Daoism - The Great Natural Way

Practice Principles and Guidelines

Daoist practice-realization involves experiential understanding.
Daoist practice-realization involves both being and becoming.
Daoist practice-realization involves giving primacy to the internal (nei 內) over the external (wai 外).
Daoist practice-realization involves conservation and non-dissipation (wulou 無漏).
Daoist practice-realization involves actualizing awakened nature (wuxing 悟性) over habitual nature.
Daoist practice-realization involves recognizing the interconnection between inside and outside.
Daoist practice-realization involves flexibility (rou 柔) and yielding (ruo 弱).
Daoist practice-realization involves non-action (wuwei 無為).
Daoist practice-realization involves clarity (qing 清) and stillness (jing 靜).
Daoist practice-realization involves nourishing life (yangsheng 養生).
Daoist practice-realization involves purifying and cleansing the heart-mind (xixin 洗心), making a lodging-place for the spirit (shenshe 神舍).
Daoist practice-realization involves expelling the old/stagnant (tugu 吐古) and ingesting the new/pure (naxin 納新).
Daoist practice-realization involves the dual cultivation of innate nature (xing 性) and life-destiny (ming 命).
Daoist practice-realization involves conserving and refining the Three Treasures (sanbao 三寶).
Daoist practice-realization involves forgetting (wang 忘).
Daoist practice-realization involves listening (ting 聽).
Daoist practice-realization involves energetic aliveness and sensitivity.
Daoist practice-realization involves intention (yi 意).
Daoist practice-realization involves living within the universe in its multi-layered numinosity (ling 靈) and sacredness (sheng 聖).
Daoist practice-realization involves decreasing desires (guayu 寡欲).
Daoist practice-realization involves carefree wandering (xiaoyao you 逍遙遊).
Daoist practice-realization involves non-contention (wuzheng 無爭).
Daoist practice-realization involves simplicity (pu 樸) and sufficiency (zu 足).
Daoist practice-realization involves purification (zhai 齋).
Daoist practice-realization involves lessening (shao 少) and decreasing (gua 寡).
Daoist practice-realization involves inward training (neiye 內業).
Daoist practice-realization involves observation (guan 觀).
Daoist practice-realization involves cultivating the Dao (xiudao 修道).
Daoist practice-realization involves refinement (lian 鍊/煉).
Daoist practice-realization involves transformation (hua 化).
Daoist practice-realization involves alignment (zheng 正).
Daoist practice-realization involves guarding the One (shouyi 守一).
Daoist practice-realization involves attunement and resonance (ganying 感應).
Daoist practice-realization involves connectedness or pervasion (tong 通).
Daoist practice-realization involves virtue or inner power (de 德).
Daoist practice-realization involves “firing times” (huohou 火候).
Daoist practice-realization involves quiet attentiveness (moting 默聽).
Daoist practice-realization involves being inwardly still (neijing 內靜) and outwardly reverent (waijing 外敬).

Ethics

On the most basic level, Daoist ethics incorporate the foundational Daoist view that human beings are innately good. Free from societal conditioning, familial obligations, and personal habituation, humans will naturally return to their innate connection with the Dao. From a classical perspective, “morality” (concern for and discussion of “virtues” and “moral obligations”) indicates that humans have become disoriented, have lost their original alignment. After humans lose concern for virtue and ethics, legalism, with its laws based on artificial restrictions and punishments, comes to dominate human society.

Thus, the Daoist account of human de-evolution involves a movement from personal integration and cosmological participation to morality and then to legalistic concerns, with the last two stages leading to greater disorientation and misalignment. Still, recognizing the challenges of living in various social situations, Daoists composed and compiled ethical systems, in which precepts or ethical guidelines formed the centerpiece. Daoist conduct guidelines or precepts developed within the Daoist tradition as it became more complex in its communal organization. The earliest Daoist precepts are principles for a way of life.

Originating in the early Tianshi 天師(Celestial Masters) movement, the so-called “Nine Practices” (jiuxing 九行) are as follows:

Practice non-action
Practice softness and weakness
Practice guarding the feminine. Do not initiate actions

Practice being nameless
Practice clarity and stillness
Practice being adept

Practice being desireless
Practice knowing how to stop and be content
Practice yielding and withdrawing.

