1. I think that the most intriguing thing about Taoism is the concept of wu wei or non-action. The idea of just following what is natural in the world. The most difficult thing for me to understand is the life of Lao Tzu because there is no way to be certain if he even really existed and if he did we don't even know what his name was.
2.From my understanding Tao is the path or flow that everything naturally follows. This is different from the idea of a god because a god is usually seen as a powerful, holy being but Tao is more of a way of life and the way things are.
3. I don't think that there is a perfect equivalent for the concept of ch'i in the West, but the idea of diet and exercise and staying healthy are often emphasized. I think that staying healthy regardless of how it is done improves spiritual well being because it can help people remove distractions of the world and maintain a focus on god.
4. I don't believe in magic because I feel like everything can be explained in some way at some point. For the things that we are unable to explain now I believe that they can be explained eventually. I think that people use magic as a way to explain things that they are uncomfortable with or don't understand.
5. I understand that wu wei is that people are to follow their natural path. It is not acting against ones nature.
6. Yin and yang are the positive and negative, or light and dark forces. They represent the opposites that are in nature. I think it is a hindrance because it leaves the potential to portray one spiritual energy as better than the other and creating a divide between men and women.
7. I think that all values are relative and contextual because there are certain situations where what is good for one person is not for another person. This is because different people in different situations have different views of a situation.
8. I think that in the views of a Taoist it is a return to ones origins since the focus of Taoism is to become at one with nature. This seeking to become one with nature though could be viewed as a goal for ones life and that every day is a step forward or backward in reaching this goal.
9. I can't think of a religion that places as much value on being lighthearted as Taoism. Most of the other religions seem to be more structured and have a set rules that the followers of the religion are supposed to keep to.
No comments:
Post a Comment