Tao

I like to think of the I-Kuan-Tao Zhong Shu Temple as my second home. I find that the Temple is a magical place, no matter where it is, Taiwan, San Francisco, Honolulu, or Michigan, they all share the same atmosphere. It is a mixture of warmth, love, care, and security. I am always greeted by warm smiles as I enter the Temple, community members will ask me how I have been and how school is going lately. And even though my usual answer to anyone else is simply a “good,” I know that at the Temple,…

certain values, there are members of society that follow the societal rules and those that are overcome by emotion who cannot see the rules’ necessity to society. The Bhagavad-Gita has In this paper, I will argue how in order to overcome desire in the Tao Te Ching and The Bhagavad-Gita, one must understand the negative effects that desire and greed have on society and the Way. In the society of The Bhagavad Gita, everything is done with a purpose and a reason because each person’s actions make a…

that there are no real deities in Taoism. How was Taoism, or Daoism, shaped and influenced by Chinese culture to evolve into a religion that lacks prominent deities. I plan to explore how the teachings of the Dao De Jin, or Tao Te Ching, present the central entity in Taoism, the Tao, or Dao. I will also present how Daoism has formed and prospered in Chinese civilization, and how both Confucianism and Buddhism have influenced Daoism. According to Littlejohn Daoism is commonly acknowledged as…

In ten minutes, what can you actually do? Actually very little, but when multiplied day by day, the significance of these ten minutes suddenly grows, becoming very influential. Entering the meditations, I was unsure of where my inner thoughts would take me. Reflecting now, it seems that I have actually traveled quite far. After ten days of meditating for ten uninterrupted minutes, I have begun to anticipate my departure from the rest of the world, finding solace in my own monologue. This retreat…

Taoism is believed to be China oldest philosophy and religion. The founder of Taoism and the author of Tao-Te -Ching (Book of way) Leo-Tzu was born 601 B.C. in Henan during the Zhou Dynasty. There is much speculation whether Leo-Tzu was an actual person or a combination of different philosophers it will forever be a mystery. The legend surrounding his birth goes: a woman leaned against a plum tree and give birth to a child that had been conceived six-two years before. His mother had admired a…

Reflections in Light The Coinherence of Opposites from the Tao Te Ching describes the balances between opposites in life through the Daoist (Taoist) religion. In the passage, Laozi begins on explaining that when something exists, it will always have an opposite (e.g. when people see some things as beautiful, other things become ugly). In the text, Laozi informs the reader that these things are not just opposite, but they are connected and they work together in some manner, meaning without one,…

Throughout the course, there were significant amounts of arts that we observed and the fact we have to choose a top four is just inconceivable. Even though it was difficult finding my four choices, I was able to narrow them down in terms of significance and purpose. My four works of art that I will be discussing about are Mona Lisa (painting), The Colosseum (architecture), Everyman (theater), and Dao De Jing (philosophy). The Mona Lisa, obviously, was created by Leonardo Da Vinci between the…

Daodejing by Lao Tzu is the classical Chinese philosophy literature which presented a way of life that intended to restore the harmony and tranquility to a kingdom racked by widespread disorders. This way of thinking was critical of the uncontrolled careless, and dangerousness for rulers to seeking their self and was hateful of social activism based on the type of abstract moralism and mechanical propriety behavior of Confucian ethics. In chapter 72 of Daodejing, Lao Tzu expresses his views on…

Jennings paints the picture of religion without judgment, in which we can all acknowledge that there doesn’t have to be just one way to love God, but many. The first verse says, “Oh Jesus, I love You, and I love Buddha too, Ramakrishna, Guru Dev, Tao Te Ching and Mohammed”. Religion is a complex entity but it’s one that spends a great deal of time discussing love. Love for your lord and savior, love for your fellow people, love for the world around you; it’s all about love. Why spend time…

Throughout history people have had their own perspective about government and how much power it should hold. While some people believe in the saying “power to the people” and that government should play little to no role in the lives of society other’s believe all the power should be given to one specific person like a dictator. With these different beliefs, there is also those people who stand in the middle agreeing that the government should play big roles in society but the people should have…