This course provides an introduction to the study of the history, major teachings, and practices of the major Chinese religions and spiritual practices and is deigned to give conceptual tools to appreciate diverse religious practice in East. It covers the development of Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism and wide range of popular and local religions. From historical perspective we will also explore the development of key theological, religious and philosophical doctrines as well as associated practices. An effort will be made to spend time on each tradition according to its importance to Asia as a whole. We will explore the role of religions in politics and social relations in East and South, South East Asia and China in particular, and will analyze the origins, central teachings, divisions and branches, rituals and practices, influences on culture, and responses to modern challenges for each tradition. The emphasis throughout the course is on the hermeneutic difficulties attendant upon the study of religion in general, and Asian religions in particular. We will explore new Asian religions as dynamic, ongoing forces in the lives of individuals and in the collective experience of modern societies.
Modern Schools of Taoism
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From the course by National Research University Higher School of Economics
Religions and Society in China
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From the lesson
Taoism in Chinese society: main religious practises
This module's content describes the paths of development, which were taken by Taoist cults in their history, explains the ways that connected Taoist philosophy and social practice of religious cults and organisations.
Meet the Instructors
Aleksey A. MaslovHead
School of Asian Studies
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Let's speak about the schools of Taoism, which we can find in today's China.
The first one, maybe the biggest one, it's called the Zhengyi Dao.
So The Way of the Right One, or it also could be translated,
the Way of the Orthodox Unity.
This school is very ancient, it originated during the 7-8 centuries.
Actually this transformation of this school of Celestial Masters,
or the movement of Celestial Masters, which we already spoke about.
And this from Tianshi Dao, this school took a lot of practice,
especially the using the different kind of signs and sacral talismans.
But at the same time, the main difference between this Zhengyi Dao school and
other schools that this school considers Laozi.
Not as just a god, and not as a spirit, but
first of all as an ancestor of the school.
And there are other gods and
other spirits, and Lozi is just one of these gods.
And the difference between these schools, Zhengyi Dao and for example school or
school, which are considered Lozi or Laozi is that high spirit in Taoism.
Zhengyi Dao includes two kinds, at least two kinds of rituals.
The first one is a jiao ritual, or offering,
this offering performed only by priests in the temple, in the monastery.
And usually this offering could take three or more days, usually three days.
After offering, just a beginning of the long ritual of retreat,
there is a Jiao ritual which is a retreat or
abstinence from any kind of food or just a part of this food.
For example, abstinence of meat, of different kind of drinks but water.
And the main idea of Jiao ritual is a purification and
abstinence of not just of any food, but also of any kind of ideas and
thoughts that could destroy your mind.
During the zhai ritual people usually received a litany of repentance and
different kinds of secular formulas to raise the internal energy.
And to unify with other kind of spirits.
So Zhengyi Dao became one of the main schools of Taoism.
Another school, which is today maybe even more popular is Quanzhen Dao.
Quanzhen Dao, the way of the Completeness and Truth.
Quan, it's a completeness or the fulfillment.
And zhen, it's a truth.
So maybe it could be translated as fulfillment of the truth.
This school emerged much later than all other schools in 12th and 13th Centuries,
just only the borderline between Sung and Yuan dynasties.
So just before the period of the emerging of Mogul roles in China.
Mongol supported the schools of Quanzhen Dao.
That's why the school became very popular in Beijing and
in the central part of China.
The founder of the school Wang Chongyang was a great master and
was considered as an immortal.
That's why in today, in the text we can find his name as Wang Chongyang Zehnyang,
the true man, the Wang Chongyang.
The main practice of the Quanzhen Dao were the practice of
the internal alchemy, and the internal cultivation, the Neidan.
So in the difference with
the early schools which more practice the external alchemy.
Quanzhen Dao emphasize it on the internal practicing and
this way was constituted by the state.
It's much more socialize it in less dangerous school.
