TRAD101 Languages & Cultures of East Asia Daoism/Taoism II: Basic Conceptions & Influence Peng
Basic Concepts 5. Works without working 无为 6. Refusal to be foremost of all things under heaven / stay backward 不为天下先 / 处后 7. Purity & Tranquility 清静 8. Stay in the low position 居下 9. Gentleness 柔弱
5. Works without working the way that Taoists practice 无为 (wu wei) the essence of Tao: in the art of wu wei, action through inaction. sit on your ass & wait for everything to fall into your lap = a practice of minimal (violent) action Be still like a mountain & flow like a great river. He who conquers others is strong; He who conquers himself is mighty.
5. Works without working 无为 (wu wei) Be still like a mountain & flow like a great river. He who conquers others is strong; He who conquers himself is mighty.
6. Refusal to be foremost of all things under heaven / stay backward Reject all forms of self-assertiveness & competition He who stands on tip-toe, does not stand form; he who takes the longest strides, does not walk the fastest. He who does his own looking sees little, he who defines himself is not therefore distinct. He who boasts of what he will do succeeds in nothing; he who is proud of his work, achieves nothing that endures. --- Chapter 24
7. Purity & Tranquility To be a Taoist, one must have a quiet & peaceful heart. Quietness is lord and master of activity if he is active, the lord and master is lost. --- Chapter 26 Only in purity & tranquility can one find the origin of the universe --- the Tao. One gets nowhere in agitation, impetuosity or anxiety.
7. Purity & Tranquility The five colors[1] confuse the eye, the five sounds[2] dull the ear, the five tastes[3] spoil the palate. Excess of hunting and chasing makes minds go mad. Products that are hard to get impede their owner s movements. --- Chapter 12 [1] It traditionally means black, red, yellow, blue and white, representing all colors under heaven. [2] It traditionally means Gong, Shan, Jiao, Zhi and Yu, representing all sounds under heaven. [3] It traditionally means acid, sweet, bitter, spicy and salty, representing all tastes under heaven.
8. Stay in the low position -- humbleness In order to be simple & quiet, one should be willing to stay in the low position & be tolerant. The female by quiescence conquers the male; by quiescence gets underneath ---Chapter 61
8. Stay in the low position -- humbleness the wisdom of water The highest good is like that of water. The goodness of water is that it benefits the ten thousand creatures; yet itself does not scramble, but is content with the places that all men disdain. It is this that makes water so near to the Tao. ---Chapter 8
8. Stay in the low position -- humbleness Willingness to stay in a humble & even humiliating status How did the great rivers and seas get their kingship over the hundred lesser streams? Through the merit of being lower than they; that was how they got their kingship. Therefore the Sage in order to be above the people must speak as though he were lower than the people. In order to guide them he must put himself behind them. ---Chapter 49
9. Gentleness / Softness Nothing under heaven is softer or more yielding than water; but when it attacks things hard and resistant there is not one of them that can prevail. For they can find no way of altering it. That the yielding conquers the resistant and the soft conquers the hard is a fact known by all men, yet utilized by none. ---Chapter 78
9. Gentleness / Softness The Great Tao is all-powerful, yet its power is achieved by the unrivaled softness and weakness. When he is born, man is soft and weak; in death he becomes stiff and hard. The ten thousand creatures and all plants and tress while they are alive are supple and soft, but when they are dead they become brittle and dry. Truly, what is stiff and hard is a companion of death ; what is soft and weak is a companion of life.[1] Therefore the weapon that is too hard[2] will be broken, the tree that has the hardest wood will be cut down. Truly, the hard and mighty are cast down; the soft and weak set on high. --- Chapter 76
The influence of Taoism Chinese Kung Fu Tai Ji Demonstration