Daoism is to let;
Our noses to smell,
Our eyes to see what they want,
Our mouths to say anything they wish say,
Our body to have the confort which it needs,
And our minds to think freely.
For instance,if ears want to hear a good music,to prevent them from hearing it is to restrict auditory sense according to Daoism.
The biggest objective of Daoism is to reach at immortality.But immortality does not mean dying in Daoism,because we believe as Daoists that everything starts with birth and finishes with death.In this concept,immortality is synonymous with illumination,it is gaining a body who changed spiritually in a form like ground and sky which will live forever.
Barlas Benkli
10/10/2010
Our guide: Tao Te Ching
Written by our spiritual guide Laozi in 600 bc, Tao Te Ching consists of 81 chapters about essential themes in tao philosophy. Actually, it is written in two parts: First one entitled tao ching and second part te ching. Meaning of the title enlights the context sufficiently. Tao means the path, the way. Te means the strength and also the virtue. Ching signifies the scripture. So it's the guide which shows us the path and teaches us how to be virtuous. Since it was written in ancient Chinese, and a symbol in that alphabet refers to many notions, There are various translations of this book. Even if the meaning changes from person to person it has its effect on everyones life perspective.
By the theme Duality (subject of the second chapter), we get an other comprehension of life, it exists through opposite notions, the reflection appears there. Thanks to this perspective we understand the nature, and analyze it.
The essence of tao philosophy -the force behind the nature- is also defined in this book as Unnamed. İn this definition, the duality is used, it is defined by the non possessed properties, and by that contrast, the notion can be understood more clearly.
-14-
Çağla YASA
Source:
1. The Tao Te Ching-Translation by Tolbert McCarroll
By the theme Duality (subject of the second chapter), we get an other comprehension of life, it exists through opposite notions, the reflection appears there. Thanks to this perspective we understand the nature, and analyze it.
-2-
All under heaven see beauty as beauty only because they also see ugliness.
All announce that good is good only because they also denounce what is bad.
Therefore, something and nothing give birth to one another.
Difficult and easy complete one another.
Long and short fashion one another.
High and low arise from one another.
Notes and tones harmonise with one another.
Front and back follow one another.
Thus, the True Person acts without striving and teaches without words.
Deny nothing to the ten thousand things.
Nourish them without claiming authority,
Benefit them without demanding gratitude,
Do the work, then move on.
And, the fruits of your labour will last forever.The essence of tao philosophy -the force behind the nature- is also defined in this book as Unnamed. İn this definition, the duality is used, it is defined by the non possessed properties, and by that contrast, the notion can be understood more clearly.
-14-
Look at it, you cannot see it. It is invisible.
Listen to it, you cannot hear it. It is inaudible.
Reach for it, you cannot grasp it. It is intangible.
These three qualities are unfathomable
and so they fuse together and become one.
The upper part is not bright.
The lower part is not dark.
Ceaselessly the Unnamed moves back to nothingness.
It has the form of the formless,
the image of the imageless.
It is indefinable and shadowy.
Go up to it and you will not see its front.
Follow it and you will not see its back.
Yet, hold fast to this ancient Tao
and you will experience the present now-moment.
Know its beginnings and you can follow the path of the Tao.Çağla YASA
Source:
1. The Tao Te Ching-Translation by Tolbert McCarroll
Just do your job, then let go!!
Harmony... A very simple, well-known common goal to achieve... You might consider me/us, the Daoists, as believers against everything even harmony. However, as a matter of fact we are sharing the same house, even if our paths to way back home are different.
Every single day of our lives, people are whining about the problems that they face; the unsuccessful, "bad", inoperative government; the flaws in our law codes, even the constitution etc. We have a simple solution, a simple repressive prevention to cover all these PROBLEMS!
As discussed in the passage "Dao De Jing" which is attributed to Laozi,
Therefore the Master says:
I let go of the law,
and people become honest.
I let go of economics,
and people become prosperous.
I let go of religion,
and people become serene.
I let go of all desire for the common good,
and the good becomes common as grass.
************************************************
Free from desire, you realize the mystery
Caught in desire, you see only the manifestations
So... The only way to unsee the manifestations of the parlament, of the government, of the PEOPLE, you should and even must be far distant from your desires. It is not that hard, since there's many of us.
