Tao - what is it? Definition and meaning. See what Dao is in other dictionaries

DAO (lit. - path, road), one of the most important concepts of Chinese philosophy, the central concept of Taoism. In Lao Tzu's philosophy, the Tao is the invisible ubiquitous natural law of nature, human society, the behavior and thinking of an individual individual, inseparable from the material world and controlling it (therefore, the Tao is sometimes compared with the Heraclitus logo). Tao begets the darkness of things; inactive, thereby doing everything; the Tao is eternal and nameless, empty and inexhaustible; non-pursuit of Tao leads to death.

Tao (NFE, 2010)

DAO (Chinese, literally - the way, as well as the approach, schedule, function, method, regularity, principle, class, teaching, theory, truth, morality, absolute) is one of the most important categories of Chinese philosophy. Etymologically goes back to the idea of \u200b\u200bleadership (show) in “movement / behavior”. The closest correlative categories are de (“grace”) and qi (“instrument”). In the modern language, binomian daode means morality. The term Tao conveyed the Buddhist concepts of “marga” and “patha”, expressing the idea of \u200b\u200bthe path, as well as “bodhi” (“enlightenment”, “awakening”). Logos and Brahman are often recognized as analogues of Tao.

Wang tao

VAN DAO (Chinese: “the path of the perfect ruler”, “the path of the true king”) is the concept of traditional Chinese, mainly Confucian, political thought, expressing the ideal of government. First mentioned in Shu Jing. The hieroglyph “van” included in Bin Van Dao denotes the title of supreme ruler in ancient China (until the end of the 3rd century BC). The outline of the hieroglyph — three horizontal lines connected by a vertical one — can also be interpreted as the hieroglyph “tu” (“earth”, “soil”), bounded above by a horizontal line, and carries the idea of \u200b\u200bconnecting Heaven and Earth, i.e.

Tao (Gritsanov, 1998)

DAO (Chinese - God, word, logo, path) - the concept of ancient Chinese philosophy, meaning that: without a name or form; being eternally one, unchanging, enduring, existing from the ages; Being inaudible, invisible, inaccessible to comprehension - undetectable, but perfect; Being in a state of rest and inescapable movement; acting as the root cause of all changes, it is the "mother of all things," the "root of everything." Tao - ("all-in-one" according to Lao Tzu) - depends only on oneself: "a person depends on the earth, earth on heaven (space), heaven on Tao, and Tao on himself."

Tao (Frolov)

DAO is one of the most important categories in Chinese classical philosophy. Initially, Tao meant "path", "road." Subsequently, the concept of "Tao" was applied in philosophy to denote the "path" of nature, its laws. At the same time, Tao also acquired the meaning of a person’s life path, turned into the concept of “ethical norm” (daode). In thinking, D. means “logic”, “reason”, “argument” (Tao-li). The content of the concept of "Tao" changed with the development of Chinese philosophy.

Tao concept

Tao denotes in Chinese philosophy the eternal action or principle of creation, which is responsible for the origin of unity and duality, and at the same time for the beginning of the world and creation ("10,000 things").

The polarity of Yin and Yang arises from Tao, and as a result, opposites arise, from the coordination of actions of which change, movement and mutual penetration arise - and as a result, peace arises. The emergence of the world does not mean the fact of some time when the world began to exist. The world has always existed. This is not about the beginning of time, as in the Bible, but about understanding the principle of existence. Therefore, in fact, both “emergence” and “Beginning” are words that do not correspond to the spirit of thinking about Tao. In fact, they need to be replaced with something, but it is so difficult that we are forced to use the wrong words in order to at least somehow describe the existing.

Tao in the concept of Chinese materialism

“Tao is the management of real things. Lao Tzu was blind, claiming that Tao exists in emptiness [...] Buddha was blind, claiming that Tao exists in silence [...] You can go on ad infinitum, giving out such meaningless maxims, but no one has escaped the specificity of things. " (Wang Fuji, 1619-1692 Ch’uan-shan i-shu)

Tao in Christianity, Orthodoxy and Orthodox texts in Chinese

The Chinese philosophical concept of Tao as a Way, Force and Word has its parallels both in Greek philosophy (the Logos concept) and in the subsequent Christian, Orthodox philosophy built on its basis, which researchers of the philosophy of East and West of different eras drew attention to.

For a Christian, the path (that is, Tao) is Christ, "pilgrimage (that is, following the Tao) is the path to Christ. If the main purpose of pilgrimage is to come to the origins of Christianity, then the essence of pilgrimage as a Christian feat is asceticism: in overcoming not only the difficulties of the journey, but also its physical and sometimes mental weakness. The feat of pilgrimage is always rewarded with the spiritual joy of knowing the beauty of God's one world - both natural and man-made. After all, to know the world means to open your heart to the world; to perceive the world in this way m, he is great and diverse. This is essential and lecture us sinners and doubters. Based on the book "pilgrimage Vasily Grigorovich-Barsky for the Holy Places."

Nowadays, in connection with the spread of the Orthodox and Christian faith in China, the concept of Tao is of great importance and is used to the utmost to translate liturgical texts into Chinese and adapt Christian theological concepts to the worldview of the eastern reader.

In the middle of the XII century. During the reign of the Song Dynasty, Jewish immigrants arrived in China. They presented the emperor with the Old Testament, which in Chinese was called "Daojing" (the book of the way) and "Zhenjing" (the book of truth).

