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Clickhere to go to the store INTRODUCTION The Meetinghouse
decided that its presentation of Taoism should be in the context of the
religions of Asia. Geography has meant that the religions of China, Korea,
and Japan are closely related. Of course, each of these great countries is
a fine culture in its own right. Therefore, this summary does not attempt
to explain the indigenous religions of Japan or Korea. Our focus is on the
religions of China as an introduction to Taoism. Chinese religion is made
up of many different religions and philosophies. The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name. The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth. The named is the mother of ten thousand things. Ever desireless, one can see the mystery. Ever desiring, one can see the manifestations. These two spring from the same source but differ in name; this appears as darkness. Darkness within darkness. The gate to all mystery. The Chinese are in their imagining of God, generous,and generous in two senses: they are prolific and they are hospitable. They believe that their many Gods and Goddesses are part of the worlds in which people live, so if additional Deities appear with newly arrived religions such are easily assimilated. We know that new religions have been subjected to severe persecutions at times. Communist leaders, who appear to act like fascists in disguise, have attempted to drive religious practice out of the minds of the Chinese without success. The Chinese government is restoring many Buddhist temples and the shrines of other religions as the spirit of worship is reawakened today in China. The Three Ways are known as San-jiao the way of Confucius; Taoism (Daoism); and the third way: Buddhism. The fourth way is of major importance. It is the popular religion, the folk religion which is the religion of daily life. Chinese people do not feel that they must choose one religion. There are dramatic festivals, spirit worlds, techniques of magic, and care of the dead and of the ancestors. The Chinese have the virtue of choosing whatever seems most suitable or helpful in their life, whether at home, in public life, or for one the universal human rites of passage: birth, graduation, marriage, death. In that sense, the review of Taoism, below, is somewhat of an intellectual upper strata statement. The Chinese mandarin kind of class leadership in their wisdom has not attempted to force their intellectualism on the unlettered masses. The folk religions are vibrant and meaningful to everyone who cares about them. The beginnings of the story of human relationship to God are scratched on the shells of tortoises and other bones. The bones were used in divination as oracles cracked by fire to yield the answers. Tian, originally represented by pictographs was connected to royal ancestor worship. Thereby Tian came to be connected to the god of the sky and offerings were made to "heaven". There was also Shang Di known from two written works: The Book of History and the Book of Odes. Shang Di was a source of goodness and blessing. Only those rulers who were in Shang Di's favor could bring prosperity to the people. During the time of Zhou (1122-255BCE) did Tian become paramount? The personal meaning of Tian as God was dominant. Tian was all powerful; the one who could guarantee peace and justice; the one who could bring punishment in the event of disaster. This meant that the ruler was the vital link between Tian (God) and the people. Reverence for Tian was greatly enhanced during he Han dynasty. (The Han people are far and away the dominant genetic strain with the Chinese people, representing about 85 percent.) Humans being what they are there were good rulers and evil rulers. If Tian could not be relied upon to produce good and consistent results what purpose did a belief in Tian serve, became a more and more prevalent question. Thomas Cleary has provided an expansive definition of the Tao in his excellent book, The Essential Tao. It will help Westerners to better understand this great way of life. TAO is one of the basic and comprehensive symbols in the Chinese language as a center of philosophical and spiritual discourse. Tao may mean a path, a way, a principle, a method a doctrine, a system of order; and it also may mean the matrix structure and reality of the universe itself. Every art and science is called a Tao, or a way; but the source of everything, the fountain of all art and science is called the Tao or Way. Taoism is based, first and foremost, on the experience of this universal Way, the essential reality through which all derivative way might be comprehended. The ultimate nature of the Way is inherently beyond human comprehension. Taoists sought traces of the way n the patterns of the events taking place in the natural world, the social world, and the inner world of the individual psyche. The followers of Taoism focused on perfecting the mastery of human nature and life in three critical areas: individual well being; social harmony, and accelerated evolution of consciousness. These three bases formed the foundation of overall human development, the guiding lights of arts and sciences. Furthermore, these developments were not to be guarded possessively but, instead to be put to the service of humanity. The two classics, Tao Te Ching and Chuang-tzu were made public long ago as maps of the way to the Way. They have for centuries been regarded as classics of world literature. Their subject matter ranges widely from politics and economy to psychology, and mysticism. They address the needs and interests of a diverse readership. By the middle of second century, BCE, after the unification of China the Tao Te Ching was firmly established at the imperial court as a favored sourcebook of practical wisdom. The more arcane, Chuang-tzu was transmitted through the centuries in Taoist intellectual circles. These classics are ranked with the I Ching, The Book of Changes as popular classics of deep learning. Virtually all literate people of China have read these classics and used the I Ching. Countless readers have found endless fascination and enlightenment in the pregnant aphorisms and fantastic allegories of these source classics. Lao-tzu wrote extensively on the philosophy and art of enlightened leadership. In his turbulent times, Chuang Chou the author of Chuang-tzu was once asked to become the adviser of a king. He declined, explaining that he did not care to be like a sacrificial animal fattened and dressed for slaughter. His refusal to enter the service of a particular king not withstanding, he was no escapist or anarchist (as he is often made out to be by his detractors). He was a champion of liberty. His work is addressed to the purpose of furthering the general welfare of humanity through the edification and enlightenment of public servants and private individuals, as well. Taoists advocate no escapism but the never ending attempt to harmonize spiritual and social liberty. He encouraged people to seek freedom from tyranny and oppression of all kinds, whether political, social, intellectual, or emotional. He even inspired people to seek liberation from the ultimate tyranny of death. Confucius (b. 552 BCE) played a major role in bringing education to the Chinese people. Confucius on himself is instructive: "At 15 I took to learning, at 30 to standing firm; at 40 I ceased to doubt; at 50 I knew the will of heaven, at 60 my ear understood, at 70 I did as I desired and broke no rules." (Analects 2:4). Confucius seemed to have little to say about the Chinese story of God and religion. He saw himself as a practical man of action, ready and willing to put his ideas of governance, order, and social responsibility into practice. He was unsuccessful. Yet, as a teacher, he asked and answered the question how in the practice of life one promoted the condition of peace, harmony, and justice thereby bringing about the will of Tian (God). Confucius placed great emphasis on Li an ideogram that is made up of a religious
classifier and a vessel used in offerings to the ancestors. Therefore, it
is rooted in religion but it is much more, those acts that create an
ordered pattern of life. They draw on harmony, life in the family, society
and the world of spirits and of nature.
But, since the Tao is the source, the un-produced Producer (Creator) the reason why anything exists at all that Dao is not wholly indiscernible The Creator can be discerned in the effects. All that exists is a consequence of the Dao. In order to produce from its self, it becomes concentrated energy chi ( qi ) the initiating singularity. It brings forth the two contrasting energies yin and yang at the boundary condition within which the manifold and varied appearances of all becomes possible. The yin and the yang are visible in the contrasts of the universe, light and dark, male and female, heavy and light, hot and cold. For there to be harmony between them there is contest even conflict: summer is attacked and overcome by winter; winter is overcome by summer. All life is caught up in this contest. The dualism of the Yin and the Yang enhances human wisdom if one does not struggle against these dualities but in going with the flow as they unfold. Every action may also be called "inaction", that is wu-wei,acting without effort in accordance with the unfolding Dao... TaoismTaoism (Dao) is the indigenous religio-philosophical tradition that has shaped Chinese life for more than 2,000 years. In the broadest sense, a Taoist attitude toward life can be seen in the accepting and yielding, the joyful and carefree sides of the Chinese character, an attitude that offsets and complements the moral and duty-conscious, austere and purposeful character ascribed to Confucianism. Taoism is also characterized by a positive, active attitude toward the occult and the metaphysical (theories on the nature of reality). In contrast, the agnostic, pragmatic Confucian tradition considers these issues of only marginal importance. Still, the reality of such issues is, by most Confucians, not denied. Perhaps, more strictly defined, Taoism includes: the ideas and attitudes peculiar to the Lao-tzu from the Tao-te Ching; ("Classic of the Way of Power"), and related writings; and, the Taoist religion, which is concerned with the ritual worship of the Tao; and those who identify themselves as Taoists. Taoist thought permeates Chinese culture, including many aspects not usually considered Taoist. In Chinese religion, the Taoist tradition,often serving as a link between the Confucian tradition and folk tradition,has generally been more popular and spontaneous than the official (Confucian) state cult and less diffuse and shapeless than folk religion. Taoist philosophy and religion have found their way into all Asian cultures influenced by China, especially those of Vietnam, Japan, and Korea. The ancient Taoist mystics should be viewed against the background of the religious practices existing in their own times. Their ecstatics, for example, were closely related to the trances and spirit journeys of the early magicians and shamans (religious personages with healing and psychic transformation powers). The authors of the Tao-te Ching, the Chuang-tzu (book of "Master Chuang"), and the Lieh-tzu (book of "Master Lieh") are not the actual and central founders of an earlier "pure" Taoism Therefore, because there has been a nearly continuous mutual influence between Taoists of different social classes,philosophers, ascetics, alchemists, and the priests of popular cults,the distinction between philosophical and religious Taoism is made simply for the sake of ease of description. There is also a tendency among scholars today to draw a less rigid line between what is called Taoist and what is called Confucian. Viewed from this common tradition, orthodox Confucianism limited its field of interest to the creation of a moral and political system that fashioned the society of the Chinese empire; whereas Taoism, inside the same world view, represents a more personal and metaphysical world view. In the case of Buddhism,a third major
tradition that influenced China,fundamental concepts such as the nonexistence of
the individual ego and the illusory nature of the physical world are
diametrically opposed to Taoism. In terms of overt individual and collective
practices, however, competition between these two religions for influence among
the people resulted in mutual borrowings, numerous superficial similarities, and
essentially Chinese developments inside Buddhism. Taoist and Buddhist elements
have coexisted without clear distinctions in the minds of the
worshippers.
The great sages and
their associated texts Behind Taoism in all its forms, stands the
figure of Lao-tzu, traditionally regarded as the author of the classic text
known as the Tao-te Ching ("Classic of the Way of Power"). There are many
versions of a meeting of Lao-tzu and Confucius. Lao-tzu is portrayed as the
elder and his Taoist teachings confound his celebrated interlocutor. The
Chuang-tzu, a later text, also gives the only account of Lao-tzu's death. Thus
in this early source, Lao-tzu appears as a senior contemporary of Confucius
(6th-5th century BC) and a renowned Taoist master, a curator of the archives at
the court of the Chou dynasty (c. 1111-255 BC) and, finally, a mere mortal,
although an adept master of wisdom.. He is said to have instructed Confucius on
points of ceremony. Observing the decline of the Chou dynasty, Lao-tzu left the
court and headed west within China. . At the request of Yin Hsi, the guardian of
the frontier pass, he wrote his treatise on the Tao in two scrolls. He then left
China behind, and what became of him is not known. The historian quotes variant
accounts with passing references in other early texts, this constitutes the body
of information on the life of the sage as of the 2nd century BC; it is
presumably legendary.