I said "bad". Bad exist because we created the "good". We named it as good / bad. Contradictions define each other.
Long and short define each other.
Difficult and easy support each other.
High and low depend on each other.
Before and after follow each other.
STOP THINKING AND JUST END YOUR PROBLEMS!!
What difference does it make if you refuse someone or some idea? Nothing, you feel free.
What differs between yes and no? These are the concepts, the answers that YOU create in your mind. These depend on YOUR feelings, YOUR emotions, YOUR thoughts. Everything depends and influence only you... So why on earth should you choose what others choose, say what others say, and value what others value?
For every force, there is a counterforce.
Peace... The highest and the most precious value in the earth, right? But it is just so hard to be found in these days... All of us, no matter what religious belief that we connect ourselves, dream how great it would be if there was peace.
Our Master has a way, to solve this situation;
Close your mouth,
block off your senses,
blunt your sharpness,
untie your knots,
soften your glare,
settle your dust.
Doesn't it make sense?
The peace has not brought yet. Why? Because of all the lies that politicians pledge, all the contradictions that we face, all the immorality...We-the Daoists believe :
Stop trying to control.
Let go of fixed plans and concepts
and the world will govern itself.
The more prohibitions you have,
the less virtuous people will be.
The more weapons you have,
the less secure people will be.
The more subsidies you have,
the less self-reliant people will be.
People are the underlying reason why peace is far away. Desire, over-esteem, self-reliance, security, morality, virtue, grace, darkness... All these facts are because of you, because you named & you created them. However, what can you do if naming is the origin of all particular things :) These feelings, these terms are the reason why you cannot have what you want ! People just CANNOT learn or even understand how to live in harmony, can they !
HUMAN STRIVING HAD BROUGHT THE WORLD TO A STATE OF CHAOS!
ECE AKTAŞ
Every single day of our lives, people are whining about the problems that they face; the unsuccessful, "bad", inoperative government; the flaws in our law codes, even the constitution etc. We have a simple solution, a simple repressive prevention to cover all these PROBLEMS!
As discussed in the passage "Dao De Jing" which is attributed to Laozi,
Therefore the Master says:
I let go of the law,
and people become honest.
I let go of economics,
and people become prosperous.
I let go of religion,
and people become serene.
I let go of all desire for the common good,
and the good becomes common as grass.
************************************************
Free from desire, you realize the mystery
Caught in desire, you see only the manifestations
So... The only way to unsee the manifestations of the parlament, of the government, of the PEOPLE, you should and even must be far distant from your desires. It is not that hard, since there's many of us.
I said "bad". Bad exist because we created the "good". We named it as good / bad. Contradictions define each other.
Long and short define each other.
Difficult and easy support each other.
High and low depend on each other.
Before and after follow each other.
STOP THINKING AND JUST END YOUR PROBLEMS!!
What difference does it make if you refuse someone or some idea? Nothing, you feel free.
What differs between yes and no? These are the concepts, the answers that YOU create in your mind. These depend on YOUR feelings, YOUR emotions, YOUR thoughts. Everything depends and influence only you... So why on earth should you choose what others choose, say what others say, and value what others value?
For every force, there is a counterforce.
Peace... The highest and the most precious value in the earth, right? But it is just so hard to be found in these days... All of us, no matter what religious belief that we connect ourselves, dream how great it would be if there was peace.
Our Master has a way, to solve this situation;
Close your mouth,
block off your senses,
blunt your sharpness,
untie your knots,
soften your glare,
settle your dust.
Doesn't it make sense?
The peace has not brought yet. Why? Because of all the lies that politicians pledge, all the contradictions that we face, all the immorality...We-the Daoists believe :
Stop trying to control.
Let go of fixed plans and concepts
and the world will govern itself.
The more prohibitions you have,
the less virtuous people will be.
The more weapons you have,
the less secure people will be.
The more subsidies you have,
the less self-reliant people will be.
People are the underlying reason why peace is far away. Desire, over-esteem, self-reliance, security, morality, virtue, grace, darkness... All these facts are because of you, because you named & you created them. However, what can you do if naming is the origin of all particular things :) These feelings, these terms are the reason why you cannot have what you want ! People just CANNOT learn or even understand how to live in harmony, can they !
HUMAN STRIVING HAD BROUGHT THE WORLD TO A STATE OF CHAOS!
