The Jiao,醮 an ancient Chinese word for offering wine and incense, developed over two millennia of Daoist practice, to become a rite for renewing and re-uniting humans with the nourishing presence of Dao in nature. You may now watch this dramatic liturgy on YouTube, as well as on www.michaelsaso.org).
To prepare for the liturgy of renewal, the Daoist uses the I-ching 易經 (Yi Jing) to become aware of Dao, gestating (元 yuan), nourishing like a mother hen 亨(heng), emptying the mind (Li 利), and writing on the heart with flaming presence (zhen 貞). Years of meditation are needed to perfect “inner tranquility” awareness.
Daoists must also meditate on the “Yin-yang Five Element” 陰陽五行 philosophy, to understand nature’s eternally recycling changes, symbolized in Jiao renewal ritual.
Most important of all, the 81 Chapters of Laozi’s Daode Jing, and the Zhuangzi Inner Chapters must become an essential part of the Daoist’s life and practice.
A wide variety of elements, literate as well as folk culture in origin, are combined into the dramatic Jiao liturgy, so the men and women of China’s towns and villages can see and understand these symbolic meanings.
Scrolls which show the Daoist “Three Pure Ones” (Sanqing 三清) i.e., Dao as Gestating, Mediating, and Indwelling, are hung on the north wall of the Tan壇 sacred area, with military and literary officials to the left (west) and right (east) respectively. The scrolls showing this appear in Part One of the video.
The Daoist Master, with his/her cantors and acolytes, sings, dances sacred steps, and meditates in the very center of the Tan 壇 altar during the Jiao festival. Inner alchemy meditations (neidan內丹) accompany the Daoist Master’s Jiao liturgy.
The lay people in the temple, “orphan souls” in purgatory, and the unrefined, even impure spirits of the folk religion, watch from the south of the sacred Tan altar.
The Jiao rituals are shown here in 6 “five minute” video segments, as follows:
1.) Rites of entrance: Announce (fa biao發表) to the spirits of the 3 realms, heaven earth, and underworld, that a Jiao rite of renewal will take place. Invite (qing shen清神) the spirits to be present; and purify the sacred Tan altar (jin tan 禁壇) by using esoteric “5 Thunder-Vajra” chants 五雷法 and sacred “pacing the void” 步虛 dance . *
2.) The Daoist “plants” the 5 Lingbao Sacred writs, (An Lingbao zhenwen) 按靈寶五真文 to renew the “5 Elements” in the cosmos. The Daoists use the Ming tang 明堂 ancient Confucian “Book of Rites”, Monthly Commands chapter (Li Ji Yueling 禮記月令) as the model, for which reason Daoists were always appointed to the Board of Rites, to perform the rite for the emperors 5 times a year. The Daoist name for the Rite is “Su Qi” 宿啟 to hide its imperial origins from scholars and mandarins.
3) Fen Deng 分燈 “Lighting the (3) lamps with a new fire,” the Daoist master chants the 42nd chapter of the Lao-zi, “The Dao gives birth to the One” (lights first candle); “One gives birth to Two” (2nd candle); “Two gives birth to Three” (3rd candle); ”The 3 (feminine Dao, water, womb) gives birth to the Myriad Creatures.” At this point all of the lights in the temple are turned on; the brass bowl (yang) and wooden fish (yin) are sounded separately, then in union, rebirthing the world. The Dao of Wu Wei, now present, grants inner audience to the meditating Daoist.
4) Sending off the ShuWen 疏文 “Memorial Rescript” to the “Jade Emperor” in the Heavens (玉皇大帝),and to the “Three Pure Ones” (San Qing 三请), bringing the people’s petitions to the Jade Emperor, and to the Three Highest Daoist spirits in Daoist Heaven. The late 64th generation Celestial Master is seen performing the ritual; the drum represents “Taiji” (太極), the stringed instruments are Yang, and the hollow wind instruments are “Yin.”
