Tao
Chinese concept / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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In various Chinese religions and philosophies, the Tao or Dao[note 1] is the natural way of the universe, whose character one's intuition must discern to realize the potential for individual wisdom, as conceived in the context of East Asian philosophy, religion, and related traditions. This seeing of life cannot be grasped as a concept. Rather, it is seen through actual living experience of one's everyday being. Its name derives from a Chinese character with meanings including 'way', 'path', 'road', and sometimes 'doctrine' or 'principle'.[1]
Tao | |||||||
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Chinese name | |||||||
Chinese | 道 | ||||||
Literal meaning | way | ||||||
Vietnamese name | |||||||
Vietnamese alphabet | đạo | ||||||
Chữ Hán | 道 | ||||||
Korean name | |||||||
Hangul | 도 | ||||||
Hanja | 道 | ||||||
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Japanese name | |||||||
Kanji | 道 | ||||||
Hiragana | どう | ||||||
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English name | |||||||
English | /daʊ/ DOW, /taʊ/ TOW | ||||||
In the Tao Te Ching, Laozi explains that the Tao is not a name for a thing, but the underlying natural order of the universe whose ultimate essence is difficult to circumscribe because it is non-conceptual yet evident in one's being of aliveness. The Tao is "eternally nameless" and should be distinguished from the countless named things that are considered to be its manifestations, the reality of life before its descriptions of it.