These ethical guidelines are derived from the Daode jing 道德經(Scripture on the Dao and Inner Power).

Later, Daoists adopted the five foundational precepts of Buddhism:

Do not destroy life
Do not steal
Do not commit sexual misconduct
Do not speak falsely
Do not take intoxicants.

Daoist conduct guidelines provide an opportunity for ethical reflection and clarification. Moreover, they help to ensure personal integrity and communal harmony through the cultivation of respect, consideration, graciousness, and energetic attentiveness. In contrast to other religious traditions, Daoist practice activates the subtle body, including an energetic sensitivity that manifests as a natural “moral” compass.

Here ethics transcends mental categories and projected “oughts.”

Dietetics

What one consumes and ingests, whether food, air, water, or energetic influences, affects one’s being. Daoists seek to understand, clarify, attend to, and modify such influences. Daoist dietetics is far more complex than “food consumption.” In addition to the ingestion of food, Daoist dietetics includes herbology and minerology, fasting regimens, ingestion of seasonal and locality influences, and absorption of astral effulgences. Generally speaking, Daoists seek to ingest purer influences, to move from materiality to subtlety. Still, Daoist dietary practice begins with food and nutrition. One becomes aware of and attentive to the effects that various consumption patterns have on oneself and others, both human and non-human.

On the most basic level, one must gain a deeper understanding of one’s constitution and tendencies as well as the qualities of various “foods.” This centers, first and foremost, on yin-yang qualities and characteristics. Yin substances tend to be cooling and moistening. Yang substances tend to be warming and drying. “Cold foods” relate to both temperature (ice cream, for example) and nature (bananas, for example). “Hot foods” relate to both temperature (hot soup, for example) and nature (cayenne pepper, for example). There are also “neutral” foods and drinks. Thus, one may think of food along a spectrum: hot, warm, neutral, cool, cold. Yin-yang qualities also need to be considered in terms of seasons. Spring is lesser yang (warm), summer greater yang (hot), autumn lesser yin (cool), and winter greater yin (cold). By understanding one’s tendencies towards cold or hot, one can use and modify diet to relieve excess or supplement deficiency. So, those with a tendency towards cold need to be especially vigilant in the autumn and winter, and be careful with cold foods during these seasons. Adding warming foods will help to change such conditions. Beyond these elemental guidelines, the most important prohibition is not ingesting dead qi (eating rotten, old, or stale food). The most important general guideline is moderation. Through observation and experience, one gains a more nuanced sense of what is personally beneficial.

Finding a Teacher

Finding an authentic Daoist teacher is foundational for gaining a deeper entry into Daoist practice. In addition to personal affinity, there are certain qualities that are common and noteworthy. A teacher should embody what he or she is teaching. A teacher should be cultivating what you want to cultivate. Generally speaking, teachers should not demand that their students practice something that they do not or that their students not practice something that they do.

Teachers should also evidence a depth of understanding of the Daoist tradition.

Teachers should embody humility, honesty, and self-cultivation.

Teachers should embody clarity, stillness and insight, and maintain an orientation towards the sacred.

A teacher should recognize each and every student as a manifestation of the Dao and as containing the potential for spiritual realization. The ordinary and habituated human tendency toward egoistic concern is tempered by awareness of the Dao as the innate nature of each being. A teacher should not be overly self-referential or consider himself infallible. A teacher should not base his or her identity on opposition, negation, or the denial of other people's experience. A teacher’s personality, including personal opinions, motivations, and desires, should not override the subtle foundations and parameters of personal cultivation and communal flourishing. An authentic Daoist teacher has an expansive vision, deep concern, and enduring commitment to his or her students’ process of realization.

In short, an authentic Daoist teacher is an embodiment of the Dao and a model for Daoist practice-realization.
Both teacher and student should embrace and remain committed to mutual respect and mutual flourishing. There should be a natural affinity and resonance between teacher and student.

One should also keep in mind that in the Daoist tradition teachers may be gods, immortals, or physically-embodied humans.

Such teachers are only distinguished by a matter of degrees (substantiality, physicality, mortality, and so forth). Subtle experiences within Daoism have different levels of depth and different degrees of relevance to Daoist practice.

It is also important for students not to actively pursue “remarkable” experiences or to become attached to such experiences.