The Tao-te Ching is regarded by many
scholars as a compilation that reached its final form only in the 3rd century
BC, rather than the work of a single author. It stands alone, with all its
attractions and enigmas, as the fundamental text of both philosophical and
religious Taoism. The work's 81 brief sections contain only about 5,000
characters in all, from which fact still another title is derived, Lao Tzu's
Five Thousand Words. The text itself appears in equal measure to
express a profound quietism and determined views on government. It is
consequently between the extremes of meditative introspection and political
application The Tao-te Ching was meant as a handbook for
the ruler. The ruler should be a sage whose actions pass so unnoticed that his
very existence remains unknown. Such has not bee the model of recent American
Presidents. In fact George Bush the younger poses as an anti-intellectual.
The Taoist ruler is presented as imposing no
restrictions or prohibitions on his subjects; so long as I love quietude, the
people will of themselves go straight. So long as I act only by inactivity, the
people will of themselves become prosperous. His simplicity cools passions and
stillness and peace follows naturally. He does not teach them discrimination,
virtue, or ambition because "when intellect emerges, the great artifices begin.
When discord is rife in families, "dutiful sons" appear. When the State falls
into anarchy, "loyal subjects' appear." Thus, it is better that a leader be
humble, hiding his wisdom, righteousness, and ingenuity, and the people will
benefit a hundredfold.
Therefore the Holy Man rules by emptying
their hearts (minds) and filling their bellies, weakening their wills, and
strengthening their bones, ever striving to make the people knowledge less and
desire less. (Note: The word people in this passage more likely refers not to
the common people but to those nobles and intellectuals who incite the ruler's
ambition and aggressiveness.). War is condemned but not entirely excluded:
"Arms are ill-omened instruments," and the sage uses them only when he cannot do
otherwise. He does not glory in victory; "He that has conquered in battle is
received with rites of mourning." The classic book shares certain constants of
classical Chinese thought but clothes them in an imagery of its own. The sacred
aura surrounding kingship is here rationalized and expressed as "inaction"
(wu-wei), demanding of the sovereign no more than right-minded cosmological
orientation at the centre of an obedient universe. Survivals of archaic notions
concerning the compelling effect of renunciation,which the Confucians sanctified
as ritual "deference" ( jang),are echoed in the recommendation to "hold to the
role of the female," with an eye to an ultimate mastery that comes from
passivity. It is particularly in the function
attributed to the Tao, or Way, that this Ta Te Ching stands apart. The term Tao
was employed by all schools of thought. The universe has its Tao; there is a Tao
of the sovereign, his royal mode of being, while the Tao of man comprises
continuity through procreation. Each of the schools, too, had its own Tao, its
way or doctrine. But in the Tao-te Ching, the ultimate unity of the universal
Tao itself is being proposed as a social ideal. It is this idealistic
peculiarity that seems to justify later historians and bibliographers in their
assignment of the term Taoist to the Tao-te Ching and its successors. From a literary point of view, the Tao-te
Ching is distinguished by a highly compressed style. It is not anecdotal, it
articulates its cryptic subject matter in short, concise statements. There is
much rhyming; and close parallelism recurs throughout the text. No proper name
occurs anywhere. Although its historical enigmas are apparently insoluble, there
is abundant testimony to the vast influence exercised by the book since the
earliest times and in surprisingly varied social contexts. Among the classics of
speculative Taoism, it alone holds the distinction of having become a scripture
of the esoteric Taoist movements, which developed their own interpretations of
its ambiguities and transmitted it as a sacred text. Pseudo-historical knowledge of the sage,
Chuang-tzu, is even less well defined than that of Lao-tzu. Most of the brief
portrait of the man is transparently drawn from anecdotes in the Chuang-tzu
itself; as such it has no necessary basis in fact. The Chuang-tzu, however, is
valuable as a monument of Chinese literature and because it contains
considerable documentary material, describing numerous speculative trends and
spiritual practices of the Warring States period (475-221 BC). Whereas the Tao-te Ching is addressed to the
sage-king, the Chuang-tzu is the earliest surviving Chinese text to present a
philosophy for private life, wisdom for the individual. Chuang-tzu is said to
have preferred the doctrine of Lao-tzu over all others; many of his writings
strike the reader as metaphorical illustrations of the terse sayings of the "Old
Master." Whereas Lao-tzu in his book as well as in his life (in legend) was
concerned with Taoist rule, Chuang-tzu, some generations later, sadly, rejected
all participation in society. He compared the servant of state to the well-fed
decorated ox being led to sacrifice in the temple. As for him, his figure of
speech was that of the untended piglet blissfully frolicking in the
mire. In the
Chuang-tzu text there is none of the Tao-te Ching's studied density. The
rambling Chuang-tzu opens with a sprightly fable, illustrating the lack of
understanding of small wildfowl for the majestic splendor of a gigantic
bird. Other such parables demonstrate the relativity of all values: the
sliding scales of size, utility, beauty, and perfection. There is a
colloquy between the Lord of the Yellow River and the God of the Eastern
Ocean. Therein, the complacent self-satisfaction of the lesser spirit is
shaken by his unexpected meeting with inconceivable vastness. Humble
artisans are depicted, who, through the perfect mastery of their craft,
exemplify, for their social superiors, the art of mastering life. Life and
death are equated. The dying is seen to welcome their approaching
transformation as a fusion with the Tao. Among the
strange figures that people the pages of Chuang-tzu are very special
classes of spiritualized beings. They dwell far apart from the turbulent
world of men, dining on air and sipping the dew. Moreover, they share none
of the anxieties of ordinary folk and have the smooth, untroubled faces of
children. These "supreme men," or "perfect men," are immune to the effects
of the elements, untouched by heat and cold. They possess the power of
flight and are described as mounting upward with a fluttering (hsien)
motion. Their effortless existence was the ultimate in autonomy, the
natural spontaneity that Chuang-tzu ceaselessly applauds. Perhaps, these
striking portraits were intended to be allegorical, but whatever their
original meaning, these Immortals (hsien - as they came to be called,)
were to be come the centre of great interest. These purely literary
descriptions of their freedom, their breathtaking mobility, and their
agelessness were construed as practical objectives by later generations.
Cosmology Tao is the "imperceptible, indiscernible,"
about which nothing can be predicated. Still, it latently contains the forms,
entities, and forces of all particular phenomena: "It was from the Nameless that
Heaven and Earth sprang. Tithe (Named) is the mother that rears the Ten Thousand
Beings, each after its kind." The Nameless (wu-ming) and the Named (yu-ming),
Not-Being (wu) and Being (yu), are all interdependent and "grow out of one
another." Not-Being (wu) and Tao are not identical;
wu and yu are two aspects of the permanent Tao - . . . "in its mode of being
Unseen, we will see its mysteries; in the mode of the Seen, we will see its
boundaries." Not-Being does not mean Nothingness but
rather the absence of perceptible qualities. In Lao-tzu's view it is superior to
being. It is the Void (that is, empty incipience) that harbors in itself all
potentialities and without which even being lacks its efficacy. Emptiness realized in the mind of the
Taoist who has freed himself or herself from all obstructing notions and
distracting passions. This state makes the Tao act through him without obstacle.
An essential characteristic that governs the Tao is spontaneity (tzu-jan). The
what-is-so-of-itself, the self-so, the unconditional... The Tao, in turn,
governs the universe: "The ways of Heaven are conditioned by those of the Tao,
and the ways of Tao by the Self-so." This is the way of the wise adept who does
not intervene but possesses the total power of spontaneous realization that is
at work in the universe. Of his accomplishments "everyone, throughout the
country, says "It happened of its own accord" (tzu-jan)." The conception of the universe common to
all Chinese philosophy is neither materialistic nor animistic (a belief system
that centers on soul substances). It could be called magical or even alchemical
or in modern times the subtle electro-magnetic energy within. The universe is
viewed as a hierarchically organized mechanism in which every part reproduces
the whole. Man is a microcosm (small universe) that corresponds rigorously to
the macrocosm (large universe). The human body reproduces the plan of the
cosmos. Between man/woman and the universe there exists a system of
correspondences and participations that the ritualistic philosophers,
alchemists, and physicians have described but certainly they did not invent It
is important to realize that this originally magical feeling of the integral
unity of mankind with the natural order has always characterized the Chinese
mentality, and the Taoists especially have elaborated upon it. Observe how
different that is from Western man's desire to exploit and conquer nature viewed
as a powerful, even terrible, adversary.
The five organs of the body and its
orifices and the dispositions, features, and passions of man correspond to the
five directions, the five holy mountains, the sections of the sky, the seasons,
and the elements (wu-hsing), which in China are not material but more like five
fundamental phases of any of the processes in space-time. Whoever understands
man thus understands the structure of the universe. The physiologist knows that blood
circulates because rivers carry water. The body has 360 articulations because
the ritual year has 360 days. In the religious Taoism the interior of the body
is inhabited by the same gods as those of the macrocosm. A wise adept Taoist
often searches for his divine teacher in all the holy mountains of China until
he finally discovers him in one of the "palaces" inside his own head. The law of the Tao as the natural order
refers to the continuous reversion (cycle) of everything to its starting point.
Anything that develops extreme qualities will invariably revert to the opposite
qualities: "Reversion is flowing motion of the Tao" (Lao-tzu). All that is being
issues from the Tao and ineluctably returns to it; Undifferentiated Unity
becomes multiplied and diverse in the movement of the Tao". Life and death are
contained in this eternal transformation from Non-Being into Being and back to
Non-Being, but the underlying primordial unity is never lost. For society, any reform means a type of
return to that which was done in the remote past. Civilization is considered a
degradation of the natural order. Always there is the ideal - to return to an
original purity. For the individual, wisdom is to conform to the rhythm of the
universe. The Taoist mystic, however, not only adapts himself ritually and
physiologically to the alternations of nature but creates a void inside him that
permits him or her to return to nature's origin. Lao-tzu, in trance, "wandered
freely in the origin of all beings." Thus, in ecstasy he escaped the rhythm of
life and death by contemplating the universal return. "Having attained perfect
emptiness, holding fast to stillness, I can watch the return of the ever active
Ten Thousand Beings." The number 10,000 symbolizes the totality. All parts of the universe are attuned in a
rhythmical pulsation. Nothing is static; all beings are subjected to periodical
mutations and transformations that represent to the Chinese their view of
creation. Instead of being opposed with a static ideal, change itself is
systematized and made intelligible, as in the theory of the five phases
(wu-hsing), and, in the 64 hexagrams of the I Ching (Classic of Changes), which
are basic recurrent constellations in the stasis of general flux. An unchanging
unity (the permanent Tao) is seen as underlying the kaleidoscopic
plurality. Chuang-tzu's image for creation was that of
the activity of the potter and the bronze-caster: "to shape and to transform"
(tsao hua). These are two phases of the same process. The imperceptible Tao
shapes the universe continuously out of primordial chaos. It is the perpetual
transformation of the universe by the alternations of Yin and Yang, or
complementary energies (seen as night and day or as winter and summer). It is
nothing more or less that the external aspect of the same Tao. The shaping of
the Ten Thousand Beings by the Supreme Unity and their transformation by Yin and
Yang are both simultaneous and perpetual. Thus, the wise Taoist adept's ecstatic
union is a "moving together with the Tao; dispersing and concentrating, his
appearance has no consistency." United with the permanent Tao, the wise Taoist's
outer aspect becomes one of ungraspable change. The gods can become perceptible
only by adapting to the mode of this changing world. Thereby their apparitions
are "transformations" (pien-hua). The mystical/magician (hua-jen) is believed to
be one who transforms rather than one who conjures out of nothing.
