Etiquette for Lodging as a Wandering Taoist (Guadan)

Every Taoist who returns to a monastery (changzhu) for lodging as a wandering Taoist (guadan) and study must first have the proper hair, robes, cap, crown, socks, and shoes. The hair must be grown in full and coiled into a topknot; robes must have round collars both inside and out; the outer robe comes in two kinds, the dagua (long gown) and the Taoist robe.

Outer robes are uniformly made of blue cloth, blue representing the color of the sky and the life-giving qi of the east. The two sleeves hang down to the full length of the body. A robe with cuffs one chi four cun (about 47 cm) wide or more and without inner panels is called a dagua. A robe with cuffs from one chi eight cun up to two chi four cun wide and fitted with inner panels is called a Taoist robe—the so-called “three-level paneled Taoist robe”—and this is the standard style.

The cap must be a Hunyuan cap; a yizi (“one-character”) cap is also acceptable, because it leaves the hair exposed so that a crown can be worn.

As for the crown, one usually wears a yellow crescent-moon crown, most often made of boxwood. Those who have received ordination with precepts may wear the Five Peaks crown, shaped like an inverted dipper and carved with the “True Forms of the Five Peaks” diagram. Generally, even those who have one do not wear it when lodging, so as not to reveal that they have been ordained.

Socks must be high-topped and made of white cloth.

Shoes should be black cloth with a double front, or black cloth with a round opening, or round-opening “ten-directions shoes” with alternating black and white stripes; many-eared hemp sandals are also acceptable. There are also some Taoist priests with embroidered headwear who pursue their spiritual practice barefoot.

Resident members of a monastery never register as lodgers there.

Anyone seeking lodging first goes to the door of the registration office, sets his travel bundle (back frame and clothing) to one side outside the door, and, with robes and cap in good order, calls out, “Compassion, venerable registrar!” or “Compassion, venerable greeter!” Only after the registrar answers may he enter; he must not barge straight in. If, after waiting a moment, there is no answer from inside, he may call out once more in the same way.

Because the registrar, on seeing that a lodger has come, must also put his robes and cap in good order before receiving him, time must be allowed for him to dress.

Once properly dressed, the registrar answers, “Compassion,” and only then may the lodger enter.

Entering the door also has its rules. If the registrar is standing left of center, the lodger enters on the right side, stepping in with the right foot first, and stands on the right once inside; in the opposite case, he enters and stands on the left.

He first makes three bows toward the altar; when these are finished, he says, “I bow in homage to the venerable registrar.” The registrar immediately says, “Compassion—one bow, one bow,” and at once bows down to the ground in return, never accepting a fellow Taoist’s full bows, as a sign of humility. After the lodger completes one bow and goes on to the second, the registrar will usually stop him and not let him continue, but the lodger should still show his sincerity by carrying on. If the registrar insists on stopping him, he turns and makes a bow with joined hands to the registrar.

The registrar offers him a seat, saying, “Please sit,” and he answers, “Compassion.”

When taking the seat and sitting down, he must “sit like a bell”: body upright and seated squarely, both hands inside the sleeves and held together before the chest, eyes looking at the nose and the nose looking at the heart. He must not lean to one side, must not cross his legs, and must not glance left and right.

The registrar asks, “Where has the old practitioner come from?”

He answers, “By your compassion, venerable one, this disciple has come back to the monastery from such-and-such a place.”

The registrar asks, “What is the old practitioner’s honorable surname?” He answers, “By your compassion, venerable one, this disciple’s lay surname is such-and-such.”

The registrar asks, “Where is your precious home temple, venerable one?” He answers, “This disciple’s humble temple is such-and-such temple on such-and-such mountain.”

The registrar asks, “To which lineage does your dharma line belong, venerable one?” He answers, “This disciple belongs to such-and-such lineage.”

The registrar asks, “How are you called, above and below, venerable one?” Bowing slightly, he answers, “By your compassion, venerable elder, this disciple is of such-and-such generation and is called so-and-so.”

The registrar asks, “What is the honorable surname of your ordaining master, venerable one, and how is he called, above and below?” Bowing slightly, he answers, “The honorable surname of this disciple’s ordaining master, the venerable elder, is such-and-such; his name is so-and-so above and so-and-so below.”

