Does anybody know something about taoism?
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Taoism is about Balance Yin and Yang. I have the tao te ching the te of piglet but even books dont exactly cover it......\n\n\n    * "Be still like a mountain and flow like a great river." Lao Tse\n    * "Different Chinese philosophers, writing probably in 5-4 centuries B.C., presented some major ideas and a way of life that are nowadays known under the name of Taoism, the way of correspondence between man and the tendency or the course of natural world." Alan Watts, from his book: "Tao: The Watercourse Way."\n    * "We believe in the formless and eternal Tao, and we recognize all personified deities as being mere human constructs. We reject hatred, intolerance, and unnecessary violence, and embrace harmony, love and learning, as we are taught by Nature. We place our trust and our lives in the Tao, that we may live in peace and balance with the Universe, both in this mortal life and beyond." Creed of the Western Reform Taoist Congregation 1\n\nHistory of Taoism:\n\nTao (pronounced "Dow") can be roughly translated into English as path, or the way. It is basically indefinable. It has to be experienced. It "refers to a power which envelops, surrounds and flows through all things, living and non-living. The Tao regulates natural processes and nourishes balance in the Universe. It embodies the harmony of opposites (i.e. there would be no love without hate, no light without dark, no male without female.)" 2 \n\nThe founder of Taoism is believed by many to be Lao-Tse (604-531 BCE), a contemporary of Confucius. (Alternative spellings: Lao Tze, Lao Tsu, Lao Tzu, Laozi, Laotze, etc.). He was searching for a way that would avoid the constant feudal warfare and other conflicts that disrupted society during his lifetime. The result was his book: Tao-te-Ching (a.k.a. Daodejing). Others believe that he is a mythical character. \n\nTaoism started as a combination of psychology and philosophy but evolved into a religious faith in 440 CE when it was adopted as a state religion. At that time Lao-Tse became popularly venerated as a deity. Taoism, along with Buddhism and Confucianism, became one of the three great religions of China. With the end of the Ch'ing Dynasty in 1911, state support for Taoism ended. Much of the Taoist heritage was destroyed during the next period of warlordism. After the Communist victory in 1949, religious freedom was severely restricted. "The new government put monks to manual labor, confiscated temples, and plundered treasures. Several million monks were reduced to fewer than 50,000" by 1960. 3 During the cultural revolution in China from 1966 to 1976, much of the remaining Taoist heritage was destroyed. Some religious tolerance has been restored under Deng Xiao-ping from 1982 to the present time. \n\nTaoism currently has about 20 million followers, and is primarily centered in Taiwan. About 30,000 Taoists live in North America; 1,720 in Canada (1991 census). Taoism has had a significant impact on North American culture in areas of "acupuncture, herbalism, holistic medicine, meditation and martial arts..." 3
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1st of all, many chinese themselves confused buddhism, taoism & Confucianism altogether,as the these 3 theologies made a very deep impact in chinese culture.\nso, its a 'distorted' view that deities/ 'god' are auspicious.\n(buddha never said he is god, but that's another story altogether).\n2ndly, money/ wealth is very important to chinese way of life. why? because chinese seldom sees peace reigns for a long time. chinese often fight against chinese for the past 5000 years. therefore, with wealth, it equates with 'power'.\nso, to answer your question, why do people (assuming you meant chinese people, sorry if i'm wrong) believe a buddha is good luck, is because people needs affirmation that buddha protects them in wealth & health. it is public knowlege that buddha promotes compassion & loving-kindess.\n(buddha never said that if you pray to him, you'll get wealth & health either. another distorted point of view again).
