What are the offshoots of daoism?

Answer 1

Let me see here.... Daoism has influenced;

1) Chinese morality; most Chinese do not see things in terms of black and white, most see things in various shades of grey. Ironically enough, even though Daoism does not demand sexual morality, for centuries, many Chinese have been very good at remaining chaste before marriage, and many married early. Its kind of ironic because, in the western world, the church was ultra hard core when it came to that stuff, and, what can I say, westerners have never been good at waiting. Even in the middle ages, promiscuity among white women was common; no man in Europe, at any point in the peninsula's history EVER married a virgin, they were in fact very rare among the common people. Where virginity WAS practiced was among the nobles; virginity was required of a bride to be for a king, to insure all heirs were his (the king's). For the most part though, most European men did not marry virgin women. Again, therein lies the irony; at its heart Daoism doesn't care what you do with your body and yet, Chinese people have always been better at self control than westerners.

2) Daoism is the core philosophy of the Internal schools of Kung Fu, and it has had a profound influence on ALL schools of Kung Fu, Shaolin included. The Shaolin temple, practices Chan (Zen) Buddhism, the same Buddhism practiced in Japan. Chan Buddhism, is different from Indian, in that it is a religion that is a hybrid of Daoism, and pure Buddhism. The Buddhism practiced by the Dalai Lama, Tibetan Buddhism, can be considered the "true" Buddhism. Buddhists themselves prefer not to use that kind of language, believing the "8 fold path" to be the most important thing, now whose version of Buddhism is "better" or "truer," whatever the case, Buddhism practiced in China, is not the same Buddhism practiced in India, and later on Tibet. Again, Chan Buddhism is a hybrid religion, that has elements of both Buddhism, and Daoism.

3) It has influenced Chinese medicine, with its concepts of chi energy, and chi flow.

4) Obviously it is central to the whole notion of Feng Shui; Feng Shui's influence, extends beyond China's borders. Japanese landscaping architecture for example, is rooted in Feng Shui belief. Japanese temples, and I mean all Japanese temples, are built in accordance to Feng Shui rules, and in China its the same thing. The Shaolin Temple in China for example, the old temple, was built according to Feng Shui. Some Shaolin take Daoist stuff more seriously than others; whether, for example, the Shaolin Temple of America in New York follows Feng Shui, that I don't know, you will have to call and ask them.

5) It is so entrenched in Chinese culture, that virtually every single ruler that has ever lorded over China, has been evaluated through a Daoist lens. Rulers that had lavish palaces, parades of women, lavish banquets, etc, etc, etc, were generally regarded by the Chinese as "tyrants." Rulers who lived simply, despite having great wealth and power, were regarded as "wise, benevolent emperors." For a clearer picture as to why this is, read Lao Tzu's "The Tao Te Ching." In China, having a lavish lifestyle, if you are politically powerful, is not a very good idea. The wealthy in mainland China, and Hong Kong, are generally divided; in Hong Kong some people are horribly materialistic, they only respect people who make big bucks. In fact, Hong Kong is all about raking in the money; many of the greediest turds in east Asia reside in Hong Kong. However, there are also conservative Chinese, who have the Chinese version of "noblese oblige." The concept of "noblese oblige;" literally translated it means "the noble's obligation." What obligation is that? In Europe it was believed, among the noble houses that if a man was blessed with wealth upon birth, he was morally obligated, duty bound actually, to his people, to use that blessing to give something back. In Britain, many scientists came from the noble class, because of that whole "noblese oblige" thing; if a man had wealth, then he had time to study, and use his learning to help the people. THAT, is "noblese oblige." If you are blessed with wealth and power, it means you have time on your hands that laborers and skilled craftmen don't, thus, as a noble, it your duty, to the people, to pay them back for your priveleged life, by using your brain for learning, and giving something back. The Chinese version of this, is that the wealthier you become, the simpler you live, so that the poor do not hate and resent you, you help where help is needed, you do your best to improve yourself as a human being so that others may benefit from your acquired wisdom, you use your wealth, not as a handout, but as an investment in knowledge so that the poor can learn for themselves, and get themselves out of a bad situation but you DO NOT, shove your wealth in other people's faces. That is the Chinese version of "noblese oblige." Why do you think, the quality of life in Europe improved so rapidly in times of prosperity, especially in England? It was that whole "noblese oblige" thing. In China, it was much the same thing; even though the Han era of China, saw widespread wealth, the majority of wealthy people tended to live simply. Simplicity is one of the philosophical tenets of Daoism; in days past, even though masters of Kung Fu made a ton of money teaching Kung Fu, they lived in small, simple houses, to set examples for their students. A master did not live in a lavish mansion, simply because he was "the master;" to set an example of humility, the majority of Kung Fu masters lived simple lives. Assuming the homes of famous masters of Kung Fu, such as Yang Lu Chan, Wong Fei Hung, and Sun Lu Tang are still preserved, if you go to visit them, you will be sorely dissapointed; do not expect lavish "jet set celebrity" type mansions. Assuming they are still around, what you can expect to see, are very simple, ultra modest homes.

6) Daoist philosophy had a profound influence on Kong Fu Tze (Confucius), who dictated his now-famous analects. The Analects of Kong Fu Tze, are a manual for social order, through family harmony, with the philosophy in mind that everything has its proper place. Kong Fu Tze recognized the fact that society will always be divided and stratified, however, Kong Fu Tze was famous for having said, that was no excuse to have the lowest, working class, living in miserable poverty. The working classes, deserved comfortable living, just as much as the upper, Kong Fu Tze also believed that although it did not happen often, occassionally, in the working class, a man would be born more suited to be in the upper classes. Everything, and everyone, is in their proper place, but you MUST allow a degree of upward mobility to deserving people. See the United States does not really do that; this country has a racial and economic Caste System, much like the one in India. Yeah, I am comparing America to India; live with it. Another Country that has a caste system, is Israel. Mind, there is a huge world of difference between comfort and luxury, I need to make that point. For example; the farmhouse I live in, which was built in 1950, is more comfortable, than the palace of Emperor Nero of ancient Rome. Its more comfortable in that it has all modern day trappings and conveniences, but its not more luxurious. Nero's ancient palace, for sure, has more luxury than this farmhouse, but it is NOT more comfortable. The poor working classes, no one ever said they should live in luxury, but that does not give the ruling class the right to deny them comfort!