Tao symbols. The Chinese hieroglyph Tao, the sacred symbol Om and the Aztec pictogram “World” in the matrix of the Universe. Other yin yang symbols
Pictographic letter
Pictographic letter- a type of writing, the signs of which (pictograms) indicate the object they depict.
Rice. 1. Aztec pictogram " World
" from Codex Telleriano-Remensis.
Pictographic letter used at the dawn of writing by different cultures: Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Chinese, Aztec, etc.
Pictographic writing was preserved among the only people- Naxi, living in the foothills of Tibet.
In theory, inscriptions in pictographic script can be understood by people speaking different languages, even if the pictographic scripts of those languages are different.
Pictographic writings contain thousands of characters. The complexity and limitations of the system (it can only describe objects) explain the movement of such systems towards ideographic writing. This movement is accompanied by an expansion of the meaning of signs, as well as simplification and canonization of the outline of each sign.
Examples of pictographic writing- Codes of the Indians of Mesoamerica.
The age of Chinese writing is constantly being clarified. Newly discovered inscriptions on shells turtles, resembling the oldest Chinese characters in style, date back to the 6th millennium BC. e., which is even older than Sumerian writing.
Chinese writing is usually called hieroglyphic or ideographic . It differs radically from the alphabetical one in that each sign is assigned a meaning ( not only phonetic), and the number of characters is very large (tens of thousands).
Background
The oldest Chinese records were made on tortoiseshells and cattle shoulder blades, and recorded the results of fortune telling. Such texts are called jiaguwen (甲骨文). The first examples of Chinese writing date back to the last period of the Shang Dynasty (the most ancient - to the 17th century BC).
Later, the technology of bronze casting arose, and inscriptions appeared on bronze vessels. These texts were called jinwen (金文). The inscriptions on bronze vessels were previously extruded onto a clay mold, hieroglyphs were standardized, they began to fit into a square ».
COMMENT 1:
Now consider a brief description of the concept and symbol DAO. Here's what the work says about Taoism:
« Taoism- a bizarre phenomenon, different, like a patchwork quilt. This is not a religion, not a doctrine, not a philosophy, not even a conglomerate of schools. Rather, it is a special mood of consciousness inherent in the Chinese ethnic group. If Confucianism is how the bearers of this tradition think about themselves, then Taoism is what they really are, and these parts of the “I” - the real “I” and the ideal “I” - are indissoluble and are obliged to live together .
Taoism is a somewhat random term, as the Confucians called all those people - and there were many of them - who “talked about Tao.” They could perform different rituals and adhere to different types of practices, be healers, healers, magicians, and wandering warriors.
Taoism left behind a considerable number of symbols that are associated with the most ancient, most archaic ideas about spirits, « floors» Sky, traveling to the afterlife and communicating with ancestors. Taoism still widely uses a peculiar " secret writing“, so reminiscent of the magical signs of shamans, is a system of slightly modified hieroglyphs that, when written, for example, on the wall of a house or on colored paper, influence the world of spirits in a certain way...
Taoism would have long remained the main exponent of the magical teachings of China, if not for Buddhism. It was Buddhism that forced Taoism to transform from an amorphous movement of “magicians” and “immortals,” that is, mediums and fortune-tellers, into a fully formed teaching with a powerful religious complex. It included a system of rituals and worship, clearly established, although with a somewhat amorphous pantheon of gods. Buddhism came to China in the 1st-3rd centuries. as a ready-made and relatively coherent teaching - here it was opposed by a bizarre conglomerate of beliefs and mystical experiences, called Taoism.
And it was Buddhism that interrupted the rise of Taoist mysteriology, forcing her, on the one hand, to “land” to rationalism. This was expressed, first of all, in the creation of numerous texts explaining mystical doctrines, and on the other hand, “rising” to one of the main ideological systems of imperial China. Thus, as a relatively integral complex of beliefs, rituals and schools with its patriarchs, Taoism emerged quite late. In any case, later than Chinese historiographers write. Back in the 3rd century. BC Taoism under Qin Shihuang receives official institutionalization. It is recognized by the imperial court as one of the court teachings, and in the 2nd-3rd centuries. already appears as a very influential movement at court, and this “external” or “visible” part of it turned out to be entirely subordinated to the interests of the court and the highest aristocracy, for example, it satisfied the interest in prolonging life, predicted by the stars and sacred signs. The mystical knowledge of Taoism was reduced only to particular techniques, which then became associated with Taoism in general.