In the book of Hieromonk Damaskin, “Christ, the Eternal Tao,” we read the following: “It was that Logos, about which Heraclitus said that people“ cannot comprehend him ”; it was that Tao that Lao Tzu said that "no man in the world can understand." Subtle Chinese translators, knowing that Tao for the Chinese people means the same as the Logos for Greek, the first line of the Gospel of John was translated as follows: “In the beginning was the Path (Tao)” (太初有道，道与神同在，道就是神。). ”

In this way:

神 - God, Lord, Allah, Tengri, Hoda;
道 - Tao, Way, Word;
神道 - Divine Tao, Divine Logos, Divine Word, God's Way. And at the same time, it is with these hieroglyphs that it is customary to denote the Japanese Shinto teaching, that is, the path of the deity, which is usually translated into Russian as the path of the gods.
道德經 - Tao De Ching, Book of Way and Power, Book of Way and Grace;
道經 - The Book of the Way (designation of the Old Testament, Torah in the XII century.);

Tao and Islam

The concept of Tao, which is an important component of Chinese philosophy, has been used and continues to be successfully used to adapt and reformulate the ideas of Islam for the Chinese world and vice versa - the concepts of the Chinese world based on the Islamic worldview. See e.g. the work of Sachiko Murat "The Tao of Islam."

In Islam, in particular in Sufism, the ideas of the Way, Power and Word are also traced. In particular, there are the concepts of God's Word (Kalam, Quran), God's Book (Maktub), the ideas of pilgrimage (the worldview of wandering dervishes and hodges) that can very well be adapted for the Chinese worldview using the concept of Tao.

Notes

Literature

老子 Lǎozĭ 道德經 Dàodéjīng Chinese + English + German
Lao Tzu Tao Dzing: A paragon ebook, LAO ZI most-comprehensive ebook for FREE in PDF & HTM format, contains 50 translations in 6 different layouts, by Sanmayce.
Vasiliev L. S. Tao and Brahman: the phenomenon of the primordial supreme universality // Tao and Taoism in China. M., 1982. S.134-158.
Golovacheva L. I. On the Meaning of “Tao” and “De” in the Early Confucian Monument “Lun Yu” // Twenty-First Scientific Conference “Society and the State in China” Part I., M., 1990. P.39-43.
Tao and telos in the semantic dimension of cultures of the eastern and western type: Monograph / S. E. Yachin and [dr]. -Vladivostok: Publishing House of the Far Eastern Federal. University, 2011 .-- 324 p. - ISBN 978-5-7444-2648-4
Dumoulin G. The history of Zen Buddhism. - M.: CJSC Centerpolygraph, 2003. - 317 p. - ISBN 5-9524-0208-9
Martynenko N.P. Methodological problems of translation and understanding of the hieroglyph "Tao" // Moscow University Herald. Series 7. Philosophy. M., 2003. No. 5. S. 106-120.
Pirogov G.G. Tao-doctrine of the world development trajectory // Philosophical sciences. M., 2002. No. 3. S. 78-88.
Savrukhin A. P. The concept of Tao and the style of “Tao de Jing” // The 19th Scientific Conference “Society and State in China”. Part I. M., 1988. P.106-108.
Spirin V. S. To the background of the concept of “Graph” (Tao) // Written monuments and problems of the history of culture of the peoples of the East M., 1975. Issue. IX.
Spirin V. S. Examples of the relatively simple meaning of "Tao" // Ninth Scientific Conference "Society and the State in China." M.1976. Part I.
The philosophical world of Tao in the IFES RAS // Problems of the Far East. 2006. No. 5. S. 8-19.
LaFargue, Michael. Tao and Method: A Reasoned Approach to the Dao De Jing (SUNY Press, 1994) ISBN 0-7914-1601-1.
LaFargue, Michael. The tao of the Dao De Jing: a translation and commentary (SUNY Press, 1992). ISBN 0-7914-0986-4.
Liu, Da. The Tao and Chinese culture (Taylor & Francis, 1981). ISBN 0-7100-0841-4.
Thesing, Josef and Thomas Awe. Dao in China und im Westen. Impulse für die Moderne Gesellschaft aus der Chinesischen Philosophie. Bonn: Bouvier, 1999.
Xie Wenyu. “Approaching the Dao: From Lao Zi to Zhuang Zi.” Journal of Chinese Philosophy 27.4 (2000), 469-88.

References

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

DAO.“Way” (“approach”, “schedule”, “function”, “method”, “regularity”, “principle”, “class”, “teaching”, “theory”, “truth”, “morality”, “absolute "). One of the most important categories of Chinese philosophy. Etymologically goes back to the idea of \u200b\u200bleadership (show) in “movement / behavior” (syn 3). The closest correlative categories are “de 1” (“grace”) and “qi 2” (“instrument”). In modern language, the binomial "Tao-de" means morality. The term “Tao” conveyed the Buddhist concepts of “marga” and “patha”, expressing the idea of \u200b\u200bthe path, as well as “bodhi” (“enlightenment”, “awakening”). Equivalents of Tao are often recognized as Logos and Brahman. The hieroglyph "Tao" is included in the designation of Taoism (Tao Jia, Tao Jiao) and neo-Confucianism (Tao Xue). AT Mo-tzu “Doctrine of tao” (tao jiao), in Chuang tzu “Confucianism” was also called “art / technology of Tao” (Tao Shu). In various philosophical systems, the “Tao” was defined differently, so Han Yu (8–9 centuries) called it, like “de 1”, an “empty position” that does not have a precisely fixed meaning.

AT Shu Jing the term “Tao” has abstract meanings: “behavior”, “promotion”, “the path of the sovereign and Heaven” and is correlated with “de 1”, which also denotes abstract concepts of social and cosmic harmony (Chapters 3, 36, 44). Since the emergence of Chinese philosophy, the central issue for it has become the question of the relationship between “human” and “heavenly”, i.e. natural, tao. (In the narrow sense, “heavenly Tao” meant the passage of time or the movement of stars from west to east, as opposed to the movement of the sun from east to west.) Already in Shi jing there was a convergence of the concepts of “Tao” and “limit” (Ji 2, cm. TAI JI).

