Why do you think Taoism hasn't caught on as much in the west?

[rckandorroll]

Just curious why you think (or if you think) Taoism, which in MY opinion answers more of my questions than Buddhism, hasn't caught on as much as Hinduism, Buddhism or the Abrahamic Religions have in the West?

I think it's because Taoism doesn't really offer an ultimate goal that Westerners like to work toward. Buddhism has enlightenment and escape from Samsara, Christianity has Heaven and Hell, etc.

What do you think? I'm still learning more and more about the Taoist philosophy so I'm very much a n00b, but I've been surrounded by the Tao my whole life and I'm finally starting to realize it.

Be well,
Eric

[Quoth the Raven]

Probably because Taoism is both complex and simple.. simple being "wu-wei", complex being explaining what wu-wei IS. "The Tao that can be spoken of is not the Eternal Tao".. it's a hard concept for westerners to bend their heads around.

[Exposed]

In a sense it has and always has. I know that in the area I live in, people refuse to learn about anything else but christianity. I guess they do not want "god" to view them as evil for being interested in something other than christianity.... Sadly.

[That Hippy Kid]

Western philosophy is more about striving, and materials, and plans. Tao is not striving, having pretty much only the nessecities, and being spontaneous. Also, there is nothing that really gets Tao out into the public because it's more of a solo path than learning from a teacher.

[woody666]

I think part of it is that Western beliefs are closely intertwined with Western philosophy, and in particular Greek philosophy. This world view tends to work on the basis of "if you do A & B and don't do C & D, then you'll get what you want".

Eastern philosophy, and particularly Taoism, are not like this and so are difficult to understand and offer no easy answers.

[ghost of rat]

I think its because Taoists dont go around preaching their beliefs to everyone.
As Loa Tzu once said- Those who preach, do not know.

[TaoDoc]

Well, at the high point of my teaching career I had about 50 people taking my Taoism classes. When I looked down the street at the Catholic church, they had that many people just setting up the Bingo tables.

So, I think that's what keeps most Westerners from embracing the Way - there's no Bingo. http://www.hipforums.com/forums/images/smilies/wink.gif

[themnax]

i think a lot of people who turn to belief, do so looking for an excuse to lie to themselves. taoism, more then any other belief, with the possible exception of some indiginous traditions, refuses to give it to them.

=^^=
.../\...

[zombiewolf]

People want to be part of a club or group. The tao shows we needn't be any kind of "...ist" nor subscribe to any form of "...ism".

[BlackBillBlake]

I think part of the reason it hasn't become prominent in the west is that unlike a lot of other things - eg. some Buddhist schools, some Hindu schools and gurus, as well as stuff like scientology, it has never been 'packaged' for the western consumer. I think many people have become so dependent on media and on sound bite culture etc that anything which isn't so presented to them simply doesn't get a look in.

Also some religions are bit like football teams, with their noisy and usually not particularly intelligent supporters. It's hard to get worked up into a kind of emotional state over Taoist teachings. There's no clearly identifiable taoist 'tribe' to identify with.

[LanSLIde]

Most of the popular Western religions rely on a "okay, teach me what I should believe" ideology, where your thoughts are supposed to stay within the region of your mind the philosophy says is moral. Instead of instructing a young one to think about why say, something like abortion is to be considered immoral, they simply say "abortion is wrong, don't do it, don't think about it". So young ones in the West are largely limited to being comfortable believing as instructed, as opposed to stepping out there and trying to contemplate existence on their own (not that all can't do so, most don't try to). They become comfortable with philosophy taking the backseat to what they do in everyday life, they don't have to worry about contemplating religion, the answers are right there, where their parents put them. Now go to soccer practice.
Buddhism, of the Eastern philosophies, has caught on a good bit because it's at least a good bit more material thought than Taoism, in that it has particular stances or conducts, and a figurehead, a sort of physical symbolic manifestation that Westerners can relate to. Taoism can't really be taught from a textbook; Buddhism can't completely either, but Taoism more so, I feel.