Quotes About Taoism

Among the religions in this country which do not teach what would generally be considered a belief in the existence of God are Buddhism, Taoism, ethical culture, secular humanism and others.

The Tao does not accumulate or increase complexity—it reduces, simplifies, and streamlines. It's not about learning more techniques—it's about discarding the harmful elements.

Facing the Changes in Life and Mastering Them While alive, the body is soft and pliant When dead, it is hard and rigid All living things, grass and trees, While alive, are soft and supple When dead, become dry and brittle Thus that which is hard and stiff Is the follower of death That which is soft and pliant Is the follower of life The Tao

Lao Tzu wrote: "Know the personal, yet keep to the impersonal: Accept the world as it is. Then the Tao will be luminous inside you, and you will return to the Uncarved Block." There is so much philosophy packed into this verse that it summarizes central teachings about happiness from three great ancient traditions: those not only from Taoism, but also from Buddhism and Stoicism

I have no desire to desire, and people become like the uncarved wood by themselves.

For people in thrall to 'mortality', the good life means perpetual striving. For Taoists it means living effortlessly, according to our natures. The freest human being is not one who acts on reasons he has chosen for himself, but one who never has to choose. Rather than agonizing about alternatives he responds effortlessly to situations as they arise. He lives not as he chooses but as he must.

The Taoists were especially concerned with how to maintain the body's systems to live a full, healthy, and extended life.

Taoists view any attempt to describe the totality of nature, the Tao, as futile. They found it far more useful to find ways of experiencing deeper harmony with it.

The Taoists realised that all opposites aren't opponents that must clash but are part of a dynamic balance of existence, necessary to create and sustain life.

In a similar vein, Taoism identifies freedom with wu wei: acting without acting.

To be a Taoist, one need not engage in fanatical denial of any part of life, nor does one need to leave family and career in order to gain a foothold on the path. One need only balance the various parts of one's personality and provide them with a strong focus.

Tea with us became more than an idealization of the form of drinking; it is a religion of the art of life.... Teaism was Taoism in disguise.

Taoism as the "art of being in the world," for it deals with the present—ourselves. It is in us that God meets with Nature, and yesterday parts from to-morrow. The Present is the moving Infinity, the legitimate sphere of the Relative. Relativity seeks Adjustment; Adjustment is Art. The art of life lies in a constant readjustment to our surroundings.

Taoism shares quite a few similarities with Buddhism and Stoicism—Buddhism is about releasing all attachments, where Stoicism is about acknowledging and growing from discomfort. Together, these philosophies create an incredibly resilient mind.

The ideal of Taoism was to live in harmony with the Tao and to cultivate a simple and frugal life, avoiding unnecessary action: "Being one with nature, he [the sage] is in accord with the Tao.

Taoist (as well as Buddhist) science therefore seeks the eternal, universal light of consciousness that lies hidden like a 'shining pearl' in the heart of all sentient beings. Once the mystery of awareness itself has been fathomed, everything else comes sharply into focus with perfect clarity. As an ancient Taoist maxim says: 'If you can open this one gate, all other gates will open naturally.