ABSTRACT
The Taoist concept of the nature of the universe agrees closely with the Buddhist concept. The play of perpetual orderly change is a subject that seems to have entranced early Taoists with scientific leanings, of whom there were many. Attainment of the ultimate goal, Return to the Source, is so difficult that many Taoist adepts in China were quite content to aim at lesser goals, of a kind that everyone may hope to achieve by diligent cultivation of the Way. Taoist yogic manuals have also a great deal to say about what are known as the Three Treasures. These in their coarse form comprise semen, breath and spirit, each of which is held to have a subtle cosmic counterpart. People who pride themselves on being able to swim against, to carve against the grain of things, will never make good Taoists, unless they change their attitude.
