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So today at service, Unitarian Universalist, the topic was Tao.
After getting home and researching Taoism I have no clue where to begin.
Is there a basic "How to become a Tao"?
Any recommendations for an easy read to get started?
From what very, very, little I have learned today, I want to learn more!
Thanks in advance!
The Tao is a Philosophy and has no resemblance to the Taoist religion. An excellent source is R.L. Wing's "The Tao of Power". Taoism as a religion should not be confused with the Taoist philosophy which antedates all known oriental philosophies. The religion, as it is practiced, is a wholesale imitation of Buddhism, with a sufficiently saleable amount of magical elements and ritual. As Gerald Berry describes it,
. . . The disciples who followed [after Lao Tzu] made it a ritual only, and used the Tao Te Ching as a sourcebook of magic . . . Modern Taoism is a system of unreasoning credulity based on superstition, a foolish idolatry served by an ignorant and venal priesthood.
There are 2 Taoisms . One, a sort of magical folk religion , the other sort of a philosophical Zen Buddhist thing. Zen is thought by many to be a meshing of basic Buddhism and Taoism .
The Tao is a Philosophy and has no resemblance to the Taoist religion. An excellent source is R.L. Wing's "The Tao of Power". Taoism as a religion should not be confused with the Taoist philosophy which antedates all known oriental philosophies. The religion, as it is practiced, is a wholesale imitation of Buddhism, with a sufficiently saleable amount of magical elements and ritual. As Gerald Berry describes it,
. . . The disciples who followed [after Lao Tzu] made it a ritual only, and used the Tao Te Ching as a sourcebook of magic . . . Modern Taoism is a system of unreasoning credulity based on superstition, a foolish idolatry served by an ignorant and venal priesthood.
Good recommendation. Can't believe I didn't remember it . Read it 20 yrs ago or so .
Nothing really earth shattering or revelatory about Taoism . Largely a "go with the flow effortlessly and be true to yourself " philosophy. Certainly nothing wrong with that .
Go straight to Tao Te Ching to get a feel for the ideas and imagery, considering oriental indirect teaching as in koans. Beware of any connction to I Ching or other scrying tools and/or magical elements.
Did you also note who the scholar was who said it???
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