What are Taoist beliefs on these subjects: Creation of the universe Existence of Deities What do Taoists believe, and how do they practice their beliefs?
First you must realize that there is individualistic Philosophical Taoism and there is organized Religious Taoism. In that light you must keep in mind that there are many different schools of Taoism that range from a folk religion to a highly developed philosophical inquiry into nature. Below are two ways to look at creation, one offered in a mythical way and one more philosophical.
This can be answered quite simply. Taoists believe in the Tao we believe that it is all things is within all things and yet knows not of which it is.
everything ever imagined MIGHT exist, but existing, owe nothing to what any of us think we know about it. the universe may be one or many, it may have come into existence from non-existence, or it may in some sense have existed always, if not in its present form. i have no idea how one practices the tao. one just is and does. i will say for myself the same cautions i would say in any belief. though i say them as only one drop out of an ocean of many drops, speaking out of turn. i have heard there is something called religious taoism. that it has teachers and monestaries and everything. i know nothing about this. but i know how to walk in the woods.
My own belief is that its impossible to have a context without any content and vice versa, hence, the reason its impossible to create a perfect vacuum or achieve the speed of light because a paradoxical version of synergy applies where the context can determine its own content. For example, a Big Crunch would inevitably produce a Big Bang simply because, metaphorically speaking, a singularity and infinity define one another making metaphysical extremes impossible to maintain. However, that's merely a metaphor for the origin of the universe and implies that both existence and the Big Bang are both ultimately beyond human comprehension and everything has a sort of quasi existence like a shadow. For me everything is a metaphor and God can be considered merely a metaphor for the greater truth or that which is beyond human comprehension. I write Rainbow Warrior hippie poetry that's a mixture of Socratic wisdom and primitive Pragmatic Taoism. By writing I surrender to the greater context of life and divest myself of any unnecessary burdens because it is a journey of discovery more than a way to express myself. I credit mother nature with most of the artwork and myself for doing all the footwork.
"Attain complete emptiness, Hold fast to stillness. The ten thousand things stir about; I only watch for their going back. Things grow and grow, But each goes back to its roots. Going back to the root is stillness. This means returning to what is. Returning to what is Means going back to the ordinary Understanding the ordinary: Enlightenment. Not understanding the ordinary: Blindness creates evil. Understanding the ordinary: Mind opens. " - Excerpt from the Tao Te Ching
