During the course of learning about different religions, I came upon one fascinating religion that stood out from the others, Taoism. Taoism is a religion that is very hard to be understood. Many religions include some elements of mysticism but none are as thoroughly mystical as Taoism. Taoism' basic teaching is living in harmony with Tao, "the Way" of nature. This can also be understood as letting nature takes it course. Taoists believe that the best way to live is to simply not interfere with the natural "way" of nature. Taoism is a religion that is impossible of ever producing a full explanation. In order to furthermore my understanding of Taoism I decided to read one of the Winnie the Pooh collections called The Tao of Pooh. This book was great as it provided humorous yet instructive teachings of Taoism through Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends. It is a great book for anyone of all ages as it uses simple stories that are easy to understand while incorporating the teachings of Taoism.
Piglet (Winnie-the-Pooh)
Original Winnie the Pooh stuffed toys. Clockwise f...
Rabbit in his Disney style.In The Tao of Pooh, Benjamin Hoff uses the characters from Winnie the Pooh to explain the fundamentals of Taoism. By observing the actions of Eeyore, Piglet, Rabbit, Owl, Tigger, and Pooh, he decides that the action of the character Pooh best describes Taoism. The most important principle of Taoism is the Uncarved Block. Hoff uses Pooh to best explain the Uncarved Block. The principle of the Uncarved Block is that things in their original simplicity contain their own natural power, power that is easily spoiled and lost when that simplicity is changed. He uses these characters to show how things can be spoiled and lost and also how things can just work out. Hoff uses Rabbit to show that when you always have to be on...