Buddhism itself has adopted a lot from Taoism, first of all, terminology and many forms of practices, but at the same time it makes Taoism realize itself as something holistic and harmonious. Moreover, not only Buddhism sinicized, having entered the borders of the Celestial Empire, but also Taoism " Buddhistized“, and this “Buddhization” continued for many centuries. The Taoists adopted from the Buddhists... many methods of meditative practice, reading established prayers and daily routines; they were attracted by Buddhist drawn symbols - and Taoism had its own “mandala”: the famous black and white “fish” Yin and Yang. (We considered the principle of construction in the matrix of the Universe "mandalas" - "monads"in an article on the website— The secret of the location of the Great Limit and the Monad of the Chinese sages in the matrix of the Universe).
In the XII-XIII centuries. In Taoism, which previously practically did not recognize monks, the institution of monasticism appears. For monks, vows are required and monastic rules are imposed - all of which also comes from the highly developed monastic doctrine of Buddhism.
It is this absolute flexibility that has allowed Taoism to take on a variety of forms and incorporate many methods of spiritual practice. For example, Taoism actively interacted with legalism (“ doctrine of the lawyers"). It is no coincidence that in ancient texts the term “ Tao» ( Path) is often replaced by the term F — « by law" or " method"precisely in the meaning that is meant by it in legalism, and in particular in the “Four Books of Huang Di” (“Huang Di Si Jing”), discovered during excavations in Mawangdui near Changsha in the 70s. last century...
Formally, from the point of view of worship and rituals, the Taoist pantheon is headed by either the “Heavenly Ancestor” (Tianzong) or the “Ruler of Tao” (Daojun), often associated with Laojun (“Ruler of Lao”), the deified Lao Tzu. It is his image that occupies the central part of the altars in temples, is placed in home shrines, and incense is regularly burned to him.”
Next, consider the ancient Chinese pictogram denoting the concept of Tao, corresponding to it hieroglyph, and their connection with the matrix of the Universe. The view of the pictogram, whose age is 2000 BC, and the hieroglyph taken from the work. Figure 2 on the left shows the original images of the hieroglyph and pictogram, which I combined with the matrix of the Universe at the transition point between the Upper and Lower worlds of the matrix.
Rice. 2. The picture on the left (below) shows the original images of the icon Tao and the type of hieroglyph accepted today Tao(up). As you can see, it is asymmetrical, but the pictogram is more symmetrical. I combined the original hieroglyph and pictogram Tao with the matrix of the Universe at the place of transition between the Upper and Lower worlds of the matrix. Below right is the view of the icon I edited. At the top right is shown my proposed view of the symmetrical hieroglyph of Tao. In my opinion, its appearance more accurately corresponds to the ancient pictogram Tao and symmetrical processes occurring in the matrix of the Universe. Moreover, the cross and the base of the upper step at the top of the proposed character correspond to the Chinese character That- "Earth". In addition, this form of the Dao hieroglyph, in its central part, is almost similar to the Egyptian hieroglyph – Maaqet ( staircase of Osiris), which we considered in our work on the site - In a dream, Jacob saw a staircase leading to heaven, in the matrix of the Universe! According to the views of the ancients - “ Tao – this is the path that Nature creates and Society must follow" From considering the results of combining the original hieroglyph of Tao and the pictogram of Tao with the matrix of the Universe, it becomes clear to us that the Chinese hieroglyph and pictogram were initially created according to the laws of the matrix of the Universe, which acted as the basis for their creation.
To confirm our previous conclusions that the matrix of the Universe was the sacred basis for the creation of Chinese hieroglyphs, I will give another example of combining the Chinese character - Hui - with the matrix of the Universe. Dicks). Its translation from Chinese means “”.
Rice. 3. In the picture A- Chinese character Hui is shown - ( X ui
)
, combined with the matrix of the Universe. Its translation from Chinese means - return, turn back. This is what the Chinese say and write in our “ Visible
» world. However, the same hieroglyph, placed in the matrix of the Universe, will denote similar concepts, but in “ The invisible world
" The concept " return, turn back" will denote movement from the Lower World to the Upper World of the matrix, where " home
"spiritual beings are returning. From the picture it is clear that the hieroglyph is located at the transition point between the Upper and Lower worlds. At the same time, it seems to be shifted towards the Upper World. The lines of the hieroglyph pattern are combined with eight (light circles) positions of the Upper World and only four positions (dark circles) of the Lower World. The dotted arrow on the left shows the direction " arrival
» in the lower world of the matrix, and the solid arrow on the right shows the direction “ exit
» from the Lower World to the Upper World. It is clearly seen from the figure that this hieroglyph was created on the basis of the matrix of the Universe and it was in it that, when created, it primarily denoted the concept - “ Go back, turn back O" The same meaning and appearance of this hieroglyph was extended to describe similar concepts in the everyday life of man and society in “ visible world
».
