Daoist Ethics

On the most basic level, Daoist ethics incorporate the foundational Daoist view that human beings are innately good. Free from societal conditioning, familial obligations, and personal habituation, humans will naturally return to their innate connection with the Dao. From a classical perspective, "morality" (concern for and discussion of "virtues" and "moral obligations") indicates that humans have become disoriented, have lost their original alignment. After humans lose concern for virtue and ethics, legalism, with its laws based on artificial restrictions and punishments, comes to dominate human society. Thus, the Daoist account of human de-evolution involves a movement from personal integration and cosmological participation to morality and then to legalistic concerns, with the last two stages leading to greater disorientation and misalignment. Still, recognizing the challenges of living in various social situations, Daoists composed and compiled ethical systems, in which precepts or ethical guidelines formed the centerpiece. Daoist conduct guidelines or precepts developed within the Daoist tradition as it became more complex in its communal organization. The earliest Daoist precepts are principles for a way of life. Originating in the early Tianshi 天師 (Celestial Masters) movement, the so-called "Nine Practices" (jiuxing 九行) are as follows:

Practice non-action

Practice softness and weakness

Practice guarding the feminine. Do not initiate actions

Practice being nameless

Practice clarity and stillness

Practice being adept

Practice being desireless

Practice knowing how to stop and be content

Practice yielding and withdrawing.

These ethical guidelines are derived from the Daode jing 道德經(Scripture on the Dao and Inner Power). Later, Daoists adopted the five foundational precepts of Buddhism:

Do not destroy life

Do not steal

Do not commit sexual misconduct

Do not speak falsely

Do not take intoxicants.

Daoist conduct guidelines provide an opportunity for ethical reflection and clarification. Moreover, they help to ensure personal integrity and communal harmony through the cultivation of respect, consideration, graciousness, and energetic attentiveness. In contrast to other religious traditions, Daoist practice activates the subtle body, including an energetic sensitivity that manifests as a natural "moral" compass. Here ethics transcends mental categories and projected "oughts."

For Daoist precepts related to the internet see Daoist Guidelines for Online Activity.