a power point presentation on 2007.6.14

7/30/2019 A Power Point Presentation on 2007.6.14

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An Introduction to Taoist

PhilosophyAn Alternative Way to View Life, Society, and

the World

1. Cultural difference between East and West

2. Taoism as a religion

You-Sheng Li ; website: taoism21cen.com


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Culture background is different

A way to see different cultures is to

look their visual arts in history.

Visual arts represent what they

saw and what they wanted to seein their world.

The artists represent their culture

and their people, not onlythemselves .


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Ri h d E Ni b tt (U i it f Mi hi )


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Richard E. Nisbett, (University of Michigan)and D. Park(U. of Illinois)his in cooperation withChinese did some comparative studies to showthe difference between Chinese and Westernpeople. They found:

Chinese and English native speakers use different parts ofbrain when they are doing simple arithmetic. The Chineseuse a brain region involved in the processing of visual

information while the English speaker, languageprocessing area of the brain. Chinese use both left and right brains to process language

but Western, only left side. When watching a photograph, American students

pay more attention to object in the foreground of the scenewhile Chinese spend more time studying the backgroundand taking in the whole scene.

Conclusion: Chinese see the world as something to live in,and enjoy, and Western, something to work on, and so they

need a focus.


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Comparisons of India,

West, and ChinaIndia West ChinaGod World IUniverse God Sky+ancestor

Neither souls souls+bodiesReligion Science philosophy

Caste Secondary Two levels

Invasion expansion uprising

Backward forward stay there

Caste club clan

Spiritual pursuit Knowledge Self

Well-being

Frame of

thinking

society

Other authors

My Talk

Th i t lt i Chi


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The main stream culture in Chinesehistory is ComplementaryConfucianism/Taoism, and Taoism

is the basis and is the key Confucianism developed on the

basis of Taoism, Lao Tzu was

Confucius teacher. In Chinese history, intellectuals were

Confucians in the government office

but Taoists at home.

To understand Chinese culture from

the Western view, Taoism is the key,

which marks the difference between

the East and the West.


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What is Taoist philosophy

Taoism is a philosophy, a religion, and a way oflife. It emphasizes the natural way, harmony, andeffortlessness. Taoism aims at the oppositedirection in comparison with the Western

civilization. It was founded by LaoTzu, Chuang Tzu and other

philosophers from the sixth century to the thirdcentury BC based on ancient Chinese traditions

In the second and third centuries AD, it developedinto a major religion. From then, there were threemajor religions, namely Confucianism, Buddhism,

and Taoism in China

T i i i ith M i


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Taoism in omparison with Marxism---Oppositeways to view life and society

Taoism: Spare time, relaxing, the whole human

nature. Only two things to aim at: Aesthetic pursuit

(pure enjoyment), and a long healthy life.

From the view of individuals, emphasis onpsychological experience( a tiny hair on the body is

worth more than all the wealth and power of the

whole world put together ).

Marxism: Working time, economic pursuit, the part of

human nature which helps us to compete and

survive.

From the view of society, emphasis on materialism,

economic growth .


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Ci ili d l fi h f


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Civilized people can fight forever,which becomes the history ofcivilization

1. With time passing, the way of fighting, weapons,strategy . are all changing. That is the history of

our civilization. Civilization is the result when

humans are forced to fight for survival.

1. 2. In Human history, wars were upgraded

continually in terms of numbers of people involved

as more nations joined in. The maximum size of

war humans could have entered was when allhumans on earth joined in and when all nations

divided into two huge campuses. This was the two

world wars and the cold war era. So the peak time

of human war is over.


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Scientists predict: War is fadingout, a new way of life is needed

1. The political situation we are facing now is similar tothat in ancient China when Taoist philosophy wasfirst founded. We now have a United Nations as aplatform for countries and social powers to work outtheir differences while ancient China, during HsiaShang Chou (2000-221BC), had a super statestructure with a powerless king and his royal court,allowing vassals and local powers to compete with

each other in a relatively peaceful environment. UNand the ancient Chinese super state play a criticalrole in creating a peaceful environment, in whichTaoist philosophy is one of the most suitable life

styles.

N E N Lif & N C lt


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New Era, New Life, & New Culture:Taoism for the twenty first century

Website: taoism21cen.com When wars are going on, humans are urged to work hard for survival.

When wars are over, people care for themselves. They take time to enjoy

life, and life becomes more humanized. From baby boomers to generationX, and to generation Y, people seem becoming more relaxed, moredistanced from materialism but closer to self-happiness or spirituality.

Modern technology of communication has brought humans on earth closerthan before, and the world has become a globe village. People can chatwith each other on the internet no matter where they are.

