Let it be just religiousness.
Nobody can reduce religiousness to a cult.
That is absolutely impossible.
Without God it is very difficult to reduce a religion to a cult. That's why Christianity is more of a cult than Buddhism.
This is our blessing, because we can look back upon the whole of history. And only fools say that history does not repeat itself; it continuously repeats, unless you prevent it from repeating itself. If you have accepted the idea that history never repeats itself you are not going to prevent it from repeating itself, there is no need. I say to you that it always repeats itself, unless somebody intelligently prevents it.
Judaism, Christianity, Mohammedanism, Hinduism, are all God -- oriented. Jainism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, are not God -- oriented. And the difference can be seen immediately. The God -- oriented religions become cults immediately.
God is a very dangerous concept because in the name of God comes the priesthood.
If there is no God it is very difficult to create a priesthood. In Jainism there is no priesthood. They have to borrow priests from the Hindus for their worldly rituals; for example, marriage. They don't have any priests, their religion is against brahminism. But Hindus have the greatest and the longest-standing priesthood; the most sophisticated, cultured, very solidly based establishment.
Jainas have no priesthood because without God what is the function of the priest? Things are interrelated. God is absolutely needed to create the hierarchy -- then the messiah, then the pope, then the cardinals, then the bishops, then the priest.... And it goes on and on; from the bottom to the peak, so many steps. But they are all possible only if you accept the peak, and the peak is fictitious. God is fictitious.
If I had met Jesus I would have told him, "God is fictitious. I am not denying you anything; I am simply saying that unless you prove God as a fact, your messiahship is out of the question -- so there is no need to deny it, as the Jews are denying it, saying that you are not the messiah, not the true messiah."

THERE IS a very famous Taoist story -- I love it tremendously. The story is about an old Taoist farmer whose horse ran away:

That evening the neighbors gathered to commiserate with him since this was such bad luck. He said, "Maybe."
The next day the horse returned, but brought with it six wild horses, and the neighbors came exclaiming at the good fortune. He said, "Maybe."
And then the following day, his son tried to saddle and ride one of the wild horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. Again the neighbors came to offer their sympathy for the misfortune. He said, "Maybe."
The day after that, conscription officers came to the village to seize young men for the army, but because of the broken leg the farmer's son was rejected. When the neighbors came in to say how fortunate everything had turned out, he said, "Maybe."

This is the attitude of a man who understands what is accidental and what is essential. The accidental is always 'maybe'; it is a 'perhaps'. You cannot be certain about it, you need not be certain about it. People who become certain about the accidental are going to be frustrated sooner or later; their certainty is going to create much frustration for them. Their certainty will create expectations, and they cannot be fulfilled -- because the universe is not there to fulfill your expectations. It has its own destiny. It is moving towards its own goal. It does not care about your private goals.
All private goals are against the goal of the universe itself. All private goals are against the goal of the Whole. All private goals are neurotic. The essential man comes to know, to feel, that 'I am not separate from the Whole and there is no need to seek and search for any destiny on my own. Things are happening, the world is moving -- call it Tao -- He is doing things. They are happening of their own accord. There is no need for me to make any struggle, any effort; there is no need for me to fight for anything. I can relax and be.'
The essential man is not a doer. The accidental man is a doer. The accidental man is, of course, then in anxiety, tension, stress, anguish, continuously sitting on a volcano -- it can erupt any moment, because he lives in a world of uncertainty and believes as if it is certain. This creates tension in his being: he knows deep down that nothing is certain. A rich man has everything that he can have, and yet he knows deep down that he has nothing. That's what makes a rich man even poorer than a poor man.
A poor man is never so poor because still he has hopes: some day or other, destiny is going to shower blessings on him; some day or other he will be able to arrive, to achieve. He can hope. The rich man has arrived, his hopes are fulfilled -- now, suddenly, he finds nothing is fulfilled. All hopes fulfilled, and yet nothing is fulfilled. He has arrived and he has not arrived at all -- it has always been a dream journey. He has not moved a single inch.
A man who is successful in the world feels the pain of being a failure as nobody else can feel it. There is a proverb that says that nothing succeeds like success. I would like to tell you: nothing fails like success. But you cannot know it unless you have succeeded. When all the riches are there that you have dreamt about, planned about, worked hard for, then sitting just amidst those riches is the beggar -- deep inside empty, hollow; nothing inside, everything outside.
In fact, when everything is there outside, it becomes a contrast. It simply emphasizes your inner emptiness and nothingness. It simply emphasizes your inner beggarliness, poverty. A rich man knows poverty as no poor man can ever know. A successful man knows what failure is. At the top of the world, suddenly you realize that you have been behaving foolishly. You may not say so, because what is the point of saying it? You may go on pretending that you are very happy -- presidents and prime ministers go on pretending they are very happy; they are not. They are just saving their faces. Now, what to say? There is no point even in saying anything -- they are not true.
In the older ages, people were truer, more authentic. Buddha was a prince, he was going to be the emperor, but he realized that there is nothing in it. He could have pretended. Mahavir was a prince; he was going to be the emperor. He realized that there is nothing in it. They simply declared their realization to the world. They simply said that riches have failed, that kingdoms are not kingdoms; that if you are really seeking the kingdom, you will have to seek somewhere else, in some other direction.
In this world there is no way to arrive.

