This is a classwork-related post for the GHUM1303: World Religions class.
In China, religion is heavily intertwined with culture and tradition, and Taoism (also transliterated as Daoism) is not an exception to that statement. Religion is a compilation of traditions, and so if one follows one religion in China, those who adhere to other religions are not strangers — they’re instead siblings in a way. Taoism is an indigenous Chinese religion whose origin could be traced to the figure of Lao Tzu/Lao Di (who existed circa 500 BCE). The religion emphasized on doing what nature demanded of humans — to go with the flow, in accordance to Tao, the cosmic all-encompassing force which flows through all beings (Mark). And so, Taoism does not have a singular “God”, instead they have divinity — which flows through all of them.
Lao Tzu was born in Chuguo, which is now modern day Heinan. It is said that he was born immaculately (from a virgin mother without a father, a concept that can also be found in Christianity in the birth of Jesus Christ and in Islam in the birth of Prophet Muhammad SAW), after being in his mother’s womb for 82 years. Thus, when he was born, he was considered wise. After he explored the world and read all the books, he decided he was done — he already understood everything — and headed West. In ancient times, it was considered to be the edge of the world, in which nothing more existed after you crossed the threshold. However, the guards stopped him at the Great Wall. In exchange for his passage, he wrote Tao De Ching (roughly translated as “The Way and its Power”) — the scripture of Taoism. In it was simple poems and pieces relating on how to live life. After that, Lao Tzu crossed the wall and headed for the West, never to be seen again (Anam).
The central belief of Taoism, present in Tao De Ching, is to achieve balance in life. Thus, this concept is connected to the idea of “Yin and Yang”, iconized by the white-and-black circle which disappears to each other, having a dot of the opposite color in it. “There is good in the bad, and bad in the good”, is what this symbolizes, and that everything is circular. As common in most Chinese religions, Taoists believe that after death they would be reunited with their ancestors. In order to head there after that, they must follow what the Tao dictates of them — to live naturally, to achieve this balance in life.
Under the Tang Dynasty (618–907 CE), Taoism was made the official religion in China. However, in modern life, Taoism is practiced alongside Confucianism and Buddhism in China. In Indonesia, specifically, Taoism is still not considered an official religion. It was only in 2002 that Confucianism (Konghucu in Indonesian), another Chinese religion, was recognized. During the New Regime, there was a growing hatred to Chinese people and Chinese descent who were residing in Indonesia, due to the false belief that the Chinese stole Indonesian people’s money, which bred this discrimination. They were also associated with Communism, which was and still is demonized in this country, and that added to the view that they were not equal to Indonesians — one example was that they had to pay more taxes. This is why Taoists in Indonesia tend to pick other religions as their “official” religion — Christianity was a popular choice.This escalated in 1998.
I really do admire the philosophy that is championed by Taoism: there must exist a balance in life, and everything is a cycle. Human-made constraints and societies are not supposed to bind you — be free. It made me realize how fleeting everything in life is, and that we all should take it slow. There is no rush in life. Live it how you want.
Works Cited
Anam, Khoirul. GHUM1303: World Religions. 17 Oct. 2019, Sampoerna University, Jakarta. Class lecture.
Mark, Emily. “Taoism.” Ancient History Encyclopedia, Ancient History Encyclopedia, 22 Feb. 2016, www.ancient.eu/Taoism/.
