Taoism
Taoism, one of the influential philosophical systems in the history and thought of China, dates back to the sixth century B.C., with the writing of Lao Tzzi, which embodies all of Taoist philosophy. Chuang Tzu, who lived two hundred years later, developed more clearly the concepts of Taoism and placed a stronger emphasis on the individual. To practice Taoism, according to Chuang Tzu, is:
"To regard the fundamental as the essence, to regard things as coarse, to regard accumulation as deficiency, and to dwell quietly alone with the spiritual and the intellect-herein lie the techniques of Tao of the ancients. . . . They built their doctrines on the principle of the eternal non-being, and held the idea of the Great One as fundamental."
Through tranquility of mind one achieves accord with nature and hence with Tao, the "One." Chuang Tzu says that dwelling quietly alone with the spirit and the intellect means "forgetting everything".
Links
Daoism Depot has a chat room, two very active message boards (one for those with an academic interest in Taoism), a mailing list, various online translations of Taoist texts, a lot of interesting links, and much more. A good place to find civilized discussion with Taoists from all over the world.
The Paths Page has numerous mailing lists, access to the alt.philosophy.taoism news group, connections to scholarly resources on Taoism, Taoist bibliography, and more.
The Many Paths Chat Room hosts a Taoist chat at 5:00 p.m. Pacific time every Monday (and they're looking for a new host, if you're interested).
The Abode of the Eternal Tao has information about esoteric Taoist practices like qigong and is the home of "The Empty Vessel: A Journal of Contemporary Taoism." Information on Taoist tours to China is also available here.
alt.philosophy.taoism is a news group you can access through Deja News, if your Web server or browser doesn't allow you to read or post messages there directly. Best to read messages for a while before jumping into what can often be a heated and opinionated fray! Go to "Interest Finder" and type in the word "taoism." You can set up a shortcut thereafter by using the "My Deja News" function.
Bill Mason's Taoism Page has an extensive collection of links, a chat room, and some good essays on philosophical Taoism and related traditions.
Sleepy's World has a bibliography and a couple of very concise descriptions of philosophical Taoism and the I Ching, but it is mostly a site for other Taoist links.
The Taoist Resource Center was previously run by the late Madelynn Hamilton, and her estate is still in the process of resolving what to do with the site, so there's not much there now.
The Daily Tao has some articles on Taoist schools of thought and how they relate to art and to Zen as well as some of the more obscure and unique links.
Chad Hansen's Chinese Philosophy Page is mostly a source for this Hong Kong scholar's academic papers on Chinese philosophies (more on Taoism than Confucianism).
The Taoist Circle is now a major gathering point for the cyber-Taoist! In addition to its mailing list of over 1,000 (to which a biweekly newsletter is sent), there are also some very unique and wide-ranging links (many on or related to Taoism), a message board, and chat rooms accessible through AOL and ICQ and through a Web site.
Michael Torley's Home Page is a membership site for his "Western Reform Taoism congregation," but if you can wait for the elaborate graphics to finish loading, he does an admirable job explaining the philosophical Taoist standpoint on a number of political and social issues in his essays in the "Our Beliefs" section. Advocates philosophical Taoism as a spiritual path. Sounds good to me, but I'm too poor to donate to the cause.
The Temple of the Immortal Spirit has some interesting essays on philosophical and esoteric Taoism as they relate to daily living.
The International Healing Tao is a network of Mantak Chia's students and followers, who subscribe to esoteric Taoist beliefs primarily and emphasize Tantric techniques, especially Taoist sexual yoga.
Tao on the Web has quite a few translations of Taoist texts, including Sun Tzu, I Ching, and Tao Te Ching and has a section on Taoist humor.
Taoism Information Page has a fairly wide offering of academic essays and links on Taoism.
Arne Morken's Taoism Page has translations of the Tao Te Ching and Chuang Tzu and some links for students of Taoism and Taiji -- even in Norway.
The InfoSponge Taoism Pages have a good summary of Taoism and wu wei for beginners.
Thigpen's Taoism Page has a few online texts and links on Taoism (and hasn't been updated since 1994). It is most useful for its link to an extensive list of sites that cover the spiritual waterfront.
Foundation of Tao is run by author and teacher of Chinese medicine and esoteric Taoism Stephen T. Chang. Resources on Pa-Kua, sexual yoga, and other techniques.
Taoworks Village is primarily a membership site, of greatest use to Taoists in Wisconsin.
Yahoo's Taoism Page is all links, and they are seldom updated, so you will probably find better lists here at Tao Manor and at several other sites listed here.
Orthodox Daoism in America is a site for those interested in furthering religious Taoist traditions in both the United States and China or in their quarterly newsletter, "Frost Bell."
World I-kuan Tao Headquarters, a religious Taoist organization, claims over 2 million followers, most of them in Taiwan, a few in America, and those primarily in California, it seems.
Universal Society of the Integral Way is the home page for Master Ni, one of the most prolific writers on both esoteric and philosophical Taoist practices and includes listings of products and instruction available around the world.
The Taoist Restoration Society has a message board and information about religious Taoist activities in both China and the United States.
Mr. Sage365's Philosophical Taoist Website has a message board, a chat room for AOL members, essays, and links.
Gay Taoism doesn't have much on being gay and Taoist, but it does have some interesting essays by a guy named Greg in Chicago who happens to be gay and Taoist.
