Editing Tao (section)

==Interpretations==

===Taoism===
The translator [[Arthur Waley]] observed that
<blockquote>[Tao] means a road, path, way; and hence, the way in which one does something; method, doctrine, principle. The Way of Heaven, for example, is ruthless; when autumn comes 'no leaf is spared because of its beauty, no flower because of its fragrance'. The Way of Man means, among other things, procreation; and eunuchs are said to be 'far from the Way of Man'. ''Chu Tao'' is 'the way to be a monarch', i.e. the art of ruling. Each school of philosophy has its ''tao'', its doctrine of the way in which life should be ordered. Finally in a particular school of philosophy whose followers came to be called Taoists, ''tao'' meant 'the way the universe works'; and ultimately something very like God, in the more abstract and philosophical sense of that term.{{sfnp|Waley|1958|p={{page needed|date=March 2021}}}}</blockquote>

"Tao" gives Taoism its name in English, in both its philosophical and religious forms. The Tao is the fundamental and central concept of these schools of thought. Taoism perceives the Tao as a natural order underlying the substance and activity of the Universe. Language and the "naming" of the Tao is regarded negatively in Taoism; the Tao fundamentally exists and operates outside the realm of differentiation and linguistic constraints.{{sfnp|Kohn|1993|p=11}}

There is no single orthodox Taoist view of the Tao. All forms of Taoism center around Tao and De, but there is a broad variety of distinct interpretations among sects and even individuals in the same sect. Despite this diversity, there are some clear, common patterns and trends in Taoism and its branches.{{sfnp|Kohn|1993|pp=11–12}}

The diversity of Taoist interpretations of the Tao can be seen across four texts representative of major streams of thought in Taoism. All four texts are used in modern Taoism with varying acceptance and emphasis among sects. The ''Tao Te Ching'' is the oldest text and representative of a speculative and philosophical approach to the Tao. The ''[[Daotilun]]'' is an eighth century [[exegesis]] of the ''Tao Te Ching'', written from a well-educated and religious viewpoint that represents the traditional, scholarly perspective. The devotional perspective of the Tao is expressed in the ''[[Qingjing Jing]]'', a [[liturgical text]] that was originally composed during the [[Han dynasty]] and is used as a [[hymnal]] in religious Taoism, especially among [[eremite]]s. The ''[[Zhuangzi (book)|Zhuangzi]]'' uses literary devices such as tales, allegories, and narratives to relate the Tao to the reader, illustrating a metaphorical method of viewing and expressing the Tao.{{sfnp|Kohn|1993|p=12}}

[[File:Taoist monk.jpg|thumbnail|right|A Taoist monk practicing calligraphy with water on stone. Water calligraphy, like [[sand mandala]]s, evokes the ephemeral nature of physical reality.]]
The forms and variations of religious Taoism are incredibly diverse. They integrate a broad spectrum of academic, ritualistic, supernatural, devotional, literary, and folk practices with a multitude of results. Buddhism and Confucianism particularly affected the way many sects of Taoism framed, approached, and perceived the Tao. The multitudinous branches of religious Taoism accordingly regard the Tao, and interpret writings about it, in innumerable ways. Thus, outside of a few broad similarities, it is difficult to provide an accurate yet clear summary of their interpretation of the Tao.{{sfnp|Fowler|2005|pp=5–7}}

A central tenet in most varieties of religious Taoism is that the Tao is ever-present, but must be manifested, cultivated, and/or perfected to be realized. It is the source of the Universe, and the seed of its primordial purity resides in all things. Breathing exercises, according to some Taoists, allowed one to absorb "parts of the universe."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Daoism |url=http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761555647/Daoism.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091028043813/http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761555647/Daoism.html |archive-date=2009-10-28 |website=[[Encarta]] |publisher=[[Microsoft]]}}</ref> Incense and certain minerals were seen as representing the greater universe as well, and breathing them in could create similar effects.{{Citation needed|date=May 2023}} The manifestation of the Tao is ''de'', which rectifies and invigorates the world with the Tao's radiance.{{sfnp|Kohn|1993|pp=11–12}}

