Daoism

A contemporary to Confucius was a teacher named Laozi. Most of what we know about Laozi is so heavily mixed with legend, that it is difficult to know what is true, and what is myth.

The teachings of Laozi were recording in writings called the Dao De Jing. Laozi taught that a force known as the Dao permeated all living things. He told his followers that the most important thing an individual could do is to reject the world, and their desires for worldly possessions and power, and commune with nature, bringing ones self into a state of oneness with the Dao.

Many individuals in China practices both Confucianism and Daoism. Confucianism taught them how to behave towards one another, while Daoism taught them how to behave towards the natural world, and with themselves personally.