Uncover the Essential Truths of Daoism for a Joyful Life

You’ve probably heard of Laozi, the great Daoist master of ancient China. He wrote the Dao De Jing, or Tao Te Ching. Perhaps you know about Zhuangzi, another writer from 200 years later, who also shaped Daoist thought and philosophy.

Neither of them invented it, of course. We aren’t even sure if they’re real or mythical figures.

Many in the West have a severe misunderstanding of Daoism, even if they’ve read those books. That’s because Daoism isn’t a philosophy, like the translations can lead you to believe. They aren’t religions in the Western sense either.

There’s a lot of verbal teaching that goes with a traditional study of Daoism. Not to mention the canon is 1200 to 1500 texts, depending on the lineage. And this cannon was built over hundreds of years. Some of these classics of Daoist thought are thick tombs, taking up multiple volumes to print in the old style. Others are no bigger than a pamphlet.

Did you know most Daoist practices have some level of god worship, demon summoning, and channeling of inner energy to cultivate strength and vitality?

Daoism is an Eastern religion, which is very different. When an average Westerner thinks about religion, they think of Abrahamic religions. Christianity, Judaism, Islam.

Those religions put all the power in an external entity. There’s a god and you have to put all your time and energy into your devotion to Him. Eastern religion places the focus on the self. The individual must become all they can be to serve their family and community.

Social cohesion is fundamental to Chines society. This school of thought says an unhealthy mind or body becomes other people’s problem. You cannot help anyone else until you help yourself.

Then What is Daoism?

More than just “go with the flow” and “action through inaction,” the Way is a way of life. It’s not just a cognitive exercise, like most Western philosophies. There aren’t any strict dogmas, like in Western religions either.

Part of the reason Daoism is so poorly understood over here is that it didn’t have time to circulate properly; not like Buddhism or Hinduism (through yoga).

When Mao took over China, they had the Cultural Revolution. Everything that was established in old China was labeled archaic and had to be purged.

Many academics and landowners were executed. The old philosophy-religions that made China what it was went underground.

In its home country, it was punishable by death to practice Daoism. They eventually stopped repressing their old cultural identity because it wasn’t working. It’s fine to openly practice now in mainland China.

According to Benebell Wen (a Daoist practitioner), Daoism became very low-key for many years. If you practiced, you just didn’t talk about it outside the family. Even then, you had to choose carefully.

She writes about all sorts of rituals that invoke the four directions, the constellations, Daoist and Buddhist gods, and even demons.

Demon isn’t really the right word. Hungry spirit is how it’s often translated, though there are other kinds. They aren’t monsters like in European folklore. They’re just lost and hungry spirits who want to feed on life-force.

There’s a lot of spells and witchcraft in her family’s Daoist lineage.

The Wandering Taoist

The Wandering Taoist is a biography of Kwan Saihung, who grew up on Mount Huashan in the 1920s and 30s, fought in WWII, then came to America to teach Kung Fu and Daoism. Dealing with demons and spells was forbidden on Huashan. They had several schools, all with masters leading different paths toward their Way.

Saihung’s group focused on Qigong and Kung Fu to strengthen the body/mind/spirit (it’s all one thing) into higher and higher levels of health and athleticism.

These aspects of Daoist thought and belief are totally absent from most Westerner’s understanding. There’s a strange sort of secular Daoism that’s become popular in the West—people who study the Tao Te Ching and think they know what Daoism is.

I’ll tell you, I was the opposite. I read it and thought, “WTF does any of that mean?” I had to understand way more of the other texts and cultural background before it made any sense to me. Others may differ.

I can’t call this new Western Daoism wrong, because every lineage has its interpretations. There isn’t one right Way. That’s been an important aspect from the beginning. Even so, Western Daoism is like a puddle; the one in China is an ocean that goes deeper than any sub can reach, and stretches past the horizon.

There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of different lineages across the various prefectures and regions and cities. All of them place a bigger or lesser emphasis on certain books than others. Some outright pursue sorcery; others forbid it. Some pursue enlightenment through meditation; others use Kung Fu and herbs. Some don’t believe literally in immortality or chi, but know their practice gives them vitality, inner-strength, and peace of mind.

Nature is the Key

There’s a section in the Wandering Daoist where two older disciples tell the young Saihung how and why they isolate themselves in nature.

They live on one of China’s most sacred mountains. The stone steps are carved on top of the ridges along the winding slopes between the five peaks, following the maintain’s chi flow. Most of the temples and houses are built precariously over deep precipices.

There were no railings or handholds when you walked among the clouds back then.

His young teachers turned his attention to the animals surrounding them. What are their characteristics? How do the seasons change their behavior? Notice how clever that monkey is. Watch how this crane stands on one leg to conserve energy. See how the frog is ready to leap and catch a fly at any moment.

This is why men and women were more segregated in traditional Chinese society. At least it became an underlying cultural excuse. Male and female animals don’t intermingle unless it’s mating season. Males don’t have sex unless it’s mating season. Therefore, semen retention for chi cultivation became a popular practice throughout the centuries.

See? It’s mysticism, but it follows its own logic. I think it’s cool.

Learn to Forget

There’s a core lesson that stumped me for a while: “Forget one thing every day and you will grow closer to the Dao.”

