Taoism: Encyclopedia II - Taoism - Scriptures

Taoism - Scriptures

Taoism - Religious Taoism

The Daozang(道藏)(Treasury of Tao) is sometimes referred to as the "Taoist canon." It was compiled during the Jin, Tang, Song, and Ming dynasties, and includes almost 1500 texts. Following the example of the Buddhist Tripitaka, it is divided into three dong 洞 ("caves," often translated "grottoes"), arranged here from highest to lowest:

The Daodejing constitutes an appendix (fu) to the first grotto. Other appendices include the Taipingjing ("Scripture of Great Peace") as well as various alchemical texts, and scriptures from the Celestial Masters tradition.

Taoism, however, is not a "Protestant" religion which regards the scripture as primary. Professional Taoists generally do not consult published versions of the Daozang, but use texts which have been passed down from teacher to student (who are often relatives). The receipt of permission to do the ritual is considered more important than knowledge of the texts' contents.

The Quanzhen school does have a tradition of approaching Taoism through scriptural study. In these circles, the Confucian text Yijing features more prominently than any other scripture, owing to its relevance for cosmology.

Some Chinese movements emphasize newly-revealed scriptures. In Taiwan, one often finds Buddhist texts being chanted in Taoist temples; apparently mainland China has a policy of discouraging such syncretism.

Taoism - Philosophical Taoism

Philosophical Taoism has focused on the Laozi 老子 and Zhuangzi 莊子. (We might also add the Liezi to this list.) This form of Taoism, more than any other, has influenced Western commentators.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Scriptures", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki