Chapter 6 - Pocket Guide to World Religions

(Originally written February 18, 2007 in Book 14)

Pocket Guide to World Religions
Win Corduan

Chapter 6 - Daoism

Name

Also spelled Taoism. The name is based on the concept of Dao, which means "The Way".

Taoism means "following the Way".

It is an abstract philosophy and a religion.

Numbers and Distribution

Daoism is considered a part of the combined Chinese religion that includes Confucianism and Buddhism.

250 million practitioners is a rough guess to how many adhere to Daoism.

Symbols

"The Yin and Yang sign represents the two fundamental elements of the universe intertwined with each other" (Corduan, 58).

Yin and Yang
Earth & Heaven
Cold & Hot
Wet & Dry
Passive & Active
Dark & Bright
Mysterious & Clear
Feminine & Masculine

The Yin-Yang represents the coexistence of opposites that complement one another.

The dots show that yin exists in yang and yang exists in yin, in perfect harmony.

Good and Evil are the same as balance and imbalance. Evil only occurs when there is too much yin or too much yang.

The right amount of balance is dependent on the object.

History

As a purely philosophical system Daoism has existed since the 6th century.

The founder of Daoism is stated to be Lao-zi (Lao-Tzu). Lao-zi was roughly a contemporary of Buddha and Confucius.

When Lao-Zi was even older he decided to travel west to India in search of more wisdom. At the border, the gate keeper would not let him leave until he wrote down all of his wisdom. Lao-Zi then wrote the Daodejing (Tao-Te-Ching). He then left China, never to be heard of again.

Taoism slowly developed from an abstract philosophy into a religion. The balance of spiritual forces provided a basis for the religion.

The Daoism religion recognized a large number of gods in a hierarchy similar to Chinese government. The highest god was the Jade Emperor, who rules the entire universe.

Daoism is unique among polytheistic religions because "the idea that the power of the gods becomes available insofar as there is spiritual harmony among people, ancestors and gods" (Corduan, 60).

Scriptures

There are many Daoism writings, but the two most important ones are:

1) The Daodejing by Lao-Zi
- about the universe, language and government
- If the Dao is left alone then balance will be restored and everything will be right. People do not let the Dao work, but try to fix things themselves which makes it worse.

2) The Yijing (I-Ching)
- predates Lao-Zi by centuries
- A guide to fortune telling
- "A fortune teller analyzes a combination of sticks that come in two lengths and thereby uncovers the balance of yin and yang for a particular situation" (Corduan, 61).

Major Beliefs

Fundamental premise: The Dao is the ultimate state of harmony and balance in the universe.

To bring about the Dao is to make sure everything is going well in the realm of gods and ancestors.

Daoism as a religion is usually blended with Buddhism and Confucianism.

There are many gods, arranged by power in a bureaucratic manner. Mine gods govern a village or town. Major gods govern the world.

All beings (humans, gods, ancestors and nature) are linked in a glance. Humans must find the imbalance and  remedy the situation.

Humans are quite capable of diagnosing problems and fixing them.

Subgroups

Daoism is not a true organization so there are no subgroups.

Daoism is a philosophy that can be interpreted and applied whenever and wherever.

Worship Practices:

1. Ancestor veneration
- Incense is burnt daily for the deceased. Sometimes feed is offered
2. Fortune telling
- Discerning proper yin and yang is crucial to Daoism
3. Funerals
- Keeping a dead spirit happy is crucial to balance.
- All the funeral rituals must be performed properly to ensure a happy departed spirit. Paper replicas of the deceased belongings are burned to ensure that they will have those things in the after life.
- Even years after death, the living most continually provide for the deceased.
4. Worship of the gods
- The gods are the spiritual rulers of villages, regions and the nation. It is their obligation to provide for their constituents.
- The people under the gods must worship the gods with festivals and temples and rituals to ensure protection and care.
- If the results of worship are not seen, the gods will likely be forgotten or replaced.
5. Feng-Shui
- Feng-Shui is the arrangement of one's space to ensure spiritual harmony and balance.

Religious Buildings

Modern China combines Buddhism and Daoism in one building.

Taoist temples are arranged according to the guidelines of Feng-Shui.

Taoist temples contain:
1. Statues of gods and goddesses that are important to that area.
2. Statues of guardian spirits to scare off evil spirits.
3. Large pots to hold incense sticks called joss sticks.
4. A wall or room with ancestor tablets. A part of the deceased soul remains indwelled in these tablets. Visiting them is maintaining contact with the dead.
5. An area where fortune telling can be done.
6. A table or booth where joss sticks and other paper structure to be burned are sold.
7. A large oven to burn things for the spirits. Usually a drum is attached to the oven so that people can get the attention of the spirits.

Home Practices

The Home must be a center for harmony and balance.

A home must follow the demands of fengshui.

Statues of gods are usually kept in the home. The kitchen god who reports the status of the home to the higher god's every New Year's Day is a statue found in virtually every home.

The most important item in every home is the wall shrine that contains ancestor tablets. Incense is burned and food offerings are made daily to the tablets.

Clothing

Daoism has no clothing regulations.

Diet

There are no food prohibitions in Daoism

Calendar

Taoism follows the Confucian Lunar Calendar

The Hungry Ghost Festival is an important Daoist holiday. A "hungry ghost" is an unsatisfied deceased person. The Hungry Ghost Festival is a time to appease all the hungry ghosts that are freed from hell in the seventh lunar month.