But I’m supposed to read and re-read all these texts, and practice the breathing exercises, and meditate, and do these spells, and work out, and whatever else my lineage does. There’s so much you have to memorize and master to become a priest or priestess of any regard. And social hierarchy is critical even in a Daoist temple.

How am I supposed to forget stuff every day?

Then I came to understand Chinese society better, the conditions that led to Daoist thought. I’m no expert, but my article should explain Confucianism in a way you may not have read before. Some of this will make way more sense with that context, but don’t read it until you’re done here (or make sure you come back).

To “forget one thing every day,” you’re forgetting the “truths” that society has literally beaten into you about yourself, the world, and your place in it. Return to nature. Observe the animals and plants to see what life is really about. Become one with the Dao.

That’s why a lot of lineages renounce the world and seclude their practice to a mountaintop somewhere, far away from civilization. Others wholeheartedly disagree with that idea and operate fully in society.

That’s the part that really fascinates me. Daoism isn’t like Christianity, where there was one authority for centuries dictating “the true doctrine.” And if you disagreed, you were burned alive as a devil worshiper.

Chinese “religion” is an amalgamation of Confucianism, Legalism, Daoism, and local myth. It might all be one country, but each prefecture has always had its own subcultures and customs. Beliefs even vary village by village.

The Song Dynasty, among others, issued official permits dictating which lineages were approved and official. They also sold ordination certificates if you wanted to join a temple. So there was a centralized authority, but it was more to maintain power than to make one Dao everyone’s Way.

Not to mention all the underground lineages that went on in secret.

Each lineage has its own Dao. But the Dao is the nameless Dao. The universe itself. It is all things. The gods, spirits, demons, animals, even humans, are manifestations of the one. That makes most of the gods aspects of the Dao. So even if you’re praying to one specific deity, you’re still invoking the Dao.

As it’s said in Fullmetal Alchemist, “All is one, and one is all.”

It’s true that all good is the Dao, but so is all evil. Even legendary Chinese heroes weren’t afraid to ruthlessly butcher their enemies from time to time. Good and evil don’t exist in their extreme absolutes, like they do in Abrahamic religions.

The most basic version of the Daoist creation story is this: The One created two, two created three, and the three created the ten thousand things. In other words, the Dao created Yin and Yang. Yin and Yang created Heaven, Earth, and Man. Then the three created everything else.

When in China

I want to finish today’s post by telling you a story about a man who I think found the true meaning of Wu Wei, action through inaction, going with the flow. I only have his word for a lot of this, so take that how you will. The story is great, nevertheless.

Matt Furey is an American wrestler who turned to Shuai Chiao, the oldest form of Kung Fu. After several years of hard training, he went to China to compete in the world championship. He would go up against the greatest in the world, on their home turf.

He got to the competition with cameras broadcasting live to the entire country. Even in 1996, that was a lot of people. He felt the fear coming on. How could you not? This is the most important fight of his life. He’ll either be the first and only non-Chinese to win this competition, or just another poser.

He was lucky. He’d trained Kung Fu in the traditional way and received the Daoist teachings that encompass old Chinese martial arts. Talk as much shit as you want about their effectiveness in real combat, but eastern MA is more than just a way to work out and beat people up, which is what MMA has become.

Kung Fu is one of the major forms Daoist thought has taken root in the west.

Instead of being this scared little human, Furey thought of himself as a Siberian tiger. They weigh 500 pounds and can run through snowdrifts at 50 mph. He saw himself as a dolphin leaping 10 feet out of the ocean. He breathed deeply and put himself into a euphoric trance by the end of his impromptu visualization/breathing exercise.

Then he went to the other side of the mat before the fight and shook hands with his opponent, wishing him good luck. He’d NEVER done that before, and he’d been competing in one sport or another since he was a kid.

He describes the fight that followed as the easiest yet hardest of his life. It took all his training and talent, but he didn’t have to try to be that good. Eventually, they tied, and the fight came to a vote. After some deliberation, his Chinese opponent got the win.

This is the most important moment of Furey’s athletic career. He lost on national television. How much money had he spent on training, travel, and the hotel? He went over to his wife, who’s Chinese. She was upset and said it was unfair.

He simply said, “When in China, do as the Chinese do.”

That was his reaction to losing the championship!

Unknown to him, his coaches spoke to a moderator and turned it around. They brought him back out and gave him the trophy. He was the first and only non-Chinese to do this.

Even so, there were several minutes where most people would have lost it. They’d cry, or lash out, or want to. He simply breathed and let it flow. He worked really hard to get there, didn’t get what he wanted, then checked on his wife.

This is the same athlete who had nightmares for 12 years over losing a college wrestling championship. But by the time he reached the Kung Fu tournament at 32, he’d found the meaning of Wu Wei. Not only that, he found a Way to live it!

He became a rock in a stream. There’s a lot of rock symbolism in Daoism. If only we could be as easy going and immovable as they.

Continued Explorations

I’ve just recently gotten a book on Qigong, the breathing and focusing style Furey uses. It’s the foundation of many Daoist practices—the daily practice to live and breathe the philosophy Laozi wrote about in the Dao De Jing.

I’m very excited. Not just for myself, but for my books.

I started researching Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism as I worked on my upcoming dark fantasy novel The First Ogre King Book 1. I wanted to make sure I was making deliberate changes instead of flat-out mistakes. You’ll meet a family of spy-assassins who use these techniques when you click here and get your free copy of the first five chapters right now.