5) Floating the Lanterns 放水燈 This colorful “folk religion” ritual is shared by Buddhists as well as Daoists throughout East Asia, including Japan, all of China, Korea, and the Chinese of Southeast Asia. The souls of the deceased are released from the punishments of the Buddhist – Daoist underworld, by lighting candles or oil lamps, and floating them out to sea.
6) The Dao Chang or Zheng Jiao 道場正醮 . The climax and meditative conclusion to the 3 day Jiao liturgy completes the meditative process of “returning to the Dao.” The Daoist sees the “Dao” as an infant, (chi zi 赤字) dwelling as a ruddy child within the “womb” center of the body. Union with the Dao is now achieved. A sacred rescript (shuwen) is carried down from the heavens by the “Du Jiang” Chief Cantor, and presented to the Master, who then performs the sacred dance called “Pacing the Void” Bu Xu 步虛 in thanks. “One with Dao” is now realized.
N.B., The Video does not show the Morning, Noon, or Night Audiences, when the “Three Fives” (East’s 3/wood + south’s 2/fire; Center’s 5/earth; west’s 4/metal+ north’s 1/water) are refined into the Three Life Principles, Qi, Shen, Jing ; nor does it show the final “Pu-Du” rite for freeing all souls from the underworld, then thanking, and seeing off the spirits. These rites will be posted soon.
Daoist Ordination Manual, “龙虎山师传法派“ 1868， Library of the 61st Celestial Master
15 folio pages; pg. 1 the 40 character poem that identifies a Daoist master of the “3 mountain Drop of Blood Alliance,” 三山滴血派 i.e., Mao Shan, Gezao Shan, and Longhu Shan; Wugang Shan Daoists add 10 more characters to the poem. One character is advanced for every generation that the ordination titles are transmitted; at present, the 29th and 30th characters “Da 大,” and “Luo 羅” are in use. The manual is preserved at Longhu Shan, Mao Shan, Wudangshan, and Baiyun Guan in Beijing .
Pg. 2. (Folio 32b and Folio 33a), the registers or “Lu”籙 transmitted by the 3 mountains;
Pg 3. (Folio 33b) the rules for transmission; immoral behavior (Fangzhong) and bad tempered disciples may not go higher than Grade 6, “xian guan” 仙官。
Pg. 4-8, samples of titles given to Daoists in the past, who came for ordination.
Pgs 9-15, the ordination titles, Tan altar, Gongcao 攻曹 Patron messenger spirit for each ordained Daoist, according to the year, month, day and hour in a 60 year Jia Zi 甲子 cycle; the “talisman” at the foot of each title is drawn with the tip of the tongue on the hard palate, beyond the upper teeth, and saliva “swallowed”, in order to summon the Jiazi Gongcao spirit.
This mijue 秘诀 manual may not be sold, used for profit, or ritual-meditative purposes, unless taught by and licensed from a recognized Daoist master.
Dao in a Nutshell
We are needed, the bodhisattvas (enlightened beings who relinquishes passing into the Pure Land until all sentient beings are freed from suffering) teach us. God/Dao/Fo is immediately with us, when judgment ceases. Zhuangzi says, in Ch. 4, “renjian shi” 人间事， “心斋坐忘“. “Fast in the heart” (ie, no selfish desires), and “sit in forgetfulness (no judgments at all), and then you will be “One with Dao” 与道合一。
The book of Genesis in the bible states almost the same thing. Adam and Eve could not stay in the Garden of Happiness, talking straight to God, when they “ate the fruit of judging good and evil.” So the moment we stop judging good and evil, we are back in Eden-paradise, the Daoists say. And when we start forgiving others, we are back in paradise too.
Patience (quiet inner awareness) attains everything, Teresa de Avila said. The book “Zen is For Everyone” (tranquil-awareness meditation) or”taza shikan” 打坐止观 teaches how to meditate in this manner. Dzogchen in Tibet, Shikan in Japan, and Daoist “Centering,” focusing in the “Lower Cinnabar field,” (the body’s center of gravity, just below the belly button, 3 inches in), teach this method.
