The central idea of Taoism is the Tao, literally meaning the “way”. It is the eternal, un-nameable, formless, nothingness, from which all things emerge and to which all return.

#1
The Tao that can be told is not the eternal; Tao,
The One that can be named is not the eternal name,
The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth.
The named is the mother of 10,000 things.

In the beginning was the Tao, an empty void of infinite potential. Out of the Tao emerged the One, spirit, manifesting as chi, vital energy. This is the primal division of unity, yin and yang, dark and light circulates about a center ascending becoming heaven and descending becoming earth. They are depicted as a broken or solid line. As in Buddhisn, the cirrcular movemnet of the path about a center, the “circulation”, is expressed graphically by the mandala. Together heaven and earth are the universe, symbolized by the Tai Chi. In the Tai Chi yin and yang spiral about each other in time, one becoming the other. Yin and yang further produce life, ming, and human nature, hun, which are feminine and masculine, and the two principles of the soul, conscious-ness, P’o, and Spirit, Hun. Carl Jung called these opposites the anima and animus.

#42
The Tao produces the One (Spirit, Being),
One produces Two (yin & yang, duality),
Two produces Three (form),
And Three produces 10,000 things… (the World)

9 Dragon Scroll, 1244 AD. The Interplay of the Dynamic Forces of Nature
The Dragons which symbolize yang chi frolic in a spiraling flow of energy at the beginning of time

Chi connects all things. Man and the environment have a reciprocal relationship. , one reflecting the other. Man is a microcosm, a microcosm of the One, reflecting and connected to the whole. What happens to one affects the other. The object of life is to return to the Tao. This is achieved by balancing, harmonizing and finally synthesizing yin and yang through a multi-staged spiritual meditative practice.

In the practice one first gathers and fills oneself with the Light, then using breathing and visualization techniques moves light in the body in a circular pattern while maintaining a still point at the power center. The mind is focused and thoughts are concentrated. This circulation of light naturally unites the feminine and masculine poles of the heart consciousness at the dan tien with the spirit consciousness in the space between the eyes, gradually building a radiate “pearl” in the center called the ”embryo of the Tao” This is then brought up into the pineal gland, the “1000 petalled lotus” which opens, releasing the spirit body above the head. In this way yin and yang, human nature and life (hsing-ming) are brought into unity, the masculine and feminine psychic poles are united, resulting in an enlightened state of being called the Golden Flower, the immortal spirit-body. This being un-divided then can ascend to the Tao and consciousness hui comes to rest in the emptiness. The practice is essentially an effortless focus of the mind while “doing” nothing. The teaching of non-action or do nothing called wu wei. In this way, one ascends through the dimensions of reality which are nine in number, each with a dual nature, thus there are nine heavens and nine earths. The nine dragons are the forces of creation. Nine are the palaces of the Lo Shu.

#48
Less and less is done until non-action is achieved.
When nothing is done, nothing is left undone.
….(In sitting still, all things are revealed)

The Taoist masters also taught a form of spiritual sexual practice like Hindu tantra, in which the dual male and female principles are synthesized and enlightenment occurs as an orgasm in the head.

In this golden state of undivided wholeness while one is still in manifestation, one becomes pure Light, that which allows the perception of reality but which itself has no substance (mass). It is both wave and particle at the same time. This is the eternal Self that survives death visualized as a pot, the Pot Self. The pot is the body, the container of the essence within. The Body is the vehicle of the Soul.

#11
Thirty spokes share the hub of a wheel,
It is the center hole that makes it useful.
Shape the clay into a vessel,
It is the space within that makes it useful.

In ancient China the teaching of the Tao was more than a religion, it became a way of life that influenced almost every aspect of the culture. Feng shui, for example, developed as an application of the Taoism to the design of buildings, the layout of towns and the plan of landscapes, all to harmonize people with their environment and thereby to insure man’s health and wealth. The principle is one of reciprocity. Every thing is connected. If the environment is out of balance then so also will be the people. But if the environment is in balance then the people will be prosperous and at peace.

Feng shui which means wind–water, the elements which shape the land, was originally called kan yu, “the way of heaven” and “the way of earth”, is now practiced in over 100 schools over much of Asia. It is a system for the manipulation of chi, subtle energy found in all things, particularly telluric energy of the earth and thus is a part of the ancient science of geomancy of which there is evidence all over the world. In India there is a related form combined with astrology called vastu shastra, place wisdom. Basically feng shui is the art or science of orientation and placement of elements of a plan in both space and time, where by various methods, the flow or containment and so the harmony of chi is achieved. Chi manifests in things as yin or yang, with characteristics of element, shape, color, material, and qualities of light, sound power and life. The method is to use the Bagua and later the Lo Shu as templates over laid onto the plan to determine where and how to make modifications in the chi. Orientation is determined by either the source of chi (such as a port, highway or front door) as in form school or the compass directions in the compass school. Both schools are widely practiced today. Finally the I Ching is cast to determine the auspiciousness or effect a change in arrangement will be.