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CHAPTER ONE A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO TAOIST MEDITATION

Taoism (the T is pronounced like a D) is one of China's three great philosophical systems. With Confucianism and Buddhism it gives enduring value to Chinese culture. Confucianism provides guidelines for perceptive human relations. Buddhism teaches a sense of compassion for the living and care for the afterlife. Taoism furthers a sense of well-being and harmony with nature that fosters long life and good health. The popular saying sanjiao gui yi, "the Three Teachings make a whole person," suggests the idea that we are somehow better, more complete human beings by learning from all three systems. The person who is filled with respect and benevolence for others and compassion for all living things, and who lives in close harmony with nature, lives long and is filled with inner peace and blessing.

Another popular saying states: "Confucianism for the head, Buddhism for the heart, and Taoism for the belly." The Confucian tradition advocates the rational side of human life. Buddhism teaches kindness of heart toward the living and the chanting of sutras to alleviate sorrow for the deceased. Taoism offers ways to bring health, interior peace, and long life by harmonizing the human body with change in the outer world of nature. By integrating philosophy, meditation, diet, and exercise, Taoism reputedly can heal illness and slow the aging process.

Many Asian and Western scholars divide Taoism into two portions, a philosophy for savants and a religion for satisfying the ritual needs of unenlightened peasants. Popular Taoism, they point out, heals by exorcism, celebrates village festivals, and uses alchemy (chemical medicines that can harm when taken as an overdose; in this sense, Western medicine too is a kind of sophisticated alchemy) to prolong life.

Taoists themselves do not make such distinctions. Taoism is simply a way of maintaining inner peace and harmony. To be healthy, one's personal philosophy, religion, medication, and eating habits must be in tune with one another. Physical exercise, meditation (also called internal alchemy), good eating habits, festive holidays, good thoughts and actions, are required for a whole and healthy life. Taoism considers all these as a single process leading to peace, long life, and happiness.

In its original sense, the English word healing means in fact "to be whole." The word curing, on the other hand, means to use a chemical on the skin of a dead animal to make it into leather. Thus the term Taoist healing is more appropriate than Taoist curing. The Taoist ideal is to heal illness by making the entire person whole, rather than to cure a part of the body without healing the entire person of illness. True healing means making the whole person well.

Common sense dictates that we listen to our doctor when he or she prescribes Western medicine. Sometimes Western medicines cure one part of the body but harm other parts. Chemotherapy destroys cancer cells but causes harm to many other organs while doing so. Steroids such as prednisone, even simple remedies such as aspirin, can cause internal bleeding and harm the immune system if taken too long or in large dosages. The Taoist ideal is to be positive, happy, and peaceful when taking these medicines so that they work quickly, before too much harm is done to other parts of the body. The Taoist master encourages the patient to obey the doctor, take the medicine prescribed, undergo the operation, and recover quickly by healing (making whole) all the other parts of life as well.

Taoism is a perennial system of healing meditation that has been in practice from ancient times until the present day. The Taoist "way that never parted" draws on many sources:

 The I Ching shows how to act in accord with nature's changes.

 The Tao-te Ching teaches how to find and follow the Tao.

 The Chuang-tzu tells how to empty the mind and heart of all negative thoughts and judgments and live with good humor in order to find the Tao.

 Yin-yang five phase philosophy attunes humans to nature's changes.

 The Gold Pavilion classic finds Tao within, by emptying the mind and heart of all concepts, even sacred spiritual images.

More than three thousand years have elapsed since the earliest phrases of the I Ching (pinyin Yijing, Book of Changes) were formulated about 1100 B.C.E.¹ The basic books for all Taoists, Lao-tzu's Tao-te Ching (pinyin Laozt Daodejing, Classic for Attaining the Tao) and the Chuang-tzu (pinyin Zhuangzi) were composed in the fourth century B.C.E.² The yin-yang five phase system (yinyang wwcing), explained in chapter 3, evolved during and after this period. Based on all of these sources, Taoists elaborated a plan of village festivals, healing, and burials from the second century onward. Like many streams feeding into a mighty river, alchemy, meditation, mountain ascetics and hermits, healing methods, physical exercises, martial arts, and breathing exercises, all became identified with Taoism during this lengthy period of time.

