The Daodejing: The Journey That Changed My Life

Stated in the primary document of Daodejing, it dates back to 300 BCE when it was first produced. This work was attributed to Laozi, but has not been proven completely true that it is his work. The Daodejing was written after the Zhou Dynasty had lost its authority and the government was split into small states. This piece focuses on “the way” an idea of philosophy of Daoism. The Daodejing states that, “The way is empty. It may be used without ever being exhausted.” The Daodejing is in a poetic form, which is attractive to many readers. The text of the Daodejing can be hard to read and understand because it is written so deep with such profound thought. The first few sentences of the Daodejing are intriguing because it states, “The way that can be spoken of is not the constant way, he name that can be named is the not the constant name, the nameless

Daoism is a daily guide to living so a person can experience the most of their own self. Daoism teaches the follower to look inside and to gain knowledge through self-exploration and to connect with our inner nature. The yin and yang shows the complementary sides of objects and nature, even the human body. The Taoist Sanctuary of San Diego states, “All is Tao. All opposites are in actuality part of one whole, giving rise to one another. Neither is

Have you ever faced a life changing experience that not only affected you, but also the society around you? Life changing experiences are turning points where someone's life changes “direction.” Some people who have been in major life changing experiences are, Melba Beals who wrote Warriors don’t cry, Jackie Robinson who wrote, I Never Had it Made and Feng Ru starring in the article “Father of Chinese Aviation” by Rebecca Maskel. Melba Pattillo Beals, Jackie Robinson and Feng Ru all faced life changing experiences that not only impacted their lives, but also their countries.

The Daodejing is a collection of chapters from ancient China. The chapters explain why things happen the way they do. In order to understand everything that exists and the way it exits, the Daoists explain “dao” which means the way. The way helps people to find their way to excellence during a time of turmoil and strife. Life as it is known is uncertain and unclear. Daodejing uses a non-logical approach to explain the uncertainties in life. The authors of this ancient text use contradictions to prove their points because logic cannot always be used as a guide. Contradictions help to find balance and teach people to live in a world without having a full understanding of things. According to chapter 15, it was stated that “those who prize way-making

“The whole world recognizes the beautiful as the beautiful, yet this is only the ugly; the whole world recognizes the good as the good, yet this is only the bad.” (Norton) Some people in history thought this statement makes perfect sense; however, it is gibberish to me. How are the beautiful actually ugly, and good mean bad? My only thought process goes back to people having different values of life. My best cliché for this is “One man’s trash is another’s treasure.”

I have recently finished an interesting play. Subterranean Homesick Blues Again is a comedy play by Dennis Reardon about a young tour guide that decides to mess with the minds of two bickering couples that come to visit famous caverns.

In “The Daodejing,” Laozi, similar to many prominent Chinese philosophers before and after his time, discusses his unique perspective of the “Way.” There is much controversy, however, regarding whether Laozi was the actual author of this text or was even a real person, and “his” work is thought to have been a composite. (For the purpose of clarity, throughout this paper, the author(s) of “The Daodejing” will be mentioned as Laozi.) Laozi’s vision of the “Way” is exceptionally challenging to define using words because of its metaphysical nature. Although this term is somewhat difficult to envision, it is what mankind should aspire and take action to be aligned with. According to Laozi, in “readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy,” the “Way” (or dao) is the “source, sustenance, and ideal state of all things in the world” (Laozi 158). It can be best thought of as the underlying guiding force of all events that occur in the universe, and mankind is closer to the “Way” when they realize that all things are interconnected and have an effect on one another. As might be expected, this vague definition isn’t a foolproof depiction of the eighty-one chapters in the “Daodejing,” but one is able to grasp a basic understanding of Laozi’s ineffable doctrine. Although numerous chapters are meaningful and could provide substantial analysis, this paper will focus in on Chapter Twelve. Ultimately, this chapter adequately and efficaciously compresses the teachings of “The Daodejing” into

I’m am going to explain to you today, why I think Vasco Da Gama is a villain and why I think he should be in your exhibit.

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I can say that being a social worker was never in my plans. I started from Liberal Arts, because I wasn’t decided on my career choice. I took almost all courses, when I got an advice from one of my friends to try Health Information Technology. I gave it a chance and I didn’t realize how time flied by and I graduated. My dream always was to work with children. When I graduated and took my internship, that was the time, when I understood that I made the wrong choice. I needed to search for another career, because I understood, that it would not be what I meant. My father is physical therapist and he gave me and advice to think and to do some research about Social Worker. This time, I did the most research that I could, in order to not repeat my mistake again. I instantly knew, that this what I needed. All over the world, there is and will always be abuse. That’s the reality of it, but now I’m studying for Social Worker here at Lehman College, because I would like to be working toward changing a child’s reality one day, I am changing my knowledge every time I come to class, and changing my life one step at a time. I believe that it all starts with me, and while I may not be able to save the whole world, I will be able to save and help at least small part of it. I currently work in the family practice as a receptionist. My best days are those when I able to help people and provide them with all the information needed. Every day is different.

Let us just theoretically say that you are able to time travel. You are the leading scientist in a time-traveling operation, and feel that you should be allowed to take the first trip back in time. You have so many interesting places you can go: Rome, Greece, Mesopotamia, you name it. But for some reason, your gaze just keeps traveling back to Ancient China. Before you pack up all your things and leave this decade, let me tell you a little bit about why you should not go to China back during the 1000s-500s BC.

Complied during the Warring States Period, the Daodejing is widely known as one of China’s famous philosophy literature. This text reflects the general lament of a civilization that has been worn down from war and seeks to find peace by teaching people how to live by “the Way”. From a war-torn perspective, the Daodejing deems war and government corruption as evil and traces them back to greedy and power-hungry motives. As a successor to Confucius, it still carries some of his ethics. Because of its mystical overtones, it has acquired a large variety of interpretations. Its main teaching is if a person does nothing, then peace will be restored; it is the concept of non-action or 无为。When a person does not try to interfere and allows things to

I remember when I was in middle school and I decided to tell my parents what I wanted to do in life. At first I always wanted to do what my dad thought was best which was electrical engineering, it seemed fine with me until I realized it took a lot of math which I am not very good at. So, as a thirteen-year-old boy I did what I knew was best just keep quiet about wanting to do something different. Fast forward in time two years later I’m 15 talking with my guidance counselor about career jobs. She hands me a sheet with job titles to an endless extent, it stuck out just like that I circled the career path I wanted to take. Physical Therapy was now the road I wanted to go down, it was the best job title I could imagine helping kids with sports injuries and

I chose social working as my career because many other people go through tough situations and have a difficult time talking to relatives or friends to help them through a tough situation. I thought of becoming a social worker so I can have the ability to change the lives of others. Social work is one of those careers you can truly make a difference in people’s lives. I want to become a social worker because life isn’t about just helping yourself it’s about helping others as well, which is what social workers do for a living. Child and family social workers protect children and families in need of assistance. Many families and children don’t feel comfortable talking to just anyone about obstacles they have faced in their lives which is why

One of the greatest pieces of advice that I have received is that if you do something that you love, you will never work a day in your life. It took me changing my major three times to find what I am truly passionate about. After I changed my major to child and family studies I enjoyed learning everyday and applying what I learned from class into the real world. The knowledge that I obtained through my classes assisted me through my experiences as a nanny, a student worker for the department of child and family studies at Tarleton, and lastly through my internship at Gladney Center for Adoption this past summer. I had thought about pursuing a MSW since I switched to child and family studies. The few social work classes I was enrolled in have been some of my favorite material. Ultimately my internship through Gladney and my passion for adoption led to my final decision to pursue a masters in social work.