The wealth-building culture, which started with the Renaissance andhallmarked with the capitalist system, seems that it will be cut off byresource limitation and environmental problems, and especially by the finalrealization that wealth provide us convenience and comfort but nothappiness. It is most apparent if we consider that in Canada and USA, the

suicide rate was double during the last century.

f f


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The striking features of Taoism as areligion (Ancient & Modern) The fundamental belief of Taoist religion is that

you do not have to die physically, which isessentially what behind the modern medicineand science. (long healthy life)

Taoist religion is based on the ancient Taoistphilosophy, which is famous for their atheisticview against Mohism and Confucianism

The birth of Taoist religion in the second andthird centuries was associated with a massiveuprising of peasants.

One of the major parts of religious practice of

Taoism is sex.

T i i b d i i t


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Taoism is based on primary society,and Taoism advocates the separationof primary and secondary societies Primary society is genetically coded society, some

150 in size. Tribes and bands were primarysociety.

Any secondary society, like modern society, iscreated by man with a designed ideology, lawsand social power to control human behaviour.(Both Mesopotamia and Greece started with city

states while China and Egypt were not)

Primary society suits human nature well, andsecondary society does not. In the primary society,

pursuit: aesthetics+health (Taoism).


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The Universal Evolutionary Pathways


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Content 1 Physical world 2 Life 3 Culture 4 Conscious

Level 1 Non-being

Level 2 Being

Level 3 Elementary particles

Level 4 Atoms/electrons

Level 5 Molecules DNA

Level 6 Objects Cells

Level 7 Stars and planets Tissues

Level 8 Galaxies Organs

Level 9 Universe Organisms

Level 10 Primary society Culture Unconscious

Level 11 Secondary society Civilization Conscious

Level 12 Rational thinkingsystems

Level 13 Spirituality

The Universal Evolutionary Pathways


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The function of religion or spiritualpursuit Replace what we miss from loss of primary society,

where members are psychologically and emotionally

integrated into a whole.

Mitigate the uncertainty secondary society hasbrought to us.

The course of the evolution of secondary society is

apparently not in the control of human beings but

controlled by nature or by God. The religion is fundamentally different between

primary and secondary societies.


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In the ancient time, yin and yang werein harmony. Gods and spirits werequiet and did not interfere with people.The four seasons followed their own

course. Animals and plants were notharmed. Humans lived to their full lifespan. People had knowledge but there

was no use of it. This is called the bigOne.Chuang Tzu Chapter 16


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Comparison between Egypt (United in 3000BC)and Mesopotamia in religion (Sumerians,Phoenicians, Hittites, Babylonians; United in 2400BC)

Egyptians believed in a continuation of ones earthlycondition in ones earthly body after deathThe cult ofOsiris, which grew rapidly during the Middle Kingdom (c1900BC), promised resurrection and eternal life to all,

regardless of social statusdid not really have a hell Not much going on in Sumerian heaven unless you were a

godthe dead spent eternity in a dreary, poorly lit,depressing shadow worldwhere they wished they weredead or deaderdeity whose importance was measured

by how well his soldiers performed in battle and how muchland they conqueredimmortality wasnt among them

From Gregg Stebben: everything youneed to know about RELIGION

Wealth does not spell Happiness


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Wealth does not spell Happiness

To determine how happy a people or a nation is: Parameters which are supposedly leading to

happiness, such as wealth, education, health.

Adrian White (Leicester, UK) studied and ranked 178

countries, and concludes: Denmark is the happiest,

and Canada, the 10th.

New Economic Foundation (London, UK) used the

happy Planet Index including ecological footprint torank 233 countries with Vanuatu the first, Canada the

111st.

Concluision: Happiness is not the same


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Concluision: Happiness is not the sameas Natural Joy, which is advocated byTaoism Happiness cannot be measured by social parameters such as

wealth, education, and so on, since happiness is very much a

subjective matter.

Happiness cannot be measured by subjective feeling either.

How happy we feel depends how our culture has taught us.

From a physicians perspective: real happiness makes our

body healthy but the pseudo-happiness with a burning effect

harms our health.

The incidences of heart attack, stroke, cancer, psychosis,suicide can serve as an indicator of happiness. Suicide rate

doubled in the twenty century in Northern America.


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The life in Chinese countryside is


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The life in Chinese countryside isclose to Taoist ideal compared tocities Characteristics: peace, quiet, no goals except for

aesthetic pursuit (pure enjoyment) + health.

Chinese countryside is different from the Western

countryside because it was shaped by the Taoistinfluence.

The Taoist life style in Chinese countryside was not

ruined by emperors, not by wars, not byCommunism or cultural revolution but wiped out by

Capitalism.


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The End

When I asked them, Do you feel happy?

They say, How much more can you get from life?

Its better than before.The question for us to ponder is:

How much more do we get from life

in comparison with that old Chinese couple?

If not, we certainly can.

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