Taoism is one of the most ancient religions on Earth. Its origins are rooted in archaic shamanic practices. According to legend, the foundations of Taoism were laid by the Yellow Emperor, Huang Shi.

The Chinese scientist managed to systematize and describe the dogmas and rituals of this teaching in his book “Treatise on the Path and Its Manifestations in the Universe.”

Analyzing the scientific heritage of Confucius, one can notice the connection between the philosopher’s life path and his ideas. But it is impossible to draw similar parallels between the work and life of Lao Tzu, because his biography is completely unknown to historians. Ancient legend says that he was born from the rays of the sun and moon that touched his mother. At the same time, he was born already an elderly man, since his mother carried him in her womb for several decades. Therefore, his name is translated as “Old Child.” According to legend, as soon as he was born, the philosopher began to preach the teachings of Tao.

What is Tao?

Tao is an eternal path, an endless road without end or edge, which passes everywhere and nowhere, it is unknown where it leads and where it ends. Tao is the eternal Absolute, everything is subordinated only to it, even Heaven acts according to the laws of Tao. The eternal path is also an eternal movement, since in nature nothing is at rest, everything is constantly flowing and changing. Man lives by these same laws.

The greatest happiness, according to Lao Tzu and his followers, lies in the knowledge of Tao and eternal merging with it. A person who has comprehended Tao and obeys its laws gains immortality. In order to understand the Tao, one must follow a number of rules regarding the nourishment of the body and the nourishment of the spirit, as well as the concept of non-action .

Man is a collection of divine spirits and demons who constantly fight for the possession of his soul. If he feeds the spirits with his good deeds, the soul becomes stronger and moves closer to the Absolute, and if a person increases the number of demons with evil deeds, the soul weakens and moves away from the Tao.

Nourishing the body is following a special diet, which consists of almost completely abstaining from physical food. Through constant physical training, a person must bring his body to complete submission to the mind and learn to feed on his own saliva and the dew of herbs and flowers.

The third postulate of Tao - the concept of doing nothing - is the refusal of purposeful activity, since nature itself arranges everything, as Heaven and Tao need, and human intervention only destroys everything created by nature. Based on this idea, Lao Tzu derives the following formula applicable to the political life of society: the best ruler is the one who tries not to do or change anything in the state; his subjects live according to the will of Heaven and solve their own problems.

Forms of manifestation of Taoism

Taoism existed in several forms, each of which satisfied the interests of a separate layer of society:

Philosophical and ethical - helped the educated aristocracy to express themselves, allowed them to understand and explain the feelings and essence of their worldview, the price of human existence and the purpose of each person’s stay on earth.

Mystical – educated the poorly educated segments of the population who went to the monks for advice and help in solving everyday everyday problems. This form instilled moral values and certain norms of behavior.

Scientific – In search of the mythical elixir of immortality, Taoist monks invented many useful objects and substances. Gunpowder, glass, compass, battering guns and much more appeared thanks to the research of these people who retired from the world. Also within the framework of Taoism, the first theories of the origin of the earth and sky, people and all living beings appeared.

Nowadays, the doctrine that originated in ancient times is extremely popular - Feng Shui, which connects together the elements and the destinies of people, as well as combat doctrine - woo-shu And breathing exercises –Qigong. All these practices grew out of Taoism.

Briefly about the main ideas of Taoism

Taoism arose much earlier than Confucianism during a time of even more violent internecine strife and struggle for power. main idea Taoism lies in the universal equality of people, equal rights to life and freedom. These ideas immediately attracted many followers from the lower strata of the population to the new religion.

The poor people who professed Taoism hoped that a new society would soon emerge, based on the principles of justice and harmony. Peasant unrest even took place under the slogans of Taoism. One of the most famous uprisings in Ancient China was the so-called “Yellow Turban Rebellion,” led by a Taoist monk. The goal of this uprising was to overthrow the existing political system and form a new state - universal equality and social justice.

The main task of Taoism is to open people's eyes to the purpose of their birth, teach them to distinguish between good and evil, discover the secrets of the universe, and teach them to live in harmony with nature and the universe.

Back in the Middle Ages, a whole network of Taoist monasteries was created in China, where people lived who had completely withdrawn from the world and dedicated their lives to serving Heaven and the eternal Tao.

The monks lived in isolation and did not allow the uninitiated to see their rituals. Their rituals have always been of interest to mere mortals, but the monks sacredly kept their secrets and passed on their secrets only to dedicated students.

The monasteries consisted of many isolated small, dimly lit cells, in which the monks indulged in reflection in an attempt to understand the eternal Tao. They looked at social change differently. Since Taoism preaches the principle of non-doing, any attempts to change the world were seen as an encroachment on the foundations of the doctrine, and contemplation and solitude, on the contrary, help to merge with the Absolute and live a thousand years in harmony with Heaven.

Therefore, especially zealous followers of the teaching went to the mountains and cut out stone cells for themselves in order to achieve immortality in complete solitude. Moreover, Taoism is probably the only religion that does not use the concepts of Heaven and Hell. Paradise is immortal life, bestowed by the great Absolute, spent in reflection and contemplation of the wonders of the universe.

Masculine and feminine principles in Taoism

Nowadays, almost everyone knows about women's and masculine in Chinese philosophy - Yin and Yang. Back in the fourth century BC, Taoist monks were able to depict a circle consisting of two principles: dark - female and light - male.

The monks believed that these two concepts are inseparable and cannot exist without each other, and the life of each person cannot be either only light or only dark. The feminine principle is characterized by calm and balance, and the masculine principle is characterized by activity, power and an active lifestyle.

The monks believed that these two principles completely complement each other, and if any one predominates in a person, then his life cannot be considered correct and he will not be able to achieve the Tao.

Rituals in Taoism

Unlike all other religions, Taoism did not have pompous and solemn rituals; Taoists preached an appeal to living nature and the principle of contemplation. The uninitiated could not attend the rituals. For this reason, there are no Taoist temples. The only religious buildings of the Taoists were monasteries.

Currently, there are quite a lot of followers of this teaching in China, new monasteries are constantly opening and sometimes monks demonstrate their achievements in mastering martial arts in front of spectators.

In the depths of ancient Chinese civilization, many things were born not only from the material world (gunpowder, paper, etc.), but also categories of the world of ideas, philosophical postulates and religious dogmas.

Five centuries BC, together with Confucianism and Chan Buddhism, such a movement of human thought as Taoism took shape. The main ideas briefly outlined in his canonical text - "Tao Te Ching" - periodically become relevant for large groups of people at different times, in different countries.

Origins of the doctrine

The doctrine of Tao is one of the most mysterious and mysterious phenomena in history. The speeches of Taoist sages are filled with omissions, allegories, and polysemy; the history of the emergence of Taoism is surrounded by myths and legends.

The Chinese consider Huang Di, the Yellow Emperor, to be their ancestor, the progenitor who laid the foundation for many powerful dynasties. The historical facts of his life have allegedly been preserved, his tomb also exists, but it contains only part of the robe, and Huang Di himself gained immortality. Among all that the Yellow Emperor gave to the Chinese, and the ideas of the philosophy of Taoism.

Another mythical character from Chinese history stood at the origins of the teaching - Lao Tzu. It is he who is considered to be the author of the “Tao Te Ching” - that poetic treatise in which Taoism found its basic ideas and concepts. Lao Tzu's description of earthly existence is fantastic and looks like a collection of legends and tales.

Biography of the deity

The life story of another great Teacher - Confucius - is known literally over the years. Lao Tzu is considered his senior contemporary; there is evidence from ancient historians about their personal meeting in 517 BC. Being half a century older than Confucius, the sage reproached him for the excessive social activity that he showed by preaching Taoism, the basic ideas of which deny interference in public life. In other events, the biography of this ancient Chinese sage loses reality.

His mother conceived him by swallowing a pebble and carried him for 80 years, giving birth in 604 BC. a wise old man. The name Lao Tzu has many meanings; it also means “Old Baby.” His wisdom took shape over the years of service in the imperial book depository. Disappointment in the life around him led the elder to become a hermit. He changed names to avoid other people's attention. He was called Li Er, Lao Dan, Lao Lai Tzu and eventually decided to leave China, “going to the West.”

main book

Before this, Lao Tzu had not expressed his views in writing. The appearance of the Tao Te Jin is explained by the fact that the sage wanted to promote greater dissemination of his theories. He wanted to create an alternative to the increasingly popular Confucianism. The founder of Taoism did not agree with the introverted, outward-oriented nature of Confucius's teachings. Lao Tzu denied the primacy of power, the importance of rituals and traditions in human life. This could not but cause a negative attitude on the part of the authorities.

There are amazing versions about the further fate of the great old man. According to one of them, he retired to Tibet, where he became the founder of Lamaism, according to another, he left for India. There he miraculously contributed to the birth of Gautama or was even Buddha Shakyamuni himself. There are even legends about Lao Tzu’s travels to those places where Rus' later appeared.

Key Concept - Tao

The concept of Tao is often vague and indefinable even for someone who professes Taoism. The basic ideas are briefly described by Lao Tzu's formula: “Tao generates one, one generates two, two generates three, and three generates all ten thousand things.”

That is, Tao is the beginning of beginnings, an absolute community that is in eternal motion, like water that fills everything in this world. This is the path, the road, the destiny, the law. Everything in man and in the entire cosmos is a product of Tao; it cannot be outside of it and without it.

There are two Taos. One - the Tao without a name - has a visual image of a dragon or snake devouring its tail. This symbol, popular in many cultures, means an unstoppable and eternal cycle, movement along the spiral of time. It is not possible for a person to understand its meaning and purpose. His destiny is Tao with a name - like a tiny scale in the skin of a dragon - the essence of his ultimate existence on earth. And the main thing for each individual is to merge with Tao, to become part of the eternal universal movement.

Interrelation of concepts

Things and phenomena that are part of Tao carry the soft, passive, dark, feminine force of Yin, contain the active, hard, bright, male force of Yang, and are saturated with Qi energy. Qi, Yin, Yang, the interaction of these forces, the balance of these principles determines the course of all life processes. They are also fundamental concepts of Taoism.

The practices of oriental medicine and qigong gymnastics are based on the regulation of the interaction of Yin and Yang, the saturation of the cosmic.

These interactions underlie the doctrine of the organization of the human environment - Feng Shui. Some schools of Taoism do not recognize this teaching due to the postulate that it is impossible to apply general rules for different areas of space and the special individuality of each person, the uniqueness of his Path.

Attitude to power and the principle of “non-action” Wu-wei

In the issue of attitudes towards power and the state, there is a special difference between such concepts as Confucianism and Taoism. The main ideas can be briefly summarized in the form of a hierarchy of rulers, based on the assessment of their activities on the Taoist scale of values.

The best of rulers is the one who is known to exist - and nothing more. The second is the one who is loved and admired. The third one is feared. The worst is the one who is despised. If everything is good in the country, you may not even know who is at the helm. This version is extremely inconvenient for the authorities.

These conclusions follow from another important tenet of Taoism - the principle of “non-action” (in Chinese - “Wu-wei”). Some scientists think another translation is more correct - “non-interference.” It evokes fewer associations with doing nothing, with laziness, which are also sins in China. But the essence is this: the goal of both the person and the emperor is not to interfere with their actions in merging with the highest essence - the Tao, which itself determines the entire course of events.

Long story

This philosophy has existed for twenty-five centuries. It is very difficult to briefly present the basic ideas and concepts describing Taoism.

