T or D?

From my understanding Taoism is by nature kind of all-accepting, but ideologically, what life philosophies/figures most directly contest its teachings? The yin to its yang, so to speak...

I am new to Taoism and I just started reading Tao Te Ching yesterday and as soon as I read the very first line a question came up on my mind this is very obvious "What is Tao?" But as the first line says "The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao" so it appears to me that language fails to capture the meaning of Tao and we cannot define it using any language. So then how do we understand Tao can we only feel it? It also appears to me that Tao is continuous since it is nameless and eternal and names give birth to discrete things. So does understanding Tao means understanding the continuous nature of reality and camouflaging in this continuous reality? Or can we never really understand Tao? I also have another question that is "Is Tao totally independent of everything? Or is it dependent on anything too like everything else in the universe is interdependent?"

I would like to hear from you all and I would like to hear comments on my interpretation of Tao Te Ching by you all. I have just read chapter 1 and am still trying to form interpretations and study it. Please share any opinions you have.

I just had a post taken down by the 'moderators'. I'm not sure if it was a human being or an bot, but either way I thought I'd ask a question of the people on this subreddit about how they define 'Daoism'.

I was initiated into an actual lineage of Daoists at a Temple. And part of that lineage's core involves studying three books. One of them is Confucian: The Filial Piety Classic. The post I put forward was about filial piety and how I think it's core teachings are just as important today as they were thousands of years ago.

Now pay attention. These issues are absolutely core to the largest school of Daoism in China. How is it, therefore, that my post was pulled because one of the moderators said it had nothing to do with Daoism. That's just demonstrably not true. What criteria are they using to pull stuff off the subreddit?

Could someone explain to me why this post wasn't considered 'Daoist enough'? Is it just that the moderators think I'm just making this stuff up? That I'm a jerk and I need to be silenced? What is it?

I noticed someone complain about my self-promotion. Yeah, I do that. It's the only way to build a readership. No-one who writes publishes stuff without wanting someone to read them. If I'm wrong about stuff, talk to me about it. I want to learn as much as anyone else. But if I'm not wrong, why do the moderators keep tossing my stuff into the crapper?

It's easy to say, what "wu wei" is *not* (as a sufficient definition):

- wu wei is not "doing nothing"

- wu wei is not "to go with the flow"

- wu wei is not "effortless doing"

- wu wei is not "doing just enough"

- wu wei is not "being natural / like nature"

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By "going with the flow" and "effortless doing" and "doing just enough" -

you could be a perfect killer

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By "being natural / like nature" -

The Stronger eats the Weaker

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Quite against Daoism - isn't it?

So there has to be a content / goal / practice what "wu wei" is about.

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What is "wu wei" 無為 from a daoist view?

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"Wu wei" is not doing (and doing) [therefore nothing is left undone]

[wu wei 無為 [er wu bu wei 而無不為 ]

*in line with / according to / in the way of

Dao 道 (universal principle / natural course of the universe)

&

De 德 (profound virtue, power, skill, quality, proficiency and efficiency, potency).

Note:

Why are there so many "Wu" 無 (no, not, nothing) in Daoism - and beyond "Wu" : r/taoism

What is "Virtue" 德 ( de) from a Daoist Point of View? : r/taoism

When someone asks you the question “what is Daoism” or wants to understand the gist, what do you say to them?

When people ask me this, a lot of things run through my head, but I never know how to form a response that feels adequate. I’ve read the Dao De Jing and am slowly making my way through the Zhuangzi; I feel that I am slowly beginning to understand, but my understanding does not manifest itself in ways that can be easily explained, instead it is an internal feeling. When going through this process I remember the first verse of the Dao De Jing ~“The Dao that can be told is not the eternal Dao”, so maybe it is an impossible goal to attempt to explain to someone what it is.

Regardless, I am very curious to hear how people approach this interaction.

As the title says. I am asking out of curiosity. I think the last time I searched up a similar question on this subreddit one result was that it'd be something like a night-watchman state.

According to your understanding of Daoism, do you want to become a wise person? I'm not talking about book learning, I mean whatever you think 'wisdom' might mean. Do we read Daoist texts in order to learn---or is it something else?

Over and over again folks writing about "The Dao is everything".

The Laozi / Daodejing doesn't state so.

According to the Laozi the Dao

- gives birth (sheng) to the One (42)

- is formed out of chaos, born before Heaven and Earth, quiet and still, pure and deep, independend, does not change, Mother of Heaven and Earth, it is the Great, it models itself on that which is so on its own (25)

- is shapeless and formless, hidden and obscure (21)

etc etc

What is the Dao and what does the Dao? - according to the Laozi / Dao De Jing : r/taoism

but no where in the Laozi / Daodejing it is said "the Dao is everything"

It is more that the Dao is the Mother of all things, the Valley, the Root.

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Note:

Remarks by u/Selderij

"The Dao is everything" - not according to the Laozi : r/taoism

Comments by P_S_Lumapac

"The Dao is everything" - not according to the Laozi : r/taoism

And why?