Simply,
the less government, the better; the less ambition the less problems; the less interference to the natural principles the happier you get ! ECE AKTAŞ
Live and let live
For us, Daoists, living in harmony with nature in a forest or small village is best. It is not true that people are saying “naturalists” about Daoists. It is not the truth. We try to think about nature to make our society happy it is the difference between Daoists and naturalists. Lao Tzu claims that,” Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them - that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.”The point is they care about nature but we care about humanity and our society’s happiness. The Dao is impersonal, an invisible way that the universe follows, a harmony of tensions between opposites. Dao is a natural force that makes the universe the way it is as its meaning “way” or “path” in English. We look for our ways and paths to find the true love and happiness with our people as Lao Tzu says,” Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.” Humans can seek Dao, but Dao does not reveal itself. Our understanding of Daoism is minimal. An entire new world remains to be discovered. Priceless tools for improving life can be available to modern audiences once translated into Western languages. Traditional Daoist texts are an invaluable treasure that should be shared widely to address the ills and concerns of modern life.
Batuhan Giray
As A Daoist
As we are Daoists, our founder who lived in the 6th century B.C. is Lao-Tzu. Lao-Tzu is source of everything. According to Lao-Tzu, Dao does not need anything. We believe that Daoism depends on being natural, Dao is not named, is not seen, is not heard and does not have any shape. Also we believe that if Dao which is our "way"controls somewhere, peace is also there, that is why we do not like wars and weapons, if we use weapons, we do that undesirable. We support that infinite individualism. We believe afterlife, and immortality. We do favor without getting benefit, it is our basic unit. Dao teaches us three main points to have better life.
- Live simple, and be scrape.
- Be lowly, and stay away to be pride and conceit.
- Be gracious to the all living things.
- Live simple, and be scrape.
- Be lowly, and stay away to be pride and conceit.
- Be gracious to the all living things.
EZGI YEGEK
AFTERLIFE
We never have a fear of death or a desire to be dead because we believe that afterlife is within the real life. Dao who is the mother, is the source of everything. Dao is the ultimate reality which was there before the universe and it still exists. Our common aim is to reach Dao, and the only way to reach Dao Is by sacrificing some feelings such as desire, ambition, fame and selfishness. Actually we want to be immortal; if reach the Dao, the deeper life, we can be immortal.
When you die, you still live, in the memories of others.
When you die, your essence reincarnates into a new form.
When you die, you bounce back into your own life and have the opportunity to experience another variation of your life.
When you die, you rejoin the universe and are one with God if you believe in God.
When you die, you discover the many truths that exist.
When you die, you still live, in the memories of others.
When you die, your essence reincarnates into a new form.
When you die, you bounce back into your own life and have the opportunity to experience another variation of your life.
When you die, you rejoin the universe and are one with God if you believe in God.
When you die, you discover the many truths that exist.
To sum up, when we die we will be immortal because we will continue our existence but in a different way.
ASENA MELİSSA BEKTAŞ
Laozi
Daoists like us, have some principles like naturalness, vitality, peace, emptiness or the relativism of human ways of life. Daoism can provide these kinds of principles for us. Because of this, we believe the founder of Daoism, Laozi who was known as the first philosopher of Chinese Daoism. Laozi is a central figure in Daoism and according to Chinese tradition, Laozi lived in the 6th century BC. The name "Laozi" consists of meanings,too. For instance, 'Lao' means old in China and 'Zi' means a master. Why we call him as 'Laozi'? There is a reason, of course. Some legends say that he was born with white hair, having spent eight years in his mother's womb, which is given an explanation for his name. It can be read as "the old master" and "the old child". Little is known about Laozi's life but he has become an important culture hero for Chinese people. Laoizi is a major figure in Chinese philosophy and he always remains as important.
Fatma Selin Sever
Examples for Yin Yang symbol
Yin is characterized as slow, soft, yielding, diffuse, cold, wet, happy, pure, and is associated with water, earth, the moon, femininity, and night time.
Yang, by contrast to Yin, is fast, hard, solid, focused, hot, dry, sad, aggressive, and is associated with fire, sky, the sun, masculinity, and day time.
