Laozi: Dao De Jing. Daoist ethics and philosophy.

Name
Instructor
Course
Date
Laozi: Dao De Jing
Daoist ethics and philosophy focuses on the way (path) and virtue, where the Dao/Tao (way) is eternally nameless. In the opening chapter there is distinction of the being and the non being, which is a recurring concept in Chinese philosophy. Laozi expressed his ideas about the dialectics of nature including the unity of man with nature and living in harmony with the cosmos. The Dao is not the creator of different creatures like the other religions, and for the Daoists pursuit of happiness and doing good is the ultimate goal. The Dao has no name and is impersonal, and when there is non-action there is harmony in the cosmology and between eh rulers and governed.
The author supports his ideas by focusing on the concept of harmony, which was also adopted by Buddhists and the Confucian ideal. Everything is considered to have an opposite or dualities, and these opposites are complements rather than irreconcilable conflicts. For instance, difficulty and easy, long and short, high and low, front and behind, and these are relative opposites, which need each other. The opposites are synthesized to ensure that there is harmony. Unlike Confucianism, which advocates action, Daoism calls for non action to achieve success since nature is allowed to take its course.
Laozi conceptualizes Tao as empty like a bowl, but is eternal and like a bottomless bowl that cannot be filled up. Everything emanates from the Tao and this is similar to the idea of creation. Laozi likened the spirit of the valley to a profound female, which symbolizes eternity and source of life, which flows continuously
In chapter 8 Laozi, pointed out that “the best (man) is like water” and “Water is good”. This further explains his idea about the importance of water in Taoism as water is soft and peaceful. The Chinese philosophers focused on water to understand moral problems, and they emphasized the importance of order in nature. Water also moves in accordance with the surroundings because it is adaptable .
The author assumes that there is an orderly way in nature, and people do not need to disturb this to achieve harmony. Laozi also supposed that emptiness did not indicate that there was nothing since even containers and wh...