So what the hell is Taoism about?

Balance, unity, and flow.

>>18486189
>So what the hell is Taoism about?
The Tao.

Nothing in particular.

>>18486208
>>18486210
>>18486228
Three unrelated answers proving Taoism is vague as fuck.

>>18486253
1st post mentioned flow.
2nd post said Tao, which is basically just flow.
3rd post was clearly not very serious.

>>18486253
But they are related, and flowing perfectly and seamlesly, anon. The problem is you. You are dense as fuck.

>>18486258
If you wrap your mind around it, the third post is also about flow.

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>>18486259
Face it, you're just a pretentious retard.

>>18486276
No, not really. But my comprehension and vocalization of the english language is not enough to convey to you the subtle connections between the three posts. I could try to convey it in my native language, but I doubt that google translate has the means to translate accurately from an obscure language with 4 million speakers.

>>18486258
Third post was very specifically about Tao.

Nothing, i.e. The Void

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>>18486288
>No, not really.

Yes. Really.

It's about this http://www.sacred-texts.com/tao/taote.htm

>>18486288
Dude, you are hyper-pretentious. Please stop posting now.

>>18486305
How am I being pretentious? Is it the old "all thinkers are pretentious" meme? Shit, man. I am saying that the posts are connected, and flowing, and Tao, yet I can not convey that connection to you in english because I can't express myself in english very well.

There are a ton of really good quotes from old chinese philosophers about the stuff

>>18486253

That's part of the point. There are billions of other outlooks just as valid as our own, because simply put, existence is ineffable. It's my interpretation that Taoism is about making peace with the fact that we know nothing and can never know anything about the true nature of things; harmony with, and acceptance of, 'what is'.

>>18486293
exactly. from the top 3 it was my favourite

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the tao that can be told is not the eternal tao

>>18486189
Taoism is literally about (you).

learn chinese and read the dao de ching for yourself OP.... sometimes these scholarly english translators use various other terms such as "the great integrity"

they probably have a real nice engrish translation at barnes and noble or something

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He supposedly wrote "The Way and the Virtue" (Tao Te Ching), before departing to the west to withdraw from this world. According to legend, the guard at the border, recognizing Lao Tzu's wisdom by his long ears, asked for a record of Lao Tzu's wisdom. Lao Tzu quickly wrote the Tao Te Ching, and wandered off into the sunset.

During the Han Dynasty, there was a particular variety of Taoism referred to as Yellow-Lao Taoism, which venerated Lao Tzu and the mythical Yellow Emperor as deities.

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The tao that can be told
is not the eternal Tao
The name that can be named
is not the eternal Name.

The unnamable is the eternally real.
Naming is the origin
of all particular things.

Free from desire, you realize the mystery.
Caught in desire, you see only the manifestations.

Yet mystery and manifestations
arise from the same source.
This source is called darkness.

Darkness within darkness.
The gateway to all understanding.

>>18486823
this.

spiraling opposing energies condensing and expanding into infinity usually in toroidal shapes

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>>18486288
Kek but on point

Organized agnosticism. "Something did something that made us, probably. We don't know what it is, we have no way of knowing what it is, I guess it could or could not be a God, so we call it the Tao. That's not its name, but it's as close as we can get."

You have decide if you're more interested in the Daoist Religion or the Daoist Philosophy first. Either way, read the Zhuangzi, the Guodian Laozi, & Original Tao by Harold Roth, OP. Those will help get you started.

>There is a thing inherent and natural, which existed before heaven and earth. Motionless and fathomless, It stands alone and never changes; It pervades everywhere and never becomes exhausted. It may be regarded as the Mother of the Universe. I do not know its name. If I am forced to give it a name, I call it Tao, and I name it as supreme.

Read the Tao te Ching if you're curious, it holds up incredibly well.