There are thousands of interpretations and explanations of the Tao Te Ching alone, and there are millions of people who look at this world through the eyes of Taoist sages.

Currently, there appears to be a rather limited amount of literature devoted to this topic.

Taoism, which arose around the 6th-4th centuries. BC BC, developed and became the national religion of China. And if the religious aspects of Taoism could decline as it developed, then its technical, non-religious aspects are still very popular. In the West, Taoist schools are now quite well developed, Taoist dietetics and recipes are widely used, oriental martial arts are popular, although in many ways this is just a tribute to fashion, which does not have a religious and philosophical component. The current interest in Taoism lies mainly in improving one’s health, working with one’s psyche, and emancipating consciousness. The tenets of Taoism are largely controversial, but this did not prevent it from becoming the main religion of China and finding followers all over the world. As it developed, Taoism had to interact with other religious and philosophical movements, which led to the exchange of some of their positions with them.

Judaism is not just the religion of the Jewish people, but a set of laws that regulates not only the religious, ethical and ideological, but also almost all aspects of the life of adherents of this teaching. Actually, Judaism is the Law from the point of view of the Jews. In Judaism, 613 mitzvot are defined (248 commands and 365 prohibitions), which describe aspects of the life of a Jew, such as food intake, hygiene, family relationships, etc. Of these, seven rules are identified that are mandatory for all people (both Jews and goyim): prohibition of idolatry, prohibition of Blasphemy, prohibition of bloodshed, prohibition of theft, prohibition of debauchery, prohibition of cruelty to animals, command of justice in court and equality of man before the law.

Taoism arose in Zhou China almost simultaneously with the teachings of Confucius in the form of an independent philosophical doctrine. The founder of Taoist philosophy is considered to be the ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu. An older contemporary of Confucius, about whom - unlike Confucius - there is no reliable information of either a historical or biographical nature in the sources, Lao Tzu is considered by modern researchers to be a legendary figure. Legends tell of his miraculous birth (his mother carried him for several decades and gave birth to him as an old man - hence his name, “Old Child,” although the same sign zi also meant the concept of “philosopher,” so his name can be translated as “Old Philosopher” ") and about his departure from China. Going west, Lao Tzu kindly agreed to leave his work, the Tao Te Ching, with the guard of the border post.

The treatise Tao Te Ching (IV-III centuries BC) sets out the foundations of Taoism and the philosophy of Lao Tzu. At the center of the doctrine is the doctrine of the great Tao, universal Law and the Absolute. Tao dominates everywhere and in everything, always and limitlessly. Nobody created him, but everything comes from him. Invisible and inaudible, inaccessible to the senses, constant and inexhaustible, nameless and formless, it gives origin, name and form to everything in the world. Even Great Heaven follows the Tao. To know the Tao, to follow it, to merge with it - this is the meaning, purpose and happiness of life. Tao manifests itself through its emanation - through de, and if Tao generates everything, then de feeds everything.

Tao indicates the primary differentiation of one into two (the initial appearance of two principles - yin and yang) .

Yin means dark (feminine), yang means light (male). They represent two types of universal forces that constitute the essence of the manifestation of the world.

Yin and yang need balance. They are inseparable and complement each other. each other, support each other. The graphic representation of yin-yang is tai chi - the symbol of the great limit (depicted on title page abstract).

This symbolism has penetrated into all areas of the Chinese way of life. When Taoists prepare food, they serve meat (yang) with nuts (yin), but not strong drinks (yang).

According to Tao, life is not initially cloudless. There are happy and unhappy moments that are in balance. Yin is a passive principle, and yang is activity, creative power. Their activities must alternate (process of change).

In Taoism there is no “self”, “I”. Man is a collection of interacting elements (yin, yang).

Lao Tzu's successor was Zhuang Tzu. Created the concept of "woo" — wey" (non-interference). It does not mean passivity, but natural, spontaneous action (like the behavior of a child who does not think about the consequences, an intuitive action). This concept allows a person to look at things with an open mind.

Man and the world as a whole are characterized by three types of life. energies: neck (spirit), qi (breath) and jing (vital substance) During meditation, a person strives to merge his Ego with the universe (universe), gets rid of the subjective-objective approach.

In the West, on the contrary, they believe that mystical experience leads to the loss of the personal “I”.

The Taoist concept of Feng Shui (wind and water) is the art of living in harmony with the world (using external means). The influx of positive energy - qi - is influenced by the orientation of the building on the ground and the interior.

Taoism originally arose in parallel with Confucianism. The Taoist religion had its own temples, books, and its own priests (family or monks). At their head was the high priest, the patriarch “tian-shi” (heavenly teacher). His dynasty began in the 2nd century. n. e.

If in Confucianism the worship of ancestors was accepted, then the Taoists are characterized by magical spells, rituals, and shamanism. Afterlife they were not associated with the cult of ancestors. Taoism assumes that a person has two souls: “qi” - life, inseparable from the body, and “lin” - soul, separable from the body.

After death: lin passes into “chui” (trait), if the person was not outstanding, or into shen (deity), if a famous person died. These souls need to make sacrifices.

Tao is the universal law of movement and change in the world. The real world, life are subordinated to the natural path - Tao. The philosophy of Tao is permeated with dialectics: everything comes from being and non-being; the high subdues the low, high voices together with low ones they create harmony; that which shrinks expands, that which weakens strengthens. But Lao Tzu understood this not as a struggle of opposites, but as reconciliation. Conclusions: when a person reaches the point of inaction, then there is nothing that will not be done. He who loves the people and rules them must remain inactive. Taoists condemn any desire to change anything. Knowledge is evil.

Tao, Heaven, Earth, King are great. The king is a sacred and inactive leader. State power is not needed.

For Taoism, the Tao Te Ching has never played such an exclusive role as a book of revelation as the Bible or the Koran for Christians and Muslims. Along with it, other texts of revelation were recognized, the number of which is truly difficult to determine. Some texts were as authoritative as the Tao Te Ching. In the Middle Ages, for example (from the 8th century), the Yinfu Jing, attributed to the mythological Emperor Huang Di, received this status.

In addition, the Taoists believed in the pre-existence of canonical texts in the “pre-celestial” (xian tian) Heaven. This deprived the Tao Te Ching of its chronological primacy.

In general, the current prevailing view is that the treatise was written around 300 BC. e. and has no relation to Lao Tzu (Li Eru, Lao Dan), mentioned in the Li Ji as the teacher of Confucius and described by Sima Qian. Why was the text attributed to Lao Tzu? Lao translated means elderly, venerable. This already contained some mystical secret and turned Lao Tzu into the "Eternal Old Man", the author of a mystical text.

In the II century. BC e. the tradition of commentating on Lao Tzu begins. Its classic examples are the comments of the “Old Man from the River Bank” (Heshan-gun), whom the Taoist tradition is inclined to consider as one of the phenomena of Lao Tzu (II century BC), and the philosopher of the Xuan Xue school Wang Bi (III century .).

An original feature of Taoism is the doctrine of “two Taos”: one (nameless, wuming) gives birth to Heaven and Earth, the other (named, yuming) gives rise to all things.

The monument's core doctrines became fundamental to subsequent Taoist thought. In general, the teaching of “Tao Te Ching” is characterized by traditional naturalism for Chinese philosophical thought and elements of primitive dialectics (the doctrine of mutual transformation, interdependence and mutual generation of opposites: “presence” - “absence”, “heavy” - “light”, movement” - “peace”, etc.). A significant place in the Tao Te Ching is given, as I have already said, to the category of “wu wei” (“non-action”), that is, the absence of arbitrary goal-setting activity, contrary to spontaneous self-naturalness.

According to Lao Tzu, the monarch is not only correlated with the cosmic principles of Tao, Heaven and Earth, but is even placed at their head, acting as the person par excellence

The next monument of early Taoism, which is addressed after the Tao Te Ching, is Zhuang Tzu, known since the middle of the 8th century. like the “True Canonical Book from Nanhua” (Nanhua zhen jing), the text of Zhuangzi is heterogeneous and is traditionally divided into “internal” (chap. 1-7), “external” (chap. 8-22) and “mixed” (chap. 23). -33 ch.) chapters. Even less is known reliably about the personality of Zhuang Tzu than about Lao Tzu.

In the Chuang Tzu, more closely than in the Lao Tzu, Tao approaches absence - non-existence (wu), the highest form of which is the “absence of absence itself” (wu). Hence the famous thesis of “Zhuang Tzu” that “Tao embodies things, but is not a thing.” In “Zhuang Tzu” the spiritualized concept of immortality is clearly presented, which is in opposition to both the “mundane” goals of worldly immortality-longevity (or recognizing it as goals for people of a lower level), and to a rigid fixation of the adept’s behavior, contrary to the norms of “self-naturalness” and “carefree wandering”

The fact that the ancient Taoists did not even think that a dream generated by consciousness could be an analogy of the waking world, also generated by the power of consciousness, once again confirms the correctness of A.I. Kobzev’s thesis about the absence of developed idealistic schools in ancient China. Only in the Middle Ages, under the influence of Buddhism, the author of “Guan Yin-tzu” (VIII-XII centuries) likened the dream world created by thought (“si cheng zhi”) to the waking world, the ideal character of which is also allowed. The peculiarity of the solution of “Zhuang Tzu” to the “sleep-wakefulness” problem is once again. highlights the sharp differences between the Chinese worldview and the Indian one: the naturalism of the first and the ontologized (in Brahmanism) psychologism of the second.

"Lao Tzu" and "Zhuang Tzu" are the first most important "roots" of the Taoist tradition, the first and most important, but not the only ones

The beginning of the next period is marked by the text currently known as the Book of Great Equality (Taiping Jing).

Firstly, the teaching of the Taiping Jing as a whole is not at all connected with the heresy of the “Yellow Turbans” who crushed the Han (their teaching of the Taiping Dao), but with the orthodoxy of the “Heavenly Masters”, whose teaching the text anticipated. Secondly, the ideas that prepared the beginning of the institutionalization of Taoism by Zhang Daoling and his descendants already in the 1st century were in the air; in the Taiping Jing the figure of the “Heavenly Mentor” appears, but still in the form of a heavenly deity communicating his revelations.

Its formation is associated with the myth of a new coming (“xin chu”). “Lao Tzu” in 145 and his revelation of the new world order to his “viceroy” on earth, Zhang Daoling. According to this teaching, the universe is governed by three pneumas (“san qi”) - “Intimate” (“xuan”), “Primordial” (“yuan”) and “Primordial” (“shi”), which give rise to Heaven, Earth and Water.

Children entered the community at the age of seven. They signed a contract that specified mentors, heavenly divine patrons, who supposedly could be called by prayers or visualization.

Children after this initiation were called “newcomers to the register” (“lu sheng”), and they had to fulfill 5 commandments: “do not kill, do not steal, do not commit adultery, do not drink wine and do not lie.” They were forbidden to pray to other deities and worship their ancestors.

The next stage of initiation (also for children) is associated with receiving the “Register of Ten Generals,” which marks an increase in the ability to create “patrons” from the pneuma of one’s body and implies an increase in the number of commandments observed.

If a person wants to become a clergyman, then he undergoes another initiation and becomes a “mentor” (“shi”) and an “official” (“guan”), obliged to follow 180 commandments, some of which involve caring for the environment.