Confucius (6–5 centuries BC) focused on the “human” forms of Tao and de 1, which are interconnected, but can also manifest independently of each other ( Lun yui, V, 12, XII, 19). He specified the Tao in various sets of ethicized concepts: “filial piety” and “brotherly love”, “fidelity” (chjun) and “generosity” (shu), i.e. The “golden rule” of morality, “humanity” (ren 2), “knowledge” (zhi 2) and “courage” (youth 1), etc. AT Lun Yue Tao is a good course of social events and human life, depending both on “predestination” (min. 1) and on an individual person. Its carrier is the individual, and the state, and all of humanity (the Middle Kingdom). Due to the difference in carriers, their Tao are different: direct and crooked, big and small, inherent in the "noble husband" (ju tzu) and the "insignificant man" (xiao ren). Accordingly, de 1 is also different. The Middle Kingdom may lose the Tao. Ideally, a single Tao should be known. His affirmation in the world exhausts the meaning of human existence; in the absence of a Tao in the Celestial Empire, one should "hide", refuse to serve.

The followers of Confucius and representatives of other schools universalized the concept of the two main types of Tao and de 1, distinguishing between Tao of order (Chi 8) and troubles, ancient and modern, right and false, humane and inhuman, universal and individual Tao (for example, Mencius, Han Fei Tzu).

The closest disciples of Confucius gave the highest hypostasis of Tao (great - yes, all-pervasive - da Tao) universal ontological meaning, and the founder of Orthodox Confucianism, Dong Zhongshu (2nd century BC) put forward the thesis: "The great source of Tao comes from Heaven." AT Zhong Yune the tao of a “noble husband” or “perfect wise” is defined as a universal cosmic force emanating from an individual, “entrenched in heaven and earth,” “materializing (zhi 4) in navi and spirits,” leading to grace. “Authenticity” (“sincerity” - Cheng 1) is “heavenly,” and its implementation is a “human” Tao. Having attained the ultimate "authenticity" is able to form a trinity with Heaven and Earth.

In addition to de 1 and qi 2, the concepts “predestination”, “[individual] nature” (syn 4), “[bodily] form” (syn 2) are most closely related to Tao. AT Yes gimme ji they are interconnected as follows: “The possession of Tao shares is called predestination. Possessing a form as an individual (unit) is called individual nature "(Ch." Ben Min "). Correlated data concepts in Zhong Yunewhere tao means following oneself, or one's “[individual] nature," predetermined by Heaven. Perfection in Tao, from which it is impossible to leave for a moment, is training (jiao). “Harmony” (he 1) is an all-pervasive Tao of the Celestial Empire, concretized in five types of relations: between a ruler and a subject, a father and children, a husband and wife, older and younger brothers, friends and comrades. This tao is carried out through “knowledge”, “humanity” and “courage” - the three all-pervading “great grace” (da de) of the Celestial Empire, which is identical to the three tao Lun yuya (Xiv, 28). At the ordinary level, knowledge and implementation of the Tao is accessible even to the foolish and worthless, but in its ultimate expression it contains something unknowable and impracticable even for the “perfectly wise”.

AT Mencius (4th century BC) “authenticity” is defined as “heavenly” Tao, and “thinking” (“care” -s 2) about it is defined as “human Tao”. The Tao of "perfect-wise" is reduced only to "filial piety and brotherly love." In general, Tao is a combination of man and "humanity." The heavenly Tao is predetermined, but in some ways it depends on the "[individual] nature", although in general attempts to influence the Tao and "predestination" are futile. Unlike Confucius, who assessed the “middle Tao” as failure ( Lun yui), Mencius saw in this (or “middle Tao”) a harmonic state.

Xun-tzu (Xun Kuan, 4th – 3rd centuries BC), on the one hand, hyperbolized the comprehensiveness of Tao, declaring all the “darkness of things” to be its “side”, on the other hand, called it “perfect wise” (sheng 1 ) The "limit" (ji 2) of Tao. Xun Tzu considered “decency” of human dao “decency / etiquette” (whether 2). Constant in its bodily essence (ty 1) the Tao is infinitely variable, therefore indefinable on one of its sides. Through the great Tao, all things are changed (bian 2), transformed (hua) and formed (cheng 2). Following the Tao implies the curbing of passions, the individual accumulation of “grace”, its preliminary identification (Biao) and cognition. The latter is carried out by the “heart” (blue 1), full of emptiness, concentration and peace. The knowledge of Tao makes it possible to "weigh" (heng) all the darkness of things. AT Mo-tzu the interpretation of the Tao differs little from the Early Confucian.

Oppositional Confucian theory of Tao was developed in Taoism. Its main feature is the emphasis on the "heavenly", and not the "human" hypostasis of the Tao. If the Confucians proceeded from its verbal-conceptual expressiveness and even self-expression, actively using such meanings of “Tao” as “utterance”, “saying”, “teaching”, then the founders of Taoism declared verbal and conceptual inexpressibility of the higher Tao ( Tao de jing).

In early Taoism, paired categories “Tao” and “de 1” came to the fore, to which the main Taoist treatise is devoted. Tao de jing. In it, the Tao is represented in two main forms: 1) lonely, separated from everything, constant, inactive, at rest, inaccessible to perception and verbal-conceptual expression, nameless, giving rise to “absence / nonexistence”, giving rise to heaven and earth, 2) all-encompassing, all-pervading, like water; changing with the world, acting, accessible to “passing through”, perception and cognition, expressed in “name / concept”, sign and symbol, generating “presence / being” ( cm. Y - Y), which is the ancestor of the "darkness of things."

In addition, the just - "heavenly" and the vicious - "human" Tao are opposed to each other, and the possibility of deviations from the Tao and its general absence in the Celestial Empire is recognized. As the “beginning”, “mother”, “ancestor”, “root”, “rhizome” (shi 10, mu, zong, gen, di 3), Tao is genetically preceded by everything in the world, including “the Lord” (di 1 ), is described as an undifferentiated unity, a “mysterious identity” (xuan tun), containing all things and symbols (xiang 1) in a state of “pneuma” (qi 1) and seed (jing 3), i.e. “Thing”, manifested in the form of a gloomy (shapeless) and shapeless symbol, which in this aspect is void-comprehensive and equal to the all-pervasive “absence / nonexistence”. At the same time, “absence / nonexistence” and, therefore, the Tao is interpreted as an active manifestation (“function - youth 2), cm. TI - UN) of "presence / being." The genetic superiority of “absence / nonexistence” over “presence / being” is removed in the thesis of their mutual generation. So tao in Tao de jing represents the genetic and organizing function of the unity of “presence / being” and “absence / nonexistence”, subject and object. The main regularity of Tao is reverse, return (fan, fu, gui), i.e. circular motion (zhou xing), characteristic of the sky, which was traditionally thought of as round. As the following only to its own nature (zi zhan), the Tao confronts the dangerous artificiality of the “tools” and the harmful supernaturalness of spirits, determining at the same time the possibility of both. "Grace" is defined in Tao de jing as the first stage of Tao degradation, at which a thing born of Tao is formed. The fullness of “grace” means the ultimate seed.

