Tao

Introduction The Daodejing or the Tao Te Ching, the work of the ancient Chinese sage Lao Tzu or Laozi dates back to the late 6th century BC according to some counts and to the late 4th century BC according to others. We can thus safely say that this “Book of the Way” was written in a period well before our times. However, when one reads the interpretations of this book by John Heider and other modern translators, one finds that the teachings are as relevant today as they were then, or, to be…

People often say that money is the root of all evil. Well, that’s not true. In reality, the greed and want for money is the root of evil. In the play A Raisin in the Sun, one character in particular, Willy Harris, who is never actually seen, but rather mentioned, makes this very evident as he takes money from two of his friends for his own personal gain. Taking in the financial situation of the family at the beginning of the play, one can only imagine how hard it would be for them to lose any…

“There is no calamity greater than lavish desires. There is no greater guilt than discontent. And there is no greater disaster than greed.” These words spoken by Chinese Philosopher Lao Tzu accurately portray the destructive nature of the greed and the misfortune that it brings. Greed is a common theme that is woven throughout literature and frequently contributes to the down fall of a character and those in close proximity. Despite the fatality of “dragon-sickness”, there are occasions where a…

Greed has been a vital harm, spread across the nation, for hundreds of years. Money is the main cause for greed, it is the root of all evil. As long as there is money involved, a persons mind will go blank and al that they will think about is money. Money has been a huge problem in the world for years, people think that if you have money then that makes you happy, but all it does is make you depressed. In The Devil and Tom Walker, Washington Irving uses characterization to reveal how Tom is…

The Taijitu symbol, more commonly known as “yin and yang” represents more than meets the eye. The symbol was partially derived from an ancient manual known as the I-Ching, or Book of Changes (Issitt and Main 251). Like many other symbols, this one was created by combining other symbols together to make a more present and relatable symbol. This symbol represents opposite forces and how they work together in the world. The “Yin and Yang” are a way for citizens to explain nature and how it balances…

Le Guin’s Application of Western Culture in the Dao de Jing As an American woman who writes science-fiction, Ursula K. Le Guin differs greatly from the original audience of the Dao de Jing. The Dao de Jing was written in ancient China during the Warring States period from 475–221 B.C.E (Bokenkamp, 2015). Lao-Tzu, the accredited mystical author of the text, sensed the impending downfall of the kingdom of Chu. Before Chu’s collapse in 221 B.C.E., Lao-Tzu had written the Dao de Jing at the request…

1) In his essay “The Parallels and Differences Between the Birth Story of Lord Lao and Jesus,” Bidlack compares the similarities between Jesus and Laozi and why they are significant. Bidlack starts his essay by providing some background information about Laozi before discussing the similarities between the birth stories of him and Jesus. Laozi was a philosopher of ancient China and the founder of Daoism. As time went on he became looked as a deity and became known as Lord Lao. There are many…

Expectations of Physical Transformation in Declarations of the Perfected In something as fickle as religion it is often one person or one text that can affect a great change. In Daoism in the years 363-370, the change came from Southern China in the form of Yang Xi a Daoist medium in a time where the prominent Celestial Master Daoism had been criticized as having lost its way and used his writing skills to breath new life into it by telling of visits from deities of an upper heaven not yet…

Daoism also known as Taoism is a religion-philosophical tradition and culture which bring an enormous influence to all over the world. Daoism was originally found in the Daodejing which was written by the first philosopher of Chinese Laozi, (Chinese name “Mater Lao” or Old Master) which gave explanation as to the reason of why the central writing of Daodejing was in Chinese.Laozi was well-known as a philosopher and he was worshipped by many Chinese as an imperial ancestor during the period of…

Moreover, since The Tao can be contradicting, it has a relationship with non-presence which is known as “Wu” and presence known as “You”. While these two terms counter one formed. Tzu expands upon the important relationship between the two terms in chapter 11. He uses an analogy to show how one cannot exist without the other. One analogy in the poem is, “Clay is molded to make a pot, but it is in the space where there is nothing that the usefulness of the clay pot lies” (70). Tao is born form…