If you ask me what Taoism is exactly, I'm not sure I can answer. I did read a couple of books about Taoism back in my university days. One was The Tao of Pooh - didn't everyone read that in university? And I vaguely recall one of the texts saying that if you said you could explain Taoism, then you didn't really know what it was. So I guess I'm an expert?
I know that Taoism literally means "The Way" and I'm not sure there are many practices or rituals associated with Taoism - except one. Tai Chi. In my research on Tai Chi (i.e. googled Tai Chi and clicked on a few of the links), I found a great quote from Confucius that may or may not be related to Taoism.
"The way to do is to be."
I know that Taoism literally means "The Way" and I'm not sure there are many practices or rituals associated with Taoism - except one. Tai Chi. In my research on Tai Chi (i.e. googled Tai Chi and clicked on a few of the links), I found a great quote from Confucius that may or may not be related to Taoism.
"The way to do is to be."
![Picture](/uploads/3/0/7/3/30733109/6740641.jpg?279)
If you ask me what Taoism is exactly, I'm not sure I can answer. I did read a couple of books about Taoism back in my university days. One was The Tao of Pooh - didn't everyone read that in university? And I vaguely recall one of the texts saying that if you said you could explain Taoism, then you didn't really know what it was. So I guess I'm an expert?
I know that Taoism literally means "The Way" and I'm not sure there are many practices or rituals associated with Taoism - except one. Tai Chi. In my research on Tai Chi (i.e. googled Tai Chi and clicked on a few of the links), I found a great quote from Confucius that may or may not be related to Taoism.
"The way to do is to be."
I intellectually understand the quote, but I'm not sure I really get it. This project alone would seem to be in opposition to this quote. I'll need to think about that some more.
Back to all this doing that I've been doing. As luck would have it, today happened to be Fung Loy Kok Taoist Tai Chi™ International Awareness Day. At 8:30 am this morning, I rushed down to Dundas Square to check it out. There was a beginner class happening at 9:00 am according to the website. Tai Chi is another one of those things I'd been meaning to try for years but had never found a class or the right time to try it.
What I found when I got there, was not what I had expected. There were hundreds of people in red t-shirts in Dundas Square. I was told later that it was 600 Tai Chi enthusiasts from 26 countries - all who had made the trip to Toronto for International Awareness Day.
At first I saw lines of a hundred or more people doing Tai Chi. I was a little confused and was wondering if that was the beginner class. I started to think it was the Dusk Dances debacle all over again and it would be a Tai Chi performance with no participation.
I know that Taoism literally means "The Way" and I'm not sure there are many practices or rituals associated with Taoism - except one. Tai Chi. In my research on Tai Chi (i.e. googled Tai Chi and clicked on a few of the links), I found a great quote from Confucius that may or may not be related to Taoism.
"The way to do is to be."
I intellectually understand the quote, but I'm not sure I really get it. This project alone would seem to be in opposition to this quote. I'll need to think about that some more.
Back to all this doing that I've been doing. As luck would have it, today happened to be Fung Loy Kok Taoist Tai Chi™ International Awareness Day. At 8:30 am this morning, I rushed down to Dundas Square to check it out. There was a beginner class happening at 9:00 am according to the website. Tai Chi is another one of those things I'd been meaning to try for years but had never found a class or the right time to try it.
What I found when I got there, was not what I had expected. There were hundreds of people in red t-shirts in Dundas Square. I was told later that it was 600 Tai Chi enthusiasts from 26 countries - all who had made the trip to Toronto for International Awareness Day.
At first I saw lines of a hundred or more people doing Tai Chi. I was a little confused and was wondering if that was the beginner class. I started to think it was the Dusk Dances debacle all over again and it would be a Tai Chi performance with no participation.
![Picture](http://www.weebly.com/weebly/images/na.png)
Eventually I found the information booth and asked one of the Tai Chi Red Shirts about the class and was directed to a small group of people (only a couple of non-red shirts) in the corner. I joined them and spent about 45 minutes learning a small part of the Tai Chi routine (not sure if that's what it's called).
One of my teacher's was from London, England but originally from Denmark and another was from Victoria, BC. They told me that you could learn the whole routine in a couple of months but it takes a lifetime of practice to perfect it - if it can be perfected that is. Their love for Tai Chi was so apparent, not just because they travelled so far to be at this celebration, but I could also hear it in their voices and see it in their body language. It was infectious.
Now I need to add Tai Chi to the list of all the things I want to continue after Day 40.
One of my teacher's was from London, England but originally from Denmark and another was from Victoria, BC. They told me that you could learn the whole routine in a couple of months but it takes a lifetime of practice to perfect it - if it can be perfected that is. Their love for Tai Chi was so apparent, not just because they travelled so far to be at this celebration, but I could also hear it in their voices and see it in their body language. It was infectious.
Now I need to add Tai Chi to the list of all the things I want to continue after Day 40.