Taoism is not a religion, it is more of a philosophy based on the concept of Tao. It is sometimes said to mean “the way”, or something like unknowable, unimaginable, source of all phenomena. Before Tao there was chaos, then suddenly Tao manifested as the universe (comparable to the modern “big bang” theory). Tao expresses through the duality of Yin-Yang. Tao is like the eternal primeval law of nature. The best known ancient Taoist philosopher was Lao Tzu (Lao Tzu = “Old Master”). He wrote the Tao Te Ching: a mystical Taoist work, full of poetic allusions, riddles, etc. to expand consciousness, promote love of nature and simplicity, and rejection of worldly ambition. The Tao Te Ching is a composite text, probably dating from 3rd century BC (the same time that the major medical classic, the Nei Ching, was officially written down) but Lao Tzu has had his traditional dates fixed to make him slightly senior to Confucius (i.e., 6th century BC). It is impossible to know the exact birth date. The best introduction to Taoism is to read some Taoist literature. The way the ancient Taoists’ would teach would be via observation of the nature, in the hopes of obtaining a direct grasp of the truth. Most mystical or inner-directed spiritual paths concur with this.
In Chapter 1 of the Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu wrote:
The tao that can be told, is not the eternal Tao
The name that can be named is not the eternal Name.
The unnameable is the eternally real.
Naming is the origin of all particular things.
Free from desire, you realize the mystery.
Caught in desire, you see only the manifestations.
Yet mystery and manifestations
arise from the same source.
This source is called darkness.
Darkness within darkness.
The gateway to all understanding.
Taoism espouses “wu-wei” which means not doing, or non-purposive action. Being without plans, going with the flow. Not surprisingly, Taoism was a popular philosophy mainly with the aristocracy!
To seek learning one pains day by day
To seek the Tao one loses day by day
Losing and yet losing some more
Till one has reached Wu-Wei
Do nothing and yet there is nothing that is not done.
To win the world one must attend to nothing.
When one attends to this and that
He will not win the world.”
Taoism had a strong influence on medicine: the idea of humans being part of nature and needing to remain in harmony with nature was fundamental. “As above, so below.” As an example of this, guidelines were established in the Nei Ching as to how one should conduct oneself in various seasons. In the winter time, one should go to bed early and get up late, and not waste one’s energy, for winter is the time of conservation and storage (a time where Yin is strongest). In the summertime one should rise early and go to bed late and “act as if one loved everything outdoors”, for Summer is the time of maximum Yang, and people’s naturally have more energy to expend.
If we look back to the Warring States period, the time of great social unrest where uncertainty about personal and collective existence, increasing chaos and amorality led to the search for a lasting philosophy that might change things. The time of the “hundred schools”. The medicine that developed during this period of intense philosophical activity is the central part of what traditional Chinese medicine is today. It has been referred to as the medicine of systematic correspondences.
Medicine of Systematic Correspondences
The fundamental principles of this medicine arose from divergent influences, including Taoist and Confucian ideas. The Naturalist School was responsible for systematically elaborating the concepts and theories of Yin-Yang, which had been an ancient idea that was now fully developed and recorded.