AT Chuang tzu the tendency toward rapprochement of Tao with “absence / nonexistence” is intensified, the highest form of which is “absence [even of traces] of absence” (y). The consequence of this was diverging from Tao de jing and then the thesis became popular, according to which the Tao, not being a thing among things, makes things things. AT Chuang tzu reinforced the notion of unknowability of the Tao: "The completion, in which it is not known why this is called the Tao." At the same time, the omnipresence of the Tao, which not only “passes (syn 3) through the darkness of things”, forms space and time (yu zhou), is most emphasized, but is also present in robbery and even in feces and urine. Hierarchically, Tao is placed above the "Great Limit" (tai chi), but already in Lu shi chun qiu it is like “ultimate seed” (chi jing, cm. Ching-seed) is identified with the "Great Limit" and with the "Great One" (tai and).

Song [Jiang] - Yin [Wen] School ( Guan Tzu; Yin wen tzu) interpreted the Tao as a natural state of “seed”, “subtlest”, “essential”, “spirit-like” (jing 3, lin) pneuma (qi 1), which is not differentiated by either “bodily forms” (syn 2), or “names” / concepts ”(min. 2), and therefore“ void and non-existential ”(syu y).

AT Huainan tzu “Absence / nonexistence” is presented as the “bodily essence” of Tao and the active manifestation of the darkness of things. Tao, which manifests itself in the form of “Chaos”, “Formless”, “One”, is defined here as “constricting space and time” and non-localized between them.

Representatives of the school of military thought (bin jia) also put the concept of Tao at the heart of their teachings. AT Sun tzu Tao is defined as the first of the five foundations of military art (along with the "conditions of Heaven and Earth", the qualities of a commander and law-fa 1), consisting in the unity of strong-willed thoughts (and 3) of the people and the upper classes. Since war is seen as the "path (tao) of deceit," the tao is associated with the idea of \u200b\u200bselfish independence and individual cunning, which was developed in late Taoism ( Yin fu jing) According to Wu Tzu, the Tao is “that by which there is an appeal to the basis and a return to the beginning”, that which pacifies and becomes the first in the series of four general principles of successful activity (the rest are “due justice”, “planning”, “exactingness”) and “ four graces ”(the rest are“ due justice ”,“ decency / etiquette ”,“ humanity ”).

Han Fei (3rd century BC), relying on the ideas of Confucianism and Taoism, developed the planned Xun Tzu and the most important for subsequent philosophical, especially neo-Confucian, systems of connecting the concepts of "Tao" and "principle" (whether 1): " Tao is what makes the darkness of things such that defines the darkness of principles. Principles are signs that form things (wen). Tao is what makes the darkness of things form. ” Following the Taoists, Han Fei recognized for the Tao not only a universal formative (Cheng 2), but also a universal generating-revitalizing (Sheng 2) function. Unlike Song Jiang and Yin Wen, he believed that Tao can be represented in a "symbolic" (xiang 1) "form" (syn 2).

The basis for the development of Chinese philosophical thought was the interpretation of Tao in the commentary Zhou and. It appears here as a binary model - the Tao of Heaven and Earth, of creativity (Qian, cm. GUA) and execution (Kun), “noble husband” and “insignificant man”, and the threefold model - the Tao of Heaven, Earth, Man, “three materials” (san tsai), “three limits” (san ji). The heavenly Tao is affirmed by the forces of yin and yang, the earthly one by “softness” and “firmness”, the human by “humanity” and “due justice” ( Sho gua zhuan).

The main expression of Tao is “change” (and 4), transformation according to the principle of “either yin or yang” ( Xi zhuan) Therefore, the attribute of Tao is “reverse and return” (fan fu) ( Xiang Zhuan) Tao as “change” means “generation of generation” (sheng sheng), or “revitalization of life” ( Xi zhuan), which corresponds to the Taoist definition and understanding of simply creation or life as “the great grace of Heaven and Earth” ( Xi zhuan) As a "change", the Tao is hierarchically higher than the "Great Limit" - it "possesses" it ( Xi zhuan), which is similar to the provisions Chuang tzu. AT Xi Tszuyuan for the first time, the opposition of the “over-form” was introduced (shin er shan, cm. SIN 2) Dao "under the form" (Sin ersya) "tools" (qi 2). Four areas of the implementation of Tao are also indicated there: in speeches, deeds, manufacturing of guns, fortune-telling (I, 10). Influenced and Zhou and, and Taoism, the Confucian Yang Xiong (1st century BC - 1st century) presented the Tao with the guise of "[Great] mystery" - [tai] xuan, understood as the limit of "active manifestation" (yun ji chi, cm. TI - UN), Tao - is "penetration" (tun 1) into everything ( Fa yan), “Empty in form and defining the path (tao) of the darkness of things” ( Tai xuan jing).

The founders of the “doctrine of the mysterious (secret)” (xuan xue), He Yan (end of the 2nd – 3rd centuries) and Wang Bi (3rd century) identified the Tao with “absence / nonexistence”. Guo Xiang (3rd – 4th centuries), recognizing this identification, denied the initial generation of “presence / being” from “absence / nonexistence,” that is, he rejected a possible creationist-deistic interpretation of Tao. Pei Wei (3rd century) directly identified the Tao with "presence / being." In Ge Hun (4th century), being a “form of forms” (shin ji sin), in the hypostasis of the “One” (and 2), the tao acquired two modes - “The Mysterious One” (Xuan I) and “The True One” (Zhen and) ( Baopu Tzu).