One of my favorite stories from Chuang-tzu (Zhuangzi) is in Ch 7. “Baby Yin and baby Yang used to love to play inside Hundun, 混沌 (primordial awareness of God/Dao presence). They felt sorry for her (i.e., Hundun female dao), ie, she had no eyes, ears, nostrils, or mouth. So each day, for seven days, they drilled a hole in Hundun (Dao/God inner presence). On the 7th day, Hundun died.” I.e., our 7 apertures, 2 eyes, 2 ears, 2 nostrils, and mouth, when used to judge or seek outer things, lead us away from God/Dao presence. So focus on Dao presence, in the belly, and stop all judging, all selfish desiring, even the desire for spiritual perfection, or heaven. Dao will be there of “herself,” waiting.
If you look at the wood block print of the Daoist body, you will see that Spinning girl is in the belly, eternally spinning out “QI” Dao/God awareness/vital energy. Cowherd boy is in the heart, holding the Pole Star in his hands (ie, focused on the Dao as center of the heaven, and center of my life). If her wisdom energy reaches him in the heart, then the heart of the male is filled with compassion, and the wisdom of the female Dao in the belly reaches him too.
Daosm is profound, far more than we ever expected. We must read and put into practice the Lao-tzu Dao De Jing, 老子道德经， as well as the Zhuangzi 莊子.
Click images to view larger.
Zhi Yi wrote these brief ten lessons in “how to do Zen” in 580 AD. It has been a best seller since then. Still popular in modern Japanese bookshops, the book also goes by the title “Sho Shikan” , Brief lessons in “Stop” “Look” Zen meditation. Written in a modern, readable style, the book is widely used today as a manual for teaching and practicing Zen (Chan) meditation – one can actually practice Zen while sitting, standing, walking, or even lying down. Healing, expelling evil, and openness to understanding other forms of spiritual practice, are included in the brief “Sho Shikan” text.
Zen is for Everyone click here to purchase.
Buddhist Studies in People’s Republic of China 1990-1991
This “cutting edge” selection of contemporary Buddhist Studies in China is a marvelous tool for understanding the intellectual as well as the spiritual rebirth going on inside China today. Originally published as a textbook for upper division and graduate level studies, it soon became popular with the general public, as a means to understand the great legacy of China’s unique contribution to Buddhist spirituality in Asia. “Shen Xiu and Northern Zen (no different from the southern school), “Minority” Chinese Buddhist intellectuals, “Daoist Zhuangzi and the spread of Buddhism,” and “Buddhist Art Imagery,” are among the themes covered by the book’s authors.
Buddhist Studies in People’s Republic of China click here to purchase.
Velvet Bonds: the Chinese Family
This carefully researched and documented study shows how and why the Family has been the very core and sustaining force in China’s 5000+ year-old cultural history. The statistical segment of the book uses the analytical methodology developed at Stanford University, by the noted contemporary scholars Arthur and Margery Wolf, Huang Chieh-san, and the NSF sponsored staff. Velvet Bonds covers a 100 period history of change and growth in 4500 families, with 20,000 family members. 4 distinct patterns appear, which preserve the family institution through peace, war, and the social upheavals of the past century. Urban and agriculture based villages have differing statistical structures. The study then shows case studies of 5 Taiwan, 5 Mainland, and 5 ethnic minority families, including Tibetan, Islamic, the lesser known Muosuo matriarchy, as well as primitive Aini-Hani mountainside terraced irrigation villages. The study concludes with an exhaustive TAT (Thematic Apperception test) analysis of cultural differences between Chinese, Japanese, SE Asian, and American students, who attended University lectures that dealt with the “Velvet Bonds” statistical record. Lower and upper division university courses, graduate seminars, and the general public have purchased and enjoyed the stories and social values, showing the strength of the Chinese Families portrayed in Velvet Bonds.
