What is Taoism?

Question

i mean, is it religion, lifestyle, or just a guide?

Answer 1

http://www.religioustolerance.org/taoism.htm

check that out.

Answer 2

Taoism is a type of belief. It is at least 2,500 years old, and it comes from China. Some people call Taoism a religion, and other people call it a philosophy. People disagree about what to call it because it is different to everyone.

Taoism is about having a simple and balanced life. Taoists also respect nature and believe that people are equal to everything else in the world. They believe that conflict is not good and that if you have a problem with something, it is better to find a way around it.

Tao is the name of the force that Taoists believe makes everything in the world. It is very mysterious, and Taoists do not try to talk about it because they think that words cannot be used to say the right things about it.

Some important Taoists are Lao Tzu, Chuang Tzu, and the Yellow Emperor. Lao Tzu wrote a book about Taoism called the Tao Te Ching which talks about Taoism. Chuang Tzu also wrote a book with stories that talk about Taoism. The Yellow Emperor might have been one of the first Taoists, but nobody really knows for sure.

Answer 3

Daoism is an ancient Far Eastern religion/philosophy. The primary text is the Daodejing, by Laozi.

The primary tenets are wuwei (inaction) and balance. When a Daoist speaks of inaction, he doesn't mean doing absolutely nothing. Rather, he means, as we say, "going with the flow." An example: imagine a river that flows rapidly and has a very strong current. In this river, there are two trees, a might oak and a small sapling. The oak fights against the water, constantly trying to keep itself upright, but, sooner or later, the strength of the water will knock it over or rip it in half. The sapling, however, bends with the water, giving into the current. Because it doesn't try to force the river to go against it's nature, the sapling survives.

If you're interested in it, read the Daodejing to begin with. It's a beautiful text, filled with rich metaphors and imagery. Then pick up a text by Zhuangzi, who really was the driving force behind Daoism and left voluminous texts.

Is it a religion? Not exactly. There is a religious form of it (daojiao), one that was adopted by the Chinese peasantry. It's filled with magic, demons, gods, and such. It does still exist, but mostly in China, though we do see elements here, with such notions as the qi (or chi). However, there are gods and immortal figures in philosophical Daoism as well.

At heart, it's a philosophy, but a metaphysical one. A daoist does see some non-natural force in the universe that binds it together and keeps things going. Perhaps the most succinct explanation of Daoism is by looking at the Force from Star Wars, which was based on many of the daoist ideas.

Don't listen to the people above. It is actually difficult to define Daoism as either a religion or a philosophy (excluding the blatant religious form) and there are scholars on each side of the argument

Answer 4

Taoism is a religious cult. They worship creator-principle of the tao ("The Force") and they ignore Christ.
http://www.carm.org/cults.htm

Answer 5

Taoism can be a Chinese religion or a philosophy.

Answer 6

Close to lifestyle, Taoists do not believe in Gods

Answer 7

It's really a type of Philosophy.

Answer 8

ancient chinese wisdom mixed with stupid hindu philosphies and became more stupid Taoism

Answer 9

its some freaky asian religion.i think they do some forms of magic too.