The registrar asks, “What is the honorable surname of your master’s master, and how is he called, above and below?” Bowing slightly, he answers, “The honorable surname of this disciple’s master’s master is such-and-such; his name is so-and-so above and so-and-so below.”

The registrar asks, “Has the old practitioner come back to this monastery before?” This must be answered truthfully. If he has not been back before, he answers, “By your compassion, venerable one, this disciple is coming back to the monastery for the first time.” If he has stayed there before, he answers, “I stayed at the monastery at such-and-such a time,” or “I came back and stayed at the monastery when so-and-so was prior.”

If he is registering for the first time (dahao), the registrar says, “This is the patriarchs’ place of practice, and it is the rule of the monastery that an old practitioner coming back for the first time must recite the liturgy, the offering verses, and the lineage verses.” He should be humble, rise, and answer, “This disciple is dull and not well versed in the scriptures; I beg the venerable registrar’s compassion and forbearance, and ask for your prompting.”

Wherever the registrar gives a prompt, he begins reciting from that point and goes straight on without being prompted again. Generally, the offering verses, the closing-of-the-meal verses, and the lineage verses are recited in full, while for the morning and evening liturgy a few passages of each are prompted and then it stops.

After the recitation, the registrar fills in the registration slip and registration tag, noting whether it is a first registration or a repeat registration (fuhao), hands them to the lodger, and says, “Please take these, venerable one, and go to the guest hall.”

The lodger stands, receives the slip and tag with a bow of joined hands, turns and goes out, picks up his travel bundle, goes to the door of the guest hall, stands there respectfully, and calls out, “Compassion, venerable guest prefect!” The guest prefect, also with robes and cap in good order, answers, “Compassion,” and then receives the slip and tag.

When the lodger has finished three bows toward the altar, he says, “I bow in homage to the venerable guest prefect.” The guest prefect answers, “Compassion—one bow, one bow.” The bowing and declining proceed as with the registrar. When the questions are finished, the guest prefect calls, “Venerable attendant (zhisui), please escort the lodger” (in most monasteries the attendant is inside the guest hall). The guest prefect keeps the registration slip and hands the registration tag to the attendant.

The lodger makes a bow of joined hands to the guest prefect and follows the attendant to the Hall of the Ten Directions or the Cloud and Water Hall. At the entrance to the hall, the attendant calls out, “Compassion, venerable hall master—one first-time (repeat) lodger.”

The hall master answers, “Compassion.” The attendant leads the lodger into the hall, hands the registration tag to the hall master, and says, “Three bows toward the altar.” When these are finished, he says, “Three bows in homage to the venerable hall master.” The hall master bows in return, saying, “One bow, one bow.” If there is a deputy hall master, or if there are other lodgers in the hall, the attendant then says, “Three bows in homage to the deputy hall master” and “Three bows to all the old practitioners.” If there are none, the attendant does not call these out. If there are, the three calls are finished before the three bows are completed; apart from those to the hall master, the rest are merely courteous acknowledgments.

When the bows are finished, the hall master says, “Three bows in return to the venerable attendant.” The attendant then says, “Compassion, compassion—I am unworthy.” As soon as the lodger bows down, the attendant hurriedly helps him up, saying, “One bow.” He returns a bow of joined hands and withdraws.

In some monasteries, the hall master must lead the lodger to the main kitchen to pay respects at the stove. On arriving at the main kitchen, the hall master says, “Three bows toward the altar.” When these are finished, he says, “Three bows in homage to the venerable kitchen master (dianzao).”

The kitchen master bows in return and stops him, saying, “One bow, one bow.” The hall master then says, “Three bows in homage to all in the kitchen.”

The kitchen master again bows in return, saying, “One bow, one bow.” The hall master then says to the kitchen master, “This is Master so-and-so, newly returned for first registration.” With that, he leads the lodger back to the hall; the lodger bows with joined hands to the kitchen master and all present, and follows the hall master back to the hall.

After returning to the hall, the hall master assigns the lodger a place to rest and instructs him in the rules of the hall. When the lodger leaves the hall, he must inform the hall master; he may not come and go as he pleases.