Ultimately, one should trust oneself and listen to one’s own aspirations and innate discernment.

Companions on the Way

In the Daoist tradition, the relationship between teacher and student as well as between fellow practitioners is often referred to as “companions on the Way” (daoban 道伴/daoyou 道友).

“Companions on the Way” expresses the central importance of friendship in Daoist cultivation. Companions on the Way share an understanding of and commitment to a Daoist way of life, including the specific principles (energetic and ethical), goals, and ideals of one’s specific community. Such friendship is spiritual friendship, an easy and natural relationship based on mutual respect and mutual flourishing.

Companions on the Way are adepts with natural affinities and parallel aspirations who recognize their own practice-realization in each other. In determining the appropriateness of potential companions, one must examine the character of people before becoming friends with them. Some important qualities include humaneness, respect, reverence, honesty, reliability, discernment, insight, generosity, and wisdom. Such qualities as honesty, integrity, and genuineness are vital. Character, including intentions and motivations, is especially important with regard to spiritual matters.
One of the best classical descriptions of friendship in Daoism occurs in chapter six of the Zhuangzi 莊子 (Book of Master Zhuang): “Master Si, Master Yu, Master Li, and Master Lai were talking together. ‘Who can regard non-action as his head, life as his back, and death as his rump? Who knows that death and life, existence and annihilation, are a single body? I will be his friend.’ The four looked at each other and smiled. There was no obstruction in their heart-minds (mo ni yu xin 莫逆於心) and so they became friends.” Here the emphasis is on natural affinity.

Similarly, Wang Chongyang 王重陽 (1113-1170), the founder of Quanzhen 全真 (Complete Perfection) Daoism, provides practical advice on choosing a companion. According to Wang, there are three types of people who will nourish and advance one’s practice and three types who will harm and hinder one’s training: “Join those with an illuminated heart-mind (mingxin 明心), wisdom (hui 慧), or clear aspirations (zhi 志). Avoid those who are ignorant concerning external projections of the heart-mind, who lack wisdom and are turbid in innate nature, or who lack determination and are inclined to quarrel.”
Companions on the Way provide depth and warmth to cultivation, reminding and reorienting one towards what is essential and real.

Common Misconceptions

Misconceptions concerning Daoism are ongoing and too numerous to document. Most of these misconceptions have their origins in conventional Chinese prejudices concerning Daoism, Orientalist constructions, missionary sensibilities, Abrahamic assumptions about the nature of the sacred, and the appropriative agendas of New Age discourse communities. The most prominent misconceptions include the following:

· That there is an “original,” “pure” Daoism called “philosophical Daoism”

· That there is a later, “degenerate” Daoism called “religious Daoism”

· That the Chinese daojia 道家(lit., Family of the Dao) and daojiao 道教 (lit., Teachings of the Dao) correspond to the Western constructions of philosophical Daoism and religious Daoism

· That Laozi is the “founder” of Daoism

· That the Daode jing 道德經is the “Daoist bible”

· That Daoism begins with the Tianshi 天師 (Celestial Masters) movement

· That to be a Daoist one must venerate Zhang Daoling 張道陵

· That Daoism is a single, unified tradition

· That Daoism is non-theistic

· That Daoist identity is something that one wears on the outside

· That all Daoists are “nature-lovers”

· That to be a Daoist one must know Chinese language

· That Chineseness is equivalent to authenticity

· That the Daoist practice of non-action (wuwei 無為) leads to apathy, inertia, and atrophy

· That the Daoist notion of suchness (ziran 自然) corresponds to reproducing habituation

· That Daoism is about a New Age or Neo-Hippie idea of “going with the flow”

· That Taiji quan 太極拳 (T’ai-chi ch’üan), Qigong 氣功 (Ch’i-kung), Fengshui 風水, or Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) are originally or inherently Daoist

· That “Daoism” exists


History

The Daoist tradition is a community of dedicated practitioners connected to each other as a historical and energetic continuum.

The study of this tradition, the development of historical consciousness concerning the diversity of Daoist communities, practitioners, and their material expressions, is necessary for deepening one’s understanding of the religious tradition which is Daoism as well as informing one’s participation in that community.

Familiarity with the historical precedents that have been established by the earlier Chinese tradition(s) allows practitioners to reflect on and determine the extent to which what they are doing is “Daoist.”