The power acquired by the Taoist is his
efficacy in the Tao in the realm of Being, which is translated as "virtue."
Lao-tsu viewed it, however, as different from Confucian virtue: The man of superior virtue is not virtuous,
and that is why he has virtue. The man of inferior [Confucian] virtue never
strays from virtue, and that is why he has no virtue. The "superior virtue" of Taoism is a latent
power that never lays claim to its achievements. It is the "mysterious power"
(hsien te) of Tao. It is present in the heart of the sage,"the man of superior
virtue never acts (wu-wei), and yet there is nothing he leaves
undone." Wu-wei is neither an ideal of absolute
inaction nor a mere "not-overdoing." It is an action so well in accordance with
things that its author leaves no trace of himself in his work: "Perfect activity
leaves no track behind it; perfect speech is like a jade worker whose tool
leaves no mark." It is the Tao that "never acts, yet there is nothing it does
not do." There is no true achievement without wu-wei. Every deliberate
intervention against the natural course of things will sooner or later turn into
the opposite of what was intended and will result in failure. The sage who practices wu-wei lives out of
his original nature before it was over-elaborated by knowledge and restricted by
morality. He has reverted to the undiminished vitality of the newborn state or
infancy. He has "returned to the state of the Uncarved Block (p'u)." P'u is also
like uncut, unpainted wood, simplicity. Society carves this wood into specific
shapes for its own use; thereby it robs the individual piece of its original
totality. "Once the Uncarved block is carved, it forms utensils (that is,
instruments of government). However, when the Sage uses it, he would be fit to
become Chief of all Ministers. This is why the great craftsman (i.e. ruler) does
not carve (i.e. rule)." Any willful human intervention is believed
capable of ruining the harmony of the natural transformation process. The
spontaneous rhythm of the primitive agrarian community and its un-self-conscious
symbiosis with nature's cycles is thus the Taoist ideal of society. On is
reminded of Jefferson's ideal agrarian society in which democracy would flourish
responsibly. In the ideal society there are no books;
the Lao-tzu (Tao-te Ching) itself would not have been written but for the
entreaty of the guardian of the pass Yin Hsi, who asked the "Old Master" to
write down his thoughts. In the Golden Age, past or future, knotted cords are
the only form of records. The people of this age are "blunt not witty, they have
no desire for material things. This is called uncarved simplicity. In Uncarved
simplicity the people attain their true nature." Chuang-tzu liked to oppose the
Heaven-made and the man-made; that is, nature and society. He wanted man to
renounce all artificial "cunning contrivances" that facilitate his work but lead
to scheming "cunning hearts" and agitated souls wherein the Tao will not dwell.
Man should equally renounce all concepts of measure, law, and virtue. "Make
pecks and bushels for people to use as measures and they will steal by the peck
and bushel." He blamed not only the culture heroes and inventors praised by the
Confucians but also the sages who shaped the rites and rules of
society.
(Tao) and its Virtue (te) were destroyed in
order to create benevolence and righteousness,this was the fault of the sage
without virtue. This phrase resonates with the crafty nature of St. Augustine.
Even "coveting knowledge" is condemned
because it engenders competition and "fight to the death over
profit." Characteristic of Chuang-tzu are his ideas
of knowledge and language developed under the stimulus of his friend and
opponent, the philosopher Hui Shih. In the Taoist view, all beings and
everything are fundamentally one. Therefore, opposing opinions can arise only
when people lose sight of the Whole and regard their partial truths as absolute.
They are then like the frog at the bottom of the well who takes the bit of
brightness he sees for the whole sky. The closed systems,i.e., the passions and
prejudices into which petty minds shut themselves,hide the Tao that is the
"Supreme Master" which resides inside themselves and is superior to all
distinctions. Much of the current strife in Christianity arises from this kind
of opposing opinions. They believe themselves to be devoted but have lost sight
of Jesus teachings. Thus, Chuang-tzu's beau ideal of the holy
man fully recognizes the relativity of notions like good and evil and true and
false. He is neutral and open to the extent that he offers no active resistance
to any would-be opponent, whether it is a person or an idea. "When you argue,
there are some things you are failing to see. In the greatest Tao nothing is
named; in the greatest disputation, nothing is said." The person who wants to
know the Tao is told: "Don't meditate, don't cogitate, Follow no school, follow no way,
and then you will attain the Tao". Discard knowledge, forget distinctions, and
reach no-knowledge. The key is that "Forget" indicates that distinctions had to
be known first. The original ignorance of the child is distinguished from the
no-knowledge of the sage who can "sit in forgetfulness." The mystic does not speak because declaring
unity, by creating duality of the speakers and the hypocritical affirmations,
destroys it. Those who speak about the Tao (like Chuang-tzu himself) are "wholly
wrong. For he who knows does not speak; he who speaks does not know." Chuang-tzu
was aware of the fact that, in speaking about it, he could do no more than hint
at the way toward the all-embracing and intuitive knowledge. Many of our
preachers today are like the sounding of cymbals signifying nothing. Mystic realization does away with the
distinction between the self and the world. This idea also governs Chuang-tzu's
attitude toward death. Life and death are but one of the pairs of cyclical
phases and no more. They are such as day and night or summer and winter. "Since
life and death are each other's companions, why worry about them? All beings are
one." Life and death are not in opposition but merely two aspects of the same
reality. They are arrested moments out of the flux of the universal mutations of
everything into everything. Humans are no exception; "They go back into the
great weaving machine: thus all beings issue from the Loom and return to the
Loom." Viewed from the single reality experienced
in ecstasy, it is just as difficult to distinguish life from death as it is to
distinguish the waking Chuang-tzu from the dreaming butterfly. Death is natural.
It is certain humans ought neither to fear nor to desire it. Chuang-tzu's
attitude thus is one of serene acceptance. "Free - Free at Last? The Confucian wise leader (sheng) is viewed
as a ruler of antiquity or a great sage who taught men how to return to the
rites of antiquity. The Taoist way to being an adept, however, is internal (nei
sheng), although it can become manifest in an external great leader (wai wang)
who brings the world back to the Way by means of quietism: variously called
"non-intervention" (wu-wei); "inner cultivation" (nei yeh); or, "art of the
heart and mind" (hsin-shu). Whereas worldly ambitions, riches, and
(especially) discursive knowledge scatter the person and drain his energies, the
exemplar "embraces Unity" or "holds fast to the One" (pao i); that is, he
aspires to union with the Tao. He seeks Tao in a primordial undivided state
underlying consciousness. "Embracing Unity" also means that he maintains the
balance of Yin and Yang within himself along with the union of his spiritual
(hun) and vegetative (p'o) soul, and the diffusion which spells death; the macho
male chauvinist warriors of the wayward West have lost their connection with
this fundamental principle. Few of them do not embrace unity nor do they
acknowledge the Ying within themselves. Taoists usually believed there were three
hundred and seven p'o. The spiritual soul tends to wander (in dreams).
Passionate wants and desires can result in loss of soul. To retain and harmonize
the parts of one's soul is important for physical life as well as for the
unification of the whole human entity. Cleansed of every distraction, the holy
one creates inside himself a void that in reality is plenitude. Empty of all
impurity, he is full of the original energy (yuan chi's), which is the principle
of life that in the ordinary man begins its decay from the moment of birth
on. Because vital energy and spirituality are
not clearly distinguished, old age in itself becomes a possible proof of
sainthood. The aged Taoist sage became a holy one because he had been able to
cultivate himself throughout a long existence. His longevity in itself was the
proof of his goodness and union with the Tao. Externally, he had a healthy,
flourishing appearance while inside he contained an ever-flowing source of
energy that manifested itself in radiance and in a powerful, beneficial
influence on his surroundings. This very radiance is the charismatic efficacy
(te) of the Tao. The mystical insight of Chuang-tzu made him
scorn those who strove for longevity and immortality through physiological
practices. Nevertheless, physical immortality was a Taoist goal probably long
before and alongside the unfolding of Taoist mysticism. The adept at immortality
had a choice among many methods that were all intended to restore or revitalize
the pure energies possessed at birth by the infant whose perfect vital force
Lao-tzu admired. Through these methods, the adept became an immortal (hsien) who
lived 1,000 years in this world if he so chose. Once satiated with life he or
she, "ascended to heaven in broad daylight." This was the final apotheosis of
the Taoist who had transformed his body into pure Yang energy. One should note
that the Chinese don't reserve this ascension to Jesus Christ and those selected
by Church fathers, instead, it is available to those who live the Way of the Tao
to perfection.. Chuang-tzu's descriptions of the
indescribable Tao, as well as of those who have attained union with the Tao, are
invariably poetic. The perfect man has identified his life rhythm so completely
with the rhythm of the forces of nature that he has become it. He or she is
indistinguishable from them and shares their immortality and infinity, which is
above the cycle of ordinary life and death. He is "pure spirit". He feels neither
the heat of the brush lands afire nor the cold of the waters in flood"; nothing
can startle or frighten him. Not that he is magically invulnerable (as the
adepts of physical immortality would have it), but he is "so cautious in
shunning and approaching, that nothing can do him injury." "A human like this rides the clouds as his
carriages and the sun and moon as his steeds." The theme of the spiritual
wandering (yuan yu), which can be traced back to the shamanistic soul journey,
crops up wherever Chuang-tzu speaks of the perfect man. We find echoes of this
poetic view in many of the world religions. Those who let themselves be borne away by
the unadulterated energies of Heaven and Earth and can harness the six composite
energies to roam through the limitless, whatever could they need that they
henceforth depend on? Many believe that the Mahatma Gandhi now roams through the
limitless, a perfect human adept. These wanderings are journeys within one;
they are a happy trip through the Infinite in a state of ecstasy. Transcending
the ordinary distinctions of things and being one with the Tao, "the Perfect Man
has no self, the Holy Man has no merit, and the Sage has no fame. He lives
inconspicuously among men, and whatever applies to the Tao applies to him."