Adults undergo the third initiation, acquiring a register with the names of 75 generals, and the registers are different for men and women. The female registry is called “Higher Spiritual Powers” ​​(“shang lin”), and the male registry is called “Highest Immortals” (“shang xian”). At marriage, both registries are combined, making up the powers of 150 spirits, which is the highest level of initiation for the laity.

In general, the utopia of the “Heavenly Masters” was aimed at achieving salvation, understood in a purely religious sense, which allowed the “Way of True Unity” movement to become the first Taoist church, an institutionalized Taoist direction.

The doctrine of immortality underwent changes as it developed, arose in Taoism due to:

the underdevelopment of the doctrine of spiritual immortality in ancient China;


prerequisites for belief in human immortality through the infinite extension of life.


Taoist philosophy arose during a period of crisis of archaic religion and the mythological thinking that fed it.


Kings after death became servants of the Heavenly Supreme Emperor, ordinary people denied immortality. Later, Tzu-chan (Tso-zhuang) wrote about the immortality of both aristocrats and ordinary people.


The classical view on the existence of souls: “hun” (intelligent soul) is responsible for life activity and “po” (animal soul) is mentality. Hun (there are 3 of them) after death turn into “shen” (spirit), exist like that, then dissolve in the heavenly pneuma. “Po” ​​turn into a demon, a ghost (“gui”), then go to the underworld to the yellow springs. The body is the only thread that binds souls together. In this form, “qi” entered Taoism. To make the spirit immortal, you need to make the body immortal.


Religious Taoism is inseparable from the culture of traditional China and its characteristics. Taoism gradually spread to Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and Cambodia. But in Vietnam there were only elements of Taoism in non-Taoist cults; there was no Taoist clergy there. There were Taoist monasteries in Cambodia, but they did not have Taoist deities. In Japan, doctrines of immortality, alchemy, and gymnastics were adopted. But not a single Taoist priest came to this country, not a single temple was built.


The universal potential of Taoism remained unrealized. The reasons for this were the organizational amorphousness and looseness of Taoism. In addition, Taoists refrained from preaching.


Taoism is one of the national religions of China. If Confucianism is more of an ethical and political teaching, then Taoism is the national religion itself.


The Taoist idea of ​​perfect government developed in parallel with Confucianism. Belief in the mandate of heaven (“tian shi”) for a virtuous monarch was an organic part of religious Taoism (“tian shi” is a sage who performs the functions of a monarch during the interregnum, “guo shi” is an adviser endowed with a mandate of heaven, a legitimate ruler). Taoism and Confucianism were not always opposites.


Taoism often absorbed numerous Confucian ideas; many socio-political views were a Taoist-Confucian synthesis. “Heavenly mentors” enjoyed the right to determine the patron god (“cheng Huang”) for any Chinese city. Many Confucians wrote the texts of Taoist liturgies for the benefit of the imperial family.


D. Legg, L. Wheeler wrote that Taoism of the VI-IV centuries. BC e. began with the philosophy of Lao Tzu, developed with Chuang Tzu, and declined with Le Tzu. By the time of the Later Han (I-II centuries AD) it had completely degenerated, turning into a mixture of superstition, alchemy, magic and witchcraft.


The question arose: what is religion, what is philosophy? Legg recognized the purity of only the Tao Te Ching (without superstitions or religion). But on the other hand, it is strange that philosophy degenerates into a religion with a theology of a very low level, whereas usually religion, when developing, contains a theoretical foundation in the form of rigid dogma and speculation, often bordering on religious philosophy. Religion and philosophy are different but often interacting forms. Ignoring the role of mythology and religion in ancient Taoist philosophy was not of a scientific nature.


A. Maspero is the first scientist to abandon the opposition between early and late Taoism. He pointed out that religious practice, traditionally considered late Taoist, actually preceded the philosophy of Lao Tzu and Zhuang Tzu. On the other hand, all monuments of philosophical Taoism are permeated with indications of the existence of Taoist religious practice and methods of acquiring the Tao.


For Maspero, Taoism is a personal religion, in contrast to communal forms of religion that say nothing about salvation (for example, Confucianism). The origins of Taoism lie in immemorial antiquity, and the schools “Lao Tzu” and “Zhuang Tzu” are not the original Taoism, but only currents or directions in the general flow of the emerging Taoist tradition, a school with a philosophical tendency.


An interesting justification for the commonality of early Taoist and late Taoist concepts was given by V. Needham. He showed that the search for immortality does not contradict such fundamental Taoist concepts as “wu-wei” (“inaction”) and “zi ran” (“self-naturalness”). If “wu wei” is non-resistance to nature, then the search for immortality can be considered as using nature itself to achieve perfection.


Many late Taoist concepts go back to ancient times. For example, revered in the 6th century. the deity “Tian Huang” (“Heavenly August One”) goes back to Zhou Li, where he acts as the embodiment of heavenly will (“Tian Zhi”), dispensing rewards and punishments.


Attempts to contrast early and late Taoism are logically incompatible, since religion in general cannot be adequately presented as a logically ordered system of consistent positions. In both early and late Taoism, interest in the problem of salvation was equally intense (N. J. Girardot). He created a diagram of the formation of Taoism from its origins to the emergence of organized movements during the Later Han:


The period of ancient proto-Taoist religious beliefs of the shamanic type, the formation of religious practice and the spontaneous formation of ideological models (IV-III centuries BC)


The period of rationalization of the worldview. Summarizing a philosophical basis and recording it in writing in texts. The emergence of the schools “Lao Tzu”, “Zhuang Tzu”, natural philosophy, “yin-yang”, systems for gaining immortality and meditative contemplation.


Bringing together different schools and directions, inclusion of new trends. Formation of a holistic Taoist worldview.


The first organized Taoist movements and schools: orthodox and heretical.


In the future, Taoism will be understood as the national Chinese religion, which has its own specifics and differs both from other organized religions that have become widespread in China, and from folk beliefs and cults, with which it is, however, closely connected, which arose in the middle of the 1st millennium BC n. e. based on religious beliefs of the shamanic type and finally formed in the first centuries of our era.


It is difficult to escape the impression that the concept of Tao in many ways, down to minor details, resembles the Indo-Aryan concept of the great Brahman, the faceless Absolute, repeatedly recorded in the Upanishads, the faceless Absolute, the emanation of which created the visible phenomenal world and to merge with which (to escape from the phenomenal world) was the goal of the ancient Indian philosophers, brahmins, hermits and ascetics. If we add to this that the highest goal of the ancient Chinese Taoist philosophers was to get away from the passions and vanity of life to the primitiveness of the past, to simplicity and naturalness, that it was among the Taoists that there were the first ascetic hermits in ancient China, whose asceticism he himself spoke with respect Confucius, the similarity will seem even more obvious and mysterious. How can we explain it? This question is not easy to answer. It is difficult to talk about direct borrowing, because there is no documentary basis for this, except perhaps the legend of Lao Tzu’s journey to the west. But this legend does not explain, but only confuses the problem: Lao Tzu could not bring to India a philosophy with which they were familiar no less than half a millennium before his birth. One can only assume that the very fact of travel shows that even at that distant time they were not impossible and that, therefore, not only from China to the west, but also from the west (including from India) people could move to China and their ideas.


In its concrete practical activities, Taoism in China, however, bore little resemblance to the practice of Brahmanism. On Chinese soil, rationalism overcame any mysticism, forcing it to go to the side, to hide in corners, where only it could be preserved. This happened with Taoism. Although the Taoist treatise “Zhuang Tzu” (IV-III centuries BC) said that life and death are relative concepts, the emphasis was clearly placed on life, on how it should be organized. The mystical biases in this treatise, expressed, in particular, in references to fantastic longevity (800, 1200 years) and even immortality, which righteous hermits who approached Tao can achieve, played an important role in the transformation of philosophical Taoism into religious Taoism.


2. JUDAISM


Judaism , religion of the Jewish people. The word "Judaism" comes from the Greek ioudaismos, introduced into use by Greek-speaking Jews ca. 100 BC to distinguish their religion from the Greek. It goes back to the name of the fourth son of Jacob - Judah (Yehuda), whose descendants, together with the descendants of Benjamin, formed the southern - Judah - kingdom with its capital in Jerusalem. After the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel and the dispersion of the tribes that inhabited it, the people of Judah (later known as “Yehudim,” “Judeans,” or “Jews”) became the main bearer of Jewish culture and remained so even after the destruction of their state.


Judaism as a religion is the most important element of Jewish civilization. Thanks to the consciousness of its religious chosenness and the special destiny of its people, Jewry was able to survive in conditions when
it has more than once lost its national-political identity.


Judaism involves faith in one God and the real impact of this faith on life. But Judaism is not only an ethical system; it includes religious, historical, ritual and national elements. Moral behavior is not self-sufficient; it must be combined with the belief that virtue “glorifies the one God.”


The primary basis for the core beliefs and practices of Judaism is the history of the Jewish people. Even by borrowing ancient holidays or rituals from the developed cultures of Canaan and Babylonia, Judaism changed them main meaning, complementing and then displacing the natural interpretation of the historical one. For example, Passover (Jewish Passover), originally a holiday of the spring harvest, became a holiday of liberation from Egyptian slavery. The ancient custom of circumcision, which originally existed among other peoples as a rite marking the boy's entry into puberty, was transformed into an act performed at the birth of a boy and symbolizing the introduction of the child into the covenant (union-agreement) that God entered into with Abraham.


The conclusion to which in the 19th century. some (mostly Christian) historians of religions have come to the conclusion that Jewish history gave rise to two different religions, namely the religion of Israel before Ezra (c. 444 BC) and then Judaism, was considered by many to be erroneous. The evolution of Judaism is continuous, and like other religions, Judaism has changed and developed, freeing itself from many old elements and adopting new principles and norms in accordance with changing conditions. Despite the increasing role of legal elements in Judaism after the Babylonian exile, the religion remained essentially the same as in the pre-exilic period, and any significant doctrine of post-exilic Judaism can be traced back to earlier teachings. Judaism after the captivity, without retreating from the universalism of the previous prophets, raised their universalism to new heights in the works of Second Isaiah, the books of Ruth, Jonah, Psalms, the so-called. wisdom literature and compiled by the Pharisees Halacha And Agade.


The beliefs, ethics, customs, and social aspects of Judaism are set forth in the Torah, which broadly includes the Oral and Written Law, as well as the entire body of teachings of the Jewish people. In a narrow sense, the term “Torah” refers to the Pentateuch of Moses. According to traditional Jewish views, the Torah, both written and oral, was given by God directly to the children of Israel at Mount Sinai or through Moses. For traditional or Orthodox Jewry, the authority of Revelation is indisputable. Adherents of liberal or Reform Judaism do not believe that the Torah came from Revelation. They recognize that the Torah contains truth, and that the Torah is inspired and reliable to the extent that it is consistent with reason and experience. Since Revelation is given gradually and is not limited by any framework, the truth can be found not only in Jewish sources, but also in nature, science and the teachings of all peoples.


Jewish dogma does not contain dogmas, the acceptance of which would ensure salvation for a Jew. Judaism attaches much more importance to behavior than to religion, and in matters of doctrine it provides a certain freedom. There are, however, certain fundamental principles that all Jews share.


