Taoism Emerged Out Of Confucianism

Taoism emerged out of confucianism, one of the 3 major Chinese religions along with Buddhism. In Western practices Taoism is believed to have two subdivisions; a philosophical which is directly linked to the teachings of Lao Tau or Laozi and his apprentice Zhuangzi while religious practitioners follow a more structured and ritualistic hierarchy set of rules and guidelines. Taoism originated in ancient China from a tribe of shaman healers and diviners whom were believed to have the gift of conversing with nature and its elements. Taoism is an ancient tradition that has been passed down from generation to generation of shamans. Laozi and Zhuangzi are known to be two of the most influential figures in developing the religion, both students of the classical Chinese school of thought. It is believed that Laozi was a Chu native, a remote village in the southern part of China, Laozi was a pacifist man whom thought his students on his spare time about how the world works and its many wonders. As the story recalls Laozi one day mounted his ox and began riding west out of china, never to be seen again. Laozi wrote the Daodejing somewhere around 350 BC, it is held as a sacred text and the foundation of Taoism, the book is also referred

The first verse is a mold of what Laozi considered the example of what human behavior should be “ There is a thing confusedly formed, Born before heaven and earth. Silent and void It stands alone and does not change, Goes round and does not weary” (Lau 1963:82). Another great passage from the Daodejing is “The five colours blind man`s eyes. The five notes deafen his ears. The tastes deaden his palate. Riding and hunting make his mind go wild”(Adapted from Lau 1963:68), here we can see how Laozi is yearning for freedom from politics and the world he lives in. Its almost as he wants to transcend the reality he finds himself shackled to. On both quotes we can get a sense of Laozi wanting to break free