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Well, I don’t know much about Master Joe Schaeffer, the head of a school called Shaolin-Do, but I heard he was on Ripley's. I do know a little about Shaolin Martial arts and history, as I have been a student of Martial arts for over 30 years and I have studies Chinese History and culture for nearly 20 years now.  \n\nMy personal opinion is that I do not like a Chinese martial arts school that mixes Japanese terms with Chinese tradition. The information I do know of Master Joe Schaeffer and his Shaolin-Do shoes him wearing Japanese style uniforms and Japanese Black belts.  He also states that he has a 6th degree black belt from a Shaolin Master. I am not saying he is not telling the truth, as I do not know him personally and I do not know his Master, but I do know and Have met actual Shaolin Monks. They do not use Black belts. Also, the term 'Do' is a Japanese word meaning "way" and is often added to the end of a skill or art to indicated it's practice. For instance,  Karate-Do (Empty Hand Way); Kendo (The way of the Sword) or Budo. (The way of war) In Chinese, the word for way is Tao, but it is not used in the same manner. That said, if he has studied Shaolin arts, and he has learned any of the Shaolin healing techniques, then these would fall into the category of Traditional Chinese Medicine.\n\nTraditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) can seam almost miraculous, and almost certainly strange to those unfamiliar with the techniques and philosophies of the arts. Without going into too much detail, TCM believes that balance is the key to health. The principals and theories revolve around Internal Energy (Qi); The five elements (wuxíng: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water) and Yin, Yang (yīnyáng). The techniques commonly used for healing are Tuina (traction, massage and body manipulation); Acupuncture; Moxibustion; Herbology; Acupoint therapy (Acupressure) and Qi Gung. (Controlled breathing patterns with various postures and body movements. Some people call it Chinese yoga.) There's a lot more to it, but these are the basics that most western audiences can relate to.  Anyway, TCM is not a hoax and despite some western criticism, the facts are that generally speaking, the Chinese lead healthier, longer lives then we do in the west.  There must be something to their health care practices, right? \n\nAs for Master Joe Schaeffer, I don’t know what to tell you. I would recommend talking to him and a few of his students and then do a little research on line. You can check out the official Shaolin Temple Overseas Headquarters web page (http://www.shaolin-overseas.org/) if you like or you can read more about Shaolin from numerous other resources including Wikipedia, shaolinwolf.com, shaolin.com, or any number of other sites. After speaking with Master Schaeffer, you could also post more detailed questions here and see what you learn.  \n\nI hope this helps.
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*LOL* no!!!\n\nhttp://www.chinatownconnection.com/chinese-superstitions.htm  <<< Chinese Superstitions
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Confucianism is said to be strict while Daoism(it can be Daoism or Taoism) is sort of free and wild. They therefore complete eachother.
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Can you be more specific?  What are the radicals in these characters.  There are like 15 tao and qi's.\nThough no matter what they are, the answer is probably no.  Just like no two different English words are truly interchangable.  Even though the words may appear to mean the same thing, they may change in context or contain nontransferrable subtleties.
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Be very carefull in your search, many people if not all people who claim to be "masters" of something are in fact frauds. It is like the big man on campus doesn't have to tell people he is the big man on campus, people know. I have put a link below for good info on Buddhism that I use everyday for inspiration.
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i am a Taoist and I'm my own leader/ god\n\nthat's what Taoism is, following your path, walking your own way in life, being your own god, guiding yourself through the dark and light of life\n\n\nlove and peace\n\nstar
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go meet a chinese person and ask the t teach you. the best way to learn is from who has the experice
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Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Muslim 1%-2%
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it is based on karma.\n\nDaoism emphasizes the harmony between the individual and nature.  The belief that spirits inhabit living/nonliving things is called animism.
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Ok... this is long... I actually got a pretty bad grade during college for writing a paper about this and unfortunately using too many websites for information.  There is a lot of misinformation on the web (I no longer trust anything i read unless it's from an encyclopedia or reputable source online. Definitely not a martial arts website)   There also is a lot of misinformation in books written by authors such as "Si Fu Bob" and "how I will teach you the secrets of Shaolin Kung fu".  Basically, your history professor is correct. If you read textbooks written by college professors on Chan/Zen and Bodhidharma... they think his association with Bodhidharma is legend.  Some even dispute his existence at all.  If you read books on martial arts history, they'll say that his association with bodhidharma for sure is legend and that the Shaolin monks most likely harbored retired soldiers who knew self defense.  The concise encyclopedia brittanica will state that chinese martial arts harkens back to the 18th century B.C.  Go to google scholar (it has a lot of books written for the general public also with some books written by academics) or JSTOR (which has a better reference of articles written by academics) and look up "bodhidharma" and "legend."  All books written by academics will state that he is a legend and his association with martial arts is that... the general books written by regular folks for regular folks like "how to learn martial arts in 20 days" are hit and miss...  Hopefully, you didn't make the same mistake that I made and failed a midterm paper based on reading websites for info!