Today in class, we were introduced to Taoism. For an overall introduction, we watched a video about the different backgrounds of the diverse Asian-American community. The video portrayed certain customs of immigrants from different Asian countries. We learned about some interesting different forms of respect from Asian countries, for example Vietnamese people tend to avoid eye contact while speaking with them as a sign of respect.
After the video we moved onto Taoism, first and formost to the Tao of Pooh. Winnie the Pooh is famous for his chubby cheeks and love of honey, but what many don't know about Pooh is that he is an example of a Taoist Sage.
While examining a famous painting, "The Vinegar Tasters", Pooh offer's his insight in a conversation with Benjamin Hoff.
In the painting, three men each taste from a bowl of vinegar, showing a different expression on his face. We learn that the three man represent Confucius, Buddha, and Lao-Tse; the vinegar represents the Essence of Life, and each expression represents each religion's attitude towards life.
Confucious wears a sour expression. Confucianism expresses the belief that life started out being good, and things have turned sour. It enforces strict rules in an attempt to help regain order and get things back to goodness; to the way they are in heaven.
Buddha wears a bitter expression. Buddhism believes in the concept of life being naturally bad. We are to go through many lifetimes of bad and suffering, until we achieve Nirvana.
Lao-Tse, in contrast to his dissatisfied comrades, wears a smile. Taosim survives by the idea that life is good if man interprets it as a good thing. When we decide to make things bad, then they are bad. Life is what it is, leave it alone. The goal of a Taoist is to be "like a leaf on a stream."
We finished off the class with a quick Tai Chi exercise. It revolved around "effortless effort"; we would be instructed to "punch", while moving slowly and calmly (we would in no way injure anyone with the punches thrown in Blue 4's Tai Chi class). It was an overally enlightening and relaxing experience, hopefully we can do more Tai Chi next class!
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