Taoism. As a religion, Taoism comprises a wide variety of outlooks and practices, ranging from ancient philosophical texts such as the Tao Te Ching to a conglomeration of ritual practices. It is highly eclectic, incorporating notions from ancient Chinese thought, such as yin-yang, with alchemy and the quest for immortality. The term Tao Chiao, which means literally "Teachings of the Way," is now generally used to designate those who see the Tao as the supreme reality and look for ways of access to that reality, whether by meditation, ritual, alchemy, or philosophical study. Taoism in this sense emerged c. the 2nd c. CE.

Geddes MacGregor, Dictionary of Religion and Philosophy, New York: Paragon House, 1989

Taoism

One of the indigenous religions of China that played a role in the sinification of Buddhism after its transmission to China. The legendary founder of Taoism is the sage Lao-tsu (c.6th century bce), to whom is attributed the authorship of the classic work the Tao-te-ching (The Book of the Way and its Power), although this probably dates to the 4th-3rd centuries bce. The Tao or ‘Way’, is the all-embracing matrix of the patterns by which things happen in the world, and it is from this concept that the school derives its name. Taoists generally hold to the ideal of coming to a knowledge or vision of this matrix for a variety of purposes: to see the intricate interconnectedness of all things, to attain long life, to achieve spontaneity in thoughts and actions, to gain supernatural powers, and so on. Such achievements involve finding a balance between the two opposing energies of yin and yang, from whose interaction all phenomena and change arise. These are seen as two complementary facets of the infinite Tao, represented in the yin-yang symbol of a circle with two dots in each half, indicating that yin and yang both contain the seed of their opposite. All opposition and duality can be expressed in terms of yin and yang; for example, yin stands for what is feminine, soft, and receptive and yang for what is masculine, hard, and dynamic. Taoists seek to harmonize these cosmic energies within themselves by observing and emulating the rhythms of nature, and it is an existential as opposed to an intellectual understanding that they seek. One text in particular, the Chuang-tzu (c.4th to 2nd centuries bce), presents a thorough critique of language as a means of communicating truth and discursive thought as a mode of knowledge, and counsels direct observation of nature, both in the world and within oneself. This will lead to a calm acceptance of the circumstances of one's life and the inevitability of one's death, and a joyous spontaneity from day to day. Many scholars believe that this text was a formative influence in the genesis of Ch'an Buddhism. Much of the cross-fertilization of Taoism and Buddhism took place after the fall of the Han dynasty and the flight of many Chinese gentry and literati to the south, beginning in the 3rd century ce. The destabilization of the empire and the difficulties of life during this turbulent period led many to question the hegemony of a now-discredited Confucianism, and to look for other ways to think about the problems of life. Many took to a newly revitalized Taoism and its close relative, the so-called ‘Dark Learning’ (Chinese, hsüan hsüeh), sometimes also called ‘Neo-Taoism’. Buddhism made its first inroads into the upper echelons of Chinese society at this time, and many scholars met to discuss and compare the ideas of these two religions.

A Dictionary of Buddhism, Oxford University Press, 2003, 2004 (which is available in electronic version from answer.com)