During the Ming and Qing dynasties (mid-fourteenth to early twentieth centuries) Taoism fell out of favor at court. Scholars considered all later developments to be aberrations from the original purity of Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu's works.³ Followers of the sixth to the fourth century B.C.E. texts were called Daojia (Tao-chia), "school Taoists." Later movements were named Daojiao (Tao-chiao), "ritual" or "festive" Taoism. Festive healing Taoism was called superstitious, a "parting of the way," thus indicating that Taoism had in fact two paths, a higher pure philosophy for the learned and a lower form of superstitious rites for the peasant.

Taoists do not recognize these distinctions. For the followers of Lao-tzu, the very use of distinction and thought-splitting is itself a form of illness. In chapter 71 of the Tao-te Ching the separation of knowledge and philosophy from reality is said to cause sickness. In the opening chapters of the Chuang-tzu the judging of "good and bad," "high and low," separates one from the Tao. The Taoist tradition finds wholeness essential for well-being. Only when philosophy, ritual, festival, and human living are in harmony can healing take place, and Taoists who follow this way are noted for their long lives.

SPECIAL TAOIST TERMS

There are a number of technical words used by Taoists when teaching and practicing the method of healing meditation. These concepts bear a special Taoist meaning. The first such term is ritual, a word that people of Western culture do not like to hear or talk about.⁴ For most it means an outmoded, stilted form of behavior reserved for old-fashioned church services, which are best avoided. Ritual does not have this connotation in the Taoist system. Rather, rituals are actions that derive from the animal or physical part of us. Rites are by nature repetitious, meant to be performed again and again on special occasions. Eating, bathing, all bodily functions are ritual actions. Christmas, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Valentine's Day, the Fourth of July, are all ritual occasions that elicit actions repeated annually that satisfy basic physical needs within us. The mating of birds, the making of a bed, cleaning a room, walking the dog at the beach, dancing a waltz or a tango, even disco dancing, are rituals. Without ritual, life would have no celebrations.

Healing, too, is a ritual. In the healing process certain acts are prescribed to heal certain forms of illness. These acts include not only taking the medicine but also observing the directions on the bottle. Some medicines are taken before, and some after, meals. Some are taken with water, others with food. Taoist healing prescribes quiet meditation, happy thoughts, and good eating and breathing habits as a part of healing ritual. The word ritual therefore does not have a negative connotation in the Taoist system.

The second term that must be understood before talking about Taoism is spirit. There are many Chinese words translated by the single English word spirit.⁵ These include the notion that the human soul continues to exist after death, and that unseen powers of nature operate in an invisible spiritual order.

Long ago the Chinese personified the forces of nature by giving them spiritual names and ascribing specific powers to them. These spiritual forces of nature ruled like the feudal lords of ancient China. The Taoist's ritual meditation "exorcises," that is, rids the mind of fear by expelling such "demons," whether seen to be ancestors or some unknown power in nature. Relieving religious fear is an essential part of healing.

It is not surprising to learn that in general the Taoist does not fear spirits.⁶ The Taoist learns how to conceptualize (Imagine) lists of spirits and exorcise them from his or her own consciousness, as well as from the mind of a sick person. The'God Pavilion classic (Huang-t'ing Ching), one of the basic meditations taught by the great fourth-century Taoist mystic Lady Wel Huacun (Wel Hua-ts'un), rids the consciousness of all spiritual images before one meditates on the transcendent Tao.⁷

Following the ideas of this fourth-century Taoist, most modern Taoists use very dramatic methods to drive the fear of spirits and demons out of the minds of those who are to be healed. Visualizing and then exorcising or "emptying out" the mind of all spiritual images, even if an image is good or if the spirit is thought to exist only in the mind, is very much a part of Taoist and also of Tibetan Tannic Buddhist practice. The similarity between Taoist and Tibetan Buddhist emptying prayer is described in chapter 5.

