Taoism & the Art of Flow – The Philosophy of Lao Tzu

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The gentle, but effective philosophy of Taoism/Daoism takes a unique approach to living and dealing with the world. In this video, we cover Taoism’s origins, some of its key ideas, and why it might or might not be worth considering in our lives. (The founder, Lao Tzu, is often also known as Loazi or Lao Tze.)

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Comments

Tom Ato says:

Hopefully, the monetizing nature of this video's producer and/or of this young boy narrator
about the ''old boy'', Lao Tsu, in the ''pursuit of wonder'' lust for new subscribers can actually
do or 'not do' these things he's proclaiming for his viewers & be a real deal instead of a raw
wheel. Every author & producer is responsible for carrying out the teachings they prescribe!

Modern Frontiersman says:

One of the best videos ive seen on the subject.

Virtual Selfie says:

Awesome, as always!

GottaSay says:

Very quantum.

Fer du Port says:

Thanks so much for your work!!

Astroman says:

This philosophy is the most (for me) mind-bending currently. I struggle to grasp its concept.
But I feel as if I may know what it is, but then I am still left uncertain.
It says to me trust yourself. Don't do anything that requires forced effort.? Just try instead to do things that come naturally to you.
If you can't do it then ask for help I guess 🤷‍♂️
Everything happens naturally. But everything has its opposites.
Black/ white etc…
So what's the point of this philosophy then?
If everything happens by natural occurrences and humans are natural occurrences. Surly the perception of a situation was and always will be down to 1 perception vs the 2nd perception held by someone Else. Both are natural occurrences, right?
Then both aren't wrong according to this philosophy.
So, what now? May someone be able to help explain it would be greatly appreciated 👌

Todd Aulner says:

Why does everybody pronounce it Dowism

Steve Setzer says:

Taoism is a privilege. if you grow rice and theres drought- you dont fight. accept starvation of your children. if an asteroid is careening towards us, scientists who became pastoral farmers to stop the struggle of learning- merely watch the asteroid that they could have deflected if they had continued…. watch it with an uninterested, blank stare as we are obliterated

willie luncheonette says:

"These three great Masters remained individuals. Once in a while somebody was impressed by their writings, but it remained intellectual, so there is no hope in the near future of Lieh Tzu, Chuang Tzu or Lao Tzu being born again in China, or their influence in any way changing the course of China’s history, because in fact they have never been of any great importance in China’s mind. Confucius and Lao Tzu were contemporaries. Confucius had even gone to meet Lao Tzu, because Lao Tzu was certainly a man of tremendous qualities. Confucius was a great thinker, but only a thinker. He had nothing as far as his own inner consciousness is concerned, no experience, no idea who he is, but he had planned for the society perfectly well, a very mannered, cultured society.

Hearing that Lao Tzu was nearby, living in a cave beyond the lake, he went to see him. A few of his disciples also went, but he told them, “You wait outside the cave.” They said, “Why? It will be good, we can listen.” He said, “You don’t understand. I will tell you the reason later on. Let me go first. If I feel it right I will call you in.”

They stayed outside, Confucius went in. Lao Tzu was sitting silently. He did not say to Confucius even to sit down, and Confucius was man of manners, etiquette. He had not expected that a great sage, Lao Tzu, would not even ask. He did not say hello or even hi — even that short form, “hi.” He simply sat down, looking at Confucius, and Confucius said, “Sir, don’t you believe in manners?”

Lao Tzu laughed. He said, ‘I thought you knew all the manners — what is the need for me to tell you? If you feel like sitting, you will sit down! You are not a man who does not know manners. If you like to stand up, it is my etiquette not to disturb you. You can stand up!” Confucius said, “But you… you did not even say hello.” Lao Tzu said, “I said it. You could not hear it. It was a test: I said it silently. I wanted to know whether the famous philosopher Confucius understands silence or not. So you understand only words — that much is decided! And you have expectations. You cannot sit down on your own, you have to be told. This cave does not belong to me. When I came here, nobody said ‘sit down,’ because nobody was here. Why should I say it? It is not my cave, nothing belongs to me. Just the way I am sitting, you can sit down. You are not a child to be told.”

Confucius had never met such a man. And on each point he was rebuffed badly. Then Lao Tzu said, “If you really want to learn anything, first go and renounce all the idiots you have collected as your disciples. You don’t know anything and you have thousands of disciples. It is hilarious! You just go and tell them the truth, that you don’t know anything, and then come, because I teach only if somebody does not know. If he knows it already, why should he bother me? An old man… Leave me alone!”

