Taoism: A philosophy and religion of China. Derived chiefly from the Tao-te-ching, a book ascribed to Lao-tze but probably written in the mid-3rd century B.C. It describes an ideal human condition of freedom from desire and of effortless simplicity, achieved by following the Tao (path), the spontaneous, creative, effortless path taken by natural events in the universe. |