Another concept that must be understood before entering into the subject of healing is the definition of a Taoist. The term Taoist, daoshi, pronounced "daoshr" in Chinese, means a man or woman who has been ordained or set aside and specially trained to perform a specific role in society. Anyone can learn about Taoist healing, but only those who have been trained and initiated in the Taoist tradition are truly "Taoists,"

In order to be a recognized Taoist, one must fulfill three requirements: one must find and be accepted and trained by a licensed Taoist master (men and women are considered equal in the Taoist tradition); one must learn to meditate on the writings of Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu, and promise to obey the rules and learn to play the music, sing the songs, and dance the steps of Taoist ritual; and one must receive a Taoist "register" (lu) or list of spirits to be envisioned, talismans to summon them, and mantra to command them, that is, empty them from the heart and mind before meditating on the Tao.⁸ It is not necessary to be a Taoist to lean Taoist prayer and healing, but by the same token one should not boast of being a Taoist simply because one has learned something about healing,ritual,meditation, or other practices. Though many experts in China and elsewhere claim to be Taoist, and though they may be excellent teachers of breathing, meditation, healing, or qi (ch'i) exercise, only those men and women who have fulfilled the three conditions outlined above are really ordained Taoists. It is the sign of a true Taoist master to claim to know nothing, to remain hidden, to avoid praise and fame, and to take no monetary recompense for healing.

IDENTIFYING TAOISTS By RITUAL AND COLOR

Having defined what a Taoist is from within the Taoist tradition, we must now try to identify what is and what is not Taoist from the many practices found throughout China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and elsewhere in Asia. There are certain kinds of healing rites that are not really Taoist, though their practitioners may claim them to be. There are other practices, such as "sexual hygiene" (fangzhong), descriptions of which sell very well in American book markets, that are outside the Taoist tradition and forbidden to the true Taoist to practice or countenance.⁹

Throughout most of southeast China and Taiwan, Taoists are classified into two kinds, "Redhat" (hungtou) and "Blackhat" (wutou). The meaning of this color symbol differs from place to place in China. In most of southern Taiwan Redhat popular Taoists wrap a red cloth around their heads during ritual, and perform exorcisms and healing only for the living. Blackhat classical Taoists perform burial ritual for the dead, healing, and the Jiao festival of village renewal for the living.

In northern Taiwan, however, a far more complicated system exists. Throughout this entire area, Redhat Taoists use the same ritual vestments as Blackhats, a black hat with a gold crown, and perform more or less the same rites of renewal (Jiao) in the village temple. A momentous difference lies in the fact that the Blackhat Taoists actually "empty out" all the spirits from the temple and their own body, while the Redhats summon the spirits into the temple for a feast During the Redhat rituals the prayers of the village are simply offered up to the visiting spirits in the hope that the requests of the villagers will be granted.

In addition to the fact that the Redhats do not empty themselves of spirits during prayer but rather fill the mind and the temple with the benign spirits' presence, there is another important difference: the people do not call the Redhat priests Taoists or daoshi but rather fashi or sigong (Fujian dialect: hoatsu, saigong), that is, ritual masters rather than Taoist masters.

This notion of filling rather than emptying indicates that the Redhat practices may once have derived from the medium or shaman traditions, not the Taoist. The medium is a trance expert who when possessed by a spirit can talk in tongues and sometimes heal. A shaman is a ritual expert who when in a trance can travel to another spiritual realm to look into the well-being of the deceased, heal the living, and bring the prayers of the villagers to the heavenly spirits. Both the medium and the shaman are unconscious of their acts when in trance. The Redhat priests act as interpreters for the mediums and sometimes become mediums themselves. The color red symbolizes filling rather than emptying for the majority of Redhat fashi.

To test this hypothesis (Redhats practice kataphatic prayer; Blackhats apophatic), I traveled throughout southern Fujian and northern Gwangdong Provinces, looking for Taoists and their registers. There is in fact a Redhat Taoist in Zhangzhou city, in southeast Fujian, who had received a bona fide lu register, knew the meditations of emptying, and had a classic Taoist license. The terms Redhat and Blackhat are therefore relative to the place where they are used. The reason the definition of red and black varies is that any person (including the reader) may go to one of the sacred Taoist mountains in China, find a master, study the registers, and receive a Taoist license. The Taoist tradition, whether using the term red or black, is truly Taoist (as defined in this book) only if it empties the mind of spirits and their images.¹⁰

The Taoist envisions the five colors, five directions, as spirits from the five Internal organs and sends out all spirit-images before meditating on the Too. Ch'ing dynasty woodblock print from Xingming Gulzhi.

