Comparing Lao-Tzu And Confucianism
Taoism originated in China around 500 b.c Taoist thought is based on the writings of Lao-Tzu in the poetic stanzas of the Tao Te Ching. Lau Tzu translates as the 'Old Man ' or the 'Old Teacher '. It is 5,000 characters in length and comprises of two books. The Tao Te Ching is the second most printed book in the world next to the Bible. The Tao Te Ching represents Philosophical Taoism at its purest as it was to develop through the centuries into a more institutionalised religion and into branches of mysticism that sought to endlessly increase the lifespan of its followers. Taoism arose concurrently in China with the religion of Confucianism with its adherence to a rigid hierarchy and strictly imposed civic codes. In contrast Taoism did not interest itself in
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One half is black. The other half is white. Each half contains a smaller circle of the opposite colour. The black and white halves within the circle represent Yin (female energy) and Yang (male energy) whose interplay give rise to the manifest world of the Five Elements and the Ten Thousand Things. The one could not exist without the other for each contains the essence of the other . It is about the relativism of the world and is therefore a deeply sane and rational view of everything.
In the West we like to divide opposites as being in two camps, like a battle line drawn between two opposing armies. We preoccupy ourselves with being able to conquer death, eliminate darkness etc. instead of realising how nothing would be possible without this dynamic exchanging interplay. All of relative existence is in constant flow and change and to resist it is to create for ourselves unnecessary strife. Instead we can develop a more relaxed attitude to life when we learn to accept the relativistic truth as symbolised in the interplay of Yin and Yang. As Lao Tzu writes (1982: p.58),
“ Thus Something and Nothing produce each
One half is black. The other half is white. Each half contains a smaller circle of the opposite colour. The black and white halves within the circle represent Yin (female energy) and Yang (male energy) whose interplay give rise to the manifest world of the Five Elements and the Ten Thousand Things. The one could not exist without the other for each contains the essence of the other . It is about the relativism of the world and is therefore a deeply sane and rational view of everything.
In the West we like to divide opposites as being in two camps, like a battle line drawn between two opposing armies. We preoccupy ourselves with being able to conquer death, eliminate darkness etc. instead of realising how nothing would be possible without this dynamic exchanging interplay. All of relative existence is in constant flow and change and to resist it is to create for ourselves unnecessary strife. Instead we can develop a more relaxed attitude to life when we learn to accept the relativistic truth as symbolised in the interplay of Yin and Yang. As Lao Tzu writes (1982: p.58),
“ Thus Something and Nothing produce each