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

• Objective 1 Comprendre l’origine et la signification du terme « Daoïsme »
• Objective 2 Comprendre les concepts de base du daoïsme et de la pensée traditionnelle chinoise : Dao, Yin-Yang, la pensée relative à la théorie des Cinq Agents, Wu wei, immortalité et longévité.
• Objective 3 Avoir une compréhension de base du confucianisme, du bouddhisme et des religions populaires chinoises dans leur lien avec le daoïsme.
• Objective 4 Connaître les différentes modalités des pratiques religieuses.
• Objective 5 Avoir une compréhension de base du développement historique du daoïsme et de ses relations avec l’histoire chinoise.

Skills

• Skill 1 Etre capable de lire et de comprendre l’information de base tirée de textes religieux et de symboles daoïstes.
• Skill 2 Etre capable d’analyser les principales pratiques religieuses et de les replacer dans le contexte de la vision du monde daoïste.
• Skill 3 Etre capable de distinguer la représentation historico-critique du daoïsme de ses interprétations populaires erronées.
• Skill 4 Etre capable d’utiliser de façon critique l’information obtenue à travers ce module et de la relier à d’autres contextes disciplinaires et culturels.

Suggestion of use

Ce module vise à présenter les caractéristiques communes de base du daoïsme dans ses aspects doctrinaux, rituels et sociaux.
La partie 1 présente une courte définition du daoïsme, son origine et ses principes doctrinaux fondamentaux. La section 2 présente les fondements de la pensée chinoise à travers laquelle le daoïsme s’est développé. La section 3 et la section 4 présentent les textes principaux et les idéaux qui caractérisent le daoïsme. En somme, ces 4 sections présentent les concepts de base du daoïsme. Les pages suivantes se réfèrent souvent à concept présenté dans ces pages, il est donc un peu un point de départ obligé.
La pensée et les pratiques daoïstes ont constamment évolué au cours des siècles, de sorte que les parties 5, 7 et 8 (mais aussi 3) présentent un aperçu de son histoire, avec les innovations en termes d'idées et de pratiques, mais ces parties peuvent être utilisées aussi individuellement. La partie 6 est une sorte de digression sur la relation entre le daoïsme, le confucianisme, le bouddhisme et les religions populaires, mais est utile pour comprendre la partie 7 et fournir une image plus large du monde religieux chinois.
Une autre option est d'utiliser le "Résumé des arguments, divisé par thèmes" ci-dessus pour créer des itinéraires thématiques.

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

Summary of arguments, linked to student view sections

• Current distribution among world population.
  (sec.1)

  Scientific denomination
  (sec.2)

  Place of origin
  (sec.1)

  Deities, holy beings
  (sec.2)
  Immortals (sec.4)
  the Daoist Pantheon (sec.5)

  Main doctrinal tenets
  the Daoist concept of Dao (sec.1)
  The idea of Qi (sec.2)
  Yin-yang complementary cosmology (sec.2)
  Five Agents and correlative thinking (sec.2)
  Immortality and Longevity (sec.4)
  Cosmic correlations and communication with the gods (sec.5)
  Cosmic correlation and the human body (sec.7)

  Acknowledged authority
  General remarks (sec.7)
  The Chinese Daoist Association(sec.8)

  Sacred texts and other main texts
  The Daodejing (sec.3)
  The Zhuangzi (sec.3)

• 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)