Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Taoism Reading Questions

The Dao (pp. 1515-1519 & 1526-1530) (Book 1)
page 1514
•Define, in detail and your own words, the Dao.
•Compare and contrast the ideas (not the ease of reading) of Laozi & Zhuangzi.
•Evaluate the meaning of the seemingly abstract and contrasting poems in the Dao De Jing. (Pick one or two good examples and analyze them, specifically.)
•Discuss the importance of animals and their interactions in the understanding of Daoism.
•Examine the commentaries of both works on the relationship and role of humans and the natural world

•Deduce the importance of parables in the work of Zhuangzi. To what extent do this make Daoism less classical and what are the ramifications of this?

De & the state of perfection (pp. 1521-1525 & 1530-1531) (Book 2)

Explain the difference between Dao and De.
Evaluate the impact of how Laozi’s more concrete commentary on virtue effects Classical Daoism.
Some scholars have argued that originally the work was written/orally told with Book 2 (De) first and then later changed so that the book on the Dao would come first. To what extent would this change one’s understanding of Daoism?
Explain the “Parable of Knives” in the context of virtue and its oneness with the Dao.
Define heaven in the terms of Classical Daoism
To what extent is Zhuangzi a better textual source for the religion than Laozi; but, why is Laozi considered more authoritative?

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