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taoism vs confucianism

Like Confucianism, Tao is troubled by violence. Of the two main Chinese trends of thought, Confucianism and Taoism, the latter is the one which is mystically oriented and thus more relevant for our comparison with modern physics. Logical reasoning was considered by the Taoists as part of the artificial world of man, together with social etiquette and moral standards. They were not interested in this world at all, but concentrated their attention fully on the observation of nature in order to discern the characteristics of the Tao. Thus they developed an attitude which was essentially scientific and only their deep mistrust in the analytic method prevented them from constructing proper scientific theories. Nevertheless, the careful observation of nature, combined with a strong mystical intuition, led the Taoist stages to profound insights which are confirmed by modern scientific theories.

The starter of Tao believed that people were naturally good. With that, it was believed that if man studied the way of Tao, they will lead a good life. The "other way" has coexisted alongside the Confucian tradition. Taoism was adaptable evolving to fill spiritual gaps created by the vagaries of life. It was a reint


The gentleman must be humane, well mannered, not small and vulgar. The fact that Confucius tried to improve the political status by putting all his efforts in teaching these men to do the right thing through ritual shows that he himself was a gentleman. A gentleman should be inspirational and eager. He should know moderation and respect their ancestors. I think the structure of the gentleman is the way all humans should be. The gentleman represented a good and promising government.

Tao, also known as ‘the way," "the Primal Meaning," or the "Undivided Unity" can be understood in relation to its opposite, yang in relation to yin. In other words before in relation to after. The yin is believed to be the breath that formed the earth, the yang, the breath that formed the heavens. Yin/yang could be described as polarity, it is said that every yin has a little yang and every yang has a little yin. Both are never static with the other. The yin/yang is a continuous cycle that is not just nature yet nature creating and destroying itself and all of its existence. Mysticism is concerned with the nature of reality, the individual's struggle to attain a clear vision of reality, and the transformation of consciousness that accompanies such vision. Tao believes that opposites help to see the relationship of reality. Without knowing light you can not possibly know dark. They believe that they can not know what is good without knowing what is bad. The Tao follow the art of the "wu wei" or the no-doing. It is a behavior that arises from a sense of oneself as connected to others and to one’s environment. It is motivated by a sense of separateness, spontaneous effortless. It is kind of like the phrase "going with the flow." It is a need to experience ourselves as part of the unity of life that is the Tao. All life forces tend to move toward harmony and balance. The Tao’s central principal states all life is part of and inseparable whole. Last, Tao’s principals state that all things contain and inherent power or strength that comes from their own essential being or true inner nature.

When we talk about the Taoist concept of change, it is important to realize that this change is not seen as occurring as a consequence of some force, but rather as a tendency which is innate in all things and situations. The movements of the Tao are not forced upon it, but occur naturally and spontaneously. Spontaneity is the Tao's principle of action, and since human conduct should be modeled on the operation of the Tao, spontaneity should also be characteristic of all human actions. Acting in harmony with nature thus means for the Taoists acting spontaneously and according to one's true nature. It means trusting one's intuitive intelligence, which is innate in the human mind just as the laws of change are innate in all things around us. Certain things can not be told directly, but only through stories. The stories of "All Things Being Equal" tells a story about monkeys that want nuts. The monkey keeper, which is a a symbol of Taoism, brings into harmony what is right and wrong. The monkeys were offered three more nuts in the morning and four nuts at night, but they were stubborn and wanted four nuts in the morning and three nuts at night. Monkeys symbolize people and how they attain themselves to the concept of right and wrong. They believe in whatever prejudices say. This would make the monkey the yin and the keeper the yang. The good works with the bad to create harmony

erpretation and development of an ancient nameless tradition of nature, worship and divination. Tao believes spirits pervaded nature, both the natural world and then internal world within the human body. It is based on the idea that behind all material things, the change in the world lies on the universal principal, the way or Tao. The principal governs all change and all life. Its main goal is to become one with the Tao. They exists mainly to promo

Some topics in this essay:
Undivided Unity, Age Zhou, Tao Confucianism, Confucianism Taoism, Spontaneity Tao's, Taoism Taoism, Confucianism Confucianism, Confucian Gentleman, Taoism Confucianism, Yin Yang, relation yin, breath formed, yang category, bad tao, confucius believed, society harmony, tao believes, nature creating destroying, light possibly, possibly dark, knowing light, nature nature creating, creating destroying existence, cycle nature nature, tao believes opposites,

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Approximate Word count = 3093
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page double spaced)


  

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