Historical and Comparative Studies edited by Livia Kohn The Huangting jing (Yellow Court Scripture) consists of a set of two texts that outline the body vision and key techniques of Daoist meditation. At the center of an extensive literature of…
Precursors and Successors by Livia Kohn The Huangting jing (Yellow Court Scripture), a central classic of Daoist meditation translated earlier in this series, did not grow or remain in a cultural vacuum. This book seeks to elucidate its greater context,…
by Livia Kohn
The Huangting jing (Yellow Court Scripture) is a central classic of Daoist meditation. It comes in two major versions, an “outer” and an “inner” text, that are both revealed by senior deities and written in lines of seven characters. Going back to the early middle period, with major commentaries from the Tang dynasty, they are rather mysterious and poetic in diction, presenting the human body in terms of energies and spirits, towers and chambers. Without giving specific instructions, they suggest visualization, energy circulation, and alignment with the celestial bodies to maintain and control these internal powers in order to enhance life, increase longevity, and reach for immortality. Both texts, moreover, carry celestial potency in themselves and have been chanted since they first appeared. This book, after a historical introduction, translates both versions with their main commentaries, prefaces, and recitation instructions. Allowing the sources to speak for themselves, it opens a new vista on Daoist meditation, traditional cosmology, and the Chinese understanding of body and mind.
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Time is a key feature in all cultures, determining thought, actions, and developments. J. T. Fraser, describes it in six temporalities that move at different speeds in unique environments: the atemporal state of primordial chaos, the prototemporal realm of quantum simultaneity, the eotemporal rhythms of the stars, the biotemporal dimensions of living creatures, the noötemporal phenomena of the mind, and the sociotemporal world of calendars, history, and philosophy. This book examines Daoism in all these modes, beginning with language, the “architect of time,” then moving through all six types, in each chapter offering also modern scientific and comparative perspectives. Daoists, it turns out, often match science in terms of basic concepts, but offer different practices to reverse entropy, overcome limitations, and ultimately tame time by going beyond it. Taming Time is encyclopedic in scope and global in outlook. It challenges preconceived notions and raises new perspectives in the study of time as it expertly clarifies Daoist visions.
Contents and Introduction
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Time plays a major role in classical Daoist thought, explored through different lenses in this powerful volume that brings together both established and rising scholars in the field. It discusses cosmic, seasonal, human, and mystical dimensions of time, linking Daoists to ancient astrologers, exploring universal origins (based on excavated manuscripts), examining issues of permanence and transience, and questioning notions of self and personal identity in a temporal light. Beyond this, the book also looks at classical Daoist visions of matching human activities to seasonal cycles, notions of timeliness in connection with ethical issues, ways of overcoming temporal limitations through self-cultivation, and concepts of vital energy as expressed in art and music. The book is full of fascinating and stimulating contributions, opening new horizons in our understanding both of classical Chinese thought and dimensions of time.
Contents and Introduction
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Daoists pay close attention to all different modes and dimensions of time as defined by planetary movements in nature and various man-made calendar divisions, including also the hexagrams of the Yijing. Beyond this, they also work with time in the human body, linking certain features to stages of life and creating temporal rhythms by their own physical actions. They revert the flow of entropy within the body, establishing mastery over time, and transfigure their very physical constitution to subtler levels, opening ways to transcend time altogether.
This volume brings together senior and junior scholars as well as practitioners to explore planetary, calendar, and body time. They cover the entire history of Daoism, from its precursors in the Han to its monastic and popular activation in the 21st century, as well as a plethora of different methods—social predictions, personal horoscopes, physigonomy, healing modalities, qigong, self-cultivation, internal alchemy, and more. Opening new ways of looking at time and expressing uniquely Daoist features, the volume is path-breaking and highly relevant today. A must for anyone interested in time studies, religious practice, and Chinese culture.
Contents and Introduction
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Time, and in particular timelessness, plays a key role in Daoism, both in its more speculative and practical dimensions. This book explores this in comparison with other philosophies and religions. It alternates presentations of a more theoretical, speculative nature with those that focus on concrete life situations, examining the psychological potentials of time perception, the nature of situations, Daoism’s holistic worldview, similarities between Laozi and Plotinus, and Daoist versus Greek geometric models of the cosmos. They further study the role of Daoist notions in New Wave Taiwanese cinema, relate Daoist ideas to modern thinkers and its cultivation techniques to Zen Buddhism, trace the relevance of the Yijing to the Jungian concept of synchronicity, and explore the problem of boredom and predictability in prolongevity and immortality.
The book offers a wide range of topics and perspectives, engaging with new materials while stimulating innovative insights and opening new avenues of exploration. A must for all interested in the nature of Daoism, issues of time, and comparative philosophy.
Contents and Introduction
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This textbook introduces the major schools, teachings, and practices of Daoism in a chronological survey. It offers an integrated vision of the Daoist tradition in its historical and cultural context, establishing connections with Confucianism, Chinese Buddhism, popular religion, and political developments. It also places Daoism into a larger theoretical and comparative framework. The book makes ample use of original materials and provides references to further readings and original sources in translation. It is a powerful resource for teaching and studying alike.
Contents and Introduction
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Cosmos and Community is the first English study of Daoist religious ethics. Based on original translations of primary sources, it presents a thorough comparative analysis of various kinds of Daoist rules, divided into four major kinds: prohibitions, admonitions, injunctions (behavioral guidelines), and affirmations (positive prayers). They all serve to place the practitioner firmly into the overarching goodness of Dao. The book also presents extensive translations of original sources, ranging from the 3rd to 17th. The work is essential for anyone interested in Daoism, comparative ethics, or Chinese history.
Contents and Introduction
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This book supplements the main work, Cosmos and Community, by providing additional translations of texts on Daoist rules in five groups: 1. Materials pertaining to the early communities of the Celestial Masters. 2. Works addressed mainly to lay followers, linked with the major medieval schools. 3. Guidelines for medieval monastic organization and behavior. 4. Variant lists of rules in texts from the middle ages through the Ming. 5. Complete Perfection texts that specify modern monastic ways.
Contents and Introduction
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