Class Notes 11/8

1. Took quiz #2: Wu Wei, Lau Tzu, and Taixi
2. Taoism Notes

• Tao- the path or the way
• followers mainly in Taiwan
• Lao-Tse- founder and contemporary of Confucius
• Dao de Jing- “the way and it's power”
• describes the nature of life, the way of peace, & how a ruler should live his life
• focuses on the harmony of opposites, and peaceful flow of the Tao
• artificial structures in societies create discord
• Tao is transcendent, indistinct and with out form
• Different from other religions: no formal worship or prayer, no creation of universe, and no personal deity
• time- cyclical not linear
• concept of wu wei: quietism and avoids aggression. 
• natural order of the universe
• The Absolute: I Ching
• impersonal/invisible way of the universe
• Indifferent to human desires and artificial structures
• Humans can only discern it because it doesn't reveal itself
• The World:
• is beyond good/evil
• no sense of design or what “ought to be”
• trying to conquer or improve world is futile
• provides everything humans and animals need
• Humans:
• are essentially good
• can enjoy a good life in the world
• old age; wisdom, sage
• humans are best as they were born- weak and simple
• disharmony with the universe is the greatest challenge for humans
• suffering comes from trying to conquer nature
• civilization is the enemy of the contented human
• Humans resolve their problems by:
• returning to the simple life, in harmony with nature
• long life in accord w/ Tao
• practice of taixi--- goal of taoist meditation is the harmony of the human, divine, and cosmos
• Community and Ethics:
• inaction is the secret to a good life
• "live and let live"
• trying to do good leads only to trouble
• I Ching:
• symbol system designed to identify order in what seem to be chance events
• attempts to relate day-by-day life of the individual to the ways of the universe

3.) Watched clips from Mulan and compared them to Confucianism and Daoism

4.) Paper #1 Due Friday