It is interesting to note that medium, shaman, and priest all practice healing. The medium, the shaman, and the popular fashi Redhat heal by visualization, while the Taoist daoshi heals by kenosis, by emptying the mind and heart of all spirits and their images. It is important that healing takes place, no matter which method is used. The purpose of this work is not to disparage those systems using visualization but to explain the process of Taoist "kenotic" healing, the emptying of worries from the mind and unfulfilled desires from the heart. My study "Mystic, Shaman, Oracle, Priest" delves further into these distinctions than I will here.¹¹

From the above discussion it can be seen that at least two kinds of healers, and therefore two different philosophies of well-being (among many others), can be found in Asia. The first kind, which we are describing here, can be called the apophatic or kenotic tradition, which in simple language means emptying the mind of concept and image. The second is the kataphatic or "Imaging" tradition, which heals by filling the mind with thoughts of good spirits and well-being.

The kataphatic tradition, using medium possession or shaman trance to heal, can be very dramatic and even traumatic. The possessed mediums sometimes cut themselves with knives, blow on trumpets, and act out the terrifying battle between the forces of good and evil. The medium or shaman is impervious to the attack of evil, can draw a sharp knife across the tongue, dance on sharp blades, or walk on fire without harm to the body. The symbolic drama of the medium and shaman prove the efficacy of exorcism in the healing process. Such practices differ substantially from the healing practices of the apophatic "emptying" Taoist.

The apophatic or emptying tradition of Taoism uses images to heal. Colors, sound (music), taste, smell, touch, and physical motion are important elements in human well-being. Images are envisioned and "good" thoughts elicited in the mind of the patient. But in the end, all thoughts, images, sounds, and colors are sublimated and emptied out in the encounter with the transcendent Tao, (wuwel zhi dao), the source of life, breath, and well-being. Healing, wholeness, and oneness with nature's processes are one and the same experience. Arriving at this experience of oneness through the Tao's transcendent "nonimage" process is the goal of Taoist meditation and a vital element of Taoist healing. Color meditation and imaging are taught in chapter 3, and the prayer of apophasis is described in chapter 4. Men and women who practice these meditations and follow the other directives of the Taoist way of life for the most part live to a happy and healthy old age, climb the high mountains, and celebrate festivals for the villages of China.

AN OUTLINE OF TAOIST HISTORY

After one learns some of the methods of Taoist meditation and healing, the appetite Is awakened to understand something about Taoism and Its lengthy history in China. Taoism Is like a great river that flows throughout the entire concourse of Chinese history. Like the Yellow and the Yangtze Rivers, it is fed by many tributaries. Some of these tributaries contain muddy waters. Others do not flow into the mainstream of Taoism but follow their own independent course. Taoism itself blends quietly into the flow of Chinese history, often going unnoticed by official Chinese historians.

The history of China is divided into twenty-four dynasties. Each dynasty was begun by a soldier-emperor who conquered China by the sword. Any given dynasty's history was later rewritten by literate Confucian scholars who often sought to please the reigning emperor rather than the fallen dynasty. Historians are famous for putting Buddhists, Taoists, women, and non-Han Chinese minorities last, after selectively describing the past dynasty's emperors, family, wars, intrigues at court, and other details that pleased the Confucian mind. Thus most dynastic histories do not say good things about Taoists, minorities, Buddhists, or other non-Confucian topics.