Various interpretations were subjected in Chinese philosophy to the opposition of Tao Qi 2. Tsui Jing (7–9 centuries) identified her with the opposition of the youth: “active manifestation” (“function”) - “bodily essence” (“substance”), respectively. This opposition has become one of the most important in neo-Confucianism.

Zhang Tsai (11th c.) Correlated it with the pair “de 1 - tao”, the first member of which was defined as “spirit” (shen 1), i.e. the ability of things to mutual perception (gan), and the second - as a "transformation" (hua). The “active manifestation” of the “bodily essence” of “pneuma” (qi 1), interpreted as the formless “Great emptiness” (tai syu), “Great harmony” (tai he), or the unity of “presence / being” and “absence / nonexistence” , Zhang Tsai equated to the "overhead" Tao. Tao was also described to them as the interaction of opposites (Liang Duan) penetrating the darkness of things, which is expressed in their mutual perception (spirit), which finds its bodily essence in an individual nature. The universality of this interaction makes it possible to know.

Even earlier, the forerunner of neoconfucianism, Han Yu (8–9 centuries), returned to the original Confucian sense of Tao (contrasting it with the Taoist and Buddhist understanding) as a follow of “humanity” and “due justice” ( Yuan tao) The main founders of neo-Confucian philosophy emphasized the general ontological meaning of Tao. According to Shao Yong (11th c.), The “formless” and “self-returning” Tao is the “root of Heaven, Earth, and the darkness of things” that generates (animates) and shapes them ( Guan wu nei pian) Cheng Hao (11th century), following Zhang Zai, equated Tao with “[individual] nature” ( And shu), and Chen Yi (11th c.) distinguished them as an “active manifestation” and a “bodily essence” ( Yu Lu Dalin Lun Zhong Shu), although he spoke of a single Tao manifesting itself in “predestination” (min 1, “[individual] nature” (syn 1) and “heart” (blue 1) ( And shu) Chen Yi expressed regularity in action using the category of “median and unchanging,” or “balance and constancy” (zhong yun) ( And shu) He defined “fidelity” as a “bodily essence”, i.e. “Heavenly principle” (whether it is tian), and “reciprocity” - as “active manifestation”, i.e. human tao ( And shu).

Developing the ideas of Cheng Yi, Zhu Xi (12th century) identified the Tao with the "principle" and the "Great Limit", and "the instruments with the" pneuma ", a means of generating and revitalizing things and using yin yang ( Zhu Tzu Yu Lei) Although Zhu Xi advocated the unity of the Tao as a “bodily essence” and “active manifestation,” he was criticized by Lu Juyuan (12th century), who appealed to the original definition Xi Tszuyuan and proving that yin yang is the “over-form” tao, and therefore, between the tao and the “tools” there is not the functional difference that Zhu Xi established ( Yu Zhu Yuanhui).

Wang Yangming (15–16 centuries), developing the ideas of Lu Juyuan, identified the Tao with the human “heart” ( Zeng Yanbo) and its basis - “good judgment” (Liang Zhi) ( Chuan Xi Lu; Xi yin sho).

Synthesizing the views of his predecessors, Wang Chuanshan (17th century) defended the thesis of the unity of “tools” and Tao as a concrete reality and its ordering (Zhi 3). The result of this ordering is de 1. Like Fan Izhi (17th c.), Wang Chuanshan believed that the Tao is not devoid of “form” or “symbol”, but only dominates the “forms” that are endowed with everything in the world of “tools” ( Zhou and Wai Zhuan).

Dai Zhen (18th century) defining Tao with the help of its etymological component - “syn 3” (“movement”, “action”, “behavior”), which forms the term “syn 1” ( Mencius zi and shu zheng), even argued: “The human Tao is rooted in [individual] nature, and [individual] nature has a source in the heavenly Tao” (ibid.).

Following Wang Chuanshan, Tan Sytong (19th century) returned to the direct definition of "guns" and Tao by the opposition "ti-yun." Celestial is also a huge "tool." Exposure to the world of “tools” to change entails a change in Tao. This argument became Tan Sytong theoretical basis for socio-political reformism ( Xiwei Inyun Taiduan shu).

On the whole, in the historical development of the two main concepts of Tao - Confucian and Taoist - opposite trends are traced. In the first, there is an ever-increasing connection with “existence / being”, universalization and objectification, a movement from ontologized ethics to “moral metaphysics” (modern neo-Confucianism, post-Confucianism, especially in the person of Mou Zongsan). In the second, there is an ever-increasing connection with “absence / nonexistence”, concretization and subjectivization, right up to the connection of the Tao with the idea of \u200b\u200ban individual egoistic breakthrough “into heaven”, i.e. "Paths" like a dodgy loophole ( Yin fu jing), on which the search for personal immortality in late Taoism was often based.

Calm and sunny day. Sakura leaves fly with the fresh wind. In the temple, a monk sits in a motionless pose and with a detached expression on his face looks nowhere. His body is relaxed, and his breathing is slow and measured. It seems that around him emptiness and at the same time fullness. Not a single phenomenon can affect the deep immersion in the secrets of this monk’s self.

This has been going on for a long time. The sun, having met a lonely figure with its rays, is already beginning to say goodbye a little. At this moment, the monk's body comes to life and begins to move. Awakening is not quick, it takes time to recover in the full sense of the word. Now he got up and quietly walked along the path that leads to a small house. There he was waiting for a simple meal and the same room. There is nothing superfluous in the monk’s house, only the most necessary for life.

It was a short time travel in order to see the image of the great thinker Lao Tzu and the essence of his teachings, which became one of the three main

Who is Lao Tzu?

