RE: Elefun as a lesson in Taoism? Seriously dude? Pull the other one.
Thank you for this interesting and all-embrasing post. Taoism is one of the field that i'm interested in It's hard to say what's most valuable about Taoism, because for me Taoism is the highest form of philosophy I know.
I would say that the most valuable aspect of Taoism is how it can explain the greatest matters in such a brief form. Many people believe that the most important things in life need volumes written about them to be adequately described. When I first read the Tao Te Ching, I did not understand the half of it (to say the least), but I recognized something of great value in it. Years down the road, I have still not fully got to the bottom of it, and it's only 81 very short chapters. The first chapter especially bewildered me for a long time, but now I think I have begun to understand it. That is the beauty of it. Philosophical Taoism explains things with words, that point beyond words, and it does so with brevity and as much clarity as possible.