It is debated whether Daoism should be regarded as religion (Daojiao, 道教) or as a philosophy (Daojia, 道家). Its origins go back beyond written sources. It shares concepts and roots with the vedic culture (India), Buddhist traditions, shamanic practices and nature spirituality from Central Asia. The principal paradigm is that the living world should follow the laws of nature and thus man should aim for “non-action” (wuwei, 無為), detachment and inner peace. Methods to reach these states of mind are to be spontaneous and receptive, respect all living beings and relativism of one’s personal opinion. Strength should be gained by flexibility and softness, speech and behaviour is to be cultivated. It is important to realise that the daoist philosophy cannot be understood without physical practice. Most schools of Daoism declare the lineage of ancestral Masters from which they descend, because this indicates the physical practices associated with the teaching.
The first written sources of Daoism date back to 4th century BC. Well known are the “book of the right way and virtue” (daodejing, 道德經) of Laozi (老子) and the “true classic of the southern blossom” (南華眞經) of Zhuangzi (莊子), but there are a series of other great philosophers who have influenced the thoughts of the time: Kong Fuzi (Confuzius, 孔夫子), Mongzi (Menzius, 孟子), Mozi (墨子). Their scriptures should be understood as a philosophical dialogue as they refer to each other in various ways. They provide the theoretical background on how man should think and live in order to be in harmony with the Dao.
Qigong can be understood as the sum of physical and meditation exercises in association with the daosit philosophy. A prominent martial art is the shaolin quan (少林拳), a school situated on the shaolin mountains (少林山) in mainland China. The school goes back to Bodhidharma (Da Mo, 菩提達摩) who was the first to introduce Buddhism to China and who is also said to be the first Zen (Chan, 禪) Master. Its teachings concentrate initially on hard physical exercise and pursue the inner spiritual cultivation at a more advanced stage. As a contrast, there is the wudangquan (武當拳) a school in the wudang mountains (武當山) that teaches internal martial arts (see neigong). Its aim is to master the own qi before using it in the external, physical world. Taiji quan is a further daoistic martial art well known in the western world. Zen and the martial arts from Japan also have their origins in the daoist tradition. Thus, the Japanese word “do” (道) in Judo, Kendo, Iaido, Butsudo etc. is the equivalent of the Chinese word “dao” (道), which literally means “way”, but implies a deeper meaning in the context of martial arts and meditation (for details see here).
Meditation is an important practice for neigong, self cultivation and the manipulation of qi in the body. From thinking of nothing to visualisations there are countless methods to practice, and the choice of a particular technique depends on the teaching master.
It would be pretentious to summarise the vast wisdom of Daoism in a blog post. And thus this text can only provide a short foreword for any further reading on the matter.
Posted in Questions & Answers
Tags: Bodidharma, daoism, taoism
