Daoism

Daoism, more commonly spelled as “Taoism”, is a Chinese philosophical tradition founded by Lao Tzu (also spelled as Laozi). It primarily teaches adherents to exist in harmony with the “Tao” (“The Way”, or the universe), the source, substance, and pattern of all things which exist.

Taoism generally emphasizes the three treasures: compassion, frugality, and humility; and the values: action without intention or without exertion (“wu wei”), naturalness, simplicity, and spontaneity. The origin of this philosophy was traced to the 4th century and embodies the ideals written on the “I Ching” (“The Book of Changes”), the oldest of the Chinese classics which explains how behavior should be kept in accordance with nature.

The yin yang symbol is associated with Taoism as it exhibits the principle of natural and complementary energies such as masculine and feminine and light and dark.