Religious Studies 1023E Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Numinous, Way Of The Celestial Masters, Zhang Daoling
27 Sep 2016
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1st approach to ruling china was a daoist approach o. 2nd approach, turned to confucianism to rule o. Religious daoism takes the dao de jing and zhuangzi very seriously. Other than encouraging the path of the dao, there are minimal similarities: daoism, no school, institutions, priests, communal gatherings o. Just a point of view, way of operating in the world: daoism: o. Foundation was community/congregation: daoist church, priests, liturgies, revelation. Had a universal philosophy, not tied to cultural stuff, own text, monasteries, monks and nuns, descriptions of afterlife, rebirth o. They come to try &model themselves after buddhism. Elements existing in china: fanqshi (shamans, wandering medicine men, spirit experts, could hire them, external/internal alchemy, alchemists=pre chemists, dietary regimes, sexual rites, various techniques to transform to immortal soul, cosmological theories, yin &yang, astrology/divination. In the west with zhang daoling: received a revelation from a god (laozi) Laozi was said to be the incarnation of the great dao.
