Tao is the ultimate source, the Mother of all things. It is not a personified deity, but is formless and eternal. All life issues from it and must eventually return to it. It is the ultimate reality, a presence that existed before the Universe was formed and which continues to guide the world and everything in it. It cannot be clearly spoken or perceived, and is too vast for human rationality to fathom. It is the Way of the Universe, the norm, the rhythm, the driving power in all Nature, the ordering principle behind all life. The goal in Taoism is to achieve Tao, to find the Way. The focus is not to worship one god, but instead on coming into harmony with Tao. This is achieved through living in accord with Tao as laid out in the TaoTe Ching. To be in accord with Tao, one has to “do nothing” (wu wei),—that is, nothing strained, artificial, or unnatural,—but to act selflessly with, not against, the inner rhythms of things. Through selfless action, attain fulfillment. Be good to those who are good, but also be good to those who are not good. Be honest to those who are honest, but also be honest to those who are not honest. Repay hatred with Virtue. Hold on to these: manifest plainness, embrace simplicity, reduce selfishness, have few desires. Practice the three treasures: deep love, frugality, humility. In dwelling, love the earth. In the heart, love what is profound. In your relations, love kindness. In your words, love sincerity. In government, love peace. In handling affairs, love competence. In your activities, love timeliness. Be content. Be respectful. Use moderation. Do not accumulate excessive wealth without giving to the world. The more you assist others, the more you possess. The more you give to others, the more you gain. The following is contrary to Tao: violence, dominating with force, war, thievery, greed, discontentment, lavish desires, insufficient trust, valuing rare treasures, showing objects of desire, showing off, putting yourself on display, boasting, bragging, shrewd and petty competition, dishonesty, flaunting oneself, self-righteousness, dressing extravagantly, displaying weapons, over-indulging in food and drink, accumulating excessive wealth and treasures without giving to the world, and needlessly causing animal suffering or death. The TaoTe Ching also instructs us how to conduct government: Do not dominate with force. Do not have a death penalty. Do not wage war. Do not display or employ weapons of state. Govern the state with non-interference. The more taboos and prohibitions there are in the world, the poorer the people will be. The more weapons people have, the more troubled the state will be. The more laws and orders there are, the greater number of thieves. When the government is unobtrusive, the people are simple. When the government is invasive, the people are discontent. Do not rule by fear. Do not reduce the size of their dwellings. Do not oppress them in their work. If you do not oppress them, they will not grow weary of you. We are instructed that war is contrary to Tao, and that conflicts between nations should be settled with diplomacy. And if used only as an unavoidable step in defense, victory in war is not glorious and not to be celebrated, but mourned with sadness. Victory in war should be treated as a funeral. There are two concepts in the TaoTe Ching that are not defined in the text and deserve mention here: The first is the Yin-Yang. In Chinese philosophy, the concept of Yin-Yang is used to describe how polar opposites are interconnected and interdependent in the natural world, and how they give rise to each other as they interrelate to one another. This polarity sums up all nature’s basic opposites: male/female, active/ passive, light/dark, high/low, hot/cold, summer/winter, water/fire, life/death, and so on. The Yin-Yang symbol represents this polarity. Yang is the white side with the black dot on it, and Yin is the black side with the white dot on it. Everything has both Yin and Yang aspects, (for instance, shadow cannot exist without light). As part of Tao, they are merely two aspects of a single reality. Each contains the seed of the other, which is why we see a black spot of Yin in the white Yang and vice versa. Yin is characterized as slow, soft, yielding, diffuse, cold, wet, and passive; and is associated with water, Earth, the moon, femininity, and nighttime. Yang, by contrast, is fast, hard, solid, focused, hot, dry, and aggressive; and is associated with fire, sky, the sun, masculinity, and daytime. One cannot exist without the other, and thus they are interdependent. Yin and Yang are actually complementary, not opposing forces, interacting to form a whole greater than either separate part. Human valuations of opposing forces such as evil and good are not intended as a part of this dynamic system.
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