The Belief of Taoism

Although Kohn fixes the history of Taoism as an real(a) religion to the year 142 C.E. and the revelation to Zhang Daoling, it actually has a frequently extensiveer history as an influence on Chinese culture and practice. As she noned, the ancient philosophers Laozi and Zhuangzi, who are actually believably much better known in the West than Zhang Daoling or some(prenominal) more than religious practice of the Tao, are originators of the subscribe conceits of Taoism.

In studying Taoism, it seems to contain elements that reflect a Buddhist influence, or at least the crossfertilization that occurred during the chivalrous period. Like Hinduism, it seems to gravel been syncretic, integrating many different elements from two high philosophy and popular practice into one, loose organisation of suggestive thoughts, metaphors, fables, and poems about the divine harmony of the universe, or the Tao.

angiotensin-converting enzyme of the things that does clearly distinguish Taoism from other major world religions like Christianity, Judaism, and Islam is its emphasis on natural practices. Like Hinduism, with its hatha yoga practice, Taoism has prescribed physical practices that are designed to help the adept become more in harmony with the universal flow. One of the practices that is connected to Taoism is that of qi gong (variously spelled in the referenc

Takahashi, M. and brownish, S. (1986). Qigong for health. capital of Japan: Japan Publications.

Utne, N.R. (1994). The power of qi. Utne Reader, 66, 2830.

This practice has a long history in China, beginning approximately 3,000 years ago (Wang and Liu, 1994). It is described as a martial art, but its direct purpose is certainly not either attack nor defense. Instead, its native purpose seems to be the location and balancing of the inner qi. The concept of qi is a fundamental one in two Taoism and qi gong, but difficult to explain precisely in Western terms.

There has been little research done in Western terms, or in Western clinics and hospitals, using any of the techniques of Chinese medicine.

While there is some understanding of the techniques of Chinese practitioners, there is little serious effort in this rustic to study and utilize them. There is still little reliance given in allopathic medicine to any treatments that have not been developed and maintained in Western culture. What is operational is generally provided through selfhelp books and alternative literature. For example, Takahashi and Brown (1986) provide a good overview of qi gong in terms of health. They discuss the basic principles of qi gong, guidelines for its use, and some of its exercises. more than of the book is then devoted to explaining to the reader how various exercises and rub down can be applied to curing specific diseases. Unfortunately, in listening to Chinese medical practitioners, becoming skilled decorous to actually locate centers of the qi and shift the energy is not a simple matter, but an endeavor requiring long study and practice.

The exercises themselves are not vigorous in the way that we unremarkably think of exercise. They are more akin to Tai ki with its slow, flowing, meditative movements, although even more stationary in roughly respects. The exercises are generally named, with such titles as embracing horse, obnubilate hands, and watermelon, and represent the blen
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