Considering Daoist practice in particular, there are various “models” that emerge through the careful consideration of the entire breadth of the tradition. In terms of traditional models of Daoist praxis, one may identify at least the following: quietistic, ritualistic, cosmological, exorcistic, behavioral/ethical, mediumistic/shamanic, dietetical, ascetical, literary/artistic, alchemical, meditative, hermeneutical, medical, mystical, syncretistic, and so forth. Many more could be proposed, and these various models can be either individualistic or communal. While such categories may have heuristic value, careful historical study of the Daoist tradition shows that various models and methods were combined and integrated in unique and convincing ways. Some Daoists may have embraced, applied, and developed one particular model, but most Daoist sub-traditions employed and recommended a combination. Without an understanding of such historical precedents, Daoism in the West will simply be a fabrication, a fiction, and a fantasy. This does not mean that there should not be adaptation and modification; change necessarily occurs when a religious tradition enters a new cultural context and when religious practitioners have different concerns and motivations. But it does mean that without a connection and collective memory such “innovations” become meaningless names.


Health and Longevity Practices

Generally speaking, Daoist practice centers on the conservation and refinement of vital essence (jing 精), subtle breath (qi 氣), and spirit (shen 神). Within the Daoist tradition, there is an emphasis on the inseparability of mind and body, as conventionally understood. Daoists view health as foundational for more advanced training and longevity as a sign of accomplishment. Here health is understood as psychosomatic integrity and wellness, specifically as the proper circulation of qi, subtle breath or “energy,” throughout the orb (organ)-systems and meridian networks. In contrast, disease is defined as stagnation or obstruction. Health and longevity practices are employed in different ways within the Daoist tradition. Sometimes they are remedial (curative/corrective), while at other times they are methods for health maintenance. However, health and longevity practices are almost invariably seen as preliminary and foundational, rather than as the culmination of Daoist training. Modern Qigong 氣功 (Qi Exercises) is one such practice. Although rooted in earlier yangsheng 養生 (“nourishing life”) and daoyin 導引 (“guiding and stretching”; gymnastics) practices, both Daoist and non-Daoist, Qigong is neither originally nor inherently Daoist. There are also many types of Qigong, including Buddhist, Daoist, martial, medical, and so forth. Some Qigong forms traditionally utilized by Daoists include Baduan jin 八段錦 (Eight Sectioned Brocade), Huashan 華山 (Mount Hua) forms, Wuqin xi 五禽戲 (Five Animal Frolics), as well as specifically alchemical forms.

Meditation

Daoist meditation may refer to any or all of the traditional four postures, namely, walking, sitting, standing or lying down. Daoist seated meditation consists of a wide variety of methods and practices, including inner observation, visualization, concentration, alchemy, and so forth.

A foundational Daoist meditation practice centers on clarity, stillness, and emptiness. One sits in a comfortable position either on a cushion or in a chair, and begins to draw the senses inward, to withdraw from the world of sensory phenomena and habitual reactivity. The spine is erect, and the crown of the head and coccyx relax away from each other. One allows breathing to be natural, for respiration to find its own rhythm. The hands are either placed palms down on the knees or joined in front of the navel in a Daoist mudra position. With the tip of the tongue touching the upper palate, one focuses on emptying and stilling. The ears listen to the center of the head. With the eyelids hanging and the eyes slightly open, the gaze rests on the tip of the nose. Then the gaze extends down the front centerline of the body to rest on the lower elixir field (lower abdomen).

One allows emotional and intellectual activity to become stilled and to dissipate naturally. Over time, stillness deepens and clarity increases. In Daoism, this practice is often referred to as “entering stillness” (rujing 入靜), “quiet sitting” (jingzuo 靜坐), “sitting-in-forgetfulness” (zuowang 坐忘), or “fasting the heart-mind” (xinzhai 心齋). For those beginning Daoist meditation, daily practice in the morning and in the evening, lasting from twenty to forty minutes is recommended. Of these various parameters, commitment to daily practice is most important.

