Lao-Tzu’S Conception Of Evil

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The constant question that many cultures try and explain is the existence of sin and evil in the world. Sometime in the 5th century BC a man known as Lao-Tzu lived in ancient China and tried to explain his reasoning for sin and evil present in the world. There is not much evidence about Lao-Tzu’s existence aside from what tradition says about him; many people just accept that he was what he is said to be, a philosopher, a sage, and father of Taoism. He is credited as the author of the text, Tao Te Ching, which is basically a compilation of all his ideas. It is primarily a summary of “the most known Taoist topics such as Tao, Wu (emptiness), Wu-Wei (non doing), Fu (return).” 1 It is the fundamental text of Taoism and is influential to many other thinkers and has inspired many creative minds. The fundamental principles of Taoism revolve around compassion, moderation, and humility. At the root of these principles is the incorporation of Tao in every aspect of people’s lives. Tao is a concept found in several ancient Chinese philosophies, notably Taoism and Confucianism that sums up the nature of the world. As a western thinker Tao is similar to the omniscient God. The main difference between the monotheistic God and Tao is that God is acknowledged as a supreme being whereas Tao is more of holistic conception of the world. Tao by nature cannot be expressed, it is unnamed, unlimited, and indefinable but all physical things in the universe are manifestations of Tao. Tao is considered by most to not be a code of ethics nor a guideline to life but rather it is a functional reality that we as beings encounter at every moment. Throughout Lao-Tzu teachings, he develops a conception of evil that explains the coexistence of Tao and evil. Tao supposedly makes up the universe therefore one would think that the existence of evil is
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