Would that the Western world's leaders discover this fundamental concept and
make it their own goal. .
Taoists prefer to convey their ecstatic
insights in images and parables. The Tao is low and as receiving as a valley,
soft and life-giving as water, and it is the "mysterious female," the source of
all life. It is the Mother of the Ten Thousand Beings. Man should become weak
and yielding as water that overcomes the hard and the strong. Humans should
always take the low ground; he should develop his male and female sides but
"prefer femininity," "and feed on the mother," Thereby he or she will find
within himself the nurturing well that never runs dry. Tao is also the axis, the
ridgepole, the pivot, and the empty centre of the hub. The virtuous human is the
"useless tree" or the huge gourd too large to be fashioned into implements. A
frequent metaphor for the working of the Tao is the incommunicable ability to be
skillful at a craft. The skilled artisan does not ponder on his action, but, in
union with the Tao of his subject, he does his work reflexively and without
conscious intent. Those who apprentice to him or her must learn by watching and
following the leader... Much ancient Chinese mythology has been
preserved by the Taoists. They drew on it to illustrate their views. A chaos
(hun-tun) myth is recorded as a metaphor for the undifferentiated primal unity;
the mythical emperors (Huang Ti and others) are extolled for wise Taoist rule or
blamed for introducing harmful civilization. Dreams of mythical paradises and
journeys on clouds and flying dragons are: metaphors for the wanderings of the
soul; the attainment of the Tao; and the identity of dream and reality. Taoists
have transformed and adapted some ancient myths to their beliefs. Thus, the
Queen Mother of the West (Hsi Wang Mu), who was a mountain spirit, pestilence
goddess, and tigress, became a high deity,the Goddess Queen of all
immortals. Yin and Yang literally mean "dark side" and
"sunny side" of a hill. They are mentioned for the first time in the Hsi tz'u,
or "Appended Explanations" (c. 4th century BC), an appendix to the I Ching
(Classic of Changes): "One [time] Yin, one [time] Yang, this is the Tao." Yin
and Yang are two complementary, interdependent principles or phases alternating
in space and time; they are emblems evoking the harmonious interplay of all
pairs of opposites in the universe. First conceived by musicians, astronomers,
or diviners and then propagated by a school that came to be named after them,
Yin and Yang became the common stock of all Chinese philosophy. The Taoist treatise Huai-nan-tzu (book of
"Master Huai-nan") describes how the one "Primordial Breath" (yuan ch'i) split
into the light ethereal Yang breath, which formed Heaven; and the heavier,
cruder Yin breath, which formed Earth. The diversifications and interactions of
Yin and Yang produced the Ten Thousand Beings. To produce water, the essence of
which became the moon. Yin and Yang are often referred to as two
"breaths" (ch'i). Ch'i means air, breathe, or vapor,originally the vapor arising
from cooking cereals. It also came to mean a cosmic energy. The Primordial
Breath is a name of the chaos (state of Unity) in which the original life force
is not yet diversified into the phases that the concepts Yin and Yang describe.
. E very human has a portion of this primordial life-force allotted to him at
birth, and his task is not to dissipate it through the activity of his senses
but to strengthen, control, and increase it in order to live out his full span
of life. Another important set of notions associated with the
same school of Yin-Yang are the "five agents" or "phases" (wu-hsing) or
"powers" (wu-te): water, fire, wood, metal, earth. They are also "breaths" (i.e., active energies), the idea of which
enabled the philosophers to construct a coherent system of correspondences and
participations linking all phenomena of the macrocosm and the microcosm.
Associated with spatial directions, seasons of the year, colors, musical notes,
animals, and other aspects of nature, they also correspond, in the human body,
to the five inner organs. The Taoist techniques of longevity are grounded in
these correspondences. The idea behind such techniques was that of nourishing
the inner organs with the essences corresponding to their respective phases and
during the season dominated by the latter. Yang Chu (c. 400
BC) is representative of the early pre-Taoist recluses, "those who hid
themselves" (yin-shih), who, in the Analects of Confucius, ridiculed
Confucius' zeal to improve society. Yang Chu held that each individual
should value his own life above all else, despise wealth and power, and
not agree to sacrifice even a single hair of his head to benefit the whole
world. The scattered sayings of Yang Chu in pre-Han texts are much less
hedonistic than his doctrine as it is presented in the Lieh-tzu (book of
"Master Lieh"). With the Earth headed for over-population this way lacks
touch with reality. It seems to be escapist. Lieh-tzu was a
legendary Taoist master whom Chuang-tzu described as being able to "ride
the wind and go soaring around with cool and breezy skill." In many old
legends Lieh-tzu is the paragon of the spiritual traveler. The text named
after him (of uncertain date) presents a philosophy that views natural
changes and human activities as wholly mechanistic in their operation;
neither human effort nor divine destiny can change the course of things.
This fatalism discourages concern for the poverty of others; Service to
other as a way to serve God does not fit this philosophy. In the several
Taoist chapters of the Kuna-tzu (book of "Master Kuna"), another text of
uncertain date, emphasis is placed on "the art of the heart (mind)"; the
heart governs the body as the chief governs the state. If the organs and
senses submit to it, the heart can achieve a desirelessness and emptiness
that make it a pure receptacle of the "heart inside the heart," a new soul
that is the indwelling Tao. The Huai-nan-tzu
is a compilation of essays written by different learned magicians
(fang-shih) at the court of their patron, the Prince of Huai-nan. Although
lacking in unity, it is a compendium of the knowledge of the time that had
been neglected by the less speculative scholars of the new state
Confucianism. The Huai-nan-tzu discusses the most elaborate cosmology up
to that time, the position of man in the macrocosm, the ordering of
society, and the ideal of personal sainthood.
China's
reunification under the T'ang marked the beginning of Taoism's most
spectacular success. One of the
greatest of the line, Su-ma Ch'eng-chen, initiated innumerable government
officials and eminent men of letters and served as spiritual master to
emperors. The personnel of the Mao Shan revelations even entered into the
formal framework of state religion. When Su-ma Ch'eng-chen pointed out
that the sacred peaks of the Imperial cult were in reality under the
superintendence of the perfected of Shang-ch'ing, officially sponsored
shrines were erected to them there; and their propitiation was
incorporated into the traditional rites. The wide diffusion
of Taoism throughout the vast T'ang Empire is reflected by the sizable
proportion of Taoist texts discovered in the walled-up caves at Tun-huang
(in Kansu Province). This town in the far west of China was the gateway to
Central Asia; and here Taoists came into contact not only with Buddhists
of many different doctrinal persuasions but also with Nestorian Christians
and Manichaean's. Copies of the Lao-tzu were sent to the King of Tibet,
and the book was translated into Sanskrit at the request of the ruler of
Kashmir. It also reached Japan in the 7th century, as did texts of
religious Taoism. Reports of
Taoism's dominance on the continent may still are read in the diaries of
Japanese Buddhist pilgrims. The geographic extension of the religion at
this time was also represented, in the legendary sphere, by the systematic
elaboration of its sacred mountains and the traditions attaching to each
of them. They are described by the great hagiographer, Tu Kuang-t'ing, at
the end of the T'ang dynasty. In addition to the great "cavern-heavens"
(tung-t'ien), 10 holy mountains known to the original Mao Shan
revelations, he lists 36 lesser cavern heavens and 72 sanctuaries (fu-ti).
Situated throughout the length and breadth of the empire, they are fitting
spiritual guideposts across the dominions of the T'ang, which saw itself
as essentially a Taocratic realm.
The Sung
(960-1279) and Yuan (1206-1368) periods witnessed a great religious
effervescence, stimulated in part, under the Sung, by the menace of
foreign invasion and, during the Yuan, by Tantric (esoteric, or occultist
Buddhism that was in vogue among the new Mongol rulers of China. During
the preceding centuries the Way of the Celestial Masters, centered at
Lung-hu Shan (Dragon-Tiger Mountain, Kiang-si), had been eclipsed by the
prestige of Mao Shan. At the end of
the Northern Sung period, the 30th celestial master, Chang Chi-hsien, was
four times summoned to court by the Sung emperor Hui Tsung, who hoped for
spiritual support for his threatened reign. Chang Chi-hsien was credited
with a renovation of the ancient sect, thereafter called the Way of
Orthodox Unity (Cheng-i Tao), and with the introduction of the influential
rites of the "five thunders" (wu-lei) into Taoist liturgy. After the
retreat of the Sung government south of the Yangtze River (1126), a number
of new Taoist sects were founded in the occupied North and soon attained
impressive dimensions. Among them was the Ch'uan-chen (Perfect
Realization) sect, founded in 1163 by Wang Ch'ung-yang (Wang Che). This
last sect came to the favorable attention of the Mongols, who had taken
over in the North, and its second patriarch, Ch'iu Ch'ang-ch'un, was
invited into Central Asia to preach to Genghis Khan. The sect enjoyed
great popularity, and its establishments of celibate monks continued to be
active into the 20th century, with the famous White Cloud Monastery
(Po-yun Kuan) at Peking as headquarters. In the South. Mao Shan continued
to prosper, while the Ko-tsao sect flourished at the mountain of that
name, in Kiangsi Province.
As early as c.
570, the need for a comprehensive collection of information on all the
schools had resulted in the first great Taoist encyclopedia. Like other
such works in China, it was made up of extracts from sundry books,
classified by subject matter. The compilation of similar reference works
flourished during the Sung and Yuan periods. The most important is the
Seven Slips from the Book bag of the Clouds (Yun-chi ch'i-ch'ien) (c.