There is a story in the UPANISHADS, which contains a few very beautiful existential statements about life.
There was an old seeker of truth; his name was Uddalak. His son was Shvetketu. He sent his son to well-known masters in the country to learn everything that is possible to learn.
The son was learning with one master, then another master. And when he acquired all that was available, with great pride he came back home to say to his father, "I have fulfilled the task."
Uddalak looked from his window and saw that his son was coming with many scriptures. And he could also see the proud look, the proud walk.
Shvetketu came in and told his father, "I have done it!"
Uddalak must have been a man like me. He asked him, "Have you known yourself?"
Shvetketu said, "But nowhere in all the schools I have been was this part of the syllabus. No -- I know everything about medicine, I know everything about language, grammar; I know everything that is taught there. But to know oneself? Even the question is not raised."
Uddalak said, "Burn those scriptures and go back. Find out who you are, because if you don't know yourself, what is the value of all the knowledge that you are burdened with? You have missed the central point."
Shvetketu was very much hurt and shocked, because he had come with so much pride, thinking that his father was going to reward him. Instead, he is condemned, utterly condemned: "You wasted so many of your years. Go back!" Uddalak did not allow him even to rest.
Shvetketu went to the greatest master that he had come across in his search for learning, and told him, "My father has demolished me completely! And he has sent me back for a single thing. He says unless you know yourself, all your knowledge is useless."
When your own house is in darkness, what is the point of knowing that the whole world is full of stars and light? The light is needed first in your own house.
That master said, "I was afraid of this, because I know your father; in our youth we have been disciples of the same master. I was afraid that this was going to happen. You were going with so much pride, and I know your father -- he is not interested in borrowed knowledge. He wants to know himself. He is not interested in beliefs. His only effort all his life has been to come to a certainty, to an experience which is not borrowed, which is his own, authentically his own. I was afraid that this was going to happen to you."
Shvetketu asked, "Then what am I supposed to do?"
The master said, "All that I knew, I have taught you. As far as knowing oneself, I am as ignorant as you are.
"But I can suggest one thing. I have got one hundred cows in the ashram. You take these cows into the hills, and when they have become one thousand, giving birth to calves.... You remain in the mountains, you forget all knowledge that you have learned. In fact you will not need it there; the cows are not interested in any kind of knowledge. You will not even encounter another human being. Language will not be needed. Grammar and all the subtleties of grammar will be useless."
Shvetketu asked, "But how is this going to help me to know myself?"
The master said, "You simply go. Help the cows to grow. Take them to fresher fields deeper into the mountains, and wait till they are one thousand. Then you can come. And everything else we will discuss afterwards."
Masters have their own devices. As far as I understand this story, I know the man knew -- but it could not be told. He created a situation, a device.
Shvetketu went to the mountains. For a few days the mind went on with all the knowledge that it had gathered, but what use was it? The cows were just munching grass, and Shvetketu was sitting amongst those one hundred cows waiting for the time when they will become one thousand.... Days passed, months passed. And the story is really beautiful, because Shvetketu forgot everything: knowledge, language, arithmetic. There was no need... by and by everything became useless.
He almost became as innocent as a cow. What else to do? A man is known by his company. Now, if you live for years amongst cows, just listening to their munching the grass.... He was sitting under the tree taking care of them. They became one thousand.
And here is a beautiful point: one cow spoke to Shvetketu and said, "We have become one thousand, now it is time to get back home. It seems you have forgotten counting too!" And really he had forgotten.
He brought those cows back to the master's house. Other disciples were also amazed with this experiment. It looked so strange -- that to know oneself one has to take one hundred cows into the mountains and wait and wait till they become one thousand!
The disciples looked: the cows were coming. They rushed to the master in the house, and they said, "One thousand cows are coming."
The master said, "No, one thousand and one."
The disciple said, "But you had asked for one thousand."
He said, "Yes, I had, but what about Shvetketu?" He was coming just in the middle of the cows, so innocent, so utterly childlike.
The disciples of the master were very excited, because the master had promised, "When Shvetketu comes, then everything will be discussed. For the time being you do this, and ask the question later."
Shvetketu came, handed over the cows to the master, and said, "Now can I go? My father must be getting very old, and I don't want him to die disappointed in me."
The master said, "But what about those other things we were going to discuss afterwards?"
Shvetketu laughed. He said, "Forget all about it! Living with cows, slowly slowly... there was no other excitement, entertainment. Waiting under trees, sitting under trees doing nothing, slowly slowly a silence started happening on its own accord. I was not meditating, but meditation was happening to me. And a moment came when all my thoughts disappeared, all my feelings disappeared -- just a pure is-ness remained.
"I could not even say, `I am,' because there was no I. Then I knew that the whole grammar was wrong. `I' does not exist. All that I can express is that I felt and experienced a certain am-ness; not `I am,' but am-ness, a deep existential experience. Now I know what my father wanted me to know, and there is nothing to discuss."
The master said, "I knew it. If you had come and started asking the same question again, that would mean the device had failed. With my blessings you can go to your father."
He came back home. The father was really very old; he was waiting for the son. He could see again from the window, and this is what he was expecting -- Shvetketu, so humble, so simple; no scriptures, just coming like a cool breeze.
He came into the house. You could expect that he would have declared, "Now I have fulfilled your desire." No, he simply touched his father's feet, kissed his father's feet, tears flowing from his eyes.
The father said, "So, it has happened. Now I can die peacefully. I have fulfilled my duty; I am not leaving behind me an ignorant man full of rubbish knowledge. I am leaving behind me a pure space, a being, alert, aware, knowing himself -- which is the greatest knowing in the world."
Science should open the doors of devices which religions have been keeping closed.
There is a vast universe outside you -- infinite. You can go on and on exploring it, there is no end. But there is a bigger universe within you, and so close -- just within you! And you can go on exploring it. You will come to know who you are, but that is not the end: that experience goes on deepening infinitely.
A man can be both, and that will be the total man. I have defined the new man in many ways, from different angles.
Let this also be included in the definition of the new man: he will be complete, entire, acquainted with the outside world, acquainted with the inside world.
And the moment you know both, you know they are not two; it is the same energy extending into two polarities. One becomes the object, the other becomes the subject. I would like to call it the science of the inner. And whatever is known as science today, I will call the science of the outer.
But the inner and the outer are two sides of the same coin. The outer cannot exist without the inner, the inner cannot exist without the outer. So there is no separation and there is no question of bridging.

