Daoism Is The Daodejing Analysis

1080 Words5 Pages

The principles of yang and yin are one of the oldest and most fundamental concepts in the Chinese philosophy that date back to the 3rd century BCE or earlier. According to this principle, each and every substance in the world has an inseparable and contradictory opposite like old-young, female-male, dark-light etc. The two opposites are said to attract and complement each other and that the core of each substance contains the element of the opposite. 2. The main scripture in Daoism is the Daodejing (Tao Te Ching). What is the history and importance of this text for the tradition? Daodejing is China’s classic philosophical literature that dates back to the Han Dynasty when it was first named as Laozi because it was believed to be written by …show more content…

Although the attainment of immortality is something very difficult but many elements of Daoism are serving as a practical guidance and ritual service for the followers in terms of improving their behavior in everyday life. However, modernization, government anti-religion policies and misunderstandings have threatened the survival of this religious tradition. Many daoist sanctuaries were targeted to destruction over the past century that has increased the challenges for its subsequent existence. 5. Explain a situation to which following the Daoist principle of wu wei might be beneficial to you or others. In what situation might following the principle of wu wei be harmful in some way? Wu wei implicates the fact that if something positive is occurring in your surroundings, let it occur on its own by taking no action. With forceful human efforts, sometimes nature reacts in an unpleasant and unexpected way. Best example of not doing anything is when you wish to grow a plant; you place the seed in soil, give water and fertilizer for it to grow. The rest is the act of nature and no one can forcefully grow the plant. Similarly, there are situations in life when you need to reconsider your position like a better job or starting a business of your own. All that can be done is make the first move, the next step is wu wei, because job cannot be forcefully …show more content…

This thought negates the spirit of the principle of wu wei, non-action actually means doing nothing when natural forces are carrying out the situation by themselves. This does not mean that every time no action is required, which can be understood with the fact that in order to get a better job, you at least need to apply elsewhere. Therefore, wu wei is also believed to be harmful for people ignorant about what the principle actually conveys. Confucianism Write a 175- to 350-word summary on Confucianism that addresses the following topics: Conficianism is a philosophical approach about the way of living in a peaceful manner that was introduced by a Chinese man named K'ung Fu-tzu or Confucius 6th-5th century BCE. Conficianism follows the belief that a society can be a perfect place to live if there is good conduct in the five great relationships: 1. Father and son: Kindness of father is returned with obedience and love of son. 2. Government and subject: The generosity of the ruler is returned with loyalty of the people. 3. Elder and younger sibling: The affection of elder brother is returned with trust and obedience of younger brother. 4. Husband and wife: The goodness of husband is returned with honesty and trust of