February 2010
Posted Sun, 02/28/2010 - 20:04 by admin
Charles Darwin used them all.
Posted Sun, 02/28/2010 - 20:02 by admin
Surgery on blocked neck arteries has long been considered the best procedure for preventing a stroke.
Posted Sun, 02/21/2010 - 18:55 by admin
In addition to the chief texts of the Tao-te Ching and Chuang-tzu, several other significant texts in the Taoist tradition have been produced and used by Taoists over the centuries.
The Lieh-tzu (book of "Master Lieh"), of unknown date, teaches that nature and human actions are entirely mechanical in their operation – neither divine destiny nor human free will has the power to change the course of events.
The date of the Kuan-tzu (book of "Master Kuan") is also unknown.
Posted Sun, 02/21/2010 - 18:54 by admin
The Chuang-Tzu, named for its primary author, "Master Chuang" (c. 369-286 BCE), is also known as Nan-hua chenching (“The Pure Classic of Nan-hua”). Composed in the 4th or 3rd century BCE, the Chuang-tzu focuses a great deal on the person of Lao-tzu, who is presented as one of Chuang-Tzu's own teachers. It contains several discourses attributed to Lao Tzu, most of which are presented as responses to a disciple's questions, and records interactions between Lao Tzu and Confucius in which the former is the clear superior of the two.
Posted Sun, 02/21/2010 - 18:53 by admin
The Tao-te Ching (or Dao De Jing) is the central text of both philosophical and religious Taoism. In English, its name is usually translated as Classic of the Way of Power. It is also known as Lao Tzu's Five Thousand Words, as it is attributed to the sage Lao Tzu ("Master Lao," c. 5th century BCE) and is 5,000 Chinese characters in length.
The authorship, or at least sole authorship, of Lao-tzu has been questioned by some scholars, most of whom believe the text was compiled over a period of centuries.
Posted Sun, 02/21/2010 - 18:52 by admin
Important Taoist texts include the Tao-te Ching, the Chuang-tzu and several other less famous works of Taoist philosophy
Posted Sun, 02/21/2010 - 18:50 by admin
c. 550 BCE Taoism founded; Tao-Te Ching written by Lao Tze.
c. 350 BCE Chuang-Tzu further develops Taoist philosophy.
c. 150 BCE Immortality Taoism develops; Taiping Jing is compiled.
142 CE Zhang Ling founds the sect of the Way of Five Bushels of Rice.
155-220 CE Zhang Lu organizes the Way of Five Bushels of Rice into religious communities, which become known as Taoism of Heavenly Masters.
226-249 Wang Bi introduces Taoist concepts into Confucian learning.
251-334 Wei Huacun is the first female leader of the Shangqing sect.
c.
Posted Sun, 02/21/2010 - 18:46 by admin
Philosophical Taoism does not refer to an actual Taoist school or group of philosophers. Rather, it is a way of reading Taoist texts and interpreting them in philosophical terms.
Philosophical Taoism emphasizes various themes found in the Dao De Jing and Zhuangzi such as "nonaction" (wu wei), emptiness, detachment, receptiveness, spontaneity, the strength of softness, the relativism of human values, and the search for a long life. The spirit in which such things are discussed tends to be more playful than doctrinaire, in keeping with the tone of the texts themselves.
Posted Sun, 02/21/2010 - 18:45 by admin
Religious Taoism is not a belief-centered religion, and there are no known Taoist creeds. At the same time, certain characteristic beliefs or assumptions can be identified.
One of these is the existence of several classes of supernatural beings, who may enter into relations with human beings. These include gods, ghosts, and ancestral spirits. Gods are--if not invariably benevolent, generally on the side of righteousness. Ghosts are dangerous spirits of the departed who must be appeased through offerings, especially during the Chinese Ghost Festival.
Posted Sun, 02/21/2010 - 18:43 by admin
There are no formal sects within Taoism, but scholars have identified two distinctive approaches to the Taoist traditions, labeled "Religious Taoism" and "Philosophical Taoism" and described below.
It should be noted, however, that the assumptions on which this division rests (eg. the difference between philosophy and religion) are foreign to classical Chinese thought, and are unlikely to have been held by individual Taoist thinkers.
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