Jews believe in the reality of God, in his uniqueness, and express this belief in the daily recitation of the Shema prayer: “Hear, O Israel. The Lord is our God, the Lord is one.” God is spirit, an absolute being who calls himself “I Am That I Am.” God is the Creator of all things at all times, he is a continuously thinking Mind and a constantly acting Force, he is universal, he rules the whole world, unique, like himself. God established not only natural law, but also moral laws. God, who gives eternal life, is all-good, most holy, just. He is the master of history. He is both transcendental and immanent. God is a helper and friend to people, the father of all humanity. He is the liberator of people and nations; he is a savior who helps people get rid of ignorance, sins and vices - pride, selfishness, hatred and lust. But salvation is not achieved only through the actions of God; man is required to assist in this. God does not recognize the evil principle or the power of evil in the universe. God himself is the creator of both light and darkness. Evil is an incomprehensible mystery, and man accepts it as a challenge that must be answered, fighting evil wherever it is found in the world. In the fight against evil, the Jew is supported by his faith in God.


Judaism maintains that man is created “in the image and likeness of God.” He is not just a living instrument of God. No one can stand between God and man, and there is no need for anyone's mediation or intercession. Therefore, Jews reject the idea of ​​atonement, believing that everyone is responsible directly to God. Although man is bound by the cause-and-effect laws of the universe, as well as by social and political conditions, he still has free will to make moral choices.


Man should not serve God for reward, yet God will reward righteousness in this life or in the Hereafter. Judaism recognizes the immortality of the human soul, but there are disagreements among adherents of different movements regarding the resurrection from the dead. Orthodox Judaism believes that it will happen with the coming of the Messiah; reformists completely reject this idea. There are several interpretations of heavenly paradise, where the righteous are blissful, and hell (gehenna), where sinners are punished. The Bible is silent about this, but later literature contains a wide range of ideas about heaven and hell.


Jews believe in the chosenness of Israel (the Jewish people, but not the Jewish state): God, out of all the nations of the world, chose the Jewish people so that they, having accepted Revelation, would play a central role in the drama of the salvation of mankind. According to modern views, Israel should not be considered “chosen”, but “chosen,” suggesting that she, having concluded an alliance-contract with God, herself had to make the final choice whether to accept the word of God and whether to become “a torch for the nations.” The separateness of the Jews and Israel's devotion to the Law are seen as necessary to preserve the purity and strength of the people, which are required for the fulfillment of its mission.


Jews believe in their mission - to establish the truth of the divine Law, by preaching and by their example to teach this Law to humanity. This is how divine truth will triumph on earth, and humanity will emerge from the state in which it now finds itself. A new world order awaits the human race, the Kingdom of God, where the divine Law will ultimately be established; in it all people will find peace, justice and the realization of their highest aspirations. The Kingdom of God will be founded on earth, and not in another world, and this will be realized in the messianic era. There are different opinions regarding the nature of the messianic era. Orthodox believe that the Messiah (“anointed one”) from the line of David will appear and help establish the Kingdom of God. Adherents of Reform Judaism disagree and believe that the prophets spoke of a messianic era, which people can hasten by acting justly and mercifully, loving their neighbors, and living modest and godly lives.


Judaism believes that all people, regardless of religion or nationality, are equally children of God. They are equally dear to God, have equal rights to justice and mercy from their neighbors. Judaism also believes that the presence of Jewish blood (on the paternal side) does not matter in determining one's Jewishness (according to rabbinic law, anyone who is born of a Jewish mother or converts to Judaism is considered a Jew). Anyone who accepts the Jewish faith becomes a “child of Abraham” and a “son of Israel.”


For a Jew, Judaism is the true faith, but other religions are not necessarily false. It is believed that a non-Jew does not need to become a Jew in order to gain salvation, for “the righteous of all nations will have their inheritance in the world to come.” To do this, the non-Jew is only required to fulfill the commandments of the sons of Noah, namely: 1) renounce idolatry; 2) abstain from incest and adultery; 3) do not shed blood; 4) do not take the name of God in vain; 5) do not create injustice and lawlessness; 6) do not steal; 7) do not cut off parts from a living animal.


The attitude of Judaism towards Jesus of Nazareth, the interpretation of whose death, proposed by St. Paul, became the basis of Christianity, expressed by Moses Maimonides. Paying tribute to the Nazarene, Maimonides considered him the one “who prepared the way for the Messiah King.” However, the refusal of Judaism to recognize Christianity is dictated not only by the conviction that Jesus was not the Messiah, but by the inability to accept some of the provisions introduced into the teaching of Jesus by St. Pavel. They are listed by M. Steinberg in the book Basics of Judaism: the statement that the flesh is sinful and must be mortified; the idea of ​​original sin and the curse from it that lies on every person before his birth; the idea of ​​Jesus not as a man, but as God in the flesh; the conviction that people can be saved through atonement, and it is the only way of salvation, and that the death of Jesus is God’s sacrifice of his only son, and only by faith in him can one be saved; refusal to comply with the requirements of the Law; the belief that Jesus, risen from the dead, awaits in heaven the hour of his Second Coming to earth to judge mankind and establish the Kingdom of God; the teaching that he who sincerely believes in all these things will certainly be saved, and that he who rejects them is doomed, no matter how virtuous he may be.


CONCLUSION


The religion arose about 40-50 thousand years ago, during the Upper Paleolithic era. Observing and comprehending the world around him and himself in it, man realized that he was surrounded by an ordered universe, subject to the so-called laws of nature. People cannot change these laws or establish others. The best minds at all times have struggled with the attempt to unravel the mystery and meaning of life on earth, to find that force that reveals its presence in the world through the connection of things and phenomena. Man has come up with thousands of names for this power, but their essence is one - God.


We live at the beginning of the third millennium, and all six billion living on earth believe. Some believe in God, others believe that he does not exist. Therefore, religion is one of the most important things in a person’s life, his life position, ethical and moral rule, norm and custom by which he lives (acts, thinks, feels).


Religion (from the Latin religo - to bind, tie, braid) is a dogmatic ritual system that reflects the ideological positions of a certain community of people. Religion means the deep nature of a person and is a form of his self-affirmation, i.e. the result and cause of a person’s work on himself, his self-restraint from everything that interferes with the existence of his “I”.


Religions are different from each other - each has its own gods, holy books, rituals, holy places and temples, as well as numerous rules by which believers must live. What is considered a sin in one religion may be considered a virtue in another. Each religion has a special worldview and cult. Indeed, if you remove from each religion what distinguishes it from others, then what remains is the essence, the “core,” which is almost the same for all religions.


All religions have principles similar to the commandments of the New Testament, i.e. instructions “thou shalt not kill,” “thou shalt not steal,” etc. So, for example, in the Hindu and Buddhist traditions, the principle “thou shalt not kill” corresponds to ahimsa (non-harm to all living beings in thoughts, words, or actions), and the principle “thou shalt not steal” corresponds to asteya (absence of desire to own other people’s property). .


The similarity of basic religious morals and functions of religion leads to the fact that many philosophers, theosophists and religious scholars begin to talk about a single world ethics, represented to one degree or another in the moral code of each religion.


BIBLIOGRAPHY


1. Arinin E.I. Religious Studies. M., 2006.
   

   Zubov A.B. History of religions. M., 2002.
   

   Zyabiyako A.P. Religious Studies. M., 2003.
   

   Pushnova Yu.B. History of world religions. M., 2005.
   

   Yablokov N.I. Religious studies. M., 2004.
   

Taoism had a huge influence here – that’s what we want to talk about today.

In the article below we will tell you in detail what history is hidden in it, who was its founder, what basic terms and ideas this school of thought contains, and how true Taoists practice. You will also learn interesting facts that reveal the essence of this Chinese teaching.

What it is

Taoism is a teaching that has become widespread in China. It is considered one of the oldest in the world - its origin dates back to approximately the 5th century BC.

Taoism is called a religious-philosophical view because it has absorbed features of both concepts:

• philosophy with its inherent study of being, knowledge, the Universe, philosophical treatises - Tao Chia;
• religion, which is based on faith in a higher power and presupposes a certain dogmatism, as well as indispensable spiritual practices - Tao Jiao.

However, such a division is hardly noticeable - as a rule, Taoism is viewed as a combination of religious and philosophical aspects.

At the same time, there is no God as such - the concept of “Tao” is the basis. It is multi-valued and implies the beginning, the way to comprehend the world order, the nature of the Universe and its laws. The main goal is to merge with the Tao, to become a single whole.

There is an opinion that Taoist philosophy is in opposition to Confucian philosophy, and it is not without foundation. In both movements, the concept of “Tao” is present, but it is interpreted somewhat differently.

Confucianism sees Tao as observance moral principles, the rules of humanism. It presupposes the constant self-improvement of a person as a part of society - learning writing, exact sciences, music, and sportsmanship. In other words, Confucius looked at Tao from the perspective of social life.

In contrast, Taoism considers Tao as the nature of all things, the beginning of being. A person must live according to the laws of nature, be part of it, forgetting about his own “I” and not interfering with the measured flow of life. Simple and natural are the main characteristics of Taoist life.




Founders

Taoism as we know it finally took shape in the 2nd century AD. However, there is evidence that already in the 5th-3rd centuries BC there was a teaching based on the Tao.

It is believed that the idea was originally based on mystical beliefs:

• shamanism of the Chu region in southern Chinese territory with its rituals and practices;
• rituals associated with magic and the belief in immortal existence that existed in the Chinese region of Qi;
• philosophy of the Chinese north.

There are legends that name the founder of Huang Di, better known as the “Yellow Emperor”. His personality is shrouded in mystery. For example, they say that his tomb has been preserved, but it contains only the emperor’s clothes, while he himself gained immortal life.

However, more confirmed and reliable sources claim that the founder was a famous sage named , who lived in the 5th-4th century BC.




Lao Tzu combined the main provisions of the teaching into a single system, setting out the dogmatic, ritual foundations - this is how the book “Tao Te Ching” was born, which means “Treatise on the Law of Tao and its manifestations in the Universe.” It became the basis for the further development of Taoism, being the same age as Confucian texts.

Very little is known about the scientist himself, and all information is surrounded by legends. One legend says that Lao Tzu’s mother was touched by the rays of the moon and the sun, another that she accidentally swallowed a piece of rock crystal and thus conceived a son.

The woman carried a child in her womb for decades, so he was born an old man. This is where his name came from, which translates as “Old Baby.”

There is evidence that Lao Tzu was familiar with the philosophy of Confucius and even met him in person in 517 BC. Then Lao Tzu worked in the archives at the palace of the Zhou dynasty. He criticized Confucius for preaching too active social life- this fundamentally contradicted the view of Tao and non-interference in the forces of nature.

Then he formed his own ideas as opposed to Confucian ones, began to bring the teaching of Tao to the world and became a great scientist. Disillusioned with statehood, he became a recluse, changed the names of those around him, and eventually decided to leave the Celestial Empire.

The creation of the book also has its own history. During his travels, Lao Tzu met with a border guard who asked him to talk about his views. The wanderer wrote down the main ideas in eighty-one verses, which later became the work “Tao Te Ching”.

There are legends about the further fate of Lao Tzu: he headed either to Tibet or to India, where he became acquainted with Buddhist teachings, and perhaps he was in the territories where Rus' was later formed.

By the 2nd century AD, the fame of Lao Tzu had spread throughout China, and followers began to worship the master and compare him to a deity. Along with him in the pantheon were many spirits - divine and demonic, as well as rituals that were capable of expelling these demons.

Another significant name in the development of Taoism was Zhuang Zhou, who lived in the 4th-3rd centuries BC. He wrote the treatise “Zhuang Tzu,” which supplemented the existing provisions on Tao.