1022), made just after the first printing of the Taoist Canon in about
1016. There were huge general collections, containing the lives of both
legendary and historical figures, of particular interest are the extensive
monographs devoted to the great mountain canters of Taoism. The Treatise
on Mao Shan (Mao Shan chih) (1329) is among the most monumental. It
includes lives of the saints and patriarchs, notes on topography and
history, and a valuable selection from 1,000 years of literary testimony
and inscriptions on the mountain and it's Taoism. The new Taoist
movements, which took northern China by storm in the 12th and 13th
centuries, also furnish their own very copious literature: into Central
Asia in response to the summons of Genghis Khan. This period
witnessed increasing interest in internal alchemy (nei tan), in which the
language of the laboratory was used to describe processes realized within
the human body. This, in a sense, was nothing new. Alchemical metaphors
had very early been applied to physiology; Ko Hung, for example, called
semen the "Yin elixir." By Sung times, however, the systematic
exteriorization and sublimation of alchemy had become so widespread that
all earlier texts of operative, external alchemy (wai tan) were henceforth
supposed to have really been written about nei tan. The attempt to
compound a tangible chemical elixir was thought to have been no more than
a hoax. Liturgy also provided its own sublimation of the older art: the
lien-tu ("salvation by smelting"). Funeral service was developed at this
time, in which an "elixir of immortality" was compounded of written
talismans and offered to the deceased. With such
prestigious examples as Ch'an Buddhism (emphasizing intuitive meditation)
and Neo- Confucianism (emphasizing knowledge and reason) in vogue, Taoists
did not long delay in constructing interesting syntheses of their own and
other beliefs. Confucianism and Buddhism were cultivated as fertile source
of inspiration Ho Chen-kung in 1131 inspired the "Pure and Luminous Way of
Loyalty and Filial Obedience" (Ching-ming Chung-hsiao Tao). This sect
preached the Confucian cardinal virtues as being essential for salvation,
and consequently won a considerable following in conservative intellectual
and official circles. Another highly popular syncretistic movement of
Taoist origin was that of the Three Religions (San Chiao). Its composite
moral teachings are represented by popular tracts, the so-called "books on
goodness" (shan-shu), which have been in extremely wide circulation since
the Ming dynasty (1368-1644).
It is of great importance to understand that popular,
or folk, religion is not a separate religious tradition but the wholly
unorganized undercurrent of Chinese religious culture from the earliest
times, shared by all strata of society. The Chinese have no single
name for it; it may be called the religion of the gods, or spirits (shen
chiao). The deities of the popular pantheon come from all traditions. What
the deities have in common is that in shen chiao they are all gods
intimately involved in everyday life as givers of blessings or bringers of
calamities. Every object or activity of daily life has its presiding
spirit that has to be consulted and feasted or appeased and driven off,
especially at all special occasions in the life of the family or the
community. The person primarily involved in the practice of shen chiao in
modern times is the fa shih (magician). For the orthodox Taoist priests the shen chiao rites
are the "little rites"; the chiao rituals, the exclusive function of the
Taoist priests, are the "great rites." Both kinds of priests,the orthodox
and the magicians,operate on different occasions in the same temples and
are consulted for the family rites of burial, birth, marriage, house
construction, and business affairs. Rites such as
purification of haunted houses and treatment of the sick or mentally
deranged) are performed by the orthodox Taoist priests, because they have
been ordained into the ranks of the shen, they have power over the demons
with who they are on an equal footing. The fa shih priest's specific
function is the manipulation of possessed mediums (specially gifted lay
persons). The Possessed Medium puts himself or herself
into a trance in which he becomes the mouthpiece of a deity (or a deceased
relative) giving medical, personal, or business advice that is interpreted
by the fa shih. Professional mediums attached to a temple or a private
cult lacerate themselves in trances. This is considered to be a vicarious
atonement for the community during the great feasts. A different form
of mediumistic communication among lay people is automatic writing, either
with a brush on paper or with a stick on sand. Politically
dissident messianic movements have existed and developed separately from
the established Taoist church from early times (2nd century AD). Their
leaders were priest-shamans, similar to the modern fa shih priests of folk
Taoism. Their followers were the semiliterate or illiterate classes
socially below the tradition of orthodox Taoism, and their organization
was similar to that of the syncretistic religions and of modern secret
societies. Although the secret societies have had no organizational
contact with the Taoist tradition for centuries, their religious beliefs,
practices, and symbols contain some Taoist elements, such as initiation
rites, worship of Taoist deities, mediumism, and the use of charms and
amulets for invulnerability. These influences reached them either directly
or through popular religion. Taoist
physiological techniques have, in themselves, no devotional character.
They have the same preoccupations as physicians: to preserve health and to
prolong physical life. Medicine developed independently from about the 1st
century AD. Still many Taoist faith healers and hygienists added to
medical knowledge. The earliest
surviving medical book, the Huang Ti nei Ching, or "The Yellow Emperor's
Esoteric Classic" (3rd century BC?), presents itself as the teachings of a
legendary Celestial Master addressed to the Yellow Emperor. Experiments with minerals, plants, and animal
substances, inspired to some extent by Taoist dietetics and by the search
for the elixir of life, resulted in the 52 chapters of pharmacopoeia
called Pen-ts'ao kang-mu, or "Great Pharmacopoeia" (16th century).
This interest in
science is considered a reflection of the Taoist emphasis on direct
observation and experience of the nature of things, as opposed to
Confucian reliance on the authority of tradition. Chuang-tzu declared that
tradition tells what was good for a bygone age but not what is good for
the present. The Taoist
secret for efficacy is to follow the nature of things. This does not imply
scientific experimentation but rather a sensitivity and skill obtained by
"minute concentration on the Tao running through natural objects of all
kinds." It was believed that knowledge and skill could not be handed down
but is that which the men of old took with them when they died
(Chuang-tzu). The image for it is the skill of the artisan so admired by
the Taoists in their numerous parables on wheelwrights, meat-cutters,
sword makers, carvers, animal tamers, and musicians. Though extolling
the intuitive comprehension and skillful handling of matter, the Taoists
did not observe nature in the Western sense and rejected technology out of
their aversion to the artificial. Any new idea or discovery in China was
phrased as "what the old masters really meant." This ideology of
re-discovery makes it hard to study the evolution of scientific thought.
Some progress over the ages (for example, in alchemy) can be seen, but the
Taoist contribution to Chinese science seems indirect as a mindset rather
than direct contributions. Taoist
literature manifests such richness and variety that scholars tend
naturally to seek the symbolic modes of expression that served as points
of unity within its historical diversity. No image is more fundamental to
all phases of Taoism than that of the child. The Tao-te Ching praises the
infant's closeness to the Tao in its freedom from outside impressions.
Chuang-tzu describes the spiritual beings nurtured on primal substances,
air and dew, as having the faces of children. Thus many of the spirits,
both indwelling and celestial, in their esoteric system are described as
resembling newborn babes. Similarly, when the Immortals appear in visions,
though hundreds of years old, they are at most adolescent in appearance.
Other persistent images are those of mountain and cavern. Found in the
older texts, they are carried over, with particular connotations, into the
later works. During the
Warring States period and the early Han, Taoism had made its appearance in
the works of the other schools. Both direct quotations and patent
imitations were frequent. Citations from Tao-te Ching and Chuang-tzu
abound throughout later Chinese literature. Esoteric Taoist
writings, too, held great fascination for men of letters. Their response
might vary from a mere mention of the most celebrated Immortals on the one
hand, to whole works inspired by specific Taoist texts and practices, on
the other. Many a poet recorded his search, real or metaphorical, for
Immortals or transcendent herbs or described his attempts at compounding
an elixir. A certain number of technical terms became touchstones of
poetic diction. The revealed
literature of Mao Shan came to have the greatest effect on secular
writings. As works of great literary refinement, the Lives of the
Perfected directly inspired a very famous tale, the Intimate Life of
Emperor Wu of Han (Han Wu Ti nei-chuan; late 6th century), which in highly
polished terms describes the visit to the emperor of a goddess, the Queen
Mother of the West. This work, in turn, made a decisive contribution to
the development of T'ang romantic fiction. Literary accounts of fantastic
marvels also drew heavily on the wonders of Mao Shan hagiography and
topography. The Mao Shan influence on T'ang poetry was no less important.
Precise references to the Mao Shan literature of the sect abound in the
poems of the time, while many of the greatest poets, such as Li Po, were
formally initiated into the Mao Shan organization. Recently, scholars are
faced with the intriguing possibility of religious origins of whole genres
of Chinese literature. A number of
early Chinese books of spiritual interest claim to have been inspired by
pictures seen on the walls of local temples. A similar tradition attaches
to the Lives of the Immortals, of which it is said to have derived from a
pictorial work called Portraits of the Immortals. As has been noted, the
Immortals were depicted on Han mirrors. Graphic guides existed from early
times to aid in the identification of sacred minerals and plants,
particularly mushrooms. This practical aspect of Taoist influence resulted
in the exceptionally high technical level of botanical and mineralogical
drawing and calligraphy sooner attained by China than other cultures.
Taoists set the
highest standard. One of the greatest of all calligraphers, Wang Hsi-chih
(303-361), was an adherent of the Way of the Celestial Master, and one of
his most renowned works was a transcription of the Book of the Yellow
Court. The efficacy of talismans, in particular, depended on the precision
of the strokes from which they were created. Figure painting was another
field in which Taoists excelled. China's celebrated painter Ku K'ai-chih,
a practicing Taoist, left an essay containing directions for painting a
scene in the life of the first Celestial Master, Chang Tao-ling. Many
works on Taoist themes, famous in their time have been painted for use in
ritual, and religious paintings of the Taoist pantheon. They are still
produced today. The Taoist scriptures, with their instructions for
visualization of the spiritual hierarchy, including details of apparel and
accoutrements, are ready-made painter's manuals. Finally, the
language of speculative Taoism was pressed into service as the basic
vocabulary of Chinese aesthetics. Consequently, many secular artists
attempted to express their own conceptions of the "natural spontaneity" of
Chuang-tzu and Lao-tzu's "spirit of the valley." Here Taoism found still
wider imaginative extension, and the efforts of these painters are
embodied in those magnificent landscapes that have come to be thought of
as most characteristically Chinese.
It is said, Confucianism is concerned with human society and
the social responsibilities of its members; Taoism emphasizes nature and
what is natural and spontaneous in man. The two traditions are, "within
society" and "beyond society," They balance and complement each other.
