What is Taoism

There are several kinds of Taoism. One, the most known, is the religious branch. It has gods, and rituals like any other religious movement. There are also many mystical schools that follow esoteric disciplines in search of longevity and immortality, most of them dealing with alchemy recipes and philosophy.

Also there is a branch called tao-chia - the school of tao or of unity with the tao - which has as its initiators the most famous Taoist masters such as Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu.

Lao-tzu (the wise old man) is the father of Taoism.

Tao-chia is a way of life. Pointing to this kind of Taoism, Alan Watts, perhaps the most important western author who studied Taoism, says:

Taoism [is] the way of man's cooperation with the course or trend of the natural world, whose principles we discover in the flow patterns of water, gas, an fire, which are subsequently memorialized or sculptured in those of stone and wood, and, later, in many forms of human art.

In short, Taoism is a way of life which tries to accommodate the tendencies of nature, but it is not restricted to this alone. This approach is not a pure return to Mother Nature, so familiar to the today New Age ideology. Rather it is a life philosophy and wisdom acquired by simply observing the flow of natural events. 

• Taoism sources

Chunag-tzu, the famous Lao-tzu's disciple, did a great deal for the development of Taoism

We know what Taoism is and its basic concepts from its sources, that is, the ancient works of the Taoist masters like the Tao-te ching, Chuang-tzu and Lieh-tzu.

We may add to these the I-ching, also known as the Book of Changes, a mysterious toll of predicting future events.

All the Taoist books have some common features, that is, they present a similar wisdom concerning the Tao and concepts like yin-yang, emptiness and nondoing.

• Is Taoism actual?

Can we follow this way of life even today? The answer is yes, Taoism is actual and may be followed by modern disciples as well! And what is worth, it is not necessary to retreat from the turmoil of your life to follow the Taoist way. The Taoist spiritual journey starts for each of us here and now by trying to accommodate the natural trends. One may take the first step right now!

And lastly, what is the benefit of living like a Taoist ? The Taoist adept follows the Tao and finds the unity with everything in the Universe. He/she is able to understand the momentary trends and to walk along with the flow of events. He/she may achieve anything not by force but through flair and empty mind.

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