Confucius came out, and he had not the courage to say to his disciples that he did not know. He had thousands of disciples, he was the most famous man at that time. Very few people knew about Lao Tzu. Confucius has remained a shadow over the whole of Chinese history. It is only somewhere in the footnotes you can find the name of Lao Tzu.

Confucius was not courageous enough to say “I do not know.” The disciples said “You didn’t ask us to come in. He said, “It was good that I didn’t ask you to come in. And please don’t ask the reason. That man is not a man; he is a dragon. He is dangerous, avoid him as far as possible. This is my first and last meeting with that old guy!”

And he was perspiring. It was a cold morning and the cave was very cool, but he was perspiring. The disciples said, “But why are you perspiring?” He said, “I am alive — that’s enough! Just take me away from here.”"

Rafa Maths says:

The Tao is so unnamable that it is neither being nor nonbeing. It is the unity underlying both, the Ground of both being and non-being.

Splurge Media says:

This blew my mind

Bhim Thapa says:

"Be water, my friend." Bruce Lee

Philippe says:

9:46 Interesting perspective. You seem to think of it as an argument against Taoism, but to me it works with it just fine. Yes, humans' forcefulness, resistance and distance from the Tao are part of the Universe's perfection, and when one truly, profoundly realises this, they are embracing the Tao.
Basically, to me, we are, yes, always working towards the only, universally perfect, way, and the Tao is merely the realisation of this truth and the acceptance and love that follows.

dismalthoughts says:

I absolutely love the balanced perspective he provides. No set of ideas, to me, seems fully complete and applicable in all situations. There are arguments for and against all ideologies and ways of living, even the sage wisdom of the East. It's certainly advisable to listen to people wiser than you, but at the end of the day, you've got to discover what works best in any given context for yourself

Rhonda Baroli says:

Live.for today. It what matters most serenity prayer day people will try to tell you what you think. Try to keep compassion for everyone but sometimes for peace we must let go

gurleen says:

As a nurse who was never connected to my job, I always felt so frustrated with myself for quitting because I couldn't understand what was wrong with me, I mean people always do jobs that they don't like but makes them money. My health was genuinely at its worst and I had to start therapy, but nothing really helped me understand myself more than the Taoism philosophy. Art and creative hobbies were something I always excelled at and many said I was destined to be a creative – it was even written in my astrological chart if you believe in it. Art was truly the closest I felt to the idea of 'wu wei' where it was essentially second nature to me and it always brought me into a sense of focus and peace. Nursing was the exact opposite. I'd compare it as saying that in nursing I felt like a rock in a river that refused to move from its spot; in this position the river would ultimately destroy the rock. In art or creative studies, I feel more like a rock flowing with the rive, allowing myself to be free. Becasue of understanding my predicament through Taoism, I ultimately accepted myself and now I'm applied to an art school!

Tony Martiand says:

Egen u say ur sorry ur forgiven i m sorry

Omar says:

Rappers: “Write that down, write that down.”

Jack - says:

There is no point, no good, no bad for those are merely human concepts. An interpretation of the 道.

Y2K Media says:

Why anyone would write a book using a pseudo name with the intention of deceiving future generations into thinking the book was written by someone other than who actually wrote it, is beyond me. Such stupidity is to be expected from the objective historian who only goes by facts and proofs and never pauses to contemplate or eliminate the impossible to arrive at the obvious truth. If the manuscript of the book has the name of Lao-Tzu on it, then Lao-Tzu wrote it, whether that is his real name or not is irrelevant, and that is more than enough evidence that the book was written by a man who referred to himself as such. To expect to have further "historical evidence" for the existence of this random author is like finding a needle in a huge pile of straw, and wondering why no other farmers ever mentioned the existence of this particular needle.

Benjamin Sahuc says:

Can you give the music credits please ? Thank you !

Word Police says:

Struggling to ensnare the illogical into a logical framework is illogical. What is the sound of one word fapping?

martin warner says:

I am a Christian AND a follower of the Dao. Peace be unto you.

Scott Gibboney says:

I hurt myself many times b tying to fit in, live up to the expectations of society, family and friends. I would have been better off in the long run just to be my silly self😊

Still Gaming™ says:

Wooow nice intro. No joke though, this is a good and accessible introduction to Taoism. Thanks

Digital Depiction says:

I love this. I love y'all

Levi • says:

"Let that bitch go homie you deserve better"
– Lao Tzu, maybe

Chad Wolfeschledgelsteinhausenbergerdorff says:

Keep a eye out for what you already thought of then belive your eyes and do your part its that simple

Chad Wolfeschledgelsteinhausenbergerdorff says:

I had a flow come up in my mind wish i would of done my part or at least until it doesn't happen like it said it was

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