History of Taoism
Most sites will teach you the terms and history of Taoism. That might be nice for academics: but it does
nothing for teaching you how to live as a Taoist. Taoism is about embracing life in the now and not being
stuck in history or terms.
Initially, Taoism can be considered to be a shamanic practice. However, Taoism is so old; the complete
history of Taoism cannot be traced through written records. Taoism is very much a tradition that is
transmitted verbally from master to student over the generations. Because of this, some of the shamanic
roots of Taoism still survive today. Taoism historically is also a very flexible practice. Taoism is a
practice of change, and it always changes to meet the needs of the times. This is still happening today, and
even as we speak, Taoism is evolving to keep pace with modern culture. This is one reason Taoism has
survived for so long; it always adapts with time while holding onto a few key concepts to keep the practice
true to the Tao.
An early surviving text to describe the Tao is the Tao-Te
Ching, written by Lao-Tzu (The old master). The Tao-Te Ching is a series of poems that can be considered
a work of philosophy, a treatise on how to run a government, a how-to book for achieving a balanced life, or
a sage’s reflection on humanity and the universe. It is known to have been written over 2400 years ago, but
not much else is retained about the origins. Many fun stories abound about these origins; however, these are
just that, stories. It is important that the Tao-Te Ching and its poetry survive, having impacted the course
of human events over the past 2400 years. It’s an exciting book worth skimming. I say “skim” because it is
written in a light-hearted manner. If a reader stares too hard or takes the Tao-Te Ching too literally, the
multiple intentions within the poetry will be lost.
Many, many stories and tales exist about the History of Taoism. Some of these stories could be true, and
some could be fables. As a Taoist, the point is to learn from the mixing of our reactions to the tales.
Veracity is best left to history; time will always change the “truth” for each generation.