According to the legend, this is the son whom the woman gave birth to under a plum tree. She bore him 81 years and gave birth through a hip. He was born old and with a gray head. This greatly surprised the woman, and she called him “the old child,” which means Lao Zi in Chinese. There is also another interpretation of his name - the "old philosopher." His birth took place in 604 BC.

It is worth noting that there is no reliable information about his life and birth. Research is still ongoing on whether there was a person with that name at all. Therefore, here are those data about him that are written in authoritative sources.

As an adult, Lao Tzu served the emperor and was a mentor to the library during the reign of the Zhou Dynasty. For many years, studying and reading ancient treatises, the thinker matured and gained wisdom. Being at an advanced age, he decided to leave his native country and went west riding a green bull. At the border checkpoint he was stopped by a servant of the emperor and recognized the great thinker. He asked the sage to leave his wisdom to the descendants before leaving. It was at that request that Lao Tzu's famous book, Tao Te Ching, was written. Its length is five thousand characters.

Concept of tao

Tao is literally translated "way." The basis of all things and the law by which everything happens in this world. so multifaceted and deep that words cannot be specifically defined. Sometimes this concept is referred to as the force that drives the world. It has no beginning and no end. It is in every particle of being, and permeates the world through and through. Without this power, the future is impossible and the past crumbles. It is she who defines the concept of "now" as a way of being.

In the treatise on Tao, Lao Tzu describes how power moves the whole world and fills all beings. The structure of the world is completely determined by Tao, and could not be otherwise. But at the same time, the Tao is an infinite number of options for how the existence of a separate object can go. Therefore, there are opinions that with the help of this book any creature can gain immortality. This stems from the fact that the Tao, the path which a person must go, can lead to an eternal source of life.

The concept of "De"

All changes in the world are caused by laws or, in other words, travel messages between the past and the future. This path represents Tao. At the same time, this force manifests itself through another side of this world - Dae. Hence the name of the book "Tao Te Ching."

The concept of "De" is a property or an ideal concept of the existence of everything in this world. Tao manifests itself in reality through the existence of De. This is the best manifestation of matter, which is the flow from one form to another through the path of Tao. Some interpretations describe the similarity of this concept with determines how the object will exist, and to some extent echoes this concept.

The treatise describes the correct existence of the person who personifies De. If you get rid of passions, pride, excesses and other vices, then a person will open the path to a perfect life in which he will be filled with energy through De.

What is the Tao De Ching book about?

The name means "The Book of Tao." The author took the liberty of describing what rules the whole world. This treatise represents separate sayings and small descriptions. It is written using very ancient Chinese characters, which modern residents have almost forgotten. The main theme of the treatise, so to speak, is the description of how to behave, live and feel in this world, so that true enlightenment is revealed to a person.

According to the description of Lao Tzu, Tao is something faceless, which, however, can take shape in all things. Any attempts to fit this concept into a concrete framework run into contradictions. The phenomenon has a form, but you look at it and you do not see it. About Tao it is written that you hear him, but you cannot hear, you catch, but you cannot catch him.

Such contradictions are a red thread in the texts. The main factor in this situation is the author’s desire to describe what is beyond the scope of understanding of an ordinary person, whom he considered himself. If you try to define a concept, then it inevitably escapes, assuming a different appearance or manifestation. As a result of this, there are attempts in the texts to describe the Tao as something vague and dull.

Taoism

On the basis of the written treatise, a whole religion of the same name arose. The followers of this teaching tried to comprehend the full depth of the meaning stated through renunciation and conformity to the way of life that is described. Often the interpretations of the foregoing were different, and many monks began to argue about the meaning of what was written. This situation gave impetus to the spread of various schools of Taoism, which understood the essence of writing in different ways.

Through teaching, one can understand that Tao is a combination of the human mind with the wisdom of nature. This is the main goal of many followers who have introduced various techniques to accelerate this process. Complexes of gymnastic exercises and breathing techniques were developed. Such methods have gained great popularity in the modern way of understanding ancient scripture.

Teaching of taoism

Assessing the ideals of Taoism, we can understand that the main role in it is played by calmness and simplicity, as well as harmony and naturalness in human behavior. All attempts at action are considered meaningless and only waste energy. When existing on the waves of the course of life, efforts are not needed, they only interfere. From peace flows the peace in society and the harmonious life of everyone.

Sometimes actions are compared with water, which does not bother anyone when moving and flows around obstacles. A person who wants strength and power should take an example from the water that flows, but does not interfere. To achieve the best results in life, you need to go with the flow and try not to upset the flow of your actions. Also, according to the treatise, a person should not have addictions. They blind him and create the illusion that he cannot live without them.

Everyone's Way in Taoism

If a person is driven by passion or has excesses in his actions and aspirations, then he is far from his true path. Any attachment to the earthly creates conditions in which a person begins to serve not himself, but specific things. This is possible if you do not listen to the aspirations of the soul and do not search for your own path.

A detached attitude to material wealth and pleasures allows you to hear the voice of your soul and, in accordance with it, begin your Tao Tzu - the path of a sage. There are no questions on this path about whether he is correctly selected. It becomes comfortable for a person, and his mind becomes clear. If you remain in long thought and listen to your inner voice, over time, understanding of the world as a universal substance for the life of every creature will come.

Non-action management

When China ruled, the development in the country was stable and calm. Figures adopted the principle of Taoism, which implied that there was no need to interfere with the development of society. The failure to act in terms of government allowed the people to live in peace and prosperity. They used their strength to develop and improve living conditions.

Modern writers and Taoism

Many trainers on personal growth and success have adopted the principles of Taoism in their practice. In her book Tao of Life, Hakamada Irina describes principles that are taken from this religion. According to her, she made a certain squeeze out of the whole text. Not all provisions are equally suitable for use by Russian people and Chinese. Therefore, there are a great many such truncated manuals. The Tao of Life is a guide book. It most specifically describes the ancient principles that need to be guided for a harmonious life.

In addition, at least one full translation of the treatise from ancient to modern is published every year. They all represent yet another interpretation of truths that were written more than two and a half thousand years ago.

