dao beginning

beginning This is the moment of embarking. All auspicious signs are in place. In the beginning, all things are hopeful. We prepare ourselves to start anew. Though we may be intent on the magnificent journey ahead, all things are contained in this first moment: our optimism, our faith, our resolution, our innocence. In order to start, we must make a decision. This decision is a commitment to daily self-cultivation. We must make a strong connection to our inner selves. Outside matters are superfluous. Alone and naked, we negotiate all of life’s travails. Therefore, we alone must make something of ourselves, transforming ourselves into the instruments for experiencing the deepest spiritual essence of life. Once we make our decision all things will come to us. Auspicious signs are not a superstition, but a confirmation. They are a response. It is said that if one chooses to pray to a rock with enough devotion, even that rock will come alive. In the same way, once we choose to commit ourselves to spiritual practice, even the mountains and valleys will reverberate to the sound of our purpose. beginning 365 Tao daily meditations Deng Ming-Dao (author) ISBN 0-06-250223-9 Liberating The Soul From The Netherworld (detail) Liang Kai (active early 13th century) Southern Song dynasty, early 13th century Handscroll; ink on paper 26 x 73.9 cm Mr. and Mrs. Wan-go H. C. Weng Collection cat. no. 37 thank you to the Art Institute of Chicago Taoism in Art exhibit and lessons Liberating the Soul from the Netherworld The large central scene of this handscroll shows a Taoist priest, kneeling on the lower left, in the presence of a powerful deity, the large central figure with a halo known as the Celestial Worthy Who Saves the Suffering. Here, the priest requests the god's assistance on behalf of the soul of his patron. The scroll illustrates one of the most fundamental beliefs of Taoism: the role of the Taoist priest as a bridge between the human and divine worlds. The right and left sides of the painting depict the good deeds of the patron. Those on the right take place in a Taoist temple: in the upper scene, the patron donates money to make Taoist objects of worship; in the middle scene, he sponsors a vegetarian meal for the priests of the temple; and in the lower scene, he participates in a ritual for his ancestors. These scenes correspond thematically to those on the left, which take place in the secular world: in the upper scene, the patron gives alms to a beggar; and in the middle scene, he commands the release of birds. The title of the scroll is based on the lower left scene, which shows the god descending into hell to liberate the soul of the patron because of the patron's good deeds and the priest's intervention. The inhabitants of hell bow in awed reverence to the god. The signature of the artist, Liang Kai, indicates that this handscroll was commissioned by the emperor. A rare and important work by one of China's most innovative painters, this handscroll is also one of the finest examples of Taoist painting from the Southern Song dynasty. THE LESSON: THE TAOIST CHURCH The Beginnings of Religious Taoism In the second century A.D., as the Han dynasty gradually lost control of China, large-scale religious movements sprang up all over the country. Between the second and sixth centuries, religious Taoism developed out of these movements, coming into maturity in the Tang dynasty. The most important of these early movements was the Way of the Celestial Masters, which began in Sichuan province. Zhang Daoling, founder of the Way of the Celestial Masters, supposedly received divine revelations from Laozi himself. Following this experience, Zhang developed a distinct system of religious beliefs based on the Classic of the Way and Its Power. In the centuries after the fall of the Han dynasty, China was often fragmented politically. Non-Chinese rulers eventually took control of the north, while Chinese rulers still governed the south. This was a fruitful period for both Buddhism and religious Taoism, which developed in response to the increasing spiritual needs of the people during this unstable time. The beliefs that developed during this period would form the core of the Taoist worldview. receive a full HTML copy of the daily meditation sent directly to your inbox, please send a note with the words "subscribe tao" in the subject line to duckdaotsu