Today in class, we began with a warm up. The warm up question asked students to evaluate the "leaf on a stream" philosophy of Taoism, and how it relates to their lives. One of Taoism's main philosophical ideas is that people should let life takes its course and "go with the flow." Different responses to the question included that although there may be obstacles, we must overcome them in order to ultimately allow us to dwell in the present instead of the past, or even the future.
We also completed a worksheet going over the important aspects of Taoism. Laozi is regarded as the founder of Taoism, which is followed by Taoists who are followeres of the philosophy expressed in Dao De Jing, or The Way and Its Power. Taoism's goal is to allow its memebers to live with or close to nature and to live freely, without constraints . The six principles of Daoist ecology according to David Hall include change, situation, myth, contingent harmony of existing ingredients, uniqueness od participants in unpredictable consequences, and priority of dynamic radial center over boundaries. Some other vocabulary included:
Wuwei: principle of doing one's task without assertion. Individuals in harmony with the flow of the Dao can aconplish more than individuals who assert themselves.
Zhaungzi: A later Daoist, who wrote, in part, to distingish Daoism from Confucianism, because some people began to view them as rivals.
Shang Di:In, China, the Lord of heaven. Ancestors are believed to be obedient to Shang Di as living persons are to an emperor.
Jade Emperor: A mythical emperor of ancient CHina. The emperor (1012 C.E.) claimed to have recieved a revelation from Huang Di, the Jade Emperor.
Zaoshen: In Daoism, the god od the stove, because the stove is an important part of family life and in work of the Daoist alchemists.
Three Purities: Ling Bao, the Jade Emperor, and Laozi.
Taixi: in Daoism, the art of embyronic breathing, a method of holding one's breath in contemplation.
Shouyi: In Daoism, to preserve the One or the meditate on the One. It includes methods of meditation on the One.
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