Irina presents her book “The Tao of Life,” also as one of the translations, but it was made more for the Russian person.

Followers who write their book Tao

One of the famous followers of Taoism is Anna Averyanova, who publishes books under the pseudonym Lin Bao. She did a great job of decoding Taoist texts. He has his own understanding of this religion and writes the continuation of the book "Tao". For many years, Bao Ling has been studying the ways to achieve man beyond consciousness. In addition, she also deals with the subconscious and immortality of the human mind.

Secrets of "Tao" Bao Ling describes in the same style as the original texts of Lao Tzu. Through comprehensive development and long practices around the world, she has developed her own system for understanding this religion. This is one of the differences from the way Irina Khakamada writes, whose Tao is more practical.

Martial arts

On the basis of spiritual perfection, martial arts also appeared. One of them was Vovinam Flying Vo Dao, which literally means "fighting way of flying."

This martial art originated among the village lovers to fight and soon grew into a whole fascination of the Vietnamese people. In addition to the technique of strikes and grabs, a high moral and spiritual training was practiced in it. She was at the head of all the technology. It is believed that a warrior is flying Vo Dao without a spiritual foundation will not be able to defeat the enemy.

Energy "Tao"

At the heart of the path is the energy of Qi. She, according to the scripture, is the absolute energy of all life in this world. There is a concept of “Qi”, a person and the whole world that surrounds him. This energy helps a person to establish a relationship between the mind and the world.

The Taoists have developed a whole technique of comprehending the power of "Qi." It is based on proper breathing using tai chi. This is a set of exercises and techniques that help the body tune in to receive energy. The most talented Taoists who practiced this technique could for a long time be without water and food. There have also been cases when it reached unimaginable limits.

There are several techniques in Taoism that make it possible to reconnect with Chi energy. They are part of the oldest Qigong technique. In addition to the breathing practice of Taoism, martial arts and meditation are used. All of these systems are designed to serve one purpose - filling Qi with energy and comprehending Tao.

Channels of filling a person with energy

According to the treatise, a person can receive energy anytime, anywhere. To do this, he uses special channels. But not all people work at a good level. Often, energy pathways are littered with malnutrition and an unstable lifestyle. The modern human model implies the use of technological progress in order not to waste one's strength. This way of life entails many negative consequences. A person becomes passive, and he is not interested in developing. For him, everyone does things and devices. He becomes only a consumer.

With low consumption, the Tao De energy channels become clogged, and a person literally becomes dependent on external stimulants. These may be chemicals or other methods.

Special methods are used to activate and expand channels. They represent a diet and its specific composition. Special exercises allow you to develop the spine and other parts of the body. It is through the spine that the main and largest energy flow passes. Therefore, special attention is paid to him.

Self-healing through listening to the body

Many practitioners have learned from the book "Tao" the secrets of how to listen to the body and understand the work of internal organs. Such skill is available only to those who have long been engaged in the techniques of Taoism. After reaching a certain level, a person begins to feel his body in the literal sense of the word. All organs seem to be transformed into a system that can be changed for healing.

Sometimes masters resort to the practice of healing other people. For this, special centers of alternative medicine are opened, where patients are admitted.

Symbolism of Taoism

The famous symbol "Yin and Yang" is used to explain the essence of Tao. On the one hand, the symbol shows that everything changes and flows from one form to another. On the other hand, opposites complement each other. For example, the bad cannot be without the good, and vice versa. There is no absolute victory of one element, you can only achieve a balance between them.

The symbol displays both the struggle and the balance of the two elements. They are presented in the form of a cycle to which there is no end. At the same time, the black and white parts cannot be absolute, since they have opposite particles in themselves.

Tattoos

To identify a person with the religion of Taoism, there is a technique for tattooing. They are also smooth lines. Often they are symmetrical and contain images of mythical characters. The culture of applying such tattoos came from ancient China, where they were very popular.

Wellness system

There is also the so-called Shaw Dao school. In literal translation, this means "The Way of Calm." It is a set of measures to improve health and genuine peace. They include both martial arts and breathing practices that help to find good health and tranquility. The “Tao Show” system is very close to the philosophy of Taoism and therefore it is believed that it can be part of it. Pupils of the school call themselves “calm warriors” and improve their skills for peace of mind.

There are many practical guidelines in the world that help to lead a healthy spiritual and psychological life. For example, there are tips to find peace and harmony in life:

Get rid of stress with your inner smile. You can not show it on an external level, but it should appear inside a person.
Speak less. Every word that is spoken in vain or inappropriately spends Chi energy.
Anxiety dissolves in action. Instead of being nervous with folded arms, you need to start to act actively.
The mind must develop. If it is not involved, then degradation begins.
It is necessary to control your sex drive.
Be moderate in nutrition. You need to leave the table when you are still a little hungry.
Moderation in all effects on the body.
The more joy in life, the more Chi energy comes to a person. Therefore, we must rejoice in everything around.

Taoism and love

The concept of "Tao" is inextricably linked with love. Through the relationship of two people of the opposite sex, the tree of life grows and fills both with energy. Taoists considered sex to be something so natural and necessary that they wrote practical manuals for this. Moreover, in texts with frank illustrations there is not a shadow of lust and perversion. In accordance with the Tao of Love treatise, a man should completely begin to control his sense of pleasure and effectively manage it. This is necessary in the first place to satisfy a woman who needs special participation.

The doctrine of love has three basic concepts:

A man receives tremendous strength and wisdom, if he selects the correct mode of his ejaculation and attraction. New opportunities will open up for him when abstinence is practiced. Thanks to this, he will be able to satisfy a woman to the fullest.
The ancient Chinese believed that the uncontrolled pleasure of men is not the most pleasant moment in sex. There is a deeper experience described in the Tao of Love that delivers true pleasure. To achieve this skill, you need to practice for a long time.
The central idea is the obligatory satisfaction of women. It is considered a source of pleasure for both partners and therefore is so important.