Figure 4 shows a photograph of two sides of a Chinese coin. In its center there is a characteristic square hole. Let's explore these coin drawings, combining them with the matrix of the Universe.
Rice. 4. The picture shows a photograph of two sides of a Chinese coin. In its center there is a characteristic square hole. As a rule, Chinese coins had an image on only one side.
Rice. 5. The figure shows the result of combining the left side of the coin shown in Figure 4 with the matrix of the Universe. The inner circle of the coin is highlighted " bold circle”, which passes through the 4th level of the Upper and Lower worlds of the Matrix, within which two sacred Tetractys are located. The dragons' bodies are positioned head down. Between them there is a circular ledge with “ rays
", the center of which is exactly aligned with the top of the pyramid of the Upper World and is highlighted in the figure on the left and right with a white circle. Sides " square” in the center of the coin aligned with two positions of the 2nd level of the Upper and Lower worlds of the matrix. It is clearly seen from the figure that the matrix of the Universe was the initial basis for creating the proportions of the coin and the drawings on it.
Rice. 6. The figure shows the result of combining the right side of the coin shown in Figure 4 with the matrix of the Universe. The inner circle of the coin is highlighted " bold circle”, which passes through the 4th level of the Upper and Lower worlds of the Matrix, within which two sacred Tetractys are located. The tops of the pyramids of the Upper and Lower worlds of the matrix aligned exactly with the centers of the upper and lower hieroglyphs depicted on the coin. These locations are shown with white circles. It is clearly seen from the figure that and for this side of the coin the matrix of the Universe was the initial basis for creating the proportions of the coin and the patterns of hieroglyphs on it.
Based on the results of combining the two sides of the coin, we can clearly conclude that the matrix of the Universe was the initial basis for creating the proportions of the coin and the drawings on it. Thus, the matrix of the Universe, as the basis of the Universe and the basis for the creation of writing, including hieroglyphics, was known to the ancient Chinese sages as well as to the Egyptian priests, priests of ancient India, priests of ancient Iran, the ancient Slavs, the ancient Greeks, and the ancient Jews.
COMMENT 2:
Along with the Chinese character Tao consider Indian sacred symbol AUM (OM). Next, let's compare these two symbols, combining them with the matrix of the Universe. Let us give a brief description of the Sacred Symbol from literary sources. AUM (OM). Harish Johari writes in the section “AUM - The Essence of All Mantras”:
“The Chandogya Upanishad says:
The essence of all existence is earth.
The essence of earth is water.
The essence of water is plants.
The essence of plants is man.
The essence of man is speech.
The essence of the speech is the Rig Veda.
The essence of the Rig Veda is Samveda.
The essence of Samveda is udgita(i.e. AUM) .
Udgita- the best of essences, deserving the highest place.
Rice. 7. Visually –AUM (OM) represented by a pictogram.
Thus, in all texts of Vedic origin AUM(or OM) is the essence of everything. AUM is a single whole, personifying the all-encompassing cosmic consciousness, turiya, the fourth-dimensional consciousness that goes beyond words and concepts, pure self-existence.
The Upanishads say that AUM is Brahman itself, that is, “God in the form of sound is AUM (OM).”
Pranava (AUM) is a bow,
The arrow is a personality
The goal is Brahman.
The Maitreya Upanishad compares AUM with an arrow that manas(mind, thinking, reason) lays on the bow of the human body ( breathing); Having pierced the darkness of ignorance, this arrow reaches the light of the highest state. Just as a spider climbs its web and achieves freedom, yogis rise to liberation through the syllable AUM.
AUM represents the original sound of timeless reality, which eternally vibrates in a person and is repeatedly reflected in his entire being. This sound reveals the innermost essence of a person to the vibration of a higher reality - not the reality that surrounds a person, but the endless reality that is eternally present both inside and outside.
The poet Rabindranath Tagore beautifully described this sacred syllable when he said that AUM is a word-symbol of the perfect, infinite and eternal. This sound is perfect in itself and represents the integrity of all things. Any religious contemplation begins with AUM and ends with this syllable. The purpose of this is to fill the mind with a sense of infinite perfection and liberate it from the world of limited selfishness.
The phenomenal world is created by different frequencies. According to all spiritual teachings, God first created sound, and from these sound frequencies the phenomenal world arose. Our entire existence consists of this sound. When this sound is ordered by the desire to communicate, manifest, evoke, materialize, excite or fill with energy, it turns into “ mantra ».
Rice. 8. The figure shows two sacred symbols of different cultures - ancient India