Seminar 7 Post

[Joel Jimenez]

Daoism is a very interesting philisophical religious tradition.  I am very familiar with Buddhism and the practices of Buddhism.  However, I was not familiar with Daoism.  Daoism also has parallels to Confucianism, and relies heavily on the concept of balance of YinYang.  What I wasn't aware of is how YinYang is an energy source that is ever evolving, that although a woman can be a yin and a man can be a yang, YinYang is interchangeable and depending on a life even or situation both genders can be the yin or the yang.

What I also found interesting was how Daoist monks in China have surpassed several gender roles.  While there are some female Daoist monks who live full time in a Daoist temple and dedicate their lives to their philosophy, arts and sense of community, there are other female Daoist monks who attend the temple during the day, just as if it were a job, and then return home to their husband and family.  With changing times and more progressive ways of thinking, China is adapting to the 21st century philisophical and cultural norms.