This course provides an introduction to the study of the history, major teachings, and practices of the major Chinese religions and spiritual practices and is deigned to give conceptual tools to appreciate diverse religious practice in East. It covers the development of Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism and wide range of popular and local religions. From historical perspective we will also explore the development of key theological, religious and philosophical doctrines as well as associated practices. An effort will be made to spend time on each tradition according to its importance to Asia as a whole. We will explore the role of religions in politics and social relations in East and South, South East Asia and China in particular, and will analyze the origins, central teachings, divisions and branches, rituals and practices, influences on culture, and responses to modern challenges for each tradition. The emphasis throughout the course is on the hermeneutic difficulties attendant upon the study of religion in general, and Asian religions in particular. We will explore new Asian religions as dynamic, ongoing forces in the lives of individuals and in the collective experience of modern societies.
Sources of Taoism
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From the course by National Research University Higher School of Economics
Religions and Society in China
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From the lesson
Taosim in China
This module's content describes what is Taoism, relates its history and defines its sources, shows the main paths of genesis for the Taoist cults.
Meet the Instructors
Aleksey A. MaslovHead
School of Asian Studies
[MUSIC]
There are several sources and several rules of the modern Taoism.
Usually we call Yin and Yang theory and the ideas of Transformations
as the main sources of the present day idea of Taoism.
But in general there are several other sources.
First of all the main source of the Taoism theory it's a cult of
murderers and sorcerers and different kind of sages.
So these cults existed almost everywhere in China, and
this idea were embodied in the modern day Taoism.
So that's why the cult of sages, the people who achieve the long
life longevity became one of the most important point and
maybe one of the most characteristic point in northern days of Taoist.
Another one is its shamanistic tradition maybe that came from the south
part of china for example one of the key persons and
another key person of Taoism also came from the south part of china.
So they borrowed the southern ideas of shamanism shamanistic
tradition and sorcery to the modern day Taoism.
The third root, this third point in the development of the Taoism,
is the cult of immortality that we already spoke and
will continue to speak about it during all our class about Taoism.
Finally, it's idea of change and this idea of change, once again,
existed long before the emerging of Taoism.
And this idea of changes came from the roots, from the main ideas, or
from the natural understanding order of what does mean Universe of China.
So the main point of all Chinese philosophy and of all Chinese
religions is called the idea of binary opposition, idea of Yin and Yang.
So this very famous picture,
this scheme of Yin and Yang, it's not very old.
I mean that this picture emerged just after the arrival of Buddhism in China.
So it means that Buddhism brought to China different kinds of Buddhist pictures,
Buddhist symbols.
So Taos also wanted to reproduce the old symbols.
So this reproduction of the idea, very late reproduction,
of the idea that existed long before the emerging of this picture.
So it was a bit this very good characteristic or
very good picture to explain what is mean Yin and Yang.
First of all there are two main forces, two main powers in this world.
The first one it's the white one, it's positive, male, represented by the sun,
by the power, by the force it's a Yang.
And now that, represented by this black spot it's a Yin.
So negative, female, moon, weak etc, etc.
When I speak about the positive or negative, it doesn't mean bad or good.
It's just two forces, two powers that communicate with each other and
helps each other to develop.
At the same time there's no any pure power or
the power in the pure sense in this world.
There's no pure Yin or pure Yan.
There's a combination or inter-communication between them.
So we can see this white spot in the black, and black spot in the white.
So it mean, the coexistence of these powers.
So it means for example, just in a very simple way,
there is not any force without weakness.
There is not any weakness without strong force.
Sometimes for example in the summertime it could be very cold.
So it means yin inside Yang.
In the wintertime it could be very warm.
So it means the Yang inside Yin, etc, etc.
Even male is not a pure Yang.
Male sometimes could be very weak.
And woman, female, could be very strong.
So, there's a combination.
At the same time there is a nocturnal exchange between these two powers.
Once again, nothing's stable.
Just a changes or transformation from one to another one.
So initially the idea of Yin and Yang, the initial meaning was very simple.
It was just a shady and sunny sides of slopes of the hill.
What does this mean?