Development of the idea

Taoist schools began to take shape in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, changing over time, dividing or, conversely, merging with others.




The main ones were:

• School of Heavenly Mentors

First known as the "Five Buckets of Rice", it appeared in the 1st and 2nd centuries and developed during the so-called Six Dynasties era. Later it split into northern and southern schools. In the Tang era, in the 12th century, they were revived again in the form of the School of the True One - Zhenyi, widespread in the south.

• Quanzhen

The so-called “monastic Taoism”. It was formed in post-Mongol times and found recognition in the south of the country.

• Maoshan

Also known as Shangqing. The main practices were visualization and contact with higher powers. At the beginning of the 14th century it fell into decay.

• Lingbao

Closely associated with Buddhist thought, it emphasized meditative practices. It was also absorbed and then completely ceased to exist in the 14th century.

Existing next to Buddhism and Brahmanism, which later became Hinduism, Taoist thought had some common features with them, for example, the idea of ​​the Absolute, as well as the idea of ​​the relativity of life and death.


Hinduism

In the 5th century, the number of Taoists grew, they were joined by hermits who dreamed of the surprisingly long (8-12 centuries) or immortal life that Taoism speaks of. At this time it becomes more of a religion than just a philosophy. The main difference between the Taoist view is the desire for immortality, while representatives of other religions dream of paradise.

By the 5th century there were over two hundred and fifty treatises of Taoism, by the 17th century more than fifty were added, and now there are almost one and a half thousand works.

Taoism has never been a traditional religion. It was built on the principles of equality of people, so peasants, workers, and the lower strata joined it en masse. Taoist popular uprisings were often carried out.

During the Tang and Song empires, knowledge of the basic texts of Taoism was included in the imperial examination program.

In the Middle Ages, monasteries were built throughout the country, where hermit monks lived and comprehended the nature of the Tao. They allowed only initiates to participate in their rituals. Often individual monks lived in isolation, cutting down stone cells.

During the Qing reign, starting in the 17th century, persecution of religion began, Taoist monasteries were destroyed, and sacred books were burned. The rulers referred to the fact that Taoism is a pseudoscience with its excessive contemplation and undermines the foundations of statehood. This situation continued until the mid-20th century, only occasionally followed by periods of relative recognition.


Chinese painting, 17th century

With the advent of the 60s and the Cultural Revolution, the doctrine began to be rehabilitated, monasteries were built again, and philosophical thought began to move west. Modern Taoism is a religious and philosophical movement that contains unique monasteries, mystical rituals that smack of esotericism, and practices for training the mind, body and soul.

In modern times, Taoist teachings have gained much of their fame thanks to qigong breathing exercises, wushu martial techniques, and also the direction of feng shui, which originated here. This is also where the famoussymbolmale and female energies - yin-yang.

Fundamentals

What is Tao

This is a multi-valued concept that can be compared with the Absolute. Tao is:

• something that gives rise to everything around, incomprehensible, permanent, nameless and formless;
• common law;
• the fundamental principle of life;
• the beginning and end of life;
• world order;
• eternal path, constant movement.

Tao has no name and form, but gives them to everything that exists. Only it is permanent, and everything else is temporary. Here opposite phenomena are combined and become one.




Tao is emptiness, but thanks to it everything is created. Only by merging with Tao can one experience happiness and immortality.

Lao Tzu compared emptiness to a room: after all, what is important in a room is not the walls, but the space between them, that is, emptiness.

Main postulates

The main ideas of Taoism are that man is a microcosm, he exists endlessly, just like the Universe is a macrocosm. Death in the physical plane only means that the soul will unite with the Tao.

In Taoism, there is no color, form, personality, or self. There is emptiness, and the main task of a person is to contemplate and observe. Any action directed against the order of life wastes time, energy, and can sometimes lead to bad consequences.

The main goal of Taoism is to teach people to distinguish good from evil and do only good deeds, to reveal the secret of the Universe through meditation and looking inside, to acquire harmonious relationships with the outside world.




To comprehend the Tao, you need to remember and follow three main rules:

1. Nourishment of the soul

Divine and demonic beings live within man. Good deeds feed good deities, and evil deeds feed demons. The more virtue a person has, the closer he is to happiness.

2. Nourish the body

You need to eat without excess, following a diet and fasting. Ideal nutrition - with its saliva and dew of herbs. The body must also be nourished with physical and breathing exercises, and sexual relations should be with a regular partner.

The path of ascetic abstinence in food was difficult, so Taoist alchemists tried for a long time to find the elixir of immortality. The ruler of Qin Shi Huang Di even sent expeditions to search for him.

This concept means "non-action." But not in the sense of being lazy and doing nothing. It would be more correct to say “non-interference” - in the natural course of events, the laws of the Universe. According to it, there is no need to purposefully do anything, because the Universe arranges everything on its own, and people’s initiative can only interfere.

According to the concept of Wu-wei, the most good ruler- one who does not interfere in the lives of his subjects, does not change anything and only sometimes prevents uprisings.

To know the Tao, you need to forget about your “I” and associate yourself with the entire world around you. Even when you are doing something, for example, cleaning the house, you must try to stop the flow of thoughts - the “I” absorbed in the task disappears. This practice is available at any time, even, for example, during normal walking.




Eight pillars

There are 8 pillars - methods of Taoism, which are aimed at improving and harmonizing relations with the world:

• Philosophy is the desire to understand the essence of existence, natural and social laws.
• Renewal – meditations and practices for health.
• Diet: abstain from meat.
• Forgotten food – “forgetting” food during fasts and diets.
• Healing is the effective use of energy and distribution through massage manipulations and acupuncture.
• The Tao of Sexual Wisdom - Sexual relationships are seen here as therapy and a way to strengthen feelings.
• Perfection is constant self-improvement.
• Success is defined goals and plans for mastering knowledge.

Three treasures

Lao Tzu named three human virtues that require protection and nourishment:

• qi – energy of life, love, mercy;
• jian – the energy of rational economy, which also determines the appearance of people;
• Shen is a spirit endowed with reason.

Taoists, in search of immortal life, invented glass and porcelain products, a compass, and gunpowder.

Conclusion

In conclusion, let us briefly say that Taoism is a unique philosophical and religious view that originated 25 centuries ago in China. Behind long history it underwent significant changes, sometimes acquiring thousands of followers, sometimes being subjected to severe persecution.

The fundamental concept is Tao, the beginning of beginnings, the law by which everything in the Universe lives. True Taoists strive to nourish the soul and body without interfering with the natural course of life.




Thank you very much for your attention, dear readers! We hope you have become a little closer to the amazing culture of China and become better acquainted with one of its main teachings. If you liked the article, share your new knowledge with your friends!

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MINISTRY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS OF RUSSIA

FEDERAL STATE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION

HIGHER PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION "EAST SIBERIAN INSTITUTE

MINISTRY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION"




in philosophy

on the topic “Philosophy of Taoism”




Completed by: 1st year FPD cadet

police private

Prosvirnin A.O.

Checked:




Irkutsk





Introduction

What is Taoism?

Philosophers of Taoism

Basic concepts of Taoism

Conclusion

Bibliography




Introduction




The dawn of philosophy in China begins in the 6th century BC. this period is called the “period of a hundred schools.” All these schools can be grouped into 6 main directions. Among these 6, Confucianism and Taoism are distinguished.

Confucianism got its name from China's first philosopher, Confucius (Kung Fu Tzu), who created a theory of government based on observance of rules of conduct and virtue. By virtue he understood a sense of duty, responsibility, restraint, moral education, and under the rules of conduct - ethical standards. Governance based on virtue is the same as governing based on philanthropy. Philanthropy according to Confucius involves the development of the following 5 qualities:

Respectfulness,

Generosity,

Truthfulness,

Sharpness,

Confucius distinguishes and differentiates the concepts of benefit and duty. He has a special understanding of the people as an objective natural element, and if it leaves a stable state, then it will be impossible to tame it. The people must be made rich, well-fed, and then re-educated. The people should be valued higher than the managers. You can remove the commander of three armies if the people want it. Thus, Confucius offers the path of the golden mean in order to soften contradictions and prevent aggravations.

His entire philosophy was expounded by his students (he ran a private school and taught there) in the work “Conversations and Judgments.” Thus, one of the main ideas Confucius gave to the world was the idea of ​​balance. His philosophy is ethical.

The Taoists developed a different approach to the development of the state. The founder of Taoism is Lao Tzu, and he outlined his ideas in the work “Lao Te Ching”. Lao Tzu believed that one should govern not with the help of ethics and not with the help of laws. He said that the ethical principle undermines the confidence of the people and leads them to unrest. Confucius believed that society should be structured like a family, when the younger ones obey the elders, and the children obey their parents. But in this case, according to Lao Tzu, the punishment will be unequal. The second principle (lack of laws) increases the number of thieves and robbers. He said that the reasons for the difficulty of management lie in knowledge and desires. Management should be built on the principle of non-action. This principle logically follows from his ideas about the world as a whole from his understanding of society and man.

The principle of non-action lies in non-interference in the existence of the laws of development and functioning of any object and being, because every thing has its own path. A person, regardless of his status, cannot interfere in the objective course of things, and if he wants to change something or influence society, then he must do it within himself.

Taoist philosophy is a dialectical philosophy. Firstly, the presence of opposites in things is recognized, and secondly, the mutual transformation of opposites is recognized. Lao Tzu feared and especially warned against the mutual transformation of opposites. And he also advocated maintaining balance, against effort, i.e. for activities that do not violate the harmony of the world, its unity and universal harmony between society, nature and people and for the conservation peace of mind person.




.What is Taoism?




This question has long attracted the attention of Chinese researchers, but it is very difficult to give a short and clear answer to it, since Taoism - the concept is very multidimensional and polysemantic.

In some sources, Taoism is called a philosophy, in others - a religion, in others - a philosophy that gradually transformed into a religion, and in fourths it is said that Taoism is not a philosophy, not a religion, but an art.

Taoism is a Chinese philosophical and religious movement, which is one of the main “three teachings”. It represents an alternative to Confucianism, from a philosophical point of view, and Buddhism, from a religious point of view.

The first mention of Taoism as an integral ideological formation appeared in the 2nd century. BC. It was called the “school of the Way and Grace” and consisted of the fundamental theories of the treatise “The Canon of the Way and Grace”. Subsequently, the name of the teaching “school of the Way and grace” was shortened to “school of the Way” (Tao Jia), which has survived to this day.

Taoism is based on the mystical and shamanic cults of the Chu kingdom of Southern China, the doctrine of immortality and magical practices of the Qi kingdom, and the philosophical tradition of Northern China. The founders of Taoism are considered to be the Yellow Emperor Huangdi and the sage Lao Tzu. The main treatises are the Tao Te Ching and Zhuang Tzu.

The term “Tao” (path), which formed the basis of this philosophical and religious movement, turns out to be much broader than all the specifics of Taoism. It can be quite compared to the Confucian term “zhu”. Many people confuse Taoism with Neo-Confucianism, which is fully explained by the presence of the same roots in these philosophical teachings. The fact is that early Confucianism could well have been called nothing other than the “teaching of Tao” (Tao shu, Tao jiao, Dao xue). On the other hand, adherents of Taoism could be included in the category of zhu. These interactions between the two movements gave rise to the fact that the term “adept of Tao” is applicable to Taoists, Confucians, and even Buddhists.