Taoism's development within the dynastic records is as follows:

• PREDYNASTY MYTHS

the Five Emperors, before recorded history

Fu Hsi (Fu Xi), emperor of the east, founder of the home and the family

Shen Nung (Shen Nong), emperor of the south, farming and fertility

Huang Ti(Huangdi), emperor of the center, silk weaving and medicine

Shao Hao (Shaohao), emperor of the west, burial and afterlife rites

Chüan Hsü (Zhuanxu), emperor of the north, martial arts and exorcism

the Three Rulers: gray cord-marked pottery era

Yao, heaven-appointed ruler because of human virtue

Shun, appointed Yao's successor because of virtue

Yü the Great, who controlled the floods; Xia dynasty founded

• THE SHANG-YIN DYNASTY, 1760-1100 B.C.E.: oracle bones, bronze, jade culture

• THE ZHOU DYNASTY, 1100-221 B.C.E. DIVIDED INTO:

the Golden Era, to 771 B.C.E.

the Spring-Autumn period, 771-481 B.C.E.: Lao-tzu, Confucius, many kingdoms

the Warring States period, 481-221 B.C.E.: various philosophical schools

• THE QIN DYNASTY, 221-207 B.C.E.: building of the

Great Wall is begun

• THE HAN DYNASTY, 206 B.C.E.-220 C.E.: Confucian exam

system; first Buddhist monks in China; Dragon-Tiger

Zhengyi religious Taoism founded

• THE THREE KINGDOMS PERIOD, 221-265: Taoist religion

approved by the Wei State

• THE PERIOD OF DIVISION, 265-589: the growth of

Buddhism and Taoism; Taoist ritual and Lady Wei

Huacun's meditation system developed

the Western Jin dynasty, 265-316

the North, West, and East Wei dynasties. 386-550: Buddhism favored

the North Ch'i dynasty, 550-557

the North Zhou dynasty, 557-589: Taoist scripture Wushang Biyao¹² catalogues various kinds of Taoist ritual meditation.

the Liu-Sung dynasty, 420-502: Taoist canonical scriptures catalogued

the Liang dynasty, 502-557: Buddhism and Taoism favored

• THE SUI DYNASTY, 589-618: China reunified

• THE TANG DYNASTY, 619-906: height of medieval

Chinese civilization; Taoist texts are included in civil

service examinations; Tantric Buddhism in China and Tibet

• THE PERIOD OF FIVE KINGDOMS: LATE LIANG, 907; LATE TANG, 923; LATE JIN, 936; LATE HAN, 947; LATE CHOU, 951

• THE SUNG (SONG) DYNASTY: religious reformation in China

the Northern Song, 960-1126: Taoism favored at court

the Southern Song, 1127-1281: Dragon-Tiger Taoism favored

• THE YUAN (MONGOL) DYNASTY, 1281-1368: Quanzhen

Taoism flourishes. Tantric Buddhism flourishes in Tibet.

• THE MING (CHINESE) DYNASTY, 1368-1644: Taoism less

favored at court; Mongolia accepts Tibetan Tantric

Buddhism.

• THE CH'ING (MANCHU) DYNASTY, 1644-1912: Taoism out

of favor; foreign colonial interests in China support

Christian missions

• REPUBLIC OF CHINA, 1912-1949: devastating war with

Japan, without reparation

• THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA, 1949-PRESENT: Marxist-socialism in China

1949-1967: collectives, communes, suppression of religion

1967-1978: the Great Cultural Revolution, social and economic ruin

1979-present: economic reform, market economy, state capitalism, "socialism with Chinese characteristics," controlled practice of religion

The above outline does not indicate the development of Taoist meditation or the liturgical system that accompanied its growth as a popular movement. The following outline indicates the development of Taoist contemplative prayer.

Taoist Meditation

The history of Taoist meditation in China can be summarized as follows:

• The two great Taoist thinkers Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu lived between the sixth and fourth centuries B.C.E. Their works, based on the principle of emptying and nonjudgmental thinking, are the philosophical roots of all subsequent Taoist practices.

• Religious Taoism combined Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu's thinking with yin-yang philosophy,ritual,healing, and meditation at the end of the Han dynasty between 140 and 220 C.E. During the next four centuries Taoism developed monasteries, an extended canonical scripture, and magnificent festivals for community renewal. The coming of Buddhism to China profoundly influenced Taoism and all of Chinese society.

• Religious Taoism developed various systems for peaceful living, long life, and healing between the second and seventh centuries C.E. The most important of these is the Gold Pavilion classic.

