Lao Tzu Old Master b 604 BC 517

Lao Tzu (“Old Master, ” b. 604 BC) 517 BC Confucius meets Lao Tzu Pass of Hangu Tao Te Ching (The Way and Its Power) Symbolic of thinkers of 4 th-3 rd c. BC?

Tao (“Way”) Sacred principle immanent in nature Source and destiny of all Aim to be in harmony with the Tao wu wei (no action)

Chuang Tzu (c. 369 -286 BC) Image of the ideal Taoist Freeing self from human conceptions and limitations Unconventionality

Philosophical Taoism Religious Taoism Hygiene Taoism Underlying themes of long life and immortality Development of practices, religious structures, divisions

Quanzhen (Total Perfection) Taoism Founded in N. China by Wang Zhe (1113 -70) Influenced by Chan Buddhism, use of celibacy and meditation Monasteries, celibacy, abstinence in quest of self-perfection Disbanded by Kublai Khan (r. 1260 -94)

Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) Taoism Enjoyed imperial favour Monks handing knowledge down through families Monks known as “fire dwellers” 1949 Heavenly Master flees Communist takeover, goes to Taiwan

Qi/chi Primordial breath/substance from which all nature evolves. Comes from the Tao and is present in everything Need to renew and restore qi Human body as microcosm of great cosmos (macrocosm)

Qi/chi Use of alchemical elixirs, breathing and gymnastic techniques Roles of yin and yang

1966 -76 Cultural Revolution in China Mao Zedong (1893 -1976) Recovery of Taoism, especially outside China?

Tao (“Way”) Primordial source of all reality Not produced or limited by anything All depends on the Tao Operates in, produces, regenerates everything

Tao (“Way”) Beyond description Can only be known through intuition and being in harmony with it Tao operating in everything Innermost universal way of nature

The Three Ones Three primordial breaths ruling heaven Yuanshi, Lord of Heaven Lord of head and primordial breath Lingbao, Lord of Earth Lord of chest and spirit Master Lao (Tzu), Lord of Humans Lord of belly and seminal essence

Other deities Jade Emperor Ancestor spirits Bodhisattvas, e. g. Avalokiteshvara/ Guanyin (The Lord Who Looks Down)