Daoism is an organized faith native to China. It's called both Taoism and Daoism. But, the pinyin vogue of translating Chinese is the official customary now therefore all future publications spell it as Daoism.
The root word of Daoism is Dao, typically translated as the Way. The word Dao isn't unique to Daoism. Confucianism, and different Chinese traditions also used the word Dao. In an exceedingly sense, it is sort of like Truth or Dhamma or Method of Life. Each group argued over what the Dao was. But Daoism particularly adds a specific that means to the word.
Daoism involves ideas of naturalness, simplicity, and going with the flow. Like Confucianism, it's very influential in East Asian aesthetics, medication, health, cooking, and thus on. You'll see Daoist influences in Tai Chi Quan (slow, internal martial art), Qi Gong (body-mind energy work), acupuncture, Chinese medicine, and therefore on.
However, there is also a social, spiritual, and political part of Daoism involving advanced rituals, priests, alternative worldly soul traveling, image meditations, and spells/magic.
Personally, I am a spiritual elitist in the way that I'm not as curious about the "fashionable faith" or "folk faith" aspects that are usually talked about. I learned concerning Indian and Chinese religions from a philosophy department thus my focus is a lot of on understanding how the founders and most advanced members understood the planet rather than what are native worship rituals or how a faith influenced politics. Thus, I'm visiting focus mainly on the "philosophy".
Nearly everyone identifies Daoism with the Dao De Jing by the author Laozi. Truly, there's a reasonably sensible argument that we tend to will trace Daoism even farther back to a Nei-Yeh text (Inner Trainings), but that has been a recent development. Westerners, beginning with the Catholic Jesuits, understood Daoism as philosophy and faith and thought the spiritual facet was a corrupted side. Nowadays, scholars suppose there is a ton more interaction between the two.
At this point, I wish to say a problem when talking concerning Daoism or religions in general. Daoism spans over 2 thousand years. When Daoism or Confucianism or maybe Christianity began, nobody known as it by those names. They were just following the teachings and practices of a religious teacher. As time goes on, a ton of things are assimilated, modified, or aloof from the religion. Thus, as an example, the thought of Yin and Yang that's usually related to Chinese thought wasn't significantly Daoist at first. Likewise, the whole pursuit for immortality or the magic spells were already around but got appropriated by Daoists. These days, Daoists including the monks aren't trying to succeed in immortality (as way as I apprehend) simply like most Christians do not believe in indulgences anymore.
I suppose it's partially justified because the Dao De Jing and Zhuangzi are terribly philosophical. There is no manual for beliefs or practices or rituals or priesthood anywhere in these texts. Arguably, Daoism and Confucianism began as ways of life and Daoism only later became what we tend to suppose as a organized religion. Not to say any book on Daoism can begin with Laozi and also the phiolosophy before it goes into the religion.
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