Influence Of Daoism To East Asian Religions; Influence on secular literature
Introduction
Daoism is a way of life, a philosophy, and a religion that arose in the 6thcentury BCE in the current eastern Chinese province of Henan. It has influenced religious life and culture in theEast Asian since then. The word ‘Dao’ predates the upcome of Daoism and is used in all schools Chinese philosophy. Literal meanings are; ‘method’, ‘course’, ‘road’, ‘speech,’ path’, ‘way’, among others. Daoism is indigenous and has influenced the life of Chinese life for thousands of years. Daoism is shown in the acceptance and yielding the carefree sides of the Chinese attitude, character, and compliments the character ascribed to, austere and moral, and duty-conscious.
Influence Of Daoism To East Asian Religions; Influence on secular literature
Daoism had made its appearance in works of schools during the early Han and warring states times. Both patent imitations and direct quotations were frequent and Daodejing citations, which abounded through later Chinese literature. Esoteric writings of Daoist also held high power in fascinating letters of men (Kopf, Gereon). Their feedback might fluctuate from a mere mention of the most celebrated immortals to entire work done and inspired by specific Daoist practices and texts. They revealed work by Maoshan to have the most significant impact on secular writings. As awareness of these influences by Moshan increased, scholars faced the question of possibilities of the origin of religious genres I Chinese literature. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
Influence On Visual Arts
Several early books by Chinese with spiritual interest claim to have been inspired by drawings and pictures they had seen on the walls of the local worshiping temples (Little, Stephen & Shawn Eichman). Lives of the immortal is another tradition that originated from pictorial work known as ‘portraits of the immortal’ as the immortals painted on Han mirrors. Graphics guidelines existed from early times to help in the identification of sacred plants like mushrooms and minerals.
This kind of influence of Daoist resulted in unique plants and minerals drawings that the Chinese later attained. The realistic painting was another field of excellence by the Daoist. Painter ‘Gu Kaizhi’ who was a practicing Daoist, left an essay having instructions for painting a scene in the life of ‘Zhang Daoling’, who was the first celestial master. Many works on themes about Daoist, which were famous during those moments but are now lost, are associated with other early great masters. Some were for purposes of ritual, and religious paintings exist up to date.
Interpretation Of Dao; The Cosmic Dao
The spiritual and philosophical interpretation of Cosmic Dao declares it as the source of the universe. Cosmic Dao means that it is all-knowing, always emerging, and present all the time. It is a creative but not the supreme creator who gives birth to the world through holy exertion of a supreme will (Matt Stefon). Human beings whose culture and constraints identify society can aspire only to attune to its strange transformations but receive no special favor. Cosmic Dao is related to nonbeing in the sense that it is not a specific thing in the universe but rather the totality of all things.
The Human And Kingly ways
Another authoritative interpretation of ‘Dao’ conceives that as it s the particular ‘path’ of a class of things or a specific item. As the universe has its unique and natural way of emergence and acting, so do other words that have their idea of development (Matt Stefon). Humans and government flourish when the rational way attunes itself and when the kingly Dao accords with nature, respectively.
If Daoism Is Taken Seriously
When families are sound in this version of Daoism, melodious political stability and community system will arise (Crane et al., ). If we attend to our immediate family responsibilities to honor our parents and elders, and every person does the same, then the world would become a better place.
Works Cited
Crane, George T. Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Dao: Ancient Chinese Thought in Modern American Life. Chichester, West Sussex, United Kingdom: Wiley Blackwell, 2013. Internet resource.
Article by Matt Stefon
https://www.britannica.com/topic/dao
Little, Stephen, and Shawn Eichman. Taoism and the Arts of China. Chicago: Art Institute Chicago, 2000. Print. https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=5ame4Rl1RXMC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Influence+Of+Daoism+To+East+Asian+Religions&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiJl6Xd65zoAhWJbsAKHStCCEoQ6AEIYzAH#v=onepage&q=Influence%20Of%20Daoism%20To%20East%20Asian%20Religions&f=false
Kopf, Gereon. The Dao Companion to Japanese Buddhist Philosophy. , 2019. Internet resource.