Seasonal attunement

Daoist practice involves attentiveness to the changing contours of seasonal and cosmological cycles. On the most basic level, one attunes one’s life to the prevailing season. This begins with understanding the energetic characteristics of spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Cosmologically speaking, the most easily observable and recognizable patterns involve the seasons and the sun and moon cycles. Following the seasonal cycles means becoming attentive to and resonating with their energetic qualities. Spring is associated with birth (sheng 生) and an outward energetic direction. Summer is associated with development (chang 長) and an upward energetic direction. Autumn is associated with harvesting (shou 收) and an inward energetic direction. Winter is associated with storing (cang 藏) and a downward energetic direction. Agriculturally speaking, and note that the Daoist tradition frequently emphasizes “internal cultivation” (neixiu 內修), spring is the time to plant seeds, summer to allow maturation, autumn to harvest, and winter to store. Similarly, the phases of the sun and moon occupy a central place in Daoist practice that is attentive to astro-geomantic influences. For instance, one becomes aware of and connected with the lunar cycles. In particular, the new and full moon are important energetic times in Daoist cultivation and ritual. Both moments have a refined and highly beneficial frequency. When these “effulgences” or “luminosities” are infused and circulated through the body, a more cosmological being develops.

Daoists also observe the so-called twenty-four seasonal periods (ershisi jie 二十四節) and Eight Nodes (bajie 八節). Since the traditional Chinese calendar is based on lunar cycles, one may access the Tongshu 通書, the Chinese almanac, for the specific dates that occur within the annual variations. These periods may be given an approximate date based on the Gregorian (Western) calendar. “Asterisks” (*) indicate the Eight Nodes.

*Lichun 立春 Spring begins February 5
Yushui 雨水 Rain water February 19
Jingzhi 驚蟄 Excited insects March 5
*Chunfen 春分 Vernal equinox March 20
Qingming 清明 Clear brightness April 5
Guyu 榖雨 Grain rain April 20
*Lixia 立夏 Summer begins May 5
Xiaoman 小滿 Slight fullness May 21
Mangzhong 芒種 Bearded grain June 6
*Xiazhi 夏至 Summer solstice June 21
Xiaoshu 小暑 Slight heat July 7
Dashu 大暑 Great heat July 23
*Liqiu 立秋 Autumn begins August 7
Chushu 處暑 Limit of heat August 23
Bailu 白露 White dew September 8
*Qiufen 秋分 Autumnal equinox September 23
Hanlu 寒露 Cold dew October 8
Shuangjiang 霜降 Frost descends October 23
*Lidong 立冬 Winter begins November 7
Xiaoxue 小雪 Light snow November 22
Daxue 大雪 Heavy snow December 7
*Dongzhi 冬至 Winter solstice December 21
Xiaohan 小寒 Slight cold January 6
Dahan 大寒 Severe cold January 21

While there are particular, observable qualities to each of these periods, and while each refers to an important time in a traditional agricultural cycle, the Eight Nodes receive particular emphasis in Daoist practice. The Eight Nodes refer to the beginning of the four seasons, the solstices, and the equinoxes. The energetic qualities of each of these cosmological moments is especially pronounced and influential. It should also be remembered that in Daoist practice there is a correspondence between external and internal cycles, including stages of life and daily energetic cycles.

Sacred Sites

All of the following Daoist sacred sites are located in mainland China. As monastic centers, and as officially-sanctioned sites, they are part of the Quanzhen 全真 (Complete Perfection) school of Daoism, which was founded by Wang Chongyang 王重陽 (1113-1170). Officially speaking, such temples and monasteries must identify themselves as part of the Longmen 龍門(Dragon Gate) branch of Quanzhen, which is the officially recognized form of Daoism in mainland China.

The Dragon Gate branch considers its founder to be Qiu Changchun 邱長春 (1148-1227), one of the seven senior first-generation disciples of Wang, but was organized by Wang Changyue 王常月 (Kunyang 崑陽 [Paradisiacal Yang]; d. 1680).

Religious freedom has increased in China since the 1980s, and in recent years control has been relatively more lenient. This has resulted in restoration of Daoist sacred sites as well as more visible differentiation and diversification, so that some Daoists and sacred sites have begun using regional or local designations and abandoning personal affiliation with the Dragon Gate branch.