Velvet Bonds: the Chinese Family click here to purchase.
T’ien T’ai Buddhism and Early Madhyamika
This fascinating study by Professor Yu Kuan Ng is one of the very best and clearest explanations of the famous “Middle Way” school of Mahayana, in East Asian Buddhism. The Middle Way, known as the Madhyamika in Sanskrit, was formulated in India by a monk named Nagarjuna, and developed into a full spiritual practice system by the Chinese monk Zhi Yi (Jr Yi), the founder of T’ain-t’ai Buddhism in China. Zhi YI made the “Middle Way” into a more practical, “emptying” form of meditation in China. The book has helped College students, and the general public, understand this basic spiritual path of Asia.
T’ien T’ai Buddhism and Early Madhyamika click here to purchase.
Daoism, as taught by Daoists in China
(taken from MYSTIC, SHAMAN, ORACLE, PRIEST, “MYSHOP,” CH. 3. Oracle Bones Press, copyright, Michael Saso, 2009)
Wisdom is like water. It resides in the lower meditation field, the belly. The head is for thinking; the heart for willing and desiring. The belly is the place for wisdom and contemplation. We “return” to Dao’s gestating presence, from this ‘inner womb’ of intuitive awareness. (Daoist Master Chuang, 3rd edition, 2009).
The history of Daoism in China is divided into four parts, or “four seasons,” spring (3000-221 BCE), summer (221 BCE – 906), autumn (906-1644) , and winter (1640-..until today).
During the “spring” of Daoist history, what we call “Daoism” (Daojiao 道教)was seven separate streams of spiritual practice, called Daojia, 到家 (school Daoisms) which later developed into a powerful “river” (Daojiao) of inner cultivation during the summer of Daoist history. The seven separate movements of “spring” period (3000 BCE to 221 BCE) are:
“Spring,” 3000 BC to 221 BC, before the forming of Daojiao 道教源流:
1. Apophatic or Wu-wei 无为meditation, based on the books of Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu.
2. Yinyang Five Element cosmology, 阴阳五行的人生观， a Yu-wei “visible Dao”
有为 (kataphatic), image filled system describing cyclical change in nature.
3. Neidan, 内丹inner alchemy, or meditation, uniting seasonal changes, colors, and
unseen forces as visualized spirits within the interior organs of the meditator’s body.
4. Li Yi, 礼仪Ritual meditation, used to celebrate “Rites of Passage” and annual
change in nature. The founder of Celestial Master Daoism, Zhang Daoling, (ca. 145 CE),
based early Daoist rituals on the Monthly Commands (Yueling月令) chapter of the Confucian
Book of Rites (Li Ji 礼记), and the ancient “weft” (古纬书)tradition.
5. Fangshi方士, the ancient healers and ritual experts of the “fang” or rural
villages, and cities. Fangshi became Daoshi 道士or Daoists in the Han Dynasty.
6. Wushu, 武术 Martial Arts; origin of Taiping (太平Great Peace) Martial Arts
Daoism, preserved on Mt. Wudang 武当山and wlsewhere, until today.
7. Yijing, 已经the Book of Changes, the earliest source of apophatic and
kataphatic prayer images, used in all later Daoist rituals and meditations.
These many sources became a great river called “Daoism” (Daojiao道教) of inner cultivation and rites of passage, during the summer of Daoism, from the Later Han through the Tang dynasties (145-906 CE), proliferated during the “Autumn” — Song through Ming dynasties (960-1640 CE), and continues in the “Winter” of Daoism, 1640 until today.
“Summer,” Han dynasty to the end of the Tang dynasty, 145-906 CE.
“Autumn,” Song thru the Ming dynasties, 906-1644 CE;
“Winter,” Qing dynasty, and modern times, 1644 until today.
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