Is anyone here familiar with Daoism?

[edwhys211]

I find Buddhism and all Asian religions and cultural subjects interesting, but I am looking for a secular/purely philosophical religion. In Daoism, is there rebirth/karma, or is daoism just more of a philosophy?

[cooran]

Hello Ed,

These links may be of interest and help in answering your question:
http://www.daoistfoundation.org/daoism.html

http://asiasociety.org/countries/religi ... ies/daoism

http://www.daoiststudies.org/dao/daoism-a-short-history

with metta
Chris

[Kim OHara]

Hi, edwhys,
A "secular/purely philosophical religion" is almost a contradiction in terms but if I were to guess at what you mean by it, I would suggest something like "a rational philosophy to live by" as opposed to a religion, which provides a moral framework but may not be very rational, or western philosophy, which is rational but doesn't provide much moral/ethical guidance.
If that's where you're heading, Daoism may be a disappointment. The Dao De Jing (various spellings!) is lovely but Daoism has splintered and morphed, much as Christianity has. You are most likely to find Daoism as a current within Chinese folk religion or as the theoretical underpinning of practices like Tai Chi. Keep looking, by all means, but don't be surprised if the results are ... 'untidy' might be the best polite word.
Other places to look might be the 'sceptical Buddhism' movement (e.g. http://www.sasana.org/) and 'secular Humanism' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secular_humanism.
You may also get some clues in the thread here on Stoicism, especially this post http://www.dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=15144#p218486, if some fairly technical language doesn't deter you.

Happy hunting!


Kim

[Dan74]

I find Buddhism and all Asian religions and cultural subjects interesting, but I am looking for a secular/purely philosophical religion. In Daoism, is there rebirth/karma, or is daoism just more of a philosophy?

I recall having a similar attitude myself a decade or so ago and thought I had found the answer in Zen.

You might find the answer in Stephen Batchelors Secular Buddhism.

[dude]

I find Buddhism and all Asian religions and cultural subjects interesting, but I am looking for a secular/purely philosophical religion. In Daoism, is there rebirth/karma, or is daoism just more of a philosophy?

It's just more of a philosophy

[daverupa]

I am looking for a secular/purely philosophical religion.

So, it's basically possible to get this out of the Nikayas... but that depends heavily on what you mean by these terms.

In any event, one's practice is what one makes of it, whatever texts one might use. Be careful of confirmation bias when diving amongst the great literatures of the world.