Taoism
The Three Vinegar Tasters
These vinegar tasters represent the “Three Teachings of China” – Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism – and “the vinegar they are sampling represents the Essence of Life” (Hoff 2). “To K’ung Fu-tse (Confucius), life seemed rather sour. He believed that the present was out of step with the past […]. Therefore, he emphasized reverence for the Ancestors, as well as for the ancient rituals and ceremonies […]” and advocated “the use of precisely measured court music, prescribed steps, actions, and phrases [that] added up to an extremely complex system of rituals, each used for a particular purpose at a particular time” (Hoff 3); “To Buddha, […] life on earth was bitter, filled with attachments and desires that led to suffering [… and that] in order to find peace” one must “transcend ‘the world of dust’ and reach Nirvana.” To Buddha, life was “bitter” (Hoff 3-4); To Lao-tse, [teacher of the Tao], the harmony that naturally existed between heaven and earth could be found by anyone at any time” (Hoff 4) – to him, life was sweet. Only prescribed rules and viewing the world as a negative spoiled the sweetness of life. According to Lao-tse, “rahter than turn away from ‘the world of dust,'” one should “‘join the dust of the world'” (5). In viewing all – the good and bad in life – as a lesson, one can remain calm and happy, even in the center of a storm.
Readings: from the Tao de Ching and Tao of Pooh
Tao of Pooh – Full Text pdf
Tao of Pooh – Audiobook
Key Concepts:
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aims to achieve humility, simplicity, and harmony with nature
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believes in “the unity of opposites”
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believes in not tampering with natural states, i.e. you cannot place that “square peg” in a “round hole”
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all things are constantly changing
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the universe is infinite
Class Documents
Taoism Background
From the ‘Tao te Ching’
Helpful Links:
10th Gifted World 