This classic definition is generally correct concerning orthodox Han
Confucianism. But, it neglects some aspects of Confucian thought, such as
the speculations on the I Ching, which are considered to be among the
Confucian Classics. Also, the prophetic occult (ch'an-wei) commentaries to
the classics, as well. As far as Taoism is concerned, this definition
neglects the social thought of the Taoist philosophers and the political
aspects of Taoist religion. While, Chinese Buddhism has been viewed not
only as a merely a Chinese version of the Indian religion but also as
flowers on the tree of Chinese religions that blossomed under Indian
stimulus and that basically retained its Chinese character. The first
mention of Buddhism in China (AD 65) occurs
in a Taoist context, at the court of a member of the Imperial family. The
Indian religion was at first regarded as a foreign variety of Taoism. This
is in part because the particular Buddhist texts chosen to be translated
during the Han period reveal that the earliest converts were preoccupied
with Taoist rules of conduct and techniques of meditation. The Buddha, in
achieving enlightenment (bodhi), was described as having "obtained the
Tao". ; the Buddhist saints (arhat) become perfected immortals (chen-jen);
and "non-action" (wu-wei) was used to render nirvana (the Buddhist state
of bliss). During this period it claimed that Buddhism was a debased form
of Taoism, designed by Lao-tzu as a curb on the violent natures and
vicious habits of the "western barbarians," and as such was entirely
unsuitable for Chinese consumption. However, by the 4th century there was
a distinct Buddhist influence upon the literary form of Taoist scriptures
and the philosophical expression of the most eminent Taoist masters. As early as the
T'ang dynasty, there are traces of the syncretism of the "Three Religions"
(San Chiao), which became a popular movement in Sung and Ming China. It
was to be a mixture of Confucian ethics, the Taoist system of merits, and
the Buddhist concept of reincarnation. The "books on goodness" were;
widely produced and followed. By the ordinary people the school of the
"Three Religions" received wide support in Taoist circles. Many Taoist
masters of those periods transmitted nei tan and other techniques of inner
cultivation to their disciples while at the same time preaching the
moralist of the "Three Religions" to outsiders and the laity. The affinities
of Taoism with other Asian religions are numerous. Though Taoism is a more
culture-bound religion as are Japanese Shinto and Hinduism it has broader
aspects somewhat like Islam and Christianity. Taoist affinities and influences on Shinto features,
such as the cult of holy mountains, the representation of the human soul
as a bird, bird dances, the representation of the world of the dead as a
paradisiacal country of immortality, and the concept of the vital force
(tama, in objects as well as in man) are clearly derivative. Like Taoism,
Shinto is the religion of the village community. There was never an
attempt to implant a Taoist religion officially in Japan. There are the
"masters of Yin and Yang" (ommyo-ji), a caste of diviners learned in the I
Ching, Chinese astrology, and occult sciences who assumed importance.
Taoist mysticism lives on. And is still active in Japan. Popular Taoist
moral tracts were printed and widely diffused in the Tokugawa period.
Modern Japanese scholarship on Taoism (Dokyo) ranks very high in the
world. The similarity
of mysticism in all religions points to the realization that there is only
one Inner Way, the experience of which is expressed differently in the
respective cultural and religious environments. Lao-tzu's notion of "the
One," which is not only primordial unity but the oneness underlying all
phenomena, the point in which all contraries are reconciled, was spoken of
by Western mystics Taoism, like all
other forms of Eastern mysticism, distinguishes itself from Western
mysticism by its conscious techniques of mind and body designed to induce
trance and to give access to mystical experience. These disciplines of
learning to "sit in forgetfulness" are akin to Plotinus' concern to "be
deaf to the sounds of the senses and keep the soul's faculty of
apprehension one-pointed" and to the 16th-century Spanish mystic Teresa of
Avila's state where "the soul is fully awake as regards God, but wholly
asleep as regards things of this world and in respect of herself."
Expanding on that idea, Lao-tzu's strangely sober and abstract
descriptions of ecstatic union with the Tao have been compared to the
medieval German mystic Meister Eckhart's "still desert of the Godhead" and
his pupil Heinrich Suso's union of the essence of the soul with "the
essence of Nothingness." Some Taoist meditative practices have similarity
to the physiological breathing techniques of the Hesychasts, a sect of
Greek Orthodox mystics who used respiratory practices (focused breathing)
to concentrate on the internal organs to prepare for the mental "Jesus
prayer."
The principal
refuge of Taoism in the 20th century is on Taiwan. Its establishment on
the island is doubtless contemporary with the great emigration from the
nearby mainland province of Fukien in the17th and 18th centuries. The
religion, took much impetus when, Chang En-pu, a celestial master took
refuge there in 1949. On Taiwan, Taoism may still be observed in its
traditional setting by way of its manifestations in popular religion. The
liturgy chanting still embodies elements that can be traced back to
earlier times. The religion has enjoyed a renaissance since the 1960s,
with great activity being carried on in temple building and restoration.
A
significant event in Taoist history may be the ordination in Taiwan as a
Taoist priest (in 1964) the Dutch scholar, K.M. Schipper. His systematic,
first-hand researches into Taoist practices may very well revolutionize
scholarly knowledge of the religion, which will thus acquire an unforeseen
historical extension, in the West and into the future. In the USA the
spirit and practice of Taoism has been encouraged by the presence of the
brilliant and learned Dr. Stephen T. Chang. With great clarity he has made
available to the general public a masterful exposition of the Great Tao in the book he has authored, published
and widely circulated. Dr. Chang has supplemented it with small volumes
that are specific to main areas of actual Taoist practice and scholarship
it would behoove one and all to delve more deeply into Dr. Chang's work.
This will bring to the spiritual but not religious wisdom that has been
renewed by Dr. Chang and related to current ways of life. One can be
uplifted and enlightened by its overall message. The following excerpts
are abstracted from this major classic. Tao is God,
according to the Chinese, when translated thus: "In the beginning was the
Tao, and the Tao was with All and the Universe and the Tao was God."
Compare with the English translation of the Bible, "the Word is God". And
according to the original Greek translation of the Bible, "Logos is God".
The word Logos generally connotes life, light, creation, power, wisdom,
love, healing, spirit, force, .knowledge, rational, logic, reality, and
method. The Chinese word for Tao has the same connotations as the word
Logos. That is why the Tao was used in the Chinese Biblical
translation. The ancient
masters did not envision Tao as an old man on high above the clouds, who
struck people with a bolt of lightning when they transgressed. Since Tao
is life, light, space, time, energy, it is everything and everywhere.
Since Tao is omnipresent, it is in you and me as long as we are alive;
therefore, God can be experienced in our daily living. (Editorial Note:
For expansion on the idea of God see the link to the sub-site entitled,
The Problem of God.) Once, a request
was put to the Taoist master Chuan Tse by his disciples. "All-knowing
master, please show us God," said they. Mankind's
concern since the beginning has been and is that of "survival. To survive
one must learn to understand oneself, one's needs, one's functions, and
one's goals. Mankind is prone to experience the flow of life as the Way by
which we must learn to know and to ride it if we are to achieve success.
Living enables us to glimpse something of these mysterious rhythms, and to
re-align our lives so that we can live more in harmony with the laws of
nature. This is the key to success. According to
Taoism the formula for success is as follows: "Everybody must
die" is a universal principle; but where there is a principle there are
exceptions to it. Besides Enoch, those who have attained. Immortality
includes Elijah and the Taoists of China. How and why these individuals
were able to accomplish this feat is simple. They walked with God. How
does one walk with God? Experience Tao. Can we can you and I, learn to
walk with God? Many important religions and philosophies of the world have
taught that consciousness, spirit, or soul cannot die and that there are
specific ways to prepare the consciousness for an after-life. For example,
Buddhism teaches people to prepare for their next life by undergoing
asceticism. Still among all of these teachings we find no mention of how
to prepare for the immortalization of the present physical body. It is
really unnecessary to teach to thereby prepare, or know of the ‘dying
consciousness", because the spirit is not limited by space and time (it
cannot cease to exist). The spirit is not limited by space and because it
is formless our bodies are merely physical forms, which are limited by
birth and death. Since the spirit
has no beginning or ending, it is infinite. We are wasting precious time
when we sacrifice the present life - subjecting our physical bodies to
renunciation such as asceticism for example-to prolong something that is
everlasting. "The human
being follows (the laws of) the earth, the earth follows the heavens,
the heavens follow God (Tao), and God must follow nature." Tao Te Ching Buddha it is
said was is the transformation of Lao-Tze, who was a grand master of
Taoism. Even in the twenty-first century, the teachings of Taoism are
continuously being proven effective with scientific means. Valued
preciously in the twenty first century are the Eight Great Systems
(Pillars) of the Tao. We will discuss them later. When we live
according to the natural law, we walk with God. How do we live by the
natural law? This is revealed by Taoism, the oldest religion, philosophy,
and science in the world. Taoism
is a science because it is based upon a detailed understanding of
underlying physical, chemical, biological, mathematical, psychological,
and political theories and laws. Science rests on the assumption that all
events of the entire universe can be described by physical theories and
laws. But the sciences studied in our universities deal with the material
universe. Their methods, their paradigms cannot deal with the spiritual or
immaterial universes, which cannot be observed directly or indirectly
through our senses. Taoism acknowledges that all elements of the universe
are subject to the same physical theories and laws; therefore, the
physical theories and laws of the material universe are applied to the
spiritual universe as a part of the body of knowledge. Taoism is a
complete science, and an understanding of Taoism results in the complete
understanding of the entire (material and non-material)
universe. Taoism consists
of many scientific techniques or methods that help could immortalize the
physical body. These techniques have endured over six thousand years of
continuous testing The passage of time has increased their value, so
greatly that many Asians believe that Sakyamuni Buddha is the
transformation of Lao-Tze, who was a grand master of Taoism. Even in the
twentieth century, the teachings of Taoism are continuously being proven
effective with scientific means. Valued preciously in the twentieth
century, the Eight Great Systems of Taoism, which will be explained later,
are tremendously beneficial for people of all walks of life and of all
ages. For thousands of years, these teachings have been kept beyond all
other possibilities for the attainment of complete knowledge. Fortunately
the great master, Dr. Chang had the feeling that the recent years have
been the right time for the secret to be unveiled to the world which he
started doing in 1985 with his great classic treatise, THE GREAT TAO.
How the ancient
Taoists incorporated the principles of philosophy, chemistry, physics,
biology, mathematics, etc. into a system called Taoism can be summarized
by the principles of Yin and Yang. Taoism is a complete science, and an
understanding of Taoism results in the complete understanding of the
entire (material and non-material) universe. The relationship
of Yin and Yang to that of the world is often illustrated in another way
by equating them to the negative and positive poles within a galvanic
current flow; each is separate and distinct in expression. But both are an
integral part of the same current. The current could not possibly exist
without the bi-polarity of its Yin and Yang elements. Hence Yin and Yang
are distinct and individual but they are also inseparable. Within every
object in the universe is the constant, dynamic interaction of these two
polar opposites. Consideration of
the principles regarding the natures of Yin and Yang has led Taoists to
conclude that the feminine is Yin and the masculine is Yang. YANG = heat,
dryness, hardness, expansion, life, masculinity, goodness, justice,
righteousness, light, peace, sun, heat, wealth, happiness, heaven,
risings, the active, metaphysical, God, that which is on the surface, that
is Yang. YIN = cold,
softness, contraction, wetness, femininity, death, evil, the devil,
injustice, unrighteousness, darkness, war, moon, poverty, unhappiness,
earth, sin, queens, the passive, that which is deep or hidden, is Yin.