\nOh, I found this answer in another area about kalaripayattu...\n\n"As to kalaripayattu....\nThere is no association historically between kalaripayattu and shaolin kung fu or any other martial arts. This only came about recently and has been pushed strongly by practitioners of kalaripayattu as an association (i guess to try and generate interest in the art). Unfortunately, the general pracitioners of kalaripayattu are unwilling to admit (although Professor Zarilli's book "When the Body Becomes All Eyes: Paradigms, Discourses and Practices of Power in Kalarippayattu, a South Indian Martial Art (Hardcover and almost all other books on kalaripayattu reference this)" that the earliest suggested birth of kalaripayattu is around 11th-13th century a.d. and that the earliest proof of kalaripayattu was from portuguese records in the 16th century a.d. No credible records of kalaripayattu exist before this.\n\nThe association between indian martial arts and chinese martial arts is between the legend of Bodhidharma (an Indian or Central asian monk, depending on the legend you use) who founded the Shaolin temple. The rumor began in the 1600's A.D. and was written by a Chinese Taoist monk who did not like the Shaolin monks.... \n\nThe first open association of Bodhidharma and the Shaolin martial arts is made in the 17th century A.d. and it states in the text that Bodhidharma created the exercises that developed into Shaolin quan in a cave in China after staring at a wall for nine years without moving. Between the founding of the Shaolin temple (600A.D.) and 1600A.D. no association has ever been made about Bodhidharma and Shaolin Kung Fu. \n\nFrom this legend in the 1600's A.D., kalaripayattu practitioners today  and other people have been trying to push that maybe Bodhidharma was a kalaripayattu practioner. If he was a kalaripayattu practitioner, then that must mean that kalaripayattu was created in the 600A.D. and is the progenitor of Shaolin Kung Fu and hence all martial arts! Of course, this disregards the other martial arts traditions in china that go back to before Shaolin kung fu by a few centuries.\n\nThere is physical and written evidence in China that martial arts as practiced by the Shaolin monks predate the 6th century A.D. and that most martial arts in most
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Stephanie, if you really are that dedicated you don't have to go just yet, get the feel of things first in the UK. My friend is one of the highest ranked masters of Bagua zhang and has studied in china for TWENTY YEARS. If you are unsure about form or self discipline it would be crazy to step in to something until  you know it's exactly what you want. Alex Kozma is a master in quite a few very devastatingly good arts and has written books on his travels and is re-noun worldwide for his teachings. I knew him before he went and now he is a Don. His most famous book is "The way of the esoteric warrior" and there is not alot he doesn't know about the best ways to teach and learn mind body and spirit. At the moment you only have 4 elemental signs Earth Fire Water Air, the Chinese have the void as well, this represents you and what you don't know yet, fill it wisely, be aware. Alex runs the UK (Bagua) Nei jia institute (it has got a good web  site WITH THE SAME NAME) and has masters who teach under him, contact him and express your concerns. His phone number is 0207 386 7122 and does tutor privately for the dedicated  . I am sure he will help you find your way, good luck Q.
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Without saying which tones are associated with each word, it could mean any one of a thousand things, most of them nonsense!\n\nIf I make a lot of guesses and also assume that "tao" is being used to mean Tao (the Chinese philosophy), which is actually written as "dao" in Pinyin, then\n\nWo3 mi4 dao4 fa3\n\nmeans something like "I seek the Tao way".  You need to be careful though, as \n\nWo3 mi3 dao4 fa3\n\ncould mean "I repress the Tao way".\n\nWhere did you see the phrase and can you get any more context?
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I think most of the people who have answered this question were confused by the fact that you said "discipline", not "religion". \n\nThere are tons to choose from. As far as religions go, Buddhism has already been mentioned. There is also Taoism. The Tao is not a god, it is more of, well, it's pretty comparable to the Force in Star Wars. There are various animistic religions, wherein one does not praise gods, but acknowledges the spiritual in everything. Closest thing to worship with this mindset that one does is leave food for the spirits. \n\nSatanism, of the Church of Satan variety, does not actually hold Satan as divine, but rather the self. It's all about taking control and becoming powerful on one's own. \n\nAs for magical systems, The Golden Dawn may have contributed to the foundations of Wicca, but it is not actually a religion. It is a magical system. Other beings make appearances, but more as representations of power. \n\nAlong those lines, if you want to work with other entities, but not worship them, you might consider demonology. There are altogether too few people in this world with a working knowledge of demons. \n\nIf you want to leave other beings out of it entirely, even as figureheads, there is always Chaos Magic. This is strictly about magic, not about gods. The best place to start on this, I'm told, is the book _Liber Chaos_.\n\nAnyway, Wiccans would have you believe that magic is inherently tied into the divine, and this is just not true. Although I am very devoted to my gods, when I do magic, I generally leave them out of it. I've heard magic compared to prayer, which it isn't. Prayer, even to a pagan deity, is still prayer. Magic, on the other hand, SHOULD be treated as a science. It is understandable, and works on certain principles. I see nothing wrong with using the scientific method when doing magic.\n\nSites that may be useful to you are in the sources section.
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You'll find many chinese customs, superstitions and traditions listed here...\nhttp://www.britishbornchinese.org.uk/pages/culture/customs/
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Try this.\n\nhttp://web.ionsys.com/~remedy/TAO%20OF%20PHYSICS.htm\n\nhttp://www.shotokai.cl/otras_artes/165_em_.html\n\nhttp://www.spaceandmotion.com/Philosophy-Fritjof-Capra.htm