Immer wieder stellt man sich die Frage, warum Träume, die uns ja etwas sehr Wichtiges mitteilen wollen, in verschlüsselten Symbolen auftauchen. Die Frage ist relativ einfach zu beantworten. Bilder können sich nur durch Symbole mitteilen, die zum Ziel haben, einen tiefen Inhalt möglichst kurz und präzise darzulegen. Träume sind die ursprünglichste Form der Bildsprache.

Die Schlafforschung sieht in Träumen vor allem die Verarbeitung von Geschehnissen, die sich in unserer Seele tagsüber angestaut haben und die diese nun nachts verkraften, für sich selbst begreifbar machen muss. Würden wir am Träumen gehindert werden, würden wir relativ schnell unsere innere Mitte verlieren und verrückt werden. Wissenschaftler haben dies mit eindeutigen Experimenten bewiesen, in dem sie Freiwillige aus dem Schlaf rissen, sobald diese in die sogenannte REM-Phase (Abkürzung für Rapid Eye Movement – schnelle Augenbewegungen) eintraten, in der das Träumen am Intensivsten ist.

Die Schlafforscher stellten weiterhin fest, dass in jener REM-Phase außer den sich schnell bewegenden Augenlidern alle anderen Muskeln des Körpers tief entspannt sind und wir selbst nicht in der Lage sind, unseren Körper zu bewegen, obwohl die Hirntätigkeit ähnlich intensiv ist wie im Wachzustand. Interessant ist, dass man in dieser dichten Traumphase auch zu Sinneswahrnehmungen fähig ist, was wiederum erklärt, warum z.B. ein Gewitter, Lärm auf der Straße, Angesprochenwerden und andere Ereignisse oft in Träume miteingebaut werden. Ja, es gibt sogar Situationen, in denen der Träumende mit Menschen spricht, die wach sind.

