Question

History of world civilization: What does the Tao-te Ching influence, and reveal about the Chinese civilization? What is the mean philosophy behind it? How does the thoughts still apply today?

I put this question under psychology because there is no history category.

Answer 1

Tao-te Ching is a religious text written by Chinese philosopher Lao-tzu who is the traditional founder of philosophical system of Taoism. The philosophical text “Tao-te Ching” is divided into two parts. The first part explains the nature of Taoism and is the first part of the Taoist scripture. The second part explains the reason why people should practice this Taoism. It is considered to be one of the more difficult texts to decipher. The writer Lao-tzu had a strong and dramatic influence on Chinese culture and society. Taoism is a system of thought, including philosophical and historical writings, that incorporates elements of ancient Chinese religious belief with elements of Taoism. The basic philosophy is that humans are immortal spiritual beings that each have a “divine nature” or nirvana, meaning an ideal state of mind in which we experience a state of eternal bliss. The doctrine of immortality was part of traditional Chinese belief and Taoism was part of the culture. The central ideas for the Taoists are all things are created by God. They all have a cause, a purpose, and a perfect perfection, which can be seen through meditation. This is Tao, the absolute principle of the universe. The main aim of Taoism is to understand life in its full form to make your existence good by improving the way you think, feel and act. Taoism is a spiritual philosophy that defines three basic ideas: A world of non-material phenomena, a realm of immaterial phenomena, a cosmos of immaterial phenomena. Those ideas are interlinked with our current understanding of nature and reality, and with our knowledge at the present time.