It means that when the sun turns around this hill,
the idea of the sunny and shady slopes change.
So, in one moment, it's a sunny slope, in another one it's a shady slope.
So once again, it's the idea of the, not just of this table forces,
but of changing and if you want to understand what is in doubt,
you have to understand that changing, understand that change is
existing in this moment of life and you change always with these changes.
So binary opposition means that irreversible is day and
night, open closed, positive negative.
It just like for example heaven and earth.
So nothing is stable and it means that, well you have to find
your own middle way between these two kind of oppositions.
So for example, one of the main idea of Taoism it's the idea of clear and
turbid, qing and zhuo.
It's very difficult to be completely clear of any ideas of
any turbulence, of any disturbances.
Sometimes people are very disturbed by different kind of ideas and attaches.
It means Draws a turban.
So I have to find a way between these two positions.
The same one is moving and calm.
For example, you have to be so called the [FOREIGN]
that means without any movement from outside.
But inside you need to have a very active movement of your internal energies,
for example chi, salmon and other energies.
So once again it's a combination, Yin and Yang it's a combination.
Once again it's not a Taoism it just a basic of Taoism and
all this idea existed long before the beginning of Taoism.
The idea of change became the center point of many Taoist texts,
and sometimes it was described in the very vivid manner.
For example this one, the life of things is like the cantering and
galloping of a horse, they are transformed with each moment,
they change with each moment.
This idea of changes, was developed in the another idea,
very famous the idea of the trigrams and hexagrams.
Trigram, it's a figure with three lines.
Hexagram is a figure with six lines.
The idea is very simple, the full line is Yang,
the power of Yang, two small lines it's the idea of Yin.
So Yin and Yang combine in each moment of life.
So three lines, three full lines mean heaven.
Three broken lines mean Earth.
So all this of three different lines gives
us an ideal bagua, the eight trigrams.
If we combine six lines, we can get 64 hexagrams.
And this one of the scheme of the very traditional Taoist from the very
tradition Taoist scripture or the combination of the 64 trigrams.
64 trigrams is embodiment of all changes or
all states in this world.
So it means that when and this also,
the idea of the different state of the universe.
Of the heaven, of earth, and even the stars on the heaven.
So it means different Taoist schools.
I can try to explain this idea as you have to form this eight trigrams or
64 hexograms.
For example in the alchemic tradition of Taoism, which we'll speak about later.
In the alchemic idea, the idea of the hexagram is the idea of the transformation
of different elements and different ingredients inside your body.
So it means like hexagrams transforms to each other,
different elements also transform in your body.
And because this is a circle, it means non-ending circle.
It's means that also the transformation nearby is also non-ending.
This one is a further development of this idea.
At this center, we can see yin and yang symbol, and also we can see
the several trigrams and hexagrams around it and a difference state or
circle the five elements or five phases of the development of the universe.
So it's a kind of scheme of the universe everything is just a beginning
from the main center it mean the Tao which divide into two, Yin and Yang.
And then it divide and circle to the myriad of things.
So this scheme of the development of the universe,
the representation of the Taoist idea how this world came to be.
The most important thing is the first transformation with Tao which is united,
divided into two main powers Yin and Yang.
So it means that it's a Tai chi the ultimate division, the ultimate beginning.
So Tao started from this empty circle just a white circle nothing inside.
There is no any division.
After that we can see the pre-model division into Yin and
Yang that means Taiji.
Taiji is just a beginning.
It's not Yin and Yang, just a first impetus of this beginning.
After this first beginning, Yin and Yang, we can see the transformation
to the myriad of different kind of things, a lot of things in this world.
Finally this myriad of things also came back to the same
primordial state white circle.
And these white circle reproduce itself and once again,
the circle of life, the cycle of life started from the very beginning.
So, it means the first circle it's we called this white one we called this Wuji,
Wuji it means nothing, Taiji it's ultimate.
So, before the ultimate before the first division,
Wuji nothing it's no division all ready exist.
So, that the general idea of changes that was represented by
the idea of the Bagua, or the idea of the trigrams,
hexagrams, the idea of the Taiji and the idea of Wuji.
[MUSIC]
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