Taoism
Taoism is the first major philosophical and religious tradition explored by Peter Marshall, in his book Nature's Web. Marshall calls Taoism "the way of nature," emphasizing that this is the ideal religion from the perspective of ecological sensibility. Passivity is a key element of Taoist thought, and is a repeated concept in the primary Taoist text, the Tao Te Ching. The concept of passivity stresses that the wise person will not attempt to cause change in his world, but will rather be receptive to and allow natural changes to happen, as is the way of nature. Other Taoist principles concerning government, society, life, and death branch off from this concept. Marshall considers this religion to be a necessary foundation for an ecologically sound world and way of life, which is why he makes it the foundation of his book. However, Marshall's views may not be entirely realistic when we consider the practicality of the philosophy to our modern ecological crisis. Taoism follows a much different idea of the "chain of being," than that of the other major religions (i.e. Hinduism, Judeo-Christian, Islam), which is very important in consideration of the ecological sensibility which stems from it. As opposed to a God-over-man-ov
We live in a world where fear is a very real thing in most of our lives. By Taoist thought, however, fear should not be an issue, because fear prevents us from being open to changes that may come upon us. Using the vessel concept, fear is like a lid, covering the vessel to prevent unwanted liquids from entering. The passivity that is spoken of in the Tao Te Ching is not to be confused with inactivity or laziness. I equate it more with the idea of potential energy. The concept of potential energy asserts that all matter, although at a state of rest, possesses an energy that will be released when the matter is in an active state. Applying this to Taoism, a person is expected to be receptive to change and ready for it, but must not actively try to cause change. However, the philosophy suffers from a practical viewpoint. Our society is far too settled into reason as the basis for all living. To abandon the structure of government, the comforts of technology, and the safety of having power would betray reason as we have come to know it. Government, in particular, is what our society is structured around. To abandon it, although it is for the better of the world, would leave people afraid and unsure what to do. Moreover, as we have seen in such situations as the L.A. riots, being left to our nature brings out our greed, violence, and most detrimental, our fear. Theoretically, these are all very useful concepts. If all convention could be dropped, and we could live according to our nature, focusing only on being open to natural change, we would be in an ideal Taoist society. Living by the philosophy, we would charge ourselves with the task of filling in the holes we have already made in "nature's web," and taking from nature only what we need.
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1429
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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