But Taoist mystical-individualistic naturalism is fundamentally different from the ethical sociocentrism of other leading worldview systems of ancient China. The period of flourishing and formation of the “hundred schools” was the starting point for the research of many scientists. He even made them think about the peripheral origins of Taoism (some argued that Taoism originated in India). Not without Brahman and Logos, which supposedly served as a kind of prototype of the Tao. This view is contradicted by the point of view that speaks of Taoism as a clear expression of the Chinese spirit itself. This is precisely what many Russian scientists adhere to, led by the leading researcher of Taoism E.A. Torchinov. They are inclined to believe that Taoism is the most developed form of national religion.

The theme of transformation, creative metamorphoses of existence is the central theme of Taoist thought. For Taoists, neither form nor the formless is real. Or, as they say in Taoist books, emptiness cannot overcome ten thousand things . The true reality for Taoists is transformation itself. Taoists think in terms of not entities or ideas, but relationships, functions, influences. For them in the world there is nothing , but the connections between things themselves are undoubtedly real. There may be no truth at all. But the metaphor of truth, countless glimpses of reality definitely exist.

So, the Taoist picture of the world is an infinitely complex, truly chaotic pattern of phenomena, where there is no one privileged image, one the only true one ideas. As Chuang Tzu wrote: The whole darkness of things is like a spread out net, and the beginning is nowhere to be found.

Just as China itself (then the kingdom of Zhou) was divided, starting from the middle of the 1st millennium BC, into many separate kingdoms at war with each other, its culture also presented a picture of significant diversity; There were several types of cultures, only later fused in the great all-Chinese synthesis.

IN to the greatest extent The cultures of the north and south of China differed from each other. If the north, which gave rise to Confucianism, is characterized by attention to ethical issues and ritual, a rational desire for a rational rethinking of the archaic foundations of civilization, then in the south the element of mythopoetic thinking dominated, and the ecstasy of shamanic cults flourished. And Taoism, which apparently matured in the bosom of the southern tradition, nevertheless combined the exalted archaism of the south and the rationality of the north. The first gave him content, the second endowed him with form, providing the philosophical method she created for mastering reality to express vague and unconscious creative potentials. Without the southern tradition, Taoism would not have become Taoism, without the northern one, it would not be able to speak about itself in language great culture and book education.

The founder of Taoism is traditionally considered to be Lao Tzu, who according to legend lived at the turn of the 6th-5th centuries BC. and before leaving China forever for the West, he left with the head of the border outpost Yin Xi an exposition of his teachings called Tao Te Ching .

IN Tao Te Ching we are talking about the single origin of all things - a single substance and at the same time a world pattern - Tao. This concept gave its name to Taoism (Tao Jiao).

In addition to Lao Tzu, one cannot help but mention another Taoist thinker, Zhuang Tzu (IV-III centuries BC), the author of a treatise named after him, in which there are many paradoxes, parables, eccentric images, reinterpreted in the spirit of Taoist philosophy and literature.

For worldview Chuang Tzu the concept was of great importance leveling of existence (qi wu), according to which the world is a kind of absolute unity. There is no place for clear boundaries between things, everything is fused with each other, everything is present in everything. In this world there are no absolute values, nothing in itself is either beautiful or ugly, large or small, but everything exists only in relation to something else and in the closest internal connection and interdependence.

For traditional Chinese philosophy, belief in the immortality of the soul specifically was uncharacteristic. Only the single psychophysical integrity of a living being was recognized as real. The spirit itself was understood quite naturalistically: as a refined material and energy substance (qi). After the death of the body it is qi scattered in nature. In addition, Taoism inherited from shamanism the doctrine of the plurality of souls - animals (po) and thinking (hun). The body was the only thread connecting them together. The death of the body led to separation and death of souls. Therefore, already in ancient times, great importance was attached to means of extending physical life, and longevity (of the show) has become one of the most important values ​​of Chinese culture.

However, Taoism was not satisfied with the ideal of a simple physical, even infinite, extension of life. A true Taoist immortal (xian), in the process of moving along the path of immortality, radically transformed and transformed his body, which, according to Taoist teaching, acquired supernatural powers and abilities: the ability to fly through the air, become invisible, be in several places at the same time, and even compress time. But the main transformation in the process of practicing Taoist meditation is spiritual: the immortal fully felt and experienced the Taoist picture of the world, realizing the ideal of unity (oneness) with all that exists and with Tao as the mysterious fundamental principle of the world.

The path to immortality according to Taoist teachings involved practicing complex methods of special psychophysical training, much like Indian yoga. It seemed to involve two aspects: improvement of the spirit and improvement of the body. The first consisted of practicing meditation, contemplating the Tao and the unity of the world, unity with the Tao. Various complex visualizations of deities were also used, symbolizing special states of consciousness and types of vital energy.

The second consisted of specific gymnastic (Dao Yin) and breathing (Xing Qi) exercises, sexual practice to maintain the body’s energy balance, and alchemy. It was alchemy that was considered the highest way to achieving immortality.

Alchemy was divided by Taoists into two types - external (wei dan) and internal (nei dan). Of these, only the first was alchemy in the proper sense of the word. It involved the creation in an alchemical retort of a working model of the cosmos, in which the elixir of immortality matures under the influence of fire. The main difference between Chinese alchemy and European alchemy is its initial close connection with medicine: in Chinese alchemy even gold was produced like the elixir of immortality. Taoist alchemists accumulated the most valuable empirical material in the field of chemistry and medicine, which significantly enriched traditional Chinese pharmacology.

By the 10th century external alchemy fell into decline and was replaced by internal alchemy. It was alchemy only in name, since it was nothing more than an ordered set of complex psychophysical exercises aimed at transforming the consciousness of the adept and changing a number of his psychophysiological parameters. However, she borrowed from alchemy itself its terminology, ways of describing the practice, making the names of minerals and substances symbols of psychophysical processes and their structures.

Followers internal alchemy proceeded from the position of complete similarity between the microcosm and the macrocosm, the human body and the universe. And since the human body contains everything that exists in space, then there is no need to create a model of it in crucibles and retorts: the body itself is a similar model. Consequently, it is possible to create a new immortal body from the substances, juices and energies of one’s own body. Particular attention in practice internal alchemy was devoted to the management of energies flowing, according to its theory, according to special channels (ching) of the body, and accumulating in special reservoirs (dan tian, ind. chakras). Energy management was achieved through concentration of consciousness and visualization (qi gong). Like external alchemy, internal also collected very rich material for Chinese medicine.

Taoism is sometimes called national religion China, but this definition is not entirely correct. Firstly, Taoism spread among some other peoples living in the neighborhood of the Chinese. Secondly, the Taoists not only did not preach their religion in society, but, on the contrary, carefully hid their secrets from the uninitiated and did not even allow the laity to attend the most important prayer services. In addition, Taoism has always been divided into many independent sects, where art of Tao passed from teacher to student in secret from outsiders.

Nevertheless, Taoism, without exaggeration, can be called a genuine phenomenon of Chinese culture, because it ensured continuity between the elite wisdom of the Tao and the beliefs of the common people, the principles of internal improvement and the entire way of life of the Chinese. While serving their prayer services, the Taoists did not actually worship the spirits, but rather drew them into the boundless harmony of the Great Emptiness. At the same time, the very existence of deities, as well as the entire world of forms, which is transformed body Tao remained absolutely necessary for Taoists.




2.Philosophers of Taoism

philosophy China Taoism teaching

Probably the main feature of Taoist thought is that it is a thought, in all its manifestations, addressed to the origins of things: the origin of times hidden in the immemorial depths of history; the source of consciousness, forever eluding the light of reason, the source of all our mental movements, hidden in the bottomless thickness of life. And the Taoists are so faithful to their search for the true, absolute Source of existence that they did not even set a limit to it in the form of any metaphysical principle, prime mover, primary matter , origin, etc. After all, the source of being, if it is really real, cannot be either a chronological boundary or a given experience, nor mental abstraction for the simple reason that such a beginning introduces a limitation into the world and, in the end, itself turns out to be conditional, invented, inanimate. The thought of the Taoists is about the Beginning, which itself is without beginning; about the source, which is, rather, the free flow of life itself and which, eternally deviating from its own essence, eternally returns to itself.

Their inheritance is the thought of Tao: the Path of all paths, unchanging variability. It seems that they come into the world only to leave, and thereby return to earthly existence. Real people of antiquity did not know what it was to enjoy life and turn away from death, they were not proud of being born and did not resist leaving the world. Detachment they came, detachment they left, without searching for the beginning, without rushing in thought to the end, rejoicing in what was given to them, and selflessly returning to their nature. Their mind is immersed in oblivion, their appearance is impassive, their forehead is majestic. Cool as autumn and warm as spring, they followed the flow of the seasons in their feelings. They lived in boundless harmony with the world, and no one knew where their limit was... (Chuang Tzu , ch. Dazongshi ).

The main teacher of Taoism is Lao Tzu, the Old Child, whose name was Li Er. He born of himself , from himself he turned the whole world around, and he himself appeared to the world 72 times. But he is also a man who lived a long and inconspicuous life. Legend portrays him as the custodian of the royal archives, an older contemporary of Confucius. Lao Tzu met with the future founder of Confucianism, but reacted coolly to Confucius’s belief in the effectiveness of moral preaching, which is probably quite natural for a connoisseur of human history. Having completely lost faith in people, he mounted a buffalo and went somewhere to the West, but never returned. And as a farewell, at the request of the head of the border post through which he left China, Lao Tzu left a small book for his descendants in five thousand words . This essay, commonly referred to as Treatise on the Path and Potency (Tao Te Ching) became the main canon of Taoism.

Next to Lao Tzu in the ranks of the prophets of Tao is the philosopher Zhuang Zhou, also known as Zhuang Tzu, who was undoubtedly a real historical figure and, moreover, one of the most charming thinkers of ancient China. Zhuangzi lived in the last decades of the 4th century. BC. - the heyday of free thought and intense rivalry between various philosophical schools. Chuang Tzu was a great scholar, but he preferred to stay away from the court's scholarly debaters. For many years he held the modest position of caretaker of the plantation, and then retired and lived out the rest of his days in his native village. Before his death, he asked his students not to burden themselves with the funeral of their teacher, but to throw his body in an open field, because the whole world would become his grave. A modest, unassuming life and a far from heroic, even almost shameful death, in the eyes of Chuang Tzu himself, clearly did not detract from his true dignity. After all, a true Taoist, in the words of Lao Tzu, comes out into the light, mingling with the dust, in the bustle of everyday life he keeps the secret of eternity, in the polyphony of the Earth he comprehends the silence of Heaven.

Prophets of Tao exist in order to transform their existence into an inescapable Presence. They are as impossible as they are inevitable, like the very beginning thoughts about Tao . Their appearance is not a fact of chronology or personal fate. It marks, rather, the awakening of thought to its unthinkable source, which is the very fullness of creative life.

So, the tradition of Tao is strange, outsiders. No wonder Lao Tzu already received the nickname in ancient times dark teacher . And Chuang Tzu himself called his writings ridiculous and crazy speeches . Taoists explain themselves in paradoxes, vague maxims and extravagant parables. Some researchers are trying to discern this or that philosophical system . Others see Taoists as heirs mythopoetic thinking. Still others believe that the entire heritage is almost a deliberate hoax, hiding the true teaching of the Tao.