• Taoism was made equal with Confucianism only during the Tang dynasty (619-906). The emperors made Taoist texts a part of the official civil service examination. Princesses of the royal family became ordained practicing Taoists.

• Taoism experienced a religious reformation during the Song dynasty (960-1281), some four centuries before Europe did. As a part of this reformation, laypeople began to meditate and took a greater role in Taoist arts and festivals. China's religious reformation was far more positive and sweeping than Europe's some 400 years later.

• Martial arts and other popular forms of Taoism evolved throughout the provinces of south and central China during the Yuan (Mongol) and Ming dynasties 1281-1368 and 1368-1644, respectively. Wood-block printing, which developed well before the first press in Europe, made Taoist meditation, healing, and martial arts manuals widely available.

• During the Ch'ing (Qing) dynasty (1644-1912) and the modern period, secret societies, business associations, and Tong special Interest groups used Taoist arts, qi meditation, and healing methods for social unity and cohesion. Healing by the use of qi (ch'i breath), qigong meditation, kung fu martial arts, tai chi exercises, and many other popular arts from the Taoist tradition continue to develop in the modern world.

• Today Taoism is one of the five officially sanctioned religious movements in the People's Republic of China. It is controlled by a special section of the State Religious Affairs Bureau, with a Taoist Association watching over its development. With Buddhism, Islam, and Protestant and Catholic Christianity, it is considered to be important enough in modern Chinese socialist society to have its shrines and holy places rebuilt and young Taoists trained at state expense, a part of the new "socialism with a special Chinese flavor."

The special status given to Taoism is due to its immense popularity with ordinary people everywhere in China. The early morning streets and parks of Beijing and other large and small cities are filled with young and old devotees, practicing tai chi and other exercises (including disco and ballroom dancing) before going to work. Taoist shrines and temples, like Buddhist, Islamic, and Christian shrines, are filled with pilgrims and tourists. On special festival days visitors must take turns entering the Taoist shrines because so many are attempting to crowd in and watch the Taoist festivities.

Centers for studying Chinese medicine and various healing methods that are associated with Taoism are also to be found throughout China. Acupuncturists and massage experts who use qi (ch'i, breath-energy), traditional herbal remedies, and visualization methods to heal are given far more scientific status than in the West Controlled experiments are used to measure the effects of these various techniques in healing Illness. Homeopathic, natural healing techniques, are studied as a complement to Western medicine.

Following are some other sources for understanding more about Taoism from its prehistoric beginning until the present:

ORACLE BONES AND ANCIENT WRITING

The written history of China begins with oracle bone Inscriptions of the Shang-yin dynasty, 1760-1100 B.C.E. Inscribed on the back of tortoise shells and the leg bones of oxen, the oracle records show how the ancient kings of the Shang-yin dynasty invoked heaven before embarking on wars, journeys, burials, building projects, and recreational excursions such as hunting or visiting. The oracle writings ask about weather and success in warfare, hunting, or other royal projects by carving a question into the hard bone or tortoise shell and then applying heat to the surface of the bone or shell to call forth an answer.

Prayers to heal the ill in the king's immediate family occur frequently in the oracles. Illness is thought to be caused by the soul of an imperial ancestor or relative languishing in the underworld without prayer or sacrifice for relief. The notion that the merits, prayers, and good deeds of the living free the souls of the deceased from suffering, and thereby heal the illness of the living, remains a common Asian belief.

The oracle bones make a clear distinction between the spirits of the heavens who control weather, the spirits of the earth who govern nature, and the souls or demons in the afterlife-underworld who cause suffering and illness among humans. A triple world consisting of heaven, earth, and an underworld is deeply rooted in Chinese cosmology. Taoism addresses and "empties" the spirits of nature in later ritual.

THE I CHING BOOK OF CHANGES

The Zhou (Chou) dynasty (1100-221 B.C.E.) left behind the earliest written records, first in the form of bronze and bamboo inscriptions, later in the written records of the Confucian tradition. The five classic books (the Books of Poetry, History, Spring-Autumn Annals, Rites, and the I Ching, the Book of Changes) are perhaps the oldest Chinese historical records. The Confucian worldview permeates, these works, a topic about which many fine studies in Western languages have been written. The first two lines of each of the sixty-four chapters of the I Ching are among the oldest recorded Chinese documents.¹³ The first lines of the I Ching are an important source for Taoist philosophy, meditation, and healing.

