Daoism Discussion 1

 I re-read the first 37 chapters a few times and each time I found my thoughts on Dao changing. At first I read it as a universal life force (Chapter 14), similar to what I call the element Spirit or one might find in pantheism, especially with the idea of returning to it -  " Being at one with Tao is eternal.." (Ch. 16)

But then on another re-read it seemed more like a way of thinking/living; with a focus not on restraint, but humility and balance. "Just do what needs to be done. Never Take advantage of power...Achieve results, but never glory in them. " (Ch.30)

What stands out to me the most with the Dao is that its about balance, humility, and acceptance (Ch. 13) as opposed to attempting to reach a perfect ideal. It seems much more obtainable, while still indicating the importance of living well - "It is more important to see simplicity to realize one's true nature, to cast off selfishness and temper desire." (Ch. 19)  There is no call for living without, just living without excess; as found in Chapters 9 -  "Better to stop short than fill to the brim..."

There is an emphasis on balance with Daoism especially found in chapters 2 & 29.  Understanding the give/take, beauty/ugly, the binary is not contradiction, but on a continuum.  "Sometimes things are ahead and sometimes they are behind..." (Ch. 29) Its all interconnected and balanced. There is not much spoken of with male vs female other than chapters 6, 10 &28, although I do like the tone of reverence there is for the feminine energy and a call for men not to shy away from it. 

Personal thoughts in my comment. 

Comment to follow my post: 

Daoism is fascinating! I genuinely wish there was a class dedicated to East Asian religions, as this is really my first introduction to it. This website was interesting because if provides different translations of the Tao Te Ching and each ones take on a different tone. Its interesting to compare them side by side. He even has one page dedicated to just the first chapter translated 76 different ways. 

https://www.taoistic.com/taoteching-index.htm

Definitely don't use it as your only source, as it's translations also come from the different author's interpretations. Our text book is the closest thing to literal translation i think, based on the Annotated book supplied in the module's supplementary reading.