(Note: the spiritual but not religious might observe that this ancient
definition seems to have a male bias that contains fear of the
feminine). Just as we
cannot know what heat is if we've never been cold, or, too, what happiness
is if we've never been sad? So, too, Yin and Yang can never exist in total
isolation from one another. Each is a different side of the same coin;
both are constantly interacting and changing. This inseparable dualism
persists through all things: food, attitudes, personal characteristics,
thoughts, etc. Yin and Yang
represent every conceivable pair of opposites: birth and death; growth and
decay; health and illness, etc. Everything that is born must die.
Everything that grows will one day decay. We can assume that what is Yin
today is destined to become Yang in the future, and vice-versa. The
relativity of Yin and Yang and the dynamic tension of their interaction
are the basis of thought and expression in Taoist thought. Maintaining a
balance between Yin and Yang results in perfect health of body, mind, and
soul. There are four
kingdoms in this earthly universe: the Kingdom of Vegetation, the Kingdom
of Animals, the Kingdom of Humankind, and the Kingdom of God. The members
of each kingdom exist to improve themselves, to evolve into a higher
kingdom. Not all human beings can evolve into the Kingdom of God.
According to Taoism there are four kinds of human beings in the
universe. For an important
example, consider that because of the diet and lifestyle in the Western
world there is obesity. Obesity is a major weight imbalance among many
humans in our society. It is present in all its forms, from extreme
obesity, to "slightly overweight." You may think that a few extra pounds
make no difference. But think about it. Those pounds appear different when
we realize that for every inch of excess fatty tissue on our bodies, we
need an additional four miles of good blood vessels to support that
tissue. Of course that requires your heart to work harder, pumping blood
through those four miles of circulatory vessels. Two inches of excess
tissue require eight miles of the same blood vessels; three inches need
twelve miles. Yes, twelve more miles through which your heart has to pump
blood. That is a lot of extra work for your heart. And that extra strain
is going to weaken your body's constitution (Immunological system) and
eventually cause it to break down. Consider that it
is no different than with an automobile. If you load your car too heavily
and use it for a long time under the additional strain, the engine, the
springs, the alignment, etc. will break down. The heart is your engine
,when it is overused, it becomes enlarged. The muscles soften and loosen.
It can no longer pump well. Heart disease and diabetes II are the result
of obesity. In addition, it results in hardening of arteries and a
weakened heart. Furthermore, high blood pressure soon follows. It is
perfectly clear that humans should seek a balanced diet and way of life.
The eight groups
of eight hexagrams were designed to reflect all levels of the process of
transmutation in the universe and the nature of all the elements of the
universe. Also, it was designed to help mankind lead successful lives. The
secrets of success were hidden within the groups of eight hexagrams.
Moreover, the
sixty-four hexagrams can be arranged in many differing patterns. These
arrangements are used for astronomy, geomancy, construction, and other
special purposes. Because these subjects have no :bearing upon daily
living, details of the arrangements will not be generally known and will
be of little or no interest to many of the regular (common) people. What are the
prerequisites for evolutionary advancement? It is the practice of Taoism
that culminates in the accomplishment many good deeds during a life.
. According to Pao
Piao Tse, 200 good deeds are required to become a Transformed Immortal.
300 good deeds are required to become a Terrestrial Immortal. While, 1200
good deeds are required to become a Celestial Immortal. With one
significant transgression, all of the good deeds that were accumulated
will be nullified. According to Lao Tse, our every action is recorded and
computed by the stars, which are governed by the North Star. . Evolution
without Taoism is a painfully slow process. It has taken us millions of
years of evolution to become what we are. Practicing Taoism speeds up the
evolutionary advancement by helping mankind to accumulate good deeds in
the most efficient way possible thereby contributing to society without
martyrdom. A long-life and properly functioning physical body allows more
good deeds to be accomplished. Martyrdom cuts off the flow of benefits to
society and retards one's evolutionary advancement. Good deeds are
defined as actions that benefit one's self as well as others. Actions that
hurt one party while benefiting another are undesirable. Actions that hurt
both parties are least desirable as they are mistakes that can nullify all
of the accumulated good deeds and reverse one's evolutionary
progress. Without the practice of Taoism, there will be no
salvation. Without Taoist evolution, there will be no Kingdom
of God. In ancient
times, laws and regulations were said to be as numerous as the hairs on a
cow. That dynasty was overthrown and was replaced by the Han Dynasty. The
Han Dynasty, a Golden Age of China, began with the nullification of these
laws and regulations. Only three simple laws were made, but everybody
remembered and obeyed them enthusiastically. The government
should treat its subjects with honesty thereby creating a bond of trust
between its subjects and itself. The policies of the government, by
reflecting the moral wishes of the larger portion of the population,
should protect the people from oppression in any way, form, or means. The
government should not be allowed to grant any wish of the majority that
may cause any short-term or long-term serious discomfort or harm to any
individual or minority. Lao Tse said
that politicians should not form their own opinions. They must regard the
mind of the people as their own. Note that to the contrary, in Romans
13:1, Saint Paul said, "Let every person be subject to the governing
authorities. For there is no authority except from God and those that
exist have been instituted by God." But according to Tao entrusting a
ruthless politician with one's well-being is not wise, especially when his
policies reverse one's evolutionary progress. A succession of abuses of
power must be halted by selecting government officials for their integrity
toward the people. Otherwise, according to Lao Tse, "the politicians who
are not benevolent treat people like dogs." When a
government engages in lying and cheating games with its subjects, it
weakens the state. No matter what ruses it uses against its subjects, its
subjects will always outwit it, because they outnumber the government
workers. Such games create an unbridgeable rift between the subjects and
the government. Nothing will prevent a revolution from toppling this kind
of government. Lao Tse said, "Rulers who try' to use cleverness cheat the
country. Those who rule without cleverness are a blessing to the
land." Lao Tse said,
"The Tao is nameless because it is in everything and yet is formless. Its
simplicity and minuteness is unmatched by all the power of the alliance of
all the world's nations. When the leaders are able to utilize it,
everything comes to equilibrium and heaven and earth will be
unified." Consider: Why
does a government suffer from thirst, or deficits? These four
problems make government deficits a chronic disease. This "disease" may be
treated by a good "physician." Moreover if conditions are worse, then, a
great "surgeon" better suits this purpose. Of course, this is metaphor.
The cure' is moral adjustment rather than economic adjustment. The cure
should be administered to the ruler himself. As such he who
ruler serves as a model to his subjects, the leader should reverse
selfishness and corrupt behavior. If reversing a leader's chi becomes
impossible, then healing of the nation is virtually impossible without his
replacement. . Lao Tse insisted
upon small governments. He also insisted on small populations. It is
impossible to achieve peace and happiness if population growth is not
firmly controlled. Overpopulation causes Hunger and leads to war. War
results in death which is the greatest transgression from the viewpoint of
Taoism. These are only There are only a few elementary birth-control
responses that ought to be triggered by overpopulation. Nature has others
that include natural disasters and killing diseases. Over-reproduction
takes place among people who can not discipline their lust; it is a result
of poor education. (I Ching) is as
timeless and as limitless as the changes in this universe. The universe is
in essence a manifestation of change. All that exists must change. If
nothing changes, there would be no life, and if there is no life, there
would be only emptiness. The universal changes follow many complex sets of
rules, and there is a pattern to these rules. The Tao of Change is about
these rules and their patterns. As the pattern of change is repetitious,
the Tao of Change will never be obsolete. The timeless and limitless
teachings of the Tao of Change direct man through the maze of universal
changes. Everything, including success and decline, follows a specific
pattern of succession and occupies a specific period in time.
Understanding and following this pattern insures true contentment. Doing
otherwise, fighting decline or fighting any other changes, will result in
abject misery, because the way of the universe cannot be changed. The
person who fights the universe always loses. The Tao of Change helps
people live with the way of the universe, reap many rewards in the
process, plan for what is inevitable in order to meet all challenges and
adversities with confidence, and become wise masters of their
fates. The ultimate
purpose of the Tao of Change is to raise the caliber of human beings, so
that they may enter the Kingdom of God. By living correctly, according to
the way of the universe, people will dissolve their past Karma and then
lead productive lives. The Tao of Change presents abstruse evaluations of
all sides of an issue, and this encourages people to sharpen their
intellect while solving their problems. The Tao of Change helps people
climb the ladder of society, success and evolution so that, in the end,
all may enter into the Kingdom of God. The teachings of
the Tao of Change are encoded in its hexagrams. To extract the teachings,
these hexagrams must be deciphered. But before deciphered messages can be
presented to the reader, he or she should achieve an understanding of the
Yin and Yang diagram as it forms the content of the hexagrams. Otherwise
one may lose sight of the original purpose of Taoism. . According to
Taoism, the cultivators who stray are working against themselves, their
fortunes and their future. They will suffer, sicken and die like Regular
People. So there are ample motives for giving service to God and doing
many good deeds. One should not erroneously call oneself a cultivator,
because such false self-praise will waste oneself and others. A true
cultivator of Taoism must learn and enjoy the entire teaching of Taoism.
Many people who call themselves cultivators concentrate on only one of the
eight departments of Taoism, thinking that the benefits derived from that
particular department is enough. This is a great waste. Unfortunately some
self-proclaimed Taoists pass this unsound approach of Taoism on to their
students, which creates even more waste and leads death without meaning.
To encourage novices, we list here the names of the Eight Pillars of
Taoism The Eight Pillars are: The Tao
Philosophy, The Tao of Revitalization (Internal Exercises); The Tao of
Balanced Diet; The Tao of Forgotten Food Diet; The Tao Healing Art; The
Tao of Sex Wisdom; The Tao of Mastery; and The Tao of Success.
Certainly no
other world religion is so profoundly complete in providing the Way to
practice and serve Tao. Waste is the
cause of calamities and death is the greatest punishment, according to
Taoism. People who promise or guarantee results without asking for hard
work create waste. These people, who claim that only prayers and rituals
will save you, waste the lives of others by leading them away from the
cultivation of the love of Taoism. If people walk with God today, they
will have a tomorrow. If people do a good deed today, they will receive
rewards tomorrow. The good results are guaranteed by your own hard work.
According' to
Pao Piao Tse, the Taoist cultivator must make longevity, happiness,
health, and wisdom his or her primary reasons for cultivating Taoism. The
second priority is to help other people find the Way to Tao. In order to help
us live longer, healthier, happier, and wiser, Pao Piao Tse gave us this
advice: "Never depend on diseases not to attack you. Only depend on your
invulnerability to attack." He also said,' "To become a Taoist, one shall
never hurt oneself. There are many things that hurt people greatly.
Unfortunately, people never pay attention to these." Almost two
thousand years ago, Pao Piao Tse wrote that as a cultivator you should
avoid these destructive influences which are: Surely, Benjamin
Franklin would enjoy and approve this list of guides for moderation in
living. The balanced healthy body is better able to cultivate the Taoist
Way.