Träume können Visionen sein
Sowie der Körper sich durch Ruhen erholt, regeneriert sich die Seele also durch Träume. Wer sich von der klassischen Schlafforschung wegbewegt und sich intensiv mit seinen eigenen Träumen beschäftigt, wird aber bald feststellen, dass es durchaus Träume gibt, die über den Zustand der Verarbeitung weit hinausgehen. Träume können tatsächlich zu Visionen werden und manchmal sogar etwas über die Zukunft verraten. In Träumen können wir uns an eine Art Internet der inneren Welt anschließen. C.G. Jung bezeichnete dies als das Kollektive Unbewusste, einem gigantischem Wissenschatz, den alle Menschen gemeinsam haben und der sie im tiefsten Inneren verbindet. Es gibt auch nicht nur Träume in Schwarz und Weiß, was manche Traumforscher steif und fest behaupten. Es gibt auch Träume in Farbe sowie im Lichte der Nacht und des Tages.

Das Gefühl, das ein Traum erzeugt, ist entscheidend
Das Schwierige an der Traumdeutung ist: Sobald man Träume anderen mitteilt oder sie aufschreibt, beginnt man sie zu interpretieren und bewegt sich damit von ihrer eigentlichen Aussage weg. Das erste spontane Gefühl nach dem Aufwachen, das einem ein Traum entgegenbringt, ist besonders wichtig. Durch das bewusste Verweilen in diesem zunächst undefinierbaren Gefühl können wir dem Traum nachspüren und ihn letztlich ergründen.

Oft tragen wir ja ein negatives Gefühl den ganzen Tag mit uns herum, ohne zu wissen, woher es kommt. In sehr vielen Fällen stammt es aus der Nacht, aus unseren Träumen und verborgenen Schattenseiten. Ein weiterer wichtiger Aspekt, warum wir uns bemühen sollten, mit unseren Träumen bewusster umzugehen. Düstere Stimmungen, die wir mit uns herumtragen, können unser Verhalten und unsere Entscheidungen negativ beeinflussen. Sie bremsen uns, weil sie uns sagen wollen: Halt, da gibt es noch etwas, mit was wir uns beschäftigen müssen, was wir ausräumen müssen.

Neptun kann besonders bedeutsame Träume erzeugen
Dem ersten Nachspüren und dem Aufsichwirkenlassen eines bedeutsamen Traumes (welche Träume wirklich wichtig sind, weiß jeder Mensch selbst) sollte dann der zweite Teil, die bewusste Traumdeutung folgen. Es geht dabei um konkrete Symbole, die im Traum auftauchen und die auch durchaus konkret gedeutet werden können. Von den gängigen „Traumbüchern“, die in relativ großer Zahl in Buchläden aufliegen, darf man sich jedoch nicht viel Hilfe erwarten. Die dort beschriebenen Traumsymbole sind oft sehr flach oder unvollständig.


Nicht täuschen können wir uns bei der Traumdeutung, wenn wir die Astrologie zur Hilfe nehmen, die ja die Aufgabe besitzt, die Welt über innere Bilder, über Archetypen, wie sie eben auch in unseren Träumen vorkommen, begreifbar zu machen.

Unter Neptun-Transiten, vor allem zur Geburtssonne, kann allgemein eine Phase sehr reger Traumtätigkeit mit ungewöhnlichen Träumen beobachten. Speziell Mars-Einflüsse können Träume voll von Gewalt und Auseinandersetzung bringen, Pluto-Einflüsse können vom Sterben träumen lassen, mit Venus-Einflüssen sind oft erotische Träume verknüpft, unter Uranus-Einflüssen träumen wir möglicherweise von Flucht, Fall oder Fliegen usw.

Einen großen Einfluss auf unsere Träume haben neben den sogenannten Transiten zu unserem Geburtshoroskop alleine schon die Tages- bzw. Nachtkonstellationen der Planeten. Träume sind z.B. voll von Emotion und Unruhe, wenn der Mond nachts in Spannung zu Mars steht. Der Mond günstig zur Sonne oder zu Venus hat dagegen einen sehr beruhigenden und harmonisierenden Einfluss auf unsere Träume. Überhaupt ist der Mond, als der Herrscher der Nacht und als Nahtstelle zu unserer Seele und unserem Unbewussten neben Neptun der wichtigste astrologische Faktor, was Träume betrifft.

