DAOISM (TAOISM) Kristen Yates, Elizabeth Fultz, Analisa Conway, Kara Bruns

HEARTH  China: Huang He River Valley

FOUNDER/ORIGINS  Trace to an older contemporary of Confucius  La0-Tsu “Old Master”  BCE  Conceived by a shooting star  Born as a man with a flowing white beard after spending 83 years in his mother's womb  Some historians say he is a combo of a lot of historical figures, others believe he is made- up  Dao De Jing (also spelled 'Tao Te Jing)  "The Book of the Way”  “People should learn to live in harmony with nature.”

MAJOR BELIEFS  Daoists believe in the rhythmic balance and natural, flowing patterns of the universe (Dao)  By living in harmony with the Dao, one gains true understanding of reality and can even achieve immortality  Yin and yang (opposites that work in perfect harmony)  The Jade Emperor, Yu-huang, is the most powerful deity  Dao De Jing is the most important text for Daoists because it is the compilation of Laozi’s writings

MAJOR BELIEFS  Daoist body  View the body as a miniature of the universe, filled with the Dao  “The body, as much as the larger universe, is ruled and lived in by the gods - the multifaceted manifestations of spirit, the visible and accessible aspect of the Dao on earth.” -Livia Kohn, The Daoist Experience: An Anthology, 1993  Wu Wei  The method of following the Dao  Living by or going along with the true nature of the world  Letting things take their natural course  Dao De Ching says: “when nothing is done, nothing is left undone”

MAJOR BELIEFS  Feng Shui  Art and science of organizing living spaces in order to channel the life forces that exist in nature in favorable ways  Qi (Ch’i)  Cosmic vital energy that enables beings to survive and links them to the universe as a whole  “The basic material of all that exists. It animates life and furnishes functional power of events. Qi is the root of the human body; its quality and movement determine human health.” -Livia Kohn, Health and Long Life: The Chinese Way

CHARACTERISTICS  Don’t wear any special clothing when attending the temples, but usually remove their shoes  The holy place of pilgrimage is The Five Mountains of China  The Five Elements are water, earth, fire, metal, and wood and they are believed to be interconnected and a part of the Dao  Many follow a vegetarian lifestyle  Spontaneity, tenderness, tranquility  Avoid competition, possession, and even pursuit of knowledge

WORSHIP  Religious rites are held at temples  Also worship at shrines in their homes and through meditation  Quite reflection on spiritual matters  Worship animals, people, and dragons

FESTIVALS  The Lantern Festival  Celebration of first full moon of the year  Celebration of Tianguan’s birthday (god of good fortune)  Walk the streets carrying red colored lanterns  Release them to the sky in public places  Eat Tangyuan (dumpling made of sweet rice and rolled into ping-pong sized balls and filled with sweet fillings);symbolizes family unity and happiness

FESTIVALS  Dragon Boat Festival (Duanwu Jie)  Celebration of Qu Yuan’s death  Poet who committed suicide  Fishermen paddled out in their boats, beating drums and throwing rice balls (zong zi) into the water, so that fish wouldn’t eat Qu Yuan’s body  Activities include dragon boat races and the eating zong zi

HOLIDAYS  The Chinese New Year  burning paper statues of gods, allowing the spirits to fly up to heaven and report on family's behavior

RITUALS  Concept of bringing order and harmony to the cosmos (world of nature, world of human society, and inner world of individual humans)  Involve purification, meditation and offering to deities  Highly complex and performed mostly by priests with little interaction from the participants  Priests and their assistants chant, play instruments, and dance 

RITUALS  Jiao- “offering” or “sacrifice”  Large-scale ceremonies organized by local communities to confirm their relationship with their patron deity  Can be celebrated at different intervals  Rite renewing new life and blessings for the community  Rite responding to a present need of the community  May last a week or longer  involves the whole community in festivities  processions in which the statue of the deity is carried through community,  trance performances of mediums who become possessed by the go  performances by hired actors  large-scale presentations of offerings to the god in front of the local temple

PHYSICAL PRACTICES  Meditation  to create mental stillness and enhance mindfulness of the Dao  Energy Flow  flow of life energy (qi) within the body can be improved with exercise, meditation, and acupuncture  Martial Arts  Tai Chi  Purity  important to maintain pureness of the body to guarantee spiritual health. To  Avoid certain activities and foods (greed, lust, pride and dishonesty, meat, beans, grains, alcohol, etc.)

DIFFUSION WITHIN CHINA  Tang dynasty ( )-growth and refinement in Chinese culture  Ming Dynasty (1368—1644)-spread in the lower-class society and continued to grow  Diffused along the silk road

DIFFUSION  Taiwan: million believers  Vietnam and Korea also have many Daoists  North America - 30 thousand  Converts should go straight to Daoist leaders if they want to convert (no daoist missionaries)

ETHNIC  Appeals primarily to a specific group of people from a specific place  Taoism is an ancient tradition of philosophy and religious belief that is deeply rooted in Chinese customs and worldview

SLAP THE BOARD Yu-Huang Laozi Yin/Yang Dao De Jing Wu Wei Five Mountains of China Qi Tai Chi Dragon Boat Lantern Festival Acupuncture Zong Zi Tangyuan

WORK CITED  "Daoism." World Religions Reference Library. Ed. Julie L. Carnagie, et al. Vol. 1: Almanac. Detroit: UXL, Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 9 Dec  Hardy, Julia. "Rites and Ceremonies." Taoism Ritual, Worship, Devotion, Symbolism, Taoism Rites and Ceremonies. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec  Andersen, Poul. "Jiao." (Offering Ritual). Golden Elixir Press, n.d. Web. 10 Dec  Pregadio, Fabrizio. "Daoism." New Dictionary of the History of Ideas. Ed. Maryanne Cline Horowitz. Vol. 2. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, Student Resources in Context. Web. 10 Dec  "Concepts Within Taoism." BBC News. BBC, 12 Nov Web. 10 Dec  "Physical Practices." BBC News. BBC, 12 Nov Web. 10 Dec  Fouberg, Erin Hogan., Alexander B. Murphy, and De Blij Harm J. "Chapter 7 Religion." Human Geography: People, Place, and Culture. 10th ed. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, Print.