Short answers about Taoism: doctrine and faith, the main schools, festivals and taboo days, titles and caps of Taoist priests, and temple etiquette.
A guide to etiquette when worshipping at Taoist temples: how to enter and leave the halls, how to hold and plant incense sticks, customs and taboos for offerings of flowers, lamps, water, and fruit, and the exact movements and state of mind for the one-bow-three-kowtow and three-bows-nine-kowtows rites.
Three little-known facts about Taoism: the “pungent foods” forbidden by the precepts originally meant strong-smelling vegetables such as scallions and garlic, not meat; Quanzhen priests may not marry while Zhengyi priests may; and the ritual step of pacing the Dipper is said to derive from the gait of the crane.
Explains the Taoist view of life expressed in “my life lies with me, not with heaven”: with passages from On Nurturing Nature and Prolonging Life and Awakening to Perfection, its roots in the early immortality arts and Zhuangzi, and stories of Guangchengzi and Pengzu, it shows how life can be mastered through cultivation.
The rules for Taoist priests traveling to visit masters and lodging at public monasteries: the seven requirements of dress, hair, crown, cap, robe, socks, and shoes; the questions and courtesies of the reception room and guest hall; reciting the daily liturgy and mealtime offerings; and the etiquette and taboos of the hall and the refectory.
Drawing on the preface to the Liturgy of Daily Recitation, this article explains why scripture recitation is the gateway to the Tao and the path to immortality: liturgy means examining one’s own work, and understanding the scriptures unites one with the Tao within while the rites take effect without.
An introduction to the Taoist vision of the Thirty-Six Heavens and the dwellings of the principal deities: the Three Pure Ones in the realms of Jade, Highest, and Grand Clarity, the Jade Emperor in his palace, the Four Sovereigns in their palaces, and the Queen Mother of the West at Kunlun and the isles of Penglai.
Explains the relationship between Taoist doctrine and teachings: doctrine is the unchanging core of Taoism, while teachings grow and develop with the times. It cites Chen Yingning’s distinction between the two and summarizes the main Taoist teachings, from helping the world and saving people to naturalness and non-action.
A brief explanation of Taoist faith: the Tao, formless and imageless yet giving birth to all things, is the highest object of belief; its manifestation in people and things is virtue; and the immortals, both embodiments of the Tao and models of attaining it, are worshipped alongside it.
A popular introduction to the Taoist “Five Arts”: Mountain (cultivation through diet, elixirs, texts, martial arts, and talismans), Medicine (herbal formulas, acupuncture, massage, spiritual healing), Destiny (Ziwei Doushu, Ziping fate calculation), Physiognomy (astrology, face reading, feng shui), and Divination (Changes divination and the Three Arts).
A comparison of Taoism’s two main schools: the Zhengyi school, descended from Zhang Daoling’s Way of the Celestial Masters, centered on talismans and rituals, with married priests and Celestial Masters leading the register schools; and the Quanzhen school of Wang Chongyang, uniting the three teachings, with celibate, vegetarian monastic priests.
An introduction to the “Five Great Scriptures” regarded as the core of Taoist thought—Laozi’s Tao Te Ching, the Yellow Emperor’s Hidden Talisman, Zhuangzi’s True Classic of Southern Florescence, the Scripture of the Yellow Court transmitted by Wei Huacun, and Guanyinzi’s True Classic of Wenshi—with the author’s own reflections.
A short history of Taoism: Zhang Daoling founding the Way of the Five Pecks of Rice and its twenty-four parishes, Zhang Lu and the northward spread of the Celestial Masters, reforms by Lu Xiujing and Kou Qianzhi, imperial favor from the Sui to the Yuan, the Ming peak, the Qing decline, and revival after reform and opening.
An introduction to the Taoist taboos on Wu days: the legendary dialogue between Emperor Wu of Han and the Queen Mother of the West, why on the six Wu days one must not break ground, spread manure, burn incense, or hold rites, the calamities of each season, and the rhyme for reckoning “hidden Wu” days.
An introduction to the origins of Taoist festivals, listing the main sacrificial festivals such as the birthdays of the Three Pure Ones, the birthdays and commemoration days of the deities month by month through the lunar year, and uniquely Taoist observances such as the Three Assemblies, Three Primes, and Five La days.
An introduction to the “nine caps” Taoist priests wear every day—the Hunyuan, Zhuangzi, Chunyang, Haoran, Xiaoyao, Lotus Leaf, Sun, Yizi, and Jiuliang caps—their form, origins, and meaning, with a note on the crowns worn in rituals, such as the Five Elders, Five Peaks, and Star crowns.
An introduction to the titles used for Taoist priests and their origins—the source of the word daoshi, and the meanings of Perfected, feathered scholar, poor Taoist, Celestial Master, ritual master, and abbot—correcting common misconceptions such as calling oneself a Perfected or thinking “abbot” is a purely Buddhist term.
Vast are heaven and earth, and boundless their phenomena; life is short, and birth and death are the great matter! For thousands of years, faced with natural calamity, social upheaval and the ultimate questions of life, humanity has never stopped searching for answers. A native treasure of Chinese civilisation, Eastern Taoism gathers the reflections of sages across millennia and carries profound thought on a harmonious world and on transcending life. Rooted in the vast essence of Taoism, the Oriental Taoist Culture website offers a comprehensive, professional and authentic view, building a bridge to the ancient wisdom of the East. Let us set out together on this journey of unravelling mysteries and awakening to the Tao.