Alternatively, philosophical Taoism regards the Tao as a non-religious concept; it is not a deity to be worshiped, nor is it a mystical Absolute in the religious sense of the Hindu [[brahman]]. Joseph Wu remarked of this conception of the Tao, "Dao is not religiously available; nor is it even religiously relevant." The writings of Laozi and Zhuangzi are tinged with esoteric tones and approach [[humanism]] and [[naturalism (philosophy)|naturalism]] as paradoxes.{{sfnp|Moeller|2006|pp=133–145}} In contrast to the esotericism typically found in religious systems, the Tao is not transcendent to the self, nor is mystical attainment an escape from the world in philosophical Taoism. The self steeped in the Tao is the self grounded in its place within the natural Universe. A person dwelling within the Tao excels in themselves and their activities.{{sfnp|Fowler|2005|pp=5–6}}
<!--Historical, "elite"/"professional"/"scholarly" perspectives needed-->

However, this distinction is complicated by [[hermeneutic]] difficulties in the categorization of Taoist schools, sects, and movements.{{sfnp|Mair|2001|p=174}}

Some Taoists believe the Tao is an entity that can "take on human form" to perform its goals.{{sfnp|Stark|2007|p=259}}

The Tao represents human harmony with the universe and even more phenomena in the world and nature.

===Confucianism===
The Tao of [[Confucius]] can be translated as 'truth'. Confucianism regards the Way, or Truth, as concordant with a particular approach to life, politics, and tradition. It is held as equally necessary and well regarded as ''de'' and ''[[ren (Confucianism)|ren]]'' ('compassion', 'humanity'). Confucius presents a humanistic Tao. He only rarely speaks of the 'Way of Heaven'. The early Confucian philosopher [[Xunzi (philosopher)|Xunzi]] explicitly noted this contrast. Though he acknowledged the existence and celestial importance of the Way of Heaven, he insisted that the Tao principally concerns human affairs.{{sfnp|Taylor|Choy|2005|p=589}}

As a formal religious concept in Confucianism, Tao is the Absolute toward which the faithful move. In ''[[Doctrine of the Mean|Zhongyong]]'' (The Doctrine of the Mean), harmony with the Absolute is the equivalent to integrity and sincerity. The ''[[Great Learning]]'' expands on this concept explaining that the Way illuminates virtue, improves the people, and resides within the purest morality. During the [[Tang dynasty]], [[Han Yu]] further formalized and defined Confucian beliefs as an [[apologetics|apologetic]] response to Buddhism. He emphasized the ethics of the Way. He explicitly paired "Tao" and "De", focusing on humane nature and righteousness. He also framed and elaborated on a "tradition of the Tao" in order to reject the traditions of Buddhism.{{sfnp|Taylor|Choy|2005|p=589}}

Ancestors and the [[Mandate of Heaven]] were thought to emanate from the Tao, especially during the [[Song dynasty]].{{sfnp|Harl|2023|p=272}}

===Buddhism===
{{See also|Zen}}

Buddhism first started to spread in China during the first century AD and was experiencing a golden age of growth and maturation by the fourth century AD. Hundreds of collections of [[Pali]] and [[Sanskrit]] texts were translated into Chinese by Buddhist monks within a short period of time. [[Dhyāna in Buddhism|''Dhyana'']] was translated as {{zhi|c=禅|p=chán}}, and later as "zen", giving Zen Buddhism its name. The use of Chinese concepts, such as the Tao, that were close to Buddhist ideas and terms helped spread the religion and make it more amenable to the Chinese people. However, the differences between the Sanskrit and Chinese terminology led to some initial misunderstandings and the eventual development of Buddhism in East Asia as a distinct entity. As part of this process, many Chinese words introduced their rich semantic and philosophical associations into Buddhism, including the use of "Tao" for central concepts and tenets of Buddhism.{{sfnp|Dumoulin|2005|pp=63–65}}

Pai-chang Huai-hai told a student who was grappling with difficult portions of ''[[suttas]]'', "Take up words in order to manifest meaning and you'll obtain 'meaning'. Cut off words and meaning is emptiness. Emptiness is the Tao. The Tao is cutting off words and speech." Zen Buddhists regard the Tao as synonymous with both the Buddhist Path and the results of it, the [[Noble Eightfold Path]] and [[Buddhist enlightenment]]. Pai-chang's statement plays upon this usage in the context of the fluid and varied Chinese usage of "Tao". Words and meanings are used to refer to rituals and practices. The "emptiness" refers to the Buddhist concept of ''[[sunyata]]''. Finding the Tao and Buddha-nature is not simply a matter of formulations, but an active response to the [[Four Noble Truths]] that cannot be fully expressed or conveyed in words and concrete associations. The use of "Tao" in this context refers to the literal "way" of Buddhism, the return to the universal source, [[dharma]], proper meditation, and [[nirvana]], among other associations. "Tao" is commonly used in this fashion by Chinese Buddhists, heavy with associations and nuanced meanings.{{sfnp|Hershock|1996|pp=67–70}}

===Neo-Confucianism===
During the [[Song dynasty]], neo-Confucians regarded the Tao as the purest [[thing-in-itself]]. [[Shao Yong]] regarded the Tao as the origin of heaven, earth, and everything within them. In contrast, [[Zhang Zai]] presented a vitalistic Tao that was the fundamental component or effect of qi, the motive energy behind life and the world. A number of later scholars adopted this interpretation, such as [[Tai Chen]] during the [[Qing dynasty]].{{sfnp|Taylor|Choy|2005|p=589}}

[[Zhu Xi]], [[Cheng Ho]], and [[Cheng Yi (philosopher)|Cheng Yi]] perceived the Tao in the context of ''[[li (Neo-Confucianism)|li]]'' ('principle') and ''t'ien li'' ('principle of Heaven'). [[Cheng Hao]] regarded the fundamental matter of ''li'', and thus the Tao, to be humaneness. Developing compassion, altruism, and other humane virtues is following of the Way. [[Cheng Yi (philosopher)|Cheng Yi]] followed this interpretation, elaborating on this perspective of the Tao through teachings about interactions between yin and yang, the cultivation and preservation of life, and the axiom of a morally just universe.{{sfnp|Taylor|Choy|2005|p=589}}

On the whole, the Tao is equated with totality. [[Wang Fuzhi]] expressed the Tao as the ''[[Taiji (philosophy)|taiji]]'', or 'great ultimate', as well as the road leading to it. Nothing exists apart from the Principle of Heaven in Neo-Confucianism. The Way is contained within all things. Thus, the religious life is not an elite or special journey for Neo-Confucians. The normal, mundane life is the path that leads to the Absolute, because the Absolute is contained within the mundane objects and events of daily life.{{sfnp|Taylor|Choy|2005|p=589}}

=== Chinese folklore ===
Yayu, the son of [[Zhulong (mythology)|Zhulong]] who was reincarnated on Earth as a violent hybrid between a bull, a tiger, and a [[Chinese dragon|dragon]], was allowed to go to an afterlife that was known as "the place beyond the Tao".{{sfnp|Ni|2023|p=168}} This shows that some Chinese [[Folklore|folk storytelling]] and [[myth]]ological traditions had very differing interpretations of the Tao between each other and orthodox religious practices.

===Christianity===
Noted Christian author [[C.S. Lewis]] used the word Tao to describe "the doctrine of objective value, the belief that certain attitudes are really true, and others really false, the kind of thing the Universe is and the kind of things we are."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lewis |first=C.S. |title=[[The Abolition of Man]] |page=18}}</ref> He asserted that every religion and philosophy contains foundations of universal ethics as an attempt to line up with the Tao—the way mankind was designed to be. In Lewis's thinking, [[God in Christianity|God]] created the Tao and fully displayed it through the person of [[Jesus Christ]].

Similarly, Eastern Orthodox [[hegumen]] Damascene (Christensen), a pupil of noted monastic and scholar of East Asian religions [[Seraphim Rose]], identified ''logos'' with the Tao. Damascene published a full commented translation of the ''[[Tao Te Ching]]'' under the title ''Christ the Eternal Tao''.{{sfnp|Damascene|2012|p={{page needed|date=April 2024}}}}

In some Chinese translations of the New Testament, the word {{lang|grc|λόγος}} (''[[logos]]'') is translated as {{zhi|c=道}}, in passages such as [[Gospel of John|John]] 1:1, indicating that the translators considered the concept of Tao to be somewhat equivalent to the Hellenic concept of ''logos'' in [[Platonism]] and Christianity.{{sfnp|Zheng|2017|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=M9YkDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA187 187]}}