Finally, Wang Chongyang according to one of the version had
at least seven main force and which established seven main branches.
One of the branch became more popular than other branches,
the branch of the tranquility and purity [FOREIGN] which were basically
only one of the test [FOREIGN], the canon of the tranquility and purity.
We already quoted this text many times, during our classes.
So the main idea was the first step is just a purification of
the mind by the meditation, by the visualization.
And only then, after the complete purification,
you can reach the state of the immortality.
Always schools would base it on different kinds of scriptures.
So, Taoism, is about the direct connection with spirits.
Was much affected by different kinds of scriptures.
Scripture of Taoism was put together,
it was condensed under the name of a Taoist canon,
the Daozang, the Treasury of Dao.
There are a lot of versions of Daozang.
Today we have at least four main versions.
So all these four main versions started to be compiled during the fourth century.
And one of the more final versions was compiled in the 15th century.
So today, a different kind of Daozang version include more than 1,000 texts,
one 1,000 scriptures, or 1,000 scrolls.
It means usually it's 1,400 different kind of scrolls.
The first version of Daozang was much smaller.
But anyway, from era to era,
from time to epoch to epoch, this Daozang enlarged.
Today Daozang include not only the Taoist, the pure Taoist text, but the mixture
of the Taoist and Buddhist text, and even some text that came from other tradition.
For example, Monotheism.
But anyway, it's considered as a classic of Taoism.
None of the Taoist masters read all these texts all together.
Different schools are based on different texts and different scriptures.
Finally, all the texts were divided into three main parts
which are called the Caves or grottos.
In Chinese is a [FOREIGN].
Usually Taoists followed the Buddhist example,
because the Buddhist scriptures are also divided into three main parts.
Buddhist scripture is a Tripitaka.
So three parts.
In Taoism, we can find these same three parts.
The classical division, it's the part of Zhen dong,
the cave of truth, Xuan dong, the cave of the mystery,
and finally, the Shen dong, the cave of divine.
All schools approve all texts.
But at the same time, Zhen dong, it's a compilation of the text of the Shangqing
tradition, of the Shangqing school.
Xuan dong is a compilation of the Lingbao school.
And finally, Shen dong is a compilation of the Maoshan tradition,
it's merely alchemic texts and these texts also connected to the Shangqing texts.
Anyway, all Taoist schools approve all texts that are included in the Daozang.
But usually they use the part of the text.
Even beside this the text of these three main schools,
we can find a lot of texts that do not belong to any particular school.
At the same time we can find texts, different verses of the same text.
For example, the very famous scripture the tranquility and
the purification of the mind, Xijingjing.
There are more than eight different versions that are very close together
with a lot of similarities and some differences.
So, once again Daoxang, it's a compilation of texts, a collection of texts.
But today, Taoist schools use a particular text.
For example, usually some schools in the modern of or
these are just five or six texts that I read every day that they're trying to
understand that they're trying to understand the secret meaning of the text.
A lot of commandments and annotation for this text.
So there is a difference between the real permutations of this text,
and the idea of the canon, or the idea of the collection of this text.
So collection is kept mainly in the libraries, and
in the monasteries you can find just several of these texts,
which became very important in the everyday practice.
So that the difference between these called the theoretical Taoism,
and practical Taoism.
In practical Taoism, each text includes everything,
and all meanings, all things, all the answers.
So you have, you need to have a teacher who explained, especially
the meanings all the text involve the internal and external alchemic.
Because it's written by the special language that could not be understood by
some people outside of the school.
That the idea of many commands, and many annotations for
the classical cannon, or the Taoist cannon.
And some of this text I will read translated in Foreign languages, for
example, in English, in French, in Russian, some texts remain untranslated.
And one of the problem of this translation of this text
because they are too close connected to the Chinese language to
the main ideas that we can find only in Chinese language.
So that's the idea, not to be lost in translation the main meaning of
the alchemic text of the Chinese alchemy,
external and internal practices.
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