Taoism

Founder: Lao-zi (also known as Lao-tzu) (born in 604 B.C. at the age of 72)

Religious Texts: Tao-te-Ching

View of God: Pantheistic - the Dao is beyond categories. However, Daoism did develop a pantheon of gods with the god Yu-huang at the top of the pantheon.

Name(s) of God: Dao - ultimate reality. The daoist pantheon includes gods like Yu-huang and Zao-jun.

Teachings:

1. Daoism holds that there are two complimentary opposing forces. These two forces should be in harmony and balance. One force is not necessarily good and the other bad, it is just that, ideally, they should be in harmony. These to forces are respectively called "Yin" and "Yang". See table below for more information.
2. The Dao, meaning the way or proper balance and harmony, can not be known in terms of human categories.
3. Daoism was first developed as a way to live and a way for rulers to rule. They believed in a passive approach to living and ruling. The key to living and ruling is passiveness. The less the government does, the better. The less you desire and strive for things, the better.
4. One should act without intention. When acting takes place, the result of the action should not be the goal of the action.
5. Values judgments made by humans are arbitrary. Moral right and wrong are matters of convention.
6. A legend holds that eight individuals achieved immortality. These individuals are summarized in the table below.

Eight Immortals Table (taken from "Neighboring Faiths", page 290)

Yin and Yang Table (taken from "Neighboring Faiths", page 282)