
home in the upper dantian.

Qigong exercise : a form of internal

alchemy

THE END