World Religions

Taoism was founded by Lao Tzu who developed the concept of Tao, the path, in that everything revolves around this way. There are three ways to understand Tao; Tao is the same in everything, ultimate reality, it cannot be exhausted, and is the way of life. In Taoism, the ability to move the power of the Tao is called Te, and can be translated into three different meanings. Philosophical Taoism is the first one, it is reflective and is the attitude towards life; the second is vitalizing, because it is active and engages in ch’i or energy. The last meaning is religious Taoism, this involves meditation on a nothingness and uses soothsayers or faith healers to understand problems and answers; the three branches may circulate within each other to maximize te. Taoism has fundamental aspects dealing with nature, the flow of energy, and effectiveness called wu wei; humans need to work with nature, not against it. Taoist believe nature has a superior place over humans, because the Taoist of Transcendent, energy that runs through all things, is constant; people are a part of nature, whereas nature is part of the ultimate. When man goes along with the flow of wu wei he will find total happiness and avoid an unharmonious environment. Hence the whole purpose of Tao is to listen and reflect on the self to better understand, while also bringing peace and balance to a person’s life. The yin/yang symbol is a perfect example of two complete opposites that complement each other, thus giving life balance and harmony. However, Confucianism was founded by Confucius, who was fixated on how people can become more human. He based all of his theories on the Chou Dynasty, making tradition an important aspect of his philosophy. Basically, Confucius thought t...

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... area. Another way they function together is by balancing out behavior; cultures can blend the controlled behavior of the Confucians to keep order in society, but use the natural flow of Taoist to keep good energy flowing through them, creating a unified experience.

Two completely opposite religions found a way to move around each other in a rhythm that balances out all the different aspects. The point of these religions is to create a harmonious and balanced life, which is why Confucianism and Taoism are complementary. Although Confucianism aims for the greater good of social order and Taoism shoots for something beyond society, both help one another succeed in their goals by using similar morals. While their structures may look different, the aspects that make up the foundations can easily be taken by various cultures and blended to form a cohesive environment.