LAO-TZU AND CHUANG-TZU (LAOZI AND ZHUANGZI)

The Lao-tzu Tao-te Ching and the Chuang-tzu were most probably composed during the fourth century B.C.E.¹⁴ The Laotzu book (summarized in chapter 2) is the first and foremost work given to the aspiring Taoist novice to read. Taoist meditation, ritual, and healing are based on its understanding.

The Chuang-tzu is the basic text of the Taoist meditative tradition. It is a very difficult text to understand or translate.¹⁵ The book is divided into three parts: the Inner Chapters (1-7), probably composed by Chuang-tzu himself; the Outer Chapters (8-15), collated by his disciples; and the Miscellaneous Chapters (16-33), of later composition. The essence of the Chuang-tzu is contained in the humorous tales that accompany the rather obscure text. Some basic ideas from the Chuang-tzu are included in chapter 2.

TAOIST SCHOOLS

Religious Taoism, a mighty river fed by the mystic texts of Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu. is Joined by many other streams and rivulets from the second half of the Han dynasty, from about the beginning of the Common Era up until the Tang dynasty, which began in 619 C.E. Three greater sets of registers, lists of spirits' names used in ritual meditations, their appearance, talismans, and commands for summoning them and two lesser-known schools developed during this time:

Dragon-Tiger Taoism, also known as Zhengyi Celestial Master Taoism, is one of the earliest Taoist healing movements. Its founder, Zhang Daoling, the "first" celestial master, lived in the second century C.E. Dragon-Tiger or Zhengyi Taoists meditate on the Lao-tzu Tao-te Ching as a sacred book, practice rites of healing and renewal, and receive a special Zhengyi Mengwei (Cheng-i Meng-wei) register in twenty-four segments when they are ordained Taoists. Their sacred mountain is Lunghu Shan (Dragon-Tiger Mountain) in southeast Jiangxi Province. These Taoists marry and pass on their registers to at least one of their children in each generation.

After meditation on the Thunder Spirits, Taoists draw talismans to heal, bring rain, heal illness. Zhengtong Taoist Canon woodblocks, ca. 1445.

Lingbao (Ling-pao) and its registers are mentioned by a Taoist scholar named Ko Hong, in a work called Baopuzi (Paop'u Tzu, The Master Who Embraces Simplicity) in the early fourth century C.E. Lingbao Taoism teaches methods for healing and renewal based on the Five Talismanlc Charms, the Lingbao Wufu. These talismans were used by the mythical emperor Yu, China's Noah, to stop the floods. Its sacred mountain is Gozao Shan, (Ge Tsao Shan) in southeast China.

Highest Pure Shangqing Taoism (Shang-ch'ing), reputedly founded by the woman mystic Lady Wei Huacun, teaches the healing and emptying meditations of the Huang-t'ing Neijing (the Gold Pavilion classic, Inner Chapters). Its sacred mountain is Mao Shan, twenty-five miles southeast of Nanjing in Jiangsu Province.

North Pole Beiji Taoism (Pei-chi) teaches meditations and martial arts for healing. It invokes Ursa Major, the constellation that points to the polestar, to exorcise harmful spirits and thoughts from the conscious and subconscious mind. Its sacred mountain is Wudang Shan (Wu-tang shan) in western Hubel Province near the Shaanxi border.

Qingwel (Ch'ing-wei), Pure Refined Taoism shares with the Tantric Buddhist orders of Tibet the use of thunder and lightning meditations for healing. Many of Its mantras written in Siddham (that Is, late Sanskrit chants) are similar to those used by Tendal and Shingon Tantric Buddhism in Japan, brought from China in the ninth century (Tang dynasty), and by Tibetan Tantric Buddhism.