Baxian gong 八仙宮
(Eight Immortals Palace)

Eight Immortals Palace is located in Xi’an, Shaanxi. The temple is named after the famous Eight Immortals, who came to occupy a central place in Daoism and Chinese popular culture from the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) onward. The most famous of these is Lü Dongbin 呂洞賓 (Chunyang 純陽 [Purified Yang]; b. 798?), associated with various internal alchemy lineages. Eight Immortals Palace also contains the Yuxian qiao 遇仙橋(Bridge for Meeting Immortals), where legend has it that Wang Chongyang 王重陽 (1113-1170), the founder of Quanzhen全真(Complete Perfection) Daoism, encountered Lü Dongbin.

Baiyun guan 白雲觀
(White Cloud Monastery)

White Cloud Monastery is located in the western district of Beijing. As a Daoist sacred site, it has historical roots that go back to the eighth century. The site has been destroyed and rebuilt throughout the centuries. It was restored during the thirteenth century when it was known as Tianchang gong 天長宮 (Palace of Celestial Perpetuity). At that time, it became the headquarters of the newly established Quanzhen 全真 (Complete Perfection) monastic order, with Qiu Changchun 邱長春 (1148-1227) serving as abbot. After Qiu's death, it was renamed Changchun gong 長春宮 (Palace of Changchun), and that location formed the foundation of the contemporary shrine devoted to Qiu. Today, White Cloud Monastery is the headquarters of the Longmen 龍門 (Dragon Gate) branch of Quanzhen and houses the Chinese Daoist Association.

Chongyang gong 重陽宮
(Palace of Chongyang)

The Palace of Chongyang is located in present-day Huxian, Shaanxi. It was the location of the eremitic community of Liujiang 劉蔣 where Wang Chongyang 王重陽 (1113-1170), the founder of Quanzhen 全真 (Complete Perfection) Daoism, engaged in religious praxis from 1163-1167 and where he was buried after his death in 1170. It is considered the “ancestral hall” (zuting 祖庭) of the Quanzhen tradition.

huashan 華山
(Mount Hua)

Mount Hua is located in Huayin, Shaanxi. Mount Hua is the westernmost of China's five sacred mountains, with the other four being Hengshan 恒山 (Shanxi; north), Taishan 泰山 (Shandong; east), Hengshan 衡山 (Hunan; south), and Songshan 嵩山 (Hebei; central). Mount Hua is characterized by sheer granite rock formations and numerous eremitic caves. As a Daoist sacred site, and as a distinct Daoist sub-tradition, it is associated with Chen Xiyi 陳希夷 (d. 989) and Hao Guangning 郝廣寧(1140-1213), one of the Seven Perfected of Quanzhen 全真 (Complete Perfection) Daoism.

Longmen dong 龍門洞
(Dragon Gate Grotto)

Dragon Gate Grotto is located near present-day Longxian, Shaanxi. It is the place in the Longmen mountains where Qiu Changchun 邱長春(1148-1227), the third patriarch of Quanzhen 全真 (Complete Perfection) Daoism, engaged in intensive religious practice. This Daoist sacred site is considered the “ancestral hall” (zuting 祖庭) of contemporary Longmen 龍門 (Dragon Gate) Daoism, a Quanzhen lineage associated with Qiu.

Louguan tai 樓觀臺
(Lookout Tower
Monastery)

Lookout Tower Monastery is located in Zhouzhi, Shaanxi at the foot of the Zhongnan mountains. It is the place where Laozi 老子 is believed to have composed the Daode jing 道德經 (Scripture on the Dao and Inner Power) at the request of Yin Xi 尹喜, the “guardian of the pass.” As such, it is considered the “ancestral hall” (zuting 祖庭) of Daoism. Lookout Tower Monastery was the first Daoist monastery, which was founded by Yin Tong 尹通 (398-499?), an alleged descendent of Yin Xi.

nanyan gong 南巖宮
(South Cliff Palace)

South Cliff Palace is a cliff-embedded temple at Wudang shan 武當山(Mount Wudang), which is located in Junxian, Hubei. Mount Wudang, also known as Taihe shan 太和山 (Mount Taihe [Great Harmony]), is home of the Zhenwu 真武 (Perfected Warrior) tradition. Zhenwu, also known as Xuanwu 玄武 (Mysterious Warrior) and represented as an entwined snake-turtle, is the guardian of the north. Mount Wudang is also believed to have been the place where Zhang Sanfeng 張三丰 (14th c.?) engaged in Daoist cultivation and created the internal martial arts, such as Taiji quan 太極拳 (Yin-yang Boxing).

