Back to Student Table of Contents

Guidelines for Teachers

Introduction to the module

Daoism, also spelled Taoism, is China’s organized, indigenous religious system. Daoists take as their focus the goal of obtaining the Dao, the unnameable source of generative vitality in a universe of constant transformation. Daoists take as their focus the goal of attuning with this Dao, but the methods for realizing this goal have been revised and reinvented throughout Daoism’s 2,000 year history. In general, it can be generally understood in terms of mediating between the energies of the body, the community and the cosmos. Daoism has no single founder, such as Jesus or the Buddha, nor does it have a single key message. Rather Daoism's history displays a continuous transformation. In fact the human experience of change or transformation lies at the heart of the Daoist experience in much the same way that faith in an eternal God lies at the heart of the Jewish-Christian-Islamic religious system.
Different from an unchanging and invisible stability behind the flux of change, Daoists recognize and celebrate the profound and mysterious creativity within the change itself.
Daoism has two distinct characters: one represents the elite traditions that aim to attune with the Dao and enhance the functioning of the body with the goal of obtaining a long life and spiritual transcendence. They also worship a complex hierarchy of sacred powers, which are emanations of the Dao or personal gods who allegedly were former human beings and then have achieved union with the Dao. The communal traditions of these priest or monks are integrated into local society and patronized by non-initiated lay people. These elite traditions are focussed on maintaining and transmitting the teachings of the various lineages to selected initiates. Each of these lineage has its history and sacred authority. At the same time, however, Daoism also embraces the common Chinese religious tradition that pays little attention to religious distinctions. In this tradition, non-initiated lay people patronize temples to pray for good fortune, to mark the changing of the seasons, and to conduct rituals for the departed.

Conceptual (Knowledge) objectives

  • C.O.1: To Understand the origin and meaning of the term "Daoism".
  • C.O.2: To Understand the basic concepts of Daoism and of the traditional Chinese thought: Dao, Yin-Yang, Five Agents related correlative thinking, Wu wei, Immortality and Longevity.
  • C.O.3: To have a basic understanding of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Chinese Popular Religions in their relationship with Daoism.
  • C.O.4: To know the various modalities of religious practices.
  • C.O.5: To have a basic understanding of the historical development of Daoism and its relationship with the Chinese History.

Skills

  • S.1: To be able to read and understand the basic information from Daoist religious texts and symbols.
  • S.2: To be able to read and understand the basic information from Daoist religious texts and symbols.
  • S.3: To be able to distinguish historical-critical representation of Daoism from popular misconception of Daoism.
  • S.4: To be able to use and connect in a critical way the information gained through this module to other disciplinary and cultural contexts.

Suggestion of use

This module aims to present the basic common features of Daoism in its doctrinal, ritual and social aspects.
Section 1 introduces the a short definition of Daoism, its origin and core doctrinal tenets. Section 2 presents the foundations of Chinese though through which Daoism developed. Section 3, along with section 4 introduce the main texts and ideals that characterize Daoism. In sum, these 4 sections present the core concepts of Daoism. The subsequent pages will often refer to concept presented in these pages, so it is somewhat a compelled starting point.
Daoist thought and practices has evolved constantly over centuries, so section 5, 7 and 8 (but also 3) present an outline of its history, along with innovation in terms of ideas and practices, but these sections can be also used individually. Section 6 is a sort of digression about the relationship between Daoism, Confucianism, Buddhism and Popular religions, but it is also useful to understand section 7 and to give a bigger picture of the Chinese religious world.
Another option is using the above "Summary of arguments, divided by themes" to create thematic itineraries.

Additional general info

Teachers should find very useful this introductory essay :
Basic Information Sheet on Daoism  By Louis Komjathy
http://www.daoistcenter.org/Daoism_Information.pdf

Pronuciation issues

The use of technical terms in Chinese has been reduced to the minimum. However, the present system of transcription (Pinyn) may present some problems of pronunciation. Teachers can refer to this page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinyin

Bibliography:


Miller, James, Daoism: A Short Introduction Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2003.

Webliography

http://www.patheos.com/Library/Taoism.html
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/582972/Daoism
http://www.daoistcenter.org/basic.html

Summary of arguments, linked to student view sections

  • Main rites and practices.
    Quietistic meditation (sec.4)
    Daoyin gymnastics (sec.4)
    Alchemy (sec.4)
    Visualization of Inner Gods (sec.7)
    Inner alchemy (sec.7)
    Everyday contemporary practices (sec.8)
    The Jao (sec.8)

    Relationship with other Chinese traditions
    Confucianism (sec.6)
    Buddhism (sec.6)
    Popular Religions (sec.6)

    Main doctrinal traditions.
    The "Highest Purity" tradition (sec.7)
    The  "Numinous Treasure" tradition (sec.7)
    The "Complete Perfection" tradition (sec.7)

    Pivotal events for the tradition.
    "Classical Daoism" developments (sec.3)
    The historical context of the birth of organized Daoism (sec.5)
    The birth of the Way of the Celestial Masters, the first organized Daoism(sec.5)
    Sectarian developments (sec.7)

    Main changes in the XX sec.
    The Republic of China and the Cultural Revolution (sec.8)