Bei Träumen von Feuer droht Streit
Durch die Analogiesprache der Astrologie wissen wir zumindest, was die Taumsymbole bedeuten. Ein Traum, den relativ viele Menschen schon einmal gehabt haben, der sie tief erschütterte und unerklärbar war, ist z.B. der Traum vom Zähneausfallen. Plötzlich wackeln im Traum die Zähne, fallen eben aus oder werden – fast noch schlimmer – zu Brei im Mund. Zähne werden in der Astrologie nun Saturn zugeordnet, dem Begrenzer, dem Planeten des Alters, der Schicksalsschläge und des körperlichen Zerfalls. Mit diesem Traum muss also eine Angst vor dem Altwerden, er kann aber auch auf eine tiefe seelische Erschütterung hindeuten, die sich durch eine Lebenskrise bereits anbahnt, vom Bewusstein aber noch nicht wahrgenomme wird.

Wer von Häusern und Räumen träumt, bewegt sich in den verschiedenen Schichten seiner Seele, denn das Haus wird dem Krebs und seinem Zeichenherrn Mond zugeordnet. Damit ist immer die grundsätzliche Frage verknüpft: Wer bin ich, wo gehöre ich hin?
Ein Traum, der mit Feuer zu tun hat, ist mit Mars verbunden. Feuer kann ein Anzeichen dafür sein, dass man etwas begehrt, gleichzeitig aber auch Angst davor hat. Feuer ist die Zerstörung schlechthin, es kann im Traum auf massive schwelende Konflikte hinweisen, die im wirklichen Leben kurz vor dem Ausbruch stehen.

Fliegen im Traum heißt frei sein
Ein Verbrechen im Traum zu begehen, in dem man einen anderen Mensch tötet oder ein Traum, in dem man selbst stirbt, hat nur im übertragenen Sinne mit dem Tod zu tun. Es handelt sich hier um plutonische Träume: ein Gegner muss überwunden oder eine Lebensphase beendet werden, damit etwas Neues entstehen kann. Im Grunde genommen ein sehr positiver Traum, der zuversichtlich stimmen sollte. Pluto sagt: Stirb und Werde!

Im Traum von Schlangen verfolgt und gebissen zu werden, deutet ebenfalls auf Skorpion und Pluto hin und hat vor allem mit verdrängten Leidenschaften und Versuchungen zu tun, die dem Leben gefährlich werden können. Fliegen in Träumen ist ein uranisches Thema - die Sehnsucht frei von allen Fesseln und Abhängigkeiten zu sein. Interessanterweise geht Fliegen im Traum oft mit Kreislaufschwäche einher, die astrologisch auch mit Uranus zu tun hat.

Wasser im Traum, vor allem wenn man vom Meer träumt, hat mit den Fischen und Neptun zu tun. Das Eintauchen in das Unbewusste, in verborgene Seelenschichten ist hier Thema. Wer das Meer bedrohlich empfindet und z.B. auch von Haien träumt, hat sehr viele unbewusste Ängste. Meist haben sie mit Süchten zu tun, die unbewältigt sind und stärker als der bewusste Wille erscheinen. Ähnlich ist das Ertrinken im Traum zu werten. Alles wird zuviel. Eine Situation scheint auswegslos.

Taoism or Daoism (from Chinese, in pinyin dao) is an Asian philosophy and religion, though it is also said to be neither but rather a '''way''' of life. Translated literally, it means "Way" or "Path". The Tao is the natural order of things. It is a force that flows through every living or sentient object, as well as through the entire universe.
Introduction and historical context
Taoism is a tradition that has, with its traditional foil Confucianism, shaped Chinese life for more than 2,000 years. Taoism places emphasis upon individual freedom and spontaneity, non-interventionist government and social primitivism and ideas of self-transformation. Thus, Taoism represents in many ways the antithesis to Confucian concern with moral duties, social cohesion, and governmental responsibilities, even if Confucius' thought includes those Taoist values, as one can read in the Analects.

Traditionally, Taoism has been attributed to three sources:

The oldest, the mythical 'Yellow Emperor';
the most famous, the book of mystical aphorisms, the Dao De Jing (or in Wade-Giles spelling, Tao Te Ching), said to be written by Lao Zi (Wade-Giles, Lao Tse), who, according to legend, was an older contemporary of Confucius;
and the third, the works of the philosopher Zhuang Zi (Wade-Giles, Chuang Tse).

Other books have developed Taoism, as the True Classic of Perfect Emptiness, from Lie Zi; and the Huainanzi compilation.
Additionally, the original source of Taoism is often said to be the ancient 'I Ching', The Book Of Changes.

The Dao De Jing

The Dao De Jing, or Tao Te Ching as it is most commonly rendered in English, was written in a time of seemingly endless feudal warfare and constant conflict. The literal meaning of the title is approximately "Way Virtue Classic".
According to tradition, the book's author, Lao Zi, was a minor court official for an emperor of the Zhou dynasty. He became disgusted with the petty intrigues of court life, and set off alone to travel the vast western wastelands. As he was about to pass through the gate at the last western outpost, a guard, having heard of his wisdom, asked Lao Zi to write down his philosophy, and the Dao De Jing was the result. Lao Zi was reflecting on a way for humanity to follow which would put an end to conflicts and strife. He came up with a few pages of short verses, which became the Dao De Jing. This is the original book of Taoism.


Taoist Philosophy

The Way begat One (the lifeforce), which in turn begat Two (Yin and Yang), finally producing the entirety of the world as we know it. The Way is therefore circular, acting upon itself to renew the cycle of life and death in harmony with nature.
Do not try to force things, for nature is overpowering. In particular one must act in accordance with how things are, not how one wants things to be.
One's mental activities should be stilled or allowed to dissipate until one finds a deeper source for guiding one's interaction with the universe (see 'wu wei' below). Tempering desire breeds contentment, which hinders their ability to understand The Way. Taoists believe that when one desire is satisfied, another, more ambitious desire will simply spring up to replace it. In essence, most Taoists feel that life should be appreciated as-is, rather than forced to be something it is not. Ideally, you should not desire anything, not even non-desire.
Oneness - by realising that all things (including ourselves) are interdependent and constantly redefined as circumstances change, we come to see all things as they are, and ourselves as a simple part of the current moment. This understanding of oneness leads us to appreciation of life's events and our place within them as simple miraculous moments which 'just are'.
Dualism, the opposition and combination of the Universe's two basic principles of Yin and Yang is a large part of the philosophy. Some of the common pairs are male and female, light and dark, strong and weak, action and inaction. Taoists believe that neither side is more important than the other; indeed, neither can exist without the other, as they are ultimately aspects of the same whole. They flow into each other. They complete each other. It is a balance.

Wu Wei
Much of the essence of Tao is in the art of 'wu wei' (action through inaction). This does not mean, "sit doing nothing and wait for everything to fall into your lap." It describes a practice of accomplishing things through minimal action -- by studying the nature of life, you can affect it in the easiest and least disruptive way. It is the practice of working with the stream rather than against it; one progresses the most not by struggling against the stream and thrashing about, but by remaining still and letting the stream do all the work.
Wu Wei works once we trust that our human "design" which is perfectly suited our place within nature. In other words, by trusting our nature rather than our mental contrivances, we can find contentment without a life of constant striving against forces real and imagined.


The Taoist Religion
Though specific religious aspects are not mentioned in the Dao De Jing or Zhuang Zi, as Taoism spread through the population of China, it became mixed with other, pre-existing beliefs, such as Five Elements theory, alchemy, ancestor worship, and magic spells. Attempts to procure greater longevity were a frequent theme in Taoist alchemy and magic, with many extant spells and potions for that purpose. Many early versions of Chinese medicine were rooted in Taoist ways of thought, and modern Chinese medicine is still in many ways concerned with Taoist concepts such as qi and the balance of yin and yang.
In addition, a Taoist church was formed, originally being established in the Eastern Han dynasty by Zhang Daoling. Many sects evolved over the years, but most trace their authority to Zhang Daoling, and most modern Taoist temples belong to one or another of these sects. The Taoist churches incorporated entire pantheons of deities, including Lao Zi, Zhang Daoling, the Yellow Emperor, the Jade Emperor, Lei Gong (The God of Thunder) and others.


Taoism Outside Of China
In Korea, the Taoist philosophy is practiced as Kouk Sun Do.

Taoist philosophy has found a large following throughout the world, and several traditional Taoist lineages have set up teaching centers in countries outside China.