Taoism
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- Taoism was founded in the 2nd Century AD in China. There is no exact founder but the Taoist worship
Lao-tzu, the founder of the early Qin Taoism School and the idea of the Way (Tao), as the forefather.
Taoism was formed from the ideas and teachings of Huang-Lao and Lao-tzu and the first Taoist were the followers of the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-24 AD).
After gaining much support from the emperors of the Tang(618-907) and Song(960-1279) dynasties,
Taoism became the second most important religion in China.
Taoism is more of a philosophy but it is still considered a religion. so
Taoist worship everything in nature along with many gods. There are three supreme gods and they are as follows: the God of the Primal Origin, the God of the Sacred Jewel, and the God of the Way of Power(Lao-tzu). The gods act as administrators and control everything in the universe.
Taoism was created so the Taoist could be reunited with the Tao by following these six steps:
1.Understand the Tao
2. Have a laissez-faire attitude
3. Model your life after the Tao
4.Put emphasis on the Tao's reverse transformation (destructive to creative)
5.Focus on simplicity and originality
6.Search for intuitive awareness and insight
Taoism is closely related to Confucianism because Lao-tzu and Confucius had a meeting that inspired
Lao-tzu to write The Book of the Way of Power, which is the basis of Taoism.
One of the symbols of Taoism is the Yin and Yang. The Yin represents the dark side or the female. It is said that the cool breath of the YIN made water, which is also a reference to the moon. The Yang represents
the sunny or male side. It is said that the warm breath of the Yang made fire, which is also a reference to the sun.
Currently there are over 1,600 Taoist temples in China with 2,500 priests and nuns. It has spread to the countries of Vietnam, Japan, and Korea.