Taoism
What is your understanding of 'Taoism'?
Dictionary.com: "A principal philosophy and system of religion of China based on the teachings of Lao-tzu in the sixth century B.C. and on subsequent revelations. It advocates preserving and restoring the Tao in the body and the cosmos."
My understanding is that if someone asks what Tao (pronounced dow) is, the standard answer is: "Tao is."
The real definition of Tao is roughly "the way".
https://www.thetao.info/
This site gives a lot of information, including facts about how Tao has been a major influence in Korea and Japan, as well as China for centuries.
I tried the random quote thing. I guess you could say the Tao is filled with a lot of common knowledge for most. The first thing that popped up said it you don't trust people, people won't trust you. And I said myself that is painfully obvious, then I xed out the website.
Taoism is a belief system that is based upon naturalistic ideology. The study of the Tao, or Dao depending on transliteration , is finding the balance in life that was meant to be.
The universe is an entity made of opposites, that balance each other out. This idea that is fundamental to Taoism,is symbolized by the "Yin-Yang" which represents the contrast between light and dark, male and female, night and day, cold and heat, etc.
The idea in Taoism is mainly one of the worlds natural ability to run its self, it is based mostly on respect for nature, tradition, and the overall natural order of things. Many parallels can also be drawn to Buddhist thought.
The way I see it, the Tao is the flow of the universe, man. Just go with it, don't try to change it, see everything as it is, and you'll never be at a lost for what to do next. I'm not sure how true eastern Taoists feel about this, but the way I believe Taoism works is as long as you go with the flow of the universe, tap into it, so to speak, you're golden. In that definition I was a Taoist for a short while. One really great book I found, easy to understand, too, was called The Tao of Pooh. It's based on Winnie the Pooh, and there are some great parallels between the characters in the storys and some Taoist principles.