A modern example:
Yin: the traffic light on the road (the stillness)
Yang: the traffic that flows past that traffic light (activity)
Some Chinese, Korean and Japanese place names that still exist are named in the following principle:
Yin: the shady north side of the mountain, the south side of the river
Yang: the sunny south side of the mountain, the north side of the river
Canan AKTAŞ
Yang, by contrast to Yin, is fast, hard, solid, focused, hot, dry, sad, aggressive, and is associated with fire, sky, the sun, masculinity, and day time.
A modern example:
Yin: the traffic light on the road (the stillness)
Yang: the traffic that flows past that traffic light (activity)
Some Chinese, Korean and Japanese place names that still exist are named in the following principle:
Yin: the shady north side of the mountain, the south side of the river
Yang: the sunny south side of the mountain, the north side of the river
The Yin Yang symbol
This is a well known Taoist / Daoist symbol. "It represents the balance of opposites in the universe. When they are equally present, all is calm. When one is outweighed by the other, there is confusion and disarray." 1
A source explains that it was derived from astronomical observations which recorded the shadow of the sun throughout a full year. 3
The two swirling shapes inside the symbol give the impression of change -- the only constant factor in the universe. One tradition states that Yin (the dark side) represents the breath that formed the earth. Yang (the light side) symbolizes the breath that formed the heavens.
A source states: "The most traditional view is that "yin"represents aspects of the feminine: being soft, cool, calm, introspective, and healing... and "yang" the masculine: being hard, hot, energetic, moving, and sometimes aggressive. Another view has the 'yin' representing night and 'yang' day. "3
Another source offers a different definition: A common misconception in the west is that "...yin is soft and passive and yang is hard and energetic. Really it is yang that is soft and yin that is hard, this is because yang is energetic and yin is passive. Yin is like a rock and yang is like water or air, rock is heavy and hard and air is soft and energetic." 4
Allan Watts, describes the yin and yang as negative and positive energy poles: "The ideograms indicate the sunny and shady sides of a hill....They are associated with the masculine and the feminine, the firm and the yielding, the strong and the weak, the light and the dark, the rising and the falling, heaven and earth, and they are even recognized in such everyday matters as cooking as the spicy and the bland." 5,6
However, since nothing in nature is pure black or purely white, the symbol includes a small black spot in the white swirl, and a corresponding white spot in the black swirl.
Ultimately, the 'yin' and 'yang' can symbolize any two polarized forces in nature. I and the other Taoists believe that humans often intervene in nature and upset the balance of Yin and Yang.
Source: http://www.religioustolerance.org/taoism2.htm
- "Taoism," at: http://ssd1.cas.pacificu.edu/
- Arthur P. Wolf, "Gods, Ghosts, and Ancestors," Pages 131-182; as quoted in Judith A. Berling, "Taoism, or the Way," at: http://www.askasia.org/
- "Where does the Yin Yang Symbol come from?" Chinese Fortune Calendar, at: http://www.chinesefortunecalendar.com/
- From a personal Email to ReligiousTolerance.org
- Alan Watts, "Tao - The Watercourse-Way", Pantheon Books, (1975), Page 21.
- "Tao te Ching, "The Nature of Polarity by Alan Watts," DivineTao.com, at: http://divinetao.com/
- "The Ying Yang symbol: What does it mean?" at: http://www.mvkarate.com/
Canan AKTAŞ
A Glance to Daoism
We, as daoists, try to live in harmony with nature, by understanding its ways. All that we aim to do is to live as simple as we can. This is our "dao" and we know that this will lead us to order. Ambitions are like the big rocks on our "way". Thus, we need to leave them aside. No politics should we focus on. Instead, we should retreat from any kind of administration and live in small communities without the worry of conquering or being conquered. This is the path that we should take, as our ancestors explained in Dao de Jing and Zhuangzi, because that's what nature does. In order to achieve it, the introspection- a window to our inner thoughts, ambitions, and denouncing of those ambitions- is necessary.
Activism is not accepted. We should take no action so an action can occur. Wuwei is our principle and like the water, we should be soft and weak yet can make a big change.
As the sage Laozi said, "The soft overcomes the hard; the weak overcomes the strong."
This is our path. This is our "dao".
Ece MERAM
Activism is not accepted. We should take no action so an action can occur. Wuwei is our principle and like the water, we should be soft and weak yet can make a big change.
As the sage Laozi said, "The soft overcomes the hard; the weak overcomes the strong."
This is our path. This is our "dao".
Ece MERAM
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