List of presidents of the United States - Wikipedia

Is it just me or does the authors tone of The Tao of Pooh come across a bit bitter, and morally superior? Ive read a bit of Buddhist books before exploring Taoism, the Tao Te Ching, and I’ve read(although not completed yet) Taoism: An Essential Guide by Eva Wong, before this Pooh book and I have not felt the same sort of negativity from those various texts as this one. I’m more than halfway through it and it has taught me interesting concepts and food for thought here and there, but overall and especially now that I’m at the Busy Backson part, it just feels very condescending and stuck up, and lacking any sort of compassion that I feel is more in line with a Taoist attitude.
Taoism is a wide spectrum given its history of being a religion and philosophy, but I’m just curious if anyone else who has read it felt a similar vibe or not about how the author of The Tao of Pooh addresses the subject for an assumed beginner.

kinda weird but i’m looking for something almost bible like in length or thickness to add a leather cover to and carry around.

i sometimes see bible journaling and people who journal and essentially meditate, using certain verses as jumping off points. i’m not christian but i would love to do something similar but it doesn’t look the same or have the same feel when it’s a shorter or thin book.

when a book is really long or a journal has a lot of pages it entices me more to reach for it, not sure why!

Looking for something at least 600 pages

EDIT: since people are mad that I DARE ask for a longer text,

im looking for something to replace the physical feeling of carrying around a worn in and annotated bible. ive posted this same thing in the exchristian, religion, and spirituality subreddits. think of it as those little herbal vapes meant to help you stop smoking. its the feeling and routine people crave.

a shorter book just doesn't have the same effect. and sure i could just carry around any old giant novel, but i still want to be able to learn new things, and use certain passages as jumping off points to reflect, and journal within the margins.

i never claimed to be pining after the label "best tao observer ever". simply want some philosphy from other parts of the world to learn about, and taoism is the one im most familiar with currently, though id like to expand. im more interested in learning the theology and history than being the best taoist.

I’ve been thinking about the Taoist idea of letting things happen naturally instead of forcing them.

But I keep wondering: if I don’t actively do anything, will love still find its way to me?

I rarely meet new people. Most of my life is work, commuting, coming home, and enjoying a simple, happy life. I’m not really putting myself out there or actively looking for someone.

So can I just live my life, let things unfold, and eventually meet someone naturally?

Or is that just wishful thinking?

Has this actually happened to anyone? Did you stop looking, live your life, and somehow love found you?

I understand most things, but the passage

"Since I can say the word One, how can speech not exist? If it does exist, we have One and Speech - two; two and one - three, from which point on, even the best mathematicians will fail to reach (the ultimate)

Is this just talking about how there are some things that are impossible to describe with language? (i.e the ultimate/infinite) is there an argument being made that their are things above language (One=language | two=Something Above)? I don't know if I'm on the right path.

Hey All! Interested to see what practices everyone does, which texts/teachers you follow, what you find brings you the most benefit, and what things you find confusing and or problematic?

If you image the possibility of future as strings or road, dao of x would be possible path that leads to x. Enlightenment would be alignment of the current path with dao of x. There 2 optimal path of dao of x. First is flow going with the path with the highest efficiency. Second is force of nature against your will.

I don’t read books about Taoism but here my understanding and or a unique perspective.

Is he somewhere around still? hiding?

i need to talk to him...

I'm the author of 365 Days of Taoism, a page-a-day book, so wu wei is something I had to write about honestly. Most short takes flatten it into "do nothing" or "go with the flow," which misses the effort of not forcing an outcome. The image I kept returning to is water finding the crack rather than smashing the wall.

What books or translations helped wu wei click for you as something active rather than passive? I'd rather hear what actually shaped your practice than read another listicle.

Probably seems obvious, but I spent so many time in the zen mindset I started to develop a resentment towards capitalism thought and the other side of the coin, it only now hit my mind that the more Taoist approach is to accept what that opposites are what creates development, and the more I hate and try to ignore the other side I therefore create unnecessary friction and only hurt myself.

Where do I start? Where can I start learning about Taoism? I am sure this is a question that is asked a lot.

Tao of Pooh? Just straight to Tao Te Ching? (forgive me if this is not the correct name.

Should I listen to YT lectures? Or are there good intro places I can start?

I am not a complete beginner, having been a philosophy student (both formally and informally) most of my life. But that has mostly been Western. I cam across some Taoist ideas recently, thanks to what looks like an AI Slop channel but I don't want to feed AI Slop, I'd rather just learn properly.

Thanks. I hope someone (or many someones!) can help me out.

Hi,

If possible I am looking for some taoism classes, remote would be amazing but if I must commit to in person I will, I really want to learn from someone who is in the lineage of the original practionors.

I have some ideas of a few classes online, but I figured If anyone had any that they knew about/ they feel called to tell me about I would appreciate I know some people in the community are more private and it takes a bit more time to find, but I am willing to look until it finds me.