Basic spirit of Taoism

Taoism is a rich philosophy, but can be boiled down to some basic tenets:

The sprit of following nature

Following nature is the basic idea. One Taoist saying teaches us that, “Man follows the way of earth, earth follows the way of heaven, heaven follows the way of the Tao, and the Tao follows the way of spontaneity.”

Spontaneity, or naturalness, refers to things having spontaneity without interference from outside elements. This spontaneity is a most important feature of Taoism. Whether in nature or human society, everything has to follow the Tao, or its own nature and should never be changed by outside forces.

Also, one must follow the intrinsic nature and law of development of all beings, and take appropriate action in response to conditions.

The spirit of Taihe

Taihe means that humans and nature are one and emphasizes the fact that humans should conform to the course of nature, respect natural law, and be in harmony with the nature. The idea also calls for harmony among people. Taoism teaches the value of morality, mercy and frugality, treating others in a gentle, lenient way, and bringing a harmonious atmosphere among people. Taihe also calls for harmony between one's body and mind.

The spirit of the water goodness

Taosim puts great stress on a person’s moral development and regards virtue as an important mark of a person’s character.

The Book of Master Baopu says, “Anyone who longs to be immortal should have attained the virtue of loyalty, filial piety, kindness, spontaneity, benevolence, and trustworthiness.”

Lao-Tzu (the famous Chinese philosopher) brought the idea of the water goodness to Taoism and thought that the most beautiful character and noblest sentiments should be like water, bringing benefit to all things and never asking for anything.

He praised the quality of water, but also knew the powerful strength of water well and said that water is the gentlest thing on earth, but it can also conquer the strongest of things.

This belief teaches people that they should stop chasing fame and material gain, and avoid worldly disputes.

The spirit of respecting and treasuring life

Generally speaking, religions call attention to the underworld and have various ways for people to be rescued from it or ascend to heaven after death, but pay little attention to the quality of practical life. In that, Taoism is quite different.

Taoism emphasizes reality, human life and the physical body and explores ways to lengthen life. It believes that the greatest virtue in heaven and on earth is life.

Taoism in fact pursues immortality and teaches people that everyone has one life, and will never be reborn. So, Taoists oppose trading life for fame and gain, and blindly subjecting life to man-made political thinking.

Wudang Taoism teaches that ordinary people can become immortal in this life if only they cultivate themselves in both mind and body. It also believes that to be immortal, in addition to cultivating life, one should seek goodness in morality, scour away all faults, and be kind-hearted.