(Adopted by the Ninth National Congress of the China Taoist Association on June 29, 2015
Revised by the Tenth National Congress of the China Taoist Association on November 27, 2020
Revised by the Eleventh National Congress of the China Taoist Association on December 29, 2025)
The paradise gardens and jade palaces are truly sacred and solemn places; those in yellow caps and feathered robes are people who embrace simplicity and preserve the true. If dignified bearing is not kept, how can Taoists be told apart from laypeople? If fasts and precepts are not observed, on what can cultivating perfection rely? Thus when the Most High transmitted the scriptures, he left the teaching “follow the Tao alone”; when the patriarchs founded the teaching, they wrote texts of monastic rules and mysterious norms. Yet, handed down through the ages, the precepts and articles have become vast and numerous; as times change and the world moves on, there should be rules that accord both with the principle and with the occasion. To expound the norms of the Tao, greatly revive the mysterious tradition, and let those devoted to the Tao know what to rely on, the Covenant of Taoist Temples and Monasteries is hereby formulated. All fellow followers of our mysterious gate should each observe it: commit no evil and practice every good, advance in virtue according to the monastic rules, and transcend the ordinary by holding to the norms of the Tao. The gods observe and examine all things—how can one not be careful!
The articles are set out below:
1. Those who violate the criminal law shall be expelled from the Taoist order;
2. Those who betray their master’s lineage, change their Taoist school at will, or abandon the Taoist faith shall be expelled from the Taoist order;
3. Those who fail to keep the precepts, recklessly practice heterodox arts, or defraud people of money and property shall, according to the seriousness of the case, be punished by reflecting on their faults before the deities, expulsion from the hall (qiandan), or expulsion from the Taoist order;
4. Those who disparage or slander other religions, undermine religious harmony, or undermine ethnic unity or the unification of the motherland shall, in lighter cases, copy scriptures to reflect on their faults and, in serious cases, be expelled from the Taoist order;
5. Those who embezzle, seize, misappropriate, or steal temple property shall be expelled from the hall or expelled from the Taoist order;
6. Those who pick quarrels, provoke trouble, or engage in fights shall, according to the seriousness of the case, be punished by reflecting on their faults before the deities, expulsion from the hall, or expulsion from the Taoist order;
7. Those who gamble, engage in sexual misconduct, or behave improperly, priests of the Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) school who eat meat or drink alcohol, priests of the Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) school who drink to excess, and those who damage the image of Taoism shall, according to the seriousness of the case, be punished by reflecting on their faults before the deities, expulsion from the hall, or expulsion from the Taoist order;
8. Those who accept disciples indiscriminately and bring disorder to our Taoist order, or who seek profit in the name of accepting disciples, shall, according to the seriousness of the case, be punished by reflecting on their faults before the deities, expulsion from the hall, or expulsion from the Taoist order;
9. Those who waste offerings made by the faithful of the ten directions, or damage or squander temple property, shall, according to the seriousness of the case, be punished by reflecting on their faults before the deities, expulsion from the hall, or expulsion from the Taoist order;
10. Those who form cliques, spread rumors and stir up trouble, damage others’ reputations, or undermine harmony among the Taoist community shall, in lighter cases, copy scriptures to reflect on their faults and, in serious cases, be expelled from the hall;
11. Those who treat believers with disrespect or forcibly demand offerings from believers shall, according to the seriousness of the case, be punished by copying scriptures to reflect on their faults or expulsion from the hall;
12. Those who drink alcohol, eat meat or pungent foods, or kill living creatures while the temple is open to the public or while taking part in religious activities shall, in lighter cases, reflect on their faults before the deities and, in serious cases, be expelled from the hall;
13. Those who kneel and bow irreverently, laugh, chat, or make noise, or speak and act frivolously in the halls shall, in lighter cases, reflect on their faults before the deities and, in serious cases, be expelled from the hall;
14. Those who are disrespectful toward temples, halls, and sacred images, or who do not cherish scriptures and ritual objects, shall, in lighter cases, reflect on their faults before the deities and, in serious cases, be expelled from the hall;
15. Those who do not wear Taoist dress while the temple is open to the public, or whose Taoist dress is untidy or unclean so that they lose dignified bearing, shall, in lighter cases, reflect on their faults before the deities and, in serious cases, be expelled from the hall;
16. Those who fail without reason to attend the morning and evening liturgy shall, in lighter cases, reflect on their faults before the deities and, in serious cases, be expelled from the hall;
17. Those who do not respect their masters and elders or are unfriendly toward the Taoist community shall, in lighter cases, reflect on their faults before the deities and, in serious cases, be expelled from the hall;
18. Those who smoke in temple halls, dining halls, or other public places shall, in lighter cases, reflect on their faults before the deities and, in serious cases, be expelled from the hall.
May every member of the Taoist community examine themselves against the above articles, cultivate diligently and uphold them, and take care never to violate them. Taoist temples and monasteries in all localities shall formulate their Proclamation of Monastic Rules on this basis and enforce it strictly.