Taoism: The Spiritual Path to Harmony

Spiritual philosophies such as Confucianism and Buddhism have ruled the eastern world for centuries, often erasing smaller, more ancient ethical approaches, one of the most notable being: Taoism. With no official founder, Taoism can only be dated back to approximately 3000 BCE and became semi-official during the Tang Dynasty where it gathered its most prominent position in the Chinese spiritual sphere. However, with the rise of communism in the early 1900s, religion became increasingly censored and the number of Taoists decreased drastically and has continued to do so. But is this simply a case of Taoism being forgotten by western media or has its role in Chinese culture diminished as well?

At the centre of the philosophy lies the need for unity and harmony. Alike many other eastern religions, Taoism is not constricted to a monotheistic ideal but instead promotes many deities. Instead there is a heavy focus on the promotion of achieving harmony, the pursuit of spiritual morality, virtue and selfdevelopment. Taoists learn to live within a Taoist ideology through the Tao. However, the Taoconfusingly so - is not an object or a thing or even a substance on this earth; it is a set of concepts. These concepts include: source of creation, the ultimate, the inexpressible, the unnameable, the natural universe and the way of nature as a whole. Moreover, the Tao itself if meant to be ineffable, no human can fully comprehend and live in accordance to it, however the importance is placed on how humans relate to it and importance is also placed on the intention to comply with the Tao. Undisputedly, the Tao is a challenge to the more traditional conventional religions filled with asceticism and hierarchy that dominate the East.

The ethics concerning Taoism are inseparable from the spiritual beliefs and are essential in leading a good,positive life. Ultimately, a good person lives in harmony with the world and does not disrupt the natural order of things. A good person is one who avoids letting their own desires push them into doing wrong and should be humble and recognise the fact they aren’t required to make the world a better place and ignorant if they take action against it. Overall, Taoism itself aims to interfere the least amount possible with the natural earth and takes on a genderneutral approach and holds no prejudice towards a certain sex, an ideal further highlighted in the Taoist drawing of the Ying and Yang. Implementing Taoist ideals into a quotidian life is slightly more complex than a regular, conventional religion. Followers of Taoism are subject to meditation and chanting as well as slightly more atypical practices such as fortune telling and feng shui. Practices like these are less adapted to the hustle and bustle of the modern world and can often be overlooked or simply forgotten as fortune tellers are deemed a “conspiracy” and feng shui “just a trend from 2015”.

Although the Ying and Yang is one of the most recognisable symbols on the earth, very little know the true meaning behind it or even its origin. Taoism has become overlooked by more extravagant spiritual doctrines like Confucianism, yet it is important to note that the Tao holds the basis for many more modern philosophies and impacted the Chinese political system - albeit before the communist revolution - significantly. In fact, in places like Taiwan, Taoism has millions of adherents which all follow the example of great Taoists such as Lao Tzu and the first celestial master: Zhang Daoling. In the UK, Taoism is prevalent in a few societies such as Jade Circle of the British Daoism Society and modern Taoism requires no badges, baptisms, churches, nor any external validation processes. Arguably this makes it more accessible than any abrahamic religion.

It is clear that, although Taoism has fallen in its societal prevalence, the roots it has implemented in Chinese culture have not yet dissipated and can arguably never be erased. Ultimately, due to past political decisions the prominence of Taoism in mainland China have led to its relevance in mainstream media to decrease, leading to this fundamental spiritual doctrine to have become slightly overlooked as time goes on.