人法地、地法天、天法道
道法自然
THE WAY TO RIGHTEOUS LIVING
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WHAT IS 道 DAO?
Daoism is the understanding of the workings of the universe ie. Nature.
The Dao is the primordial force of the universe. The teachings are originally known as 黃老道 HuangLaoDao, translated as "The Way Of Huang & Lao", referring to XuanYuan HuangDi (轩辕黄帝) and LaoZi (老子).
道 可道也 非恆道也
"The Dao that can be described in words is not the eternal Dao".
LaoZi often used water to describe the characteristics of the Dao. Water is soft, yet strong. Water is soft compared to rock, yet it is able to cut through mountains. Water is not hindered by obstacles, flowing around to continue its path.
Like what the late Bruce Lee said "Be like water, my friend".
What Is Daoism?
Daoism, also known as Taoism, is the oldest philosophy-religion of China.
Like many religions, Daoism has been contaminated by cultural traditions, folklore, superstitions etc.
Daoism, being a form of spiritual gnosis, thus became a religion.
Spiritual seekers and practioners must make the distinction between 道教 (DaoJiao) being the religion, and 道家 (DaoJia) being the original teachings and philosophy.
Daoism And Anarchism
人法地、地法天、天法道、道法自然
DaoFaZiRan (道法自然) basically means "The Way of the Dao is Nature".
Daoism is naturalistic in nature, and thus an advocate of anarchism.
Do note that "Anarchism" does not mean "Chaos".
The ethymological meaning of anarchism means "without a ruler/master".
No master = No slaves
In Nature, there is FREEDOM. No one owns anyone.
Even when advising on governing a nation, the advice is: Governance without interferance.
*Link to Anarchism Video Playlist
Daoism And Stoicism
In some ways, Daoism is quite similar to stoicism. Both teach the importance of tranquility of the mind.
Examples:
Do what you can in life, but do not be disturbed by external factors that you cannot control.
Do not be bothered by the opinions of others as long as your speech & actions are just and upright.
*Link to Stoicism Video Playlist
Daoism And Spinoza Philosophy
Nature is the "God' of Spinoza, and much of his philosophy is in alignment of the Daoist teachings.
*Link to Spinoza Video Playlist
Daoism And Buddhism
While Buddhism focuses on the training of the mind, Daoism advocates XingMingShuangXiu 性命双修.
Xìng 性 being one's character (Inner Nature) and their Ming 命, understood as one's physical body.
In other words, Daoists train both the immaterial and material aspects - mind/character (Xing 性) as well as their physical body (Ming 命).
The point is that it enables you to have a long life so that you have more time for your practice, if you believe in the end of life is death. If you believe in rebirth, you may have to risk having to restart your practice as you would not possess that same level of knowledge and understanding as what you have at the present moment.
If you do not have a healthy body, how are you going to practise efficiently and effectively?
*Link to Dhamma Video Playlist
ABOUT DAOFAZIRAN
道法自然 is dedicated to the revivication of the original teachings of 黃老道, emphasizing the principles of WuWei, Yin-Yang balance, and the Daoist way of life.