Many of the healing methods used in these five kinds of classical Taoist "registers" became a part of the popular healing tradition during the religious reformation of the Song dynasty, 960 to 1281 C.E. Inspired perhaps by the spirit of simplicity found in the Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu, the laity (ordinary people) derived ways of healing that simplified the complicated methods of the ordained Taoist priest. The Gold Pavilton classic contains some of these techniques and registers.

Quanzhen (ch'uan-cheni) Taoism, a sixth great tradition, known as All True Taoism, was founded during the Song and popularized during the Yuan and subsequent eras, including the People's Republic today. Quanzhen Taoism's headquarters are at the Baiyun-Guan temple in Beijing. Its monasteries are found all over China. Quanzhen monks and nuns practice celibacy and abstinence (vegetarian diet) in a disciplined way of communal life. Married laypeople too may follow this reformed way of Taoist chant, Zen (Chan) Buddhist-like meditation, and Confucian family virtue.

In today's socialist China only two of these Taoist traditions are officially recognized by the state. The Zhengyi tradition of Dragon-Tiger Mountain in southern China and the Quanzhen school in Beijing (northern China) are classified as the two official Taoist sects. Young Taoists trained in Beijing and elsewhere are taught this simplified distinction and remain for the most part unaware of the rich Taoist tradition while attending the state schools. The Taoist masters who live in the mountains, however, and the "fireside" married Taoists of the towns and countryside villages, preserve and teach the old apophatic "emptying" traditions.

Redhat Taoism, the kataphatic, filling or "imaging" tradition, also flourished and continues to develop from the Song dynasty reformation until the present.¹⁶ This tradition, however, does require an expert such as a possessed medium, shaman, Redhat saigong, or Bon priest, to do the exorcistic healing. It can be described but is not easily imitated, nor is it to be tried by the Western or Chinese reader.

The Taoist apophatic tradition, a practice that based healing and meditation on kenosis or emptying, became a movement available to the ordinary person of China's countryside and villages during the Song dynasty reformation, continuing to the present The use of the Tao-te Ching and Chuang-tzu as meditation manuals, qi meditation, color visualization, massage, herbal remedies, healthy exercises, all became a part of a popular Taoist movement, available to anyone who would learn it. There was no esoteric or secret learning preserved for an elite few. All that one needed to do, in the words of Chuangtzu, was to learn to "sit in forgetfulness" and "fast in the heart," that is, abstain from judgment in the mind and selfishness in the heart, to learn healing. Fasting in the judgmental mind and a selfless heart brought health to the body and to the society around the practicing Taoist. Members of the village community were taught this simple healing system. The visualization of healing colors and the prayer of emptying ("heart fasting" and "sitting in forgetfulness") taught in chapters 3 and 4 are used as means to assist the layperson as well as the Taoist to live a long life of peace, happiness, and good health. They are useful in promoting wholeness, mental and physical well-being, and long life for those who come to the Taoist for healing.

THE GOLD PAVILION CLASSIC

The Gold Pavilion classic has as its focus the Gold Pavilion, the "void space" above the kidneys at the body's center of gravity. The text itself has two parts. One, called the "Outer Chapters," (Huang-t'ing Wai-ch'ing) teaches a way of emptying meditation. The other, called the "Inner Chapters," (Huangt'ing Nei-ch'ing) adds a list of spirits' names to be sent forth from the Taoist's body as a prelude to contemplating the Tao. Only the meditations (Outer Chapters) of the Gold Pavilion classic are presented in chapter 4.

This translation is based on a commentary originating from the Taoist Shangqing (Shang-ch'ing) tradition, a text given to the beginner by a Taoist master. The cryptic meaning can be translated only by using a commentary, called a mijue (michüeh) manual.¹⁷ The text can be translated on a word-for-word basis in three distinct ways: For the purely physical meaning; as a description of the circulation of qi breath and color in the internal alchemy tradition; and as a meditation of apophasis (emptying) in the "heart fasting" and "sitting in forgetfulness" tradition of Chuang-tzu described in chapter 2. Following the Shangqing Highest Pure tradition attributed to Lady Wei Huacun, the translation presented here in all cases follows the apophatic or emptying tradition. It is from this last way that the Taoist method of peace, healing, and long life is mastered.