Qingcheng shan 青城山
(Azure Wall Mountain)

Azure Wall Mountain is located near Guanxian, Sichuan. The mountain is so named because of its lush vegetation. It is one of the few Daoist sacred sites that escaped major damage during the Ten Years of Chaos (a.k.a. Cultural Revolution; 1966-1976) and where Daoists continued to reside during that time. Because of its location in Sichuan province, where Zhang Daoling 張道陵 (fl. 140 C.E.?) received a revelation from Laojun 老君 (Lord Lao) in 142 C.E. and where the Tianshi 天師 (Celestial Masters) movement began, the history of Azure Wall Mountain is mingled with that of the early Tianshi movement. This is so much the case that one can find Tianshi dong 天師洞 (Grotto of the Celestial Master) located within the mountain complex. At the summit, one finds Shangqing gong 上清宮(Palace of Highest Clarity), behind which a huge gold statue of Laozi on his ox is housed.

Qingyang gong 青羊宮
(Azure Ram Palace)

Azure Ram Palace (a.k.a. Black Sheep Temple) is located in Chengdu, Sichuan. According to one account, this temple is so named because Laozi 老子passed by the site on an azure ram when leaving the “central kingdom.” An alternative legend recounts that Laozi, when parting from Yin Xi 尹喜 at Hangu Pass, predicted that he would be reborn three years later in a Chengdu market where azure goats were being sold. The present site of Azure Ram Palace is where this miraculous event supposedly occurred. The central altar of Azure Ram Palace consists of three immense statues of the Sanqing 三清(Three Purities), the highest and most venerated “gods” of contemporary Quanzhen 全真(Complete Perfection) Daoism. The temple compound also has an excellent vegetarian restaurant and a public teahouse, a feature for which Chengdu is famous.

Taishan 泰山
(Mount Tai)

Mount Tai is located in Tainan, Shandong. Mount Tai is the easternmost of China's five sacred mountains, with the other four being Huashan 華山 (Shaanxi; west), Hengshan 恒山 (Shanxi; north), Hengshan 衡山 (Hunan; south), and Songshan 嵩山 (Hebei; central). The mountain complex contains both Buddhist and Daoist temples, with one summit shrine being dedicated to Yuhuang dadi 玉皇大帝 (Jade Emperor). The mountain is probably most famous as the residence of the God of Mount Tai, who is considered the overseer of people's life and death, with the underworld located under Mount Tai. His daughter, Bixia yuanjun 碧霞元君 (Primordial Goddess of the Morning Clouds), is the protectress of women and children.

Yuquan yuan 玉泉院
(Jade Spring Temple)

Jade Spring Temple is the base-temple at Huashan 華山 (Mount Hua), which is located in Huayin, Shaanxi. Mount Hua is the westernmost of China's five sacred mountains, with the other four being Hengshan 恒山 (Shanxi; north), Taishan 泰山 (Shandong; east), Hengshan 衡山 (Hunan; south), and Songshan 嵩山 (Hebei; central). Mount Hua is characterized by sheer granite rock formations and numerous eremitic caves. As a Daoist sacred site, and as a distinct Daoist sub-tradition, it is associated with Chen Xiyi 陳希夷 (d. 989) and Hao Guangning 郝廣寧(1140-1213), one of the Seven Perfected of Quanzhen 全真 (Complete Perfection) Daoism.

Zixiao gong 紫霄宮
(Purple mist Palace)

Purple Mist Palace is the central temple complex of Wudang shan 武當山 (Mount Wudang), which is located in Junxian, Hubei. Mount Wudang, also known as Taihe shan 太和山 (Mount Taihe [Great Harmony]), is home of the Zhenwu 真武 (Perfected Warrior) tradition. Zhenwu, also known as Xuanwu 玄武 (Mysterious Warrior) and represented as an entwined snake-turtle, is the guardian of the north. Mount Wudang is also believed to have been the place where Zhang Sanfeng 張三丰 (14th c.?) engaged in Daoist cultivation and created the internal martial arts, such as Taiji quan 太極拳 (Yin-yang Boxing).