The Taoist Canon

The Taoist Canon PDF Author: Kristofer Schipper
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022672106X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 1684

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Book Description
Taoism remains the only major religion whose canonical texts have not been systematically arranged and made available for study. This long-awaited work, a milestone in Chinese studies, catalogs and describes all existing texts within the Taoist canon. The result will not only make the entire range of existing Taoist texts accessible to scholars of religion, it will open up a crucial resource in the study of the history of China. The vast literature of the Taoist canon, or Daozang, survives in a Ming Dynasty edition of some fifteen hundred different texts. Compiled under imperial auspices and completed in 1445—with a supplement added in 1607—many of the books in the Daozang concern the history, organization, and liturgy of China's indigenous religion. A large number of works deal with medicine, alchemy, and divination. If scholars have long neglected this unique storehouse of China's religious traditions, it is largely because it was so difficult to find one's way within it. Not only was the rationale of its medieval classification system inoperable for the many new texts that later entered the Daozang, but the system itself was no longer understood by the Ming editors; hence the haphazard arrangement of the canon as it has come down to us. This new work sets out the contents of the Daozang chronologically, allowing the reader to follow the long evolution of Taoist literature. Lavishly illustrated, the first volume ranges from antiquity through the Middle Ages, while the second spans the modern period. Within this frame, texts are grouped by theme and subject. Each one is the subject of a historical abstract that identifies the text's contents, date of origin, and author. Throughout the first two volumes, introductions outline the evolution of Taoism and its spiritual heritage. A third volume offering biographical sketches of frequently mentioned Taoists, multiple indexes, and an extensive bibliography provides critical tools for navigating this guide to one of the fundamental aspects of Chinese culture.

The Taoist Canon

The Taoist Canon PDF Author: Kristofer Schipper
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022672106X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 1684

Get Book Here

Book Description
Taoism remains the only major religion whose canonical texts have not been systematically arranged and made available for study. This long-awaited work, a milestone in Chinese studies, catalogs and describes all existing texts within the Taoist canon. The result will not only make the entire range of existing Taoist texts accessible to scholars of religion, it will open up a crucial resource in the study of the history of China. The vast literature of the Taoist canon, or Daozang, survives in a Ming Dynasty edition of some fifteen hundred different texts. Compiled under imperial auspices and completed in 1445—with a supplement added in 1607—many of the books in the Daozang concern the history, organization, and liturgy of China's indigenous religion. A large number of works deal with medicine, alchemy, and divination. If scholars have long neglected this unique storehouse of China's religious traditions, it is largely because it was so difficult to find one's way within it. Not only was the rationale of its medieval classification system inoperable for the many new texts that later entered the Daozang, but the system itself was no longer understood by the Ming editors; hence the haphazard arrangement of the canon as it has come down to us. This new work sets out the contents of the Daozang chronologically, allowing the reader to follow the long evolution of Taoist literature. Lavishly illustrated, the first volume ranges from antiquity through the Middle Ages, while the second spans the modern period. Within this frame, texts are grouped by theme and subject. Each one is the subject of a historical abstract that identifies the text's contents, date of origin, and author. Throughout the first two volumes, introductions outline the evolution of Taoism and its spiritual heritage. A third volume offering biographical sketches of frequently mentioned Taoists, multiple indexes, and an extensive bibliography provides critical tools for navigating this guide to one of the fundamental aspects of Chinese culture.

道藏通考

道藏通考 PDF Author: Kristofer Marinus Schipper
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 670

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Book Description
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Early Daoist Scriptures

Early Daoist Scriptures PDF Author: Stephen R. Bokenkamp
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 0359990657
Category : Philosophy, Taoist
Languages : en
Pages : 526

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Book Description


The Taoist Body

The Taoist Body PDF Author: Kristofer Schipper
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 9780520082243
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 310

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Book Description
This elegant and lucid introduction to the traditions of Taoism and the masters who transmit them will reward all those interested in China and in religions.

The Canon of Reason and Virtue ...

The Canon of Reason and Virtue ... PDF Author: Laozi
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 222

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Book Description


Cultivating Stillness

Cultivating Stillness PDF Author: Eva Wong
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
ISBN: 0834823780
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 187

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Book Description
A principal part of the Taoist canon for many centuries, this Lao-Tzu classic is an essential overview of the Taoist practice of internal alchemy, or qigong Equanimity, good health, peace of mind, and long life are the goals of the ancient Taoist tradition known as “internal alchemy,” of which Cultivating Stillness is a key text. Written between the second and fifth centuries, the book is attributed to T’ai Shang Lao-chun—the legendary figure more widely known as Lao-Tzu, author of the Tao-te Ching. The accompanying commentary, written in the nineteenth century by Shui-ch’ing Tzu, explains the alchemical symbolism of the text and the methods for cultivating internal stillness of body and mind. A key text in the Taoist canon, Cultivating Stillness is still the first book studied by Taoist initiates today.

Vitality, Energy, Spirit

Vitality, Energy, Spirit PDF Author: Thomas Cleary
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
ISBN: 9781590306888
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 280

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Book Description
Presents a compendium of Taoist texts, from ancient times to the present, which deal with the "three treasures" of human life, understood to be the source of the creativity, capability, and intelligence of which humankind is capable. Reprint.

The Teachings and Practices of the Early Quanzhen Taoist Masters

The Teachings and Practices of the Early Quanzhen Taoist Masters PDF Author: Stephen Eskildsen
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 0791485315
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 283

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Book Description
Stephen Eskildsen's book offers an in-depth study of the beliefs and practices of the Quanzhen (Complete Realization) School of Taoism, the predominant school of monastic Taoism in China. The Quanzhen School was founded in the latter half of the twelfth century by the eccentric holy man Wan Zhe (1113–1170), whose work was continued by his famous disciples commonly known as the Seven Realized Ones. This study draws upon surviving texts to examine the Quanzhen masters' approaches to mental discipline, intense asceticism, cultivation of health and longevity, mystical experience, supernormal powers, death and dying, charity and evangelism, and ritual. From these primary sources, Eskildsen provides a clear understanding of the nature of Quanzhen Taoism and reveals its core emphasis to be the cultivation of clarity and purity of mind that occurs not only through seated meditation, but also throughout the daily activities of life.

Tao Te Ching

Tao Te Ching PDF Author: Laozi
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description


The Cavern-Mystery Transmission

The Cavern-Mystery Transmission PDF Author: Charles D. Benn
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
ISBN: 0824880846
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 266

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Book Description
Very little scholarly research has been done on the institutional structure of Taoism in medieval times. With this study of investiture, Benn attempts to fill that void. He describes the mechanism by which the Taoist priesthood ordered and perpetuated itself, as revealed in a rare account of an ordination rite for two T'ang princesses. He examines the lives of the participants, the hierarchy of the clergy, the liturgy, and the significance of the altar and its furnishings, and discusses other works of Chang Wan-fu, who authored this account.