The meaning of Taoism

Due to its popularity, Taoist schools penetrated other continents and infiltrated different societies. Some critics unreasonably reject this teaching as unsuitable for other people. In their opinion, it was created for the Chinese and does not have significant benefits for representatives of other nationalities. However, many people around the world practice the principles of Taoism and achieve exceptional results in the areas of body, mind and spiritual development.

As it turned out, this teaching can be used both by the Chinese and all other nationalities. Its principles are universal and, when studied, help to improve the quality of life of each person. It was this goal that Lao Tzu pursued when he wrote his treatises for future generations.

For China itself, this resulted in a whole religion, which for many centuries has remained the same mysterious and multifaceted. It may take a lifetime to comprehend it.

For the Russian man, separate abridged versions of ancient scripture are made, which are maximally adapted to this culture. Basically, such manuals have many practical recommendations on psychology and self-improvement.

Conclusion

In the light of modernity, Taoism has taken the form of spiritual practice, which helps a person to cope with the problems that have arisen today. Taking into account the principles set forth in the book, each person can independently improve in several directions at once. It can be physical health, psychological and spiritual.

Tao - Ancient Chinese philosophy. The meaning of the law: if you have not spent enough effort on the way to any goal, then you have not reached this goal, but you are on the way to it, and this is the preferred scenario. If you, on the way to the same goal, have spent more effort than is required to achieve this goal, then you will achieve the exact opposite result (you will “slip through” the goal and go to unknown shores).

The Tao law is reflected in the proverbs: “Make a fool pray to God - he will break his forehead”, “It happens that zeal overcomes and reason”, “Hurry - you make people laugh.”

Practical conclusions from the Tao law:
a) you can’t do anything too (love, think, want)
b) the movement towards the goal is always better than the goal itself (the threat of punishment is preferable to the punishment itself).

An unpleasant consequence of the Tao law: the phenomenon of deep emptiness in people after reaching any goal was noted by many psychologists. Emptiness, confusion, self-doubt and in their future, spiritual discomfort continue until a person determines a new goal for himself. That is, the goal acts as a guiding thread, as a guiding idea in the organization of human life.

The founder of Taoism is considered Lao Tzu (“wise old man”, Chinese philosopher, VI century BC). The doctrine is set forth in the book “Tao de jing” (“Book of the Way and Virtues”), the main virtue is abstinence. “In order to serve Heaven and rule people, it is best to observe abstinence, which is the first step of virtue, and this last is the beginning of moral perfection.”

10 laws of the Tao path

Law of Oppositions

Our life is not conceivable without opposites; it contains birth and death, love and hate, friendship and rivalry, meeting and parting, joy and suffering, loss and gain. Man is also contradictory: on the one hand, he strives to ensure that his life is stable, but at the same time, some dissatisfaction drives him forward. In the world of opposites, man seeks to find lost unity with himself, with other people, and with life itself. Everything has a beginning and an end; this is the earthly cycle and the cycle of life. Things, having reached their limit, pass into their opposite. A pair of opposites maintain equilibrium, and the transition from one extreme to another creates the diversity of life. Sometimes in order to understand something, you need to see, find out the opposite of this. One opposite cannot exist without the other, for there to be day, night is needed.
LAW OF GOOD AND EVIL
The world is not created just for pleasure. He does not always correspond to our ideas about him and our desires. He who is not capable of doing a good deed himself will not appreciate the good from others. For those who are not able to see evil, evil does not exist.
LAW OF THE MIRROR
What annoys a person in those around him is in himself. What a person does not want to hear from other people is what is most important for him to hear at this stage of life. Another person can serve as a mirror for us, helping us discover what we do not see, do not know in ourselves. If a person corrects what irritates him in others, in himself, fate will not need to send him such a mirror. Avoiding everything that is unpleasant for us, avoiding people who provoke negative feelings in us, we deprive ourselves of the opportunity to change our lives, deprive ourselves of the possibility of internal growth.

LAW OF CHAIN \u200b\u200bREACTION
If you allow your negative feelings to break out, then one unpleasant experience will reach for another. If you live, indulging in dreams and dreams, then reality will be squeezed out by the illusory world of fantasies. It can be difficult for a person to stop the flow of his negative and unproductive thoughts, because he develops the habit of experiencing, worrying, suffering, dreaming, i.e. move away from reality, from actively solving problems. What you give more energy to will be more. The thought that you give your time acts like a magnet, attracting your own kind. One troubled thought is easier to deal with than a swarm of obsessive thoughts. In the process of our communication with other people, we tend to adopt their mood through emotional infection.
LAW OF ACCEPTANCE OR Tranquility
Life itself is neither bad nor good. Our perceptions make it good or bad. Life is what it is. One must take life, enjoy life, value life. Trust in life, trust in the strength of your mind and the command of your heart. Everything will be as it should, even if in a different way.
LAW OF THE BOARD
You need to pay for everything: for action and inaction. What will be more expensive? Sometimes the answer is obvious only at the end of life, on a deathbed more expensive is the fee for inaction. Avoiding failure does not make a person happy. “There have been many failures in my life, most of which never happened” - the old man said to his sons before his death.
LAW OF SIMILARITY
Like is attracted by like. In our life, there are no accidental comers. We are attracting not those people whom we want to attract, but those who are like us.
LAW OF REQUEST
If you don’t ask anything from life, then you don’t get anything. If we ask fate for some reason, then we don’t know what. Our request attracts the corresponding reality.
LAW OF TAXI
If you are not a driver, if you are being taken, then the farther you are brought, the more expensive it will be for you. You did not order a route, you can be anywhere. The further you delve into the wrong path, the harder it will be for you to return.
LAW OF ELECTION
Our life consists of many choices. You always have a choice. Our choice may be that we do not make a choice. The world is full of opportunities. However, there are no gains without losses. Accepting one thing, thereby we refuse something else. Entering one door, we miss another. Everyone must decide for himself what is more important to him. From losses, you can also get an acquisition.