Lao Tse said,
"People of highest caliber, upon hearing about Taoism (want) to follow and
practice it immediately. People of average caliber, upon hearing about
Taoism, reflect for some time and then experiment even dabble with it.
People of lowest caliber, upon hearing Taoism, turn and let out a great
laugh. If such people do not laugh, it will not be Taoism. "My words, Lao
Tse said, Are few simple and easy, but few people can do as I
say." Those of lowest
caliber are legion and those of highest caliber - those who truly possess
the sprit of Tao-are few. Most people have neither the fortune nor the
ability to understand the Tao, or the Truth. This is why human evolution
seems to progress so very slowly. The word
"fortune" bears great significance to Taoists, not only because Taoism is
worth a gold mine to those who find it, but because people must have the
fortune to find the Tao Way. Throughout the centuries, the richness of
Taoism has never been flaunted in public, just as the riches of the truly
rich are never flaunted in public. Taoism awards its cultivators
immediately. It is too valuable to be the subject of preaching. The Tao is
actually everywhere and it is forever awaiting obtainment by anyone with
sincere devotion and discipline. The Tao is formless, nameless, and
undiscriminating. Therefore, to practice Taoism, the cultivator need not
leave family, friends, work, or belongings. Pao Piao Tse said, "Preeminent
scholars can obtain Tao in the battlefield (of life). Secondary scholars
can obtain Tao in urban areas. Lower scholars can obtain Tao only in the
mountains." No matter who or where you are, no sacrifice is demanded of
you. You need not become a monk or a nun or hide in the mountains. You
need only devotion and discipline to Taoist principles. Therefore, whoever
has true devotion and discipline has the fortune referred to above. The
doors of Taoism will be thrown open to who ever has the
fortune. Taoists called
the unthinking masses the Regular People.
The researchers of the truths of life are the Scholars. On a higher plane are those devoted
and disciplined the Cultivators. The adept
are the integrated, mature fully developed practitioners of the Taoist Way
and they are the possessor of the Great Tao a Truer. Truer
understand the nature of the universe and possess its wisdom. Finally The
god-like beings are called Immortals. The Law of Cause
and Effect also determines who is fortunate enough to cultivate Taoism in
his present lifetime. Those who have done many good deeds in the past will
have the fortune to cultivate Taoism. Knowing this, the cultivator must
conserve and respect his or her fortune and do more good deeds to
safeguard his or her future. This is not an
easy task, for Taoism has powerful tools that can be easily abused.
Through the practice of Taoism, a people's respect can be won and enormous
material profits can be made. However, these gains can tempt and lead
cultivators astray; thereby harming others for short-sighted gains. People
may also be tempted to make a living from utilizing only one part of
Taoism. Thus many people lose sight of the original purpose of Taoism.
Obviously, these
awesome powers will not come easily. They will come only as humans
continue to evolve along the right Way. We repeat for emphasis that the
powers will not come easily, especially with imitators and liars claiming
they can do it or teach others. Long ago Zoroaster warned us of these
aggrandizers and self-seeking sycophants and toadies. From the first day a
true person begins cultivating Taoism, these powers begin to increase.
These powers are given to cultivators to insure that they will someday
reach immortality. Those who cultivate Taoism will receive all the powers
claimed in the New Testament of the Bible and more. One should observe
that Taoism is tolerant and compatible with other religions that are
non-violent and urge practitioners to serve God by doing good deeds, i.e.
helping other humans. There is a
principle of the Yin and Yang Theory that applies to the cultivation of
Taoism. There are true cultivators and there are imitators. Taoists derive
their power from cultivation. But magicians can imitate Taoist powers.
Sometimes the imitation of Taoist powers can look even more attractive
than the real thing. Truth is truth, and imitators are only imitators.
Generally, other religions have also had serious trouble with the
imitators and the hypocrites. Magicians imitate Taoist powers to flaunt
their abilities. Taoists who have such powers do not flaunt them.
Chuang Tse said,
"It is not wonderful that Taoists can gain power. It is very wonderful
that they do not flaunt their power." Since Taoists
possess powers, they are cautioned against abusing them. The abuse of
power - using power for unrighteous gains - will be a great
misdeed. The GREAT TAO (a
book) by Dr. Stephen T. Chang is the first in history that constitutes a
compilation of all the departments of Taoism. From this book, readers can
learn and practice true Taoism in the correct sequence and
direction. Dr. Chang has
the wisdom to present a thorough but incomplete treatise on the Tao for
the novices and cultivators. His book does not contain detailed
information about Space and Time, the I-Ching System, Personology,
Astrology, Directionlogy. Before such knowledge can be given to the
serious reader or novice, he or she must have a thorough understanding of
the teachings presented in the book by Dr. Chang. Otherwise these powerful
systems can be misused and the cultivators will be induced to become
egotistic, materialistic and ambitious. Those who misuse
such vital heavenly secrets will meet with severe punishments. Blindness
is an example of the lightest form of punishment; death, the severest.
Also the reader may feel overwhelmed if the excluded information which is
extremely technical were included in this book. As Dr. Chang states the
Great Tao book already provides enough information to help a cultivator
benefit from practicing Taoism. Although the
exclusion of certain information is done for the protection of mankind, a
devoted cultivator will eventually have the fortune to learn the entire
truth and become a Truer. We, the spiritual but not religious have set
forth these excerpts to whet the appetite of those who want t learn more
about how to serve God. without being captured by some exclusionary,
institutional dogma that claims to be the final word. (Note: Dr. Chang
offers lectures and courses on all levels of Taoism from time to time, in
different countries and different cities under the auspices of the
Foundation of Tao. Lao Tse Said, "The highest
excellence is like water. It benefits all things without striving. It
stays in the lowest and the most abhorred places. Hence its way is near
to that of the Tao . . . "The
excellence of a residence is in the suitability of the place; that of
the mind is in abysmal stillness; that of association is in being with
the virtuous; that of government is in its ability to secure good order;
that of work is in its workers' capabilities; and that of any movement
is in its timeliness. . . . "Favor and
disgrace would seem equally to be feared; honor and great calamity, to
be regarded as personal conditions of the same kind. What is meant by
speaking thus of favor and disgrace? Disgrace is to be placed in a lower
position after the enjoyment of favor. . . . "The
obtainment of favor leads to the apprehension of losing it. The loss of
it leads to the fear of calamity. This is what is meant by saying that
favor and disgrace would seem equally to be feared. What is meant by
saying that honor and great calamity are to be regarded as personal
conditions? What makes me liable to great calamity is my having the
Self. . . "If I had not
the self, what great calamity could come to me? Therefore, he who would
administer the state, honoring it as he honors his own person, may be
employed to govern it. He who would administer it with care which he
bears to his own person may be entrusted with it . . . "Honest words
are not beautiful. Beautiful words are not honest. Those who have
perfect knowledge do not dispute. The disputants do not have the perfect
knowledge. Dilettantes never have true wisdom. Those who do not have
true wisdom are dilettantes. . . The editors list
here the Eight Pillars of Taoism which we have NOT summarized for you.
Instead, we offer you a buffet to whet your appetite! The Eight Pillars
are: Without having
any desire to create the illusion that we are defining each of the Eight
Pillars, we have chosen to set forth some introductory thoughts to start
the serious student on the Way. The Tao of
Philosophy is based on the spiritual discovery of the hidden, reliable
laws that permeate this universe. It discloses the rationale of the way of
life that unfolds, and the purpose of destiny. The Tao of
Internal Exercises is designed, first, to direct one's innate healing
power to specific organs and glands. Second, one learns of the Meridian
Exercises used to adjust balance, and elevate the energy level of the
body. This integrates the mind, body, and spirit. Third, it concerns
energy breathing techniques. In sum, the purpose of the Internal Exercises
is to promote longevity so one will have the time to learn the Tao and do
good deeds. The Tao of
Balanced Diet makes clear that humans have a great need to learn about
which foods it is best to eat, which foods have therapeutic properties,
and. How to combine these foods into attractive tasteful dishes. The
correct Chinese system is a cuisine that emphasizes, first, good health.
The Tao of
Forgotten Food Diet. Taoists long ago learned and have continually refined
the knowledge that there are the regular foods but they must be
supplemented with stronger foods and herbal foods said to be the Forgotten
Food Diet for regular people. The Tao of
Healing Art is designed to balance and to elevate the human body's vital
energy (chi), or, our electro-magnetic subtle energies. A form of massage
(Tu-Na) works to adapt the body to the fundamental elements that make up
the universe - earth, metal, water wood, and fire. Acupressure,
Acupuncture, and moxibustion are ways experts aid one to restore balance.
The Tao of Sex
Wisdom is a philosophy of sexual wisdom. Taoism was the first religion to
encourage humans to take into account the way people could use their
sexual energy to transform them for the better. (The Hindus with their
Kama Sutra also set forth rules of marriage and sex), Taoist sexology
explains how to use sexual energy to do many acts that enhance sexual
enjoyment without depleting one's energy. The Tao of
Mastery provides tools to gain insight into self and others. It is a
complex study of: Personology, the fingerprint system, Taoist numerology,
the North Star astrological system, Directionology, and Symbology.
Becoming adept in these systems facilitates personal and working
relationships and reduces stress. The Tao of
Success. The ancient Taoists discovered analytical methods to study the
forces that shape life's greatest events and thereby to systematize
strategies for success. There are three parts. The study of Symbols and
signs represents the exacting laws defined by physics, chemistry, and
mathematics. The Tao of Change is the study of both social philosophy and
transactional psychology which for Taoism is by ways of the sixty-four
hexagrams of the I Ching. - The Book, of Changes. Each of the 64 hexagrams
is composed of six lines each of which provides the opportunity to
recognize certain patterns to develop successful, detailed accurate
strategies about both opportunity and adversity. (Editor's Note: See the
recommended DVD, entitled the Oracle of Changes referenced below) The
third part is known as the space and time system of the I Ching used in
the actual practice of forecasting events. Like Albert Einstein the
ancient Taoist knew that time is illusory. Cyclicality is our reality. For
many centuries the Chinese, and now many others, have used the I Ching as
a means for interpreting events the outcome of which is uncertain. The use
of the Oracular method is the key to so-called forecasting. The naïve who
have reviewed this recital about Taoism have exclaimed why not put the
Eight Pillars of Taoism at the beginning! Simply stated we had to get the
regular people ready for the practice of Taoism thus the essential
introduction. In the words of another sage, "You've got to know where you
been before you can know where you are going." Using the I Ching is not a
parlor game. "The Taoist
does not possess. The more that he expends for others, the more he
possesses. The more that he gives, the more does he have. . . See also:
Lawrence, Bruce, B., The Complete Idiot's Guide to Religions On-Line,
Alpha Books, Indianapolis, Indiana, 2000. (available from publisher) |