The true impulse of speaking about Tao is the very life of consciousness, constantly rushing beyond its own boundaries, every moment renewing its connection with the creative element of life. This consciousness is aware that it is irreducible to either experience or knowledge and therefore lives in the eternal (self) oblivion . But it itself penetrates life, creating a new, spiritualized body of the world and a new, rational nature. This consciousness coincides with the fullness of existence. It gives the highest joy of being, but it itself does not remind us of itself, just as we do not feel our own body while it is healthy and strong. Or as Chuang Tzu said, when the sandals fit, they forget about the foot.

But why exactly aphorisms? Why eccentric parables and anecdotes? For several reasons. Firstly, an aphorism, a parable or an anecdote is paradoxical in its own way, like nature the origin of things in Taoism. Secondly, these verbal genres do not establish universal abstract truths, but turn out to be true in special cases and thereby affirm the exceptional, unique qualities of life, which are precisely what we experience in the creative act. Thirdly, an aphorism or a parable successfully blurs the line between true and false, figurative and literal meanings. Thus, the speech of the Taoists, at first glance confused and shocking, turns out to be an accurate verbal copy of the Great Way as the deep rhythm of life. It is not for nothing that ancient commentators on the Taoist canons often repeated that all words come from Tao.

In essence, there is nothing arbitrary in the sayings of Taoists. They imprinted wisdom, which was the result of a long journey of self-knowledge of the spirit. We have before us the language of tradition, where not only what is smart is valued, but above all what is durable. Thinking about Tao is something you can always live with. And therefore something deeply personal. The speech of a Taoist is a series of secret insights that illuminate the path of the heart. Its true prototype is the life of the body, the world of bodily intuition. The wisdom of the Taoist is knowledge of the seeds of things and the germs of events . Lao Tzu is self-aware unborn baby . Chuang Tzu exhorts his readers to become what we were before we were born.

The books of Lao Tzu and Zhuang Tzu were originally composed of fragments in which individual insights and observations of the ascetics of Tao were recorded. The superlogical nature of Taoist wisdom reflected the detachment of Taoist schools from any public norms. The focus of the wisdom of Tao on a narrow circle of initiates and internal , inexplicably intimate understanding were also a sign of Taoism as a spiritual tradition that taught its adherents to reproduce the experience of self-knowledge, to renew the presence of the one who returns to the world when we are absent from it.

Not knowledge or even creativity, but ability live your life to the fullest constituted the goal of Taoist asceticism. With a spontaneity worthy of a great tradition, Taoism asserted that the wise man knows nothing and can do nothing, but only nourishes himself, assimilating the universal harmony of life with his whole body.

The various properties of Tao as absolute being are conveniently covered in Taoist literature by the concept emptiness (xu) or void-absent (xu wu) eternally absent (say u) . In the philosophy of Tao, emptiness acts as a prototype of the ultimate integrity and completeness of being. Emptiness is the prototype of the existential gap that reveals all forms, and the pause that forms the rhythm. Finally, emptiness is an omnipresent environment and even the driving force of transformations: emptiness, in order to be itself to the end, must itself be devastated and as a result become complete fullness.

Reality in Taoism is ultimately self-transubstantiation, in which each thing becomes what it is, reaching the limit of its existence, undergoing metamorphosis. In the event of self-transubstantiation, a person becomes truly human precisely because he finds in it his co-existence with all that exists. And the more transient and insignificant a person appears when placed before the world’s Everything, the more majestic he is in his involvement in the Unified Movement of the world, this eventfulness of all events, the universal dance of things. His self-loss is indistinguishable from self-realization.

The world, in the view of Taoists, is an abyss of mutual reflections, wonderful meetings incommensurable forces, and the principle of its existence is expressed in the image Heavenly scales , equalizing the incomparable. Reality for a Taoist is Chaos as countless orders, an endless wealth of diversity.

The Taoist sage imitates emptiness and chaos and therefore has no place in itself to be . He does not commit arbitrary actions, but only flawlessly follows every spontaneous movement. His consciousness is a mirror that contains all images, but does not hold them.

An unborn child already has complete knowledge of life. He understands before he learns to understand. The Taoist tradition requires us to recognize that any misunderstanding is actually a misunderstanding. And if, as the Taoists believe, we at any moment we already know , then to think and designate means only to draw boundaries in the vast field of eventfulness, the space of omnipresent ultimacy, to limit the limitation - to write white on white . In such a letter, everything obeys the law of economy of expression: the smaller the sphere of the presented meaning, the sphere understandable and understandable , the more space will be freed up for meaning as the openness of being, everything unknown and wonderful in life. The Taoist tradition is a school of self-restraint that serves to liberate all that exists. A real sacrament is not something deliberately hidden. It exists where the more obvious, the more hidden, the more understandable, the more incomprehensible. A sacrament is not an object positive philosophy . The Taoists did not strive to create their own system of thought . They are the masters internal work who sought in individual actions not completeness, but infinite effectiveness. However, what in nature makes all actions possible? Nothing short of peace. The Taoist practices non-action. His art of Tao as Chuang Tzu writes, above ordinary skill . Since the Taoist sage wanders with the heart at the beginning of things , he is not just a master, but always also the Lord of the world, determining the place of each thing in the world order.




3.Basic concepts of Taoism




The hieroglyph of Tao consists of two parts: show - head and zou - go , therefore the main meaning of this hieroglyph is road , but later this hieroglyph acquired a figurative meaning - path (an approach , method , pattern , principle , function , doctrine , theory , Truth , absolute ) . Logos and Brahman are often recognized as equivalents of Tao.

IN Tao Te Ching we are talking about the single origin of all things - a single substance and at the same time a world pattern - Tao.

Tao is the central philosophical concept of Taoism, and it should be noted that it can be mistakenly treated as an ordinary concept. After all, before any person hears about Tao, he has some concepts in his mind, so it seems that it costs nothing to replenish their sum with the same concept of Tao. But as the concept of Tao is a procedural category, it cannot be learned, like a physical formula or multiplication table. According to Lao Tzu, The Tao, which can be expressed in words, is not a permanent Tao... one can only enter into the Tao and master it . Lao Tzu believed that Tao is a permanent Tao, the essence of which cannot be expressed in words. It has no form, no sound, no form, and you look at him, but you don’t see him, you listen to him, but you don’t hear him, you catch him, but you can’t catch him (Tao Te Ching, Zhang 14). In a word, Tao is emptiness or nothingness (shi).

The word itself Tao is not at all the exclusive property of Taoism. It belongs to all Chinese thought, and every philosopher of ancient China saw in it the designation of truth, or, more precisely, the deepest truth and the righteous path of life. All Chinese sages are adherents of Tao. And although this concept gave the name to Taoism (Tao Jiao), there is nothing actually Taoist about it. This is one of the most important categories of all Chinese culture. Only its interpretation by Taoism is specific. If in Confucianism Tao is the path of moral improvement and governance based on ethical standards, then in Taoism Tao is cosmologized, acquiring the meaning of the highest first principle, world substance, the source of being of all things.

The Taoist lives by what is alive forever - the capital of the spirit. Taoism is, first of all, a justification of tradition. The truth of Tao is what is given before we know ourselves, and it is what will be passed on from us to future generations after we pass on.

What is this? Classics Taoist tradition gives an apparently vague, but in fact very precise answer: everything that exists by itself (zi jan), which is not generated by human reasoning and concern, which does not bear the stamp of effort, tension, violence.

The wisdom of a Taoist is not knowledge or art, but a kind of skill do not obscure the great peace of being with vain activities . Taoism thus embodies the very core of Eastern thought, which has always demanded that man achieve the fullness of his being through self-abrogation, to manifest the depth of reluctance that conceals the most spiritual desire. Therefore, Taoism is not a philosophy in the classical sense of the word, since it is not interested in definitions of concepts, logical proofs and other procedures of pure speculation. Nor is it the religion of a transcendent God who demands faith and obedience from his worshipers. Finally, it cannot be reduced to art, skill, or practice in the proper sense of the word, because the wisdom of Tao does not affirm the need to do anything. Rather, Taoism is path of integral existence , in which speculation and action, spirit and matter, consciousness and life find themselves collected in a free, boundless, chaotic unity (yi xu). Such unity, like most of the basic concepts of Taoism, is completely paradoxical, and therefore Taoist teachers fall silent when asked to explain it. As stated in Tao Te Ching , the main canon of Taoism: The one who knows does not speak, and the one who speaks does not know . And elsewhere: When short person hears about Tao, he laughs. If he didn't laugh, it wouldn't be Tao . Taoist sages do not prove or preach anything. They don't even teach any particular way of life. Their goal is to give the right life orientation, to indicate the path to the center life experience- eternally absent and omnipresent.

Not being in the strict sense, as already mentioned, either a philosophy or a religion, Taoism combines the features of both. According to the teachings of the Taoists, only the great Tao truly exists - the eternal, infinite, unthinkable, without image, taste or smell , not created by anyone, it its own trunk, its own root , embracing and containing everything that exists. Taoists call him supreme Teacher , heavenly ancestor , mother of the world or creator of things , but they do not expect him to be specifically interested in their personal fate or the fate of the Universe, because everything happens in the world by itself , every moment of time and every particle of existence is completely self-sufficient.

This means that Tao itself is not, in essence, the principle of the universe. Tao, it is stated in Taoist literature, can't even control himself , it possesses without owning . The Tao is constantly changing loses himself in the world of the finite and transitory . But there is nothing more constant than impermanence - Tao will remain in its self-transformation forever.

Hence the important place occupied in Taoism by the doctrine of cosmogenesis - the creation of all things. Taoists teach that the world arose from the primordial Chaos, which they also call the Unified Breath (yi qi), the Primordial Breath (yuan qi) or the Great Emptiness (tai xu). The creation of the world is the result of a spontaneous division of the primary integrity of Chaos. At first, Chaos, or the Single Breath, was divided into two polar principles: male, light, active - Yang and female, dark, passive - Yin; from two beginnings stood out four images , corresponding to the four cardinal directions; four images gave birth to eight limits universe, etc. This scheme is recorded in the ancient Chinese canon I Ching (Book of Changes ), containing a set of graphic symbols of the world process of Tao common to the entire Chinese tradition.

The world, according to Taoists, is transformed One , the fruit of the metamorphosis of Tao. In this regard, the Taoist tradition also spoke about the transformation of the first man, which was considered the semi-legendary founder of Taoism and the supreme deity of the Taoist religion, Lao Tzu. The world for Taoists is transformed body (xya shen) Lao Tzu. This means that there is a deep internal connection between the human heart and the body of the eternal Tao. Man and the world in Taoism are indissoluble and interchangeable.

IN Tao Te Ching talks about two aspects of Tao: the named (Tao itself) and the unnamed, generating things and nursing their. The latter is called De - Grace, the Good Power of the Path. The whole world turns out to be a manifestation, an unfolding of the Tao, a Path embodied in existence. Each thing, reaching the limit of its maturity, again returns to the depths of the First Principle of Tao. However, a person can leave this Path, retreat from it, violating the pristine simplicity of the naturalness of both his being and the entire Universe. This is manifested in a commitment to multi-knowledge and in the creation of sophisticated social institutions. That's why Tao Te Ching calls for a return to original nature, simplification and naturalness. And this call is expressed primarily in the concept inaction (wu wei). However, it does not mean inaction or passivity. Under wu wei This means the refusal to violate one’s own nature and the nature of all things, the refusal of subjective goal-setting activity that is not in accordance with nature, based solely on egoistic interest, and in general the removal of any isolating subjectivity in the name of inclusion in a single flow of being.

Lao Tzu, taking Tao as the highest category of his philosophy, considered it not only as a universal law, but also as the source of the formation of the world. Researcher A. E. Lukyanov calls Tao cosmic DNA.

Simply put, the entire external world was considered as a certain number of signs. The creator of these signs is a substance that is not comprehended by the senses and is outside of time and space. This substance is called Tao . Tao is unlimited. It exists in every moment and in every thing. Tao gave birth to Heaven and Earth, gave birth to emperors and kings, gave birth to all principles. It gave birth to itself.

Tao is characterized by aspiration and sincerity. It is in a state of inaction and without form. The Tao can be preached, but it cannot be touched. Tao can be comprehended, but it cannot be seen. The Tao is the root and foundation of oneself. It exists from eternity to Heaven and Earth from ancient times. It spiritualizes spirits and spiritualizes the ruler, gives birth to Heaven and Earth. It is above the Great Limit, but is not high; under the Six Limits, but is not deep; it is born before Heaven and Earth, but is not long-lasting; it extends from ancient times, but is not old (Tao Te Ching , Zhang 16) . Tao is what makes the darkness of things so, what makes the darkness of things formed, what determines the darkness of principles (Chuang Tzu , ch. Tian Zifan).

If such a Tao exists, then one should learn from it and honor it as a teacher. That's what it is Great revered teacher . Chuang Tzu wrote about him: Oh my teacher! You give all things their properties, but do not consider this a manifestation of justice; you provide benefits to all generations, but do not consider this a manifestation of humanity; you have existed since ancient times, but are not old; you cover the Sky and support the Earth, you outline all forms, but you do not consider this a manifestation of mastery . To learn from Tao and merge with it into one whole - this, from the point of view of Zhuang Tzu, is the meaning of human life: You can free yourself from grief, anxiety, melancholy, and even from life and death. We must throw away all differences and dissolve in the world. Tao is me, and for this reason everything that exists is me. Tao is inexhaustible and limitless, it is neither born nor dies, and therefore I am also inexhaustible and limitless, neither born nor die. Before death I exist, and after death I also exist. Will you say that I died? After all, I'm not dying. And fire does not burn me, and I do not drown in water. I turn to ashes and yet I exist. I turn into the foot of a butterfly, into the liver of a mouse, but still I exist. How free I am, how durable, how great!... All different signs are my signs, and all differences are discarded. All things with strange and unusual characteristics - everything merged together. Everything is Tao, everything is me. This means that Heaven and Earth are born with me, and all things are one . (Chuang Tzu , ch. Qiulun ) .

The person who has realized this is husband who has the Tao . Chuang Tzu states that such a person does not despise people, does not engage in self-praise, referring to his merits, does not engage in deception; having missed an opportunity, he does not repent; having an opportunity, does not lose his head; having risen to a high place, he is not afraid; falling into water, it does not get wet; having fallen into a fiery pit, he does not feel the heat... Such a person sleeps and does not dream, is not sad when waking up, eats anything and has deep breathing. Such a person does not cling to life and is not afraid of death, neither life nor death matters to him, he freely comes, freely leaves, gets something - good, loses something - is not upset.... This is... .and there is that balanced state when the spirit is not separated from the substance and everything corresponds to its nature (Chuang Tzu , ch. Dazongshi )

The leading Taoist concepts include the principles of Zi Ran (self-naturalness, spontaneity) and Wu Wei (non-action). The first of these literally means “that which in itself (zi) is what it is (zhan).” In this case, we are talking about the fact that Tao is absolutely free, does not depend on anything else and follows only its own nature. From this follows the principle of following the Tao, i.e. behavior consistent in the microcosm with the Tao (nature) of man, and in the macrocosm with the Tao of the Universe. A sage should not, based on his own subjectively limited desires and preferences, oppose the nature of the things and phenomena around him. On the contrary, he must “follow things” (shun wu). All things are equal to each other, therefore a true sage is free from partiality and bias: he looks equally at the noble and the slave, connects with eternity and the Universe and does not grieve about either life or death, understanding their naturalness and inevitability.

On the other hand, a sage can, using his understanding of the nature of a particular thing, put it at his service, as if “swimming with the flow in the right direction.” Comprehension of the nature of things and consistency with it allows “the soft to defeat the hard” and “the weak to overcome the strong.” The principles of Zi Ran and Wu Wei have become important sources of the methodological and ideological foundations of the Chinese system of psychophysical training, which is also used in martial arts.

Any action that contradicts Tao means a waste of energy and leads to failure and death. The Universe cannot be brought into order artificially - to establish harmony and order in it, it is necessary to give freedom to its innate qualities. Accordingly, a wise ruler, following the Tao, does nothing to rule the country, and then it prospers, being in peace and harmony.

Another very important concept for Taoism is the category of “qi”. By qi we mean the original primordial substance, from which everything that exists, as it were, consists. Condensing and coarsening, qi becomes a substance, and becoming refined - a spirit. In the intermediate state, qi is vital energy and force dissolved in nature and absorbed by a person through breathing. This vital force also circulates through special channels (jing) in the human body. Its accumulation and proper circulation in the body is one of the most important tasks of Taoist breathing and gymnastic exercises that underlie various systems of qi gong (working with qi).

The original qi (yuan qi) is simple and non-qualitative, but in the process of generating the Universe it is, as it were, polarized and differentiated. The two most important cosmological states of a single qi are yin and yang (yin-qi and yang-qi) - i.e. feminine, peace, cold, dark, soft, on the one hand, and masculine, movement, hot, light, hard, on the other. These two states are in absolute harmony and mutual transition. The idea of ​​harmony of these complementary and mutually rooted opposites was enshrined in Taoism in the concept of “Tai Chi” (“Great Limit”).

There is an opinion that the concept of Tao in many ways, down to minor details, resembles the Indo-Aryan concept of the great Brahman, the faceless Absolute, repeatedly recorded in the Upanishads, which created the visible phenomenal world, merging with which (escape from the phenomenal world) was the goal of ancient Indian philosophers, brahmans, hermits and ascetics. If we add to this that the highest goal of the ancient Chinese Taoist philosophers was to get away from the passions and vanity of life to the primitiveness of the past, to simplicity and naturalness, that it was among the Taoists that there were the first ascetic hermits in Ancient China, whose asceticism he himself spoke with respect Confucius, the similarity will seem even more obvious and mysterious.




Conclusion




China is home to one of the oldest and most complex civilizations in the world. Its history goes back about 5 thousand years. But time continues to change space, customs, cultures, religions.

Modern China is a country of enormous economic potential. The past two decades have greatly changed the traditional life of the Chinese. We are witnessing the rapid development of the space and nuclear industries, petrochemicals and electronics, intensive construction, rapid economic recovery and growth in prosperity. The respectful attitude of the Chinese towards their culture is surprising. When allowing any innovation into mass consumption, they always evaluate how the life of the population will improve and how this will affect centuries-old traditions. And in the traditions of the Celestial Empire - to find harmony with the world, spend time in conversations and meditations, improve in the practices of various teachers and masters. After all, they not only develop themselves, but also export their culture to other countries.

The legends and myths of China are full of amazing stories about people who achieved immortality as a result of self-improvement according to Taoist practices. The "Eight Immortal Saints" (Ba Xian) described in ancient Chinese texts, belonging to the Taoist pantheon, were real individuals. Each of them has their own story and their own path to immortality. Having become saints, they were freed from worldly feelings and passions, received eternal life and now live according to heavenly laws. Here are their names.

Zhong Liquan, the head of the Eight Immortals, possessed the secret of making the elixir of life and the powder of reincarnation.

Li Tieguai is considered the patron saint of magicians, wizards, and sorcerers.

Zhang Guolao - of all the eight immortals, he is the oldest in years and the most prudent. He lived as a hermit in the mountains and wandered all his life. He always rode a donkey backwards, traveling several tens of thousands of miles a day. When the immortal stopped anywhere, he folded the donkey as if it were cut out of paper and placed it in a bamboo vessel. And when it was necessary to go further, he splashed water from his mouth onto the folded figure, and the donkey came to life again. Zhang Guolao patronized marital happiness and the birth of children.

Lan Caihe - this immortal is considered the patron saint of musicians and is depicted with a flute in his hands.

Cao Guojiu is known as a member of the ruling clan during the Song Dynasty. Depicted with castanets and a jade tablet giving the right to enter the imperial court. Patron of actors and mimes.

Since childhood, Lu Dongbin was developed beyond his years and could memorize up to ten thousand words daily.

He Xiangu is the only woman among the eight. Also in early childhood She met Lü Dongbin, who, foreseeing the girl's future, gave her the peach of immortality. She ate only half of it and since then has had almost no need for earthly food. In the drawings, He Xiangu is depicted in an unusual way beautiful girl with a lotus flower in one hand, and in the other she holds a wide wicker basket, sometimes filled with flowers. He Xiangu patronized households and predicted people's fortunes.

Han Xiangzi was the nephew of the famous Han Yu, a scientist and minister who lived during the Tang Dynasty.

The sacred Chinese mountains have always been considered the gateway to the world of blessed celestials. In Taoist traditions, mountains are viewed not only as a connection with heaven or with celestial beings, but as living beings that not only form knowledge, create and generate energy, but also represent certain stages of knowledge and perform specific tasks. For example, Taishan, or Jade Mountain, provides an understanding of the entire structure of development, transformation, crystallization and energy generation, which a person can cognize by transforming this energy 9 times.

The most valuable thing is the art of learning. Everything else is just a consequence. The process of building up or acquiring new qualities requires constant replenishment of one’s own resources, permanent job above oneself. Therefore, the secrets of Taoist practices are revealed only to those who are determined.

Taoism is not for lazy people, but for people who are ready for action. He allows mistakes, branches, even unnecessary directions, but does not accept inaction until the moment when action becomes natural, natural and then it is considered as inaction. But this is inaction in relation to an action that was not necessary, but in reality creates a build-up, an algorithm, a progression... I.e. there is no goal here, no desire to achieve anything other than relying on one thing, which gives rise to the second. Continuous process of action.

It’s hard to call Taoists lazy when, having overcome more than 7,200 steps, they rise to a height of 1,545 m. Mount Taishan, located in Shandong province, is traditionally considered the habitat of Taoist saints and immortals. Not only is it one of the Five Sacred Mountains of Taoism, but it has great cultural and historical significance both for China and for the whole world - the mountain is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. At least once in their life, every Chinese should climb this mountain, preferably on foot, although nowadays there is also a lift.

Steep stone steps, intense humidity and heat, a staircase leading into the clouds, as if to the origins of all times and beginnings - this is the path for those who are not satisfied with the conventions of civilizations and morality, who are looking for the truly great and eternal, to contain the whole world and touch the origins of everything that happens.

The civilization of old China is already a thing of the past. But her wisdom, which has absorbed the experience of spiritual quest and asceticism of hundreds of generations, has not died and cannot die. Taoism, as a part and perhaps the most important part of this wisdom, has not lost its vitality today. The precepts of the ancient Taoists are addressed to everyone who wants to understand the mystery of the origins of everything that happens, who is not satisfied with the conventions of civilizations, morality, and ideologies, but is looking for the truly great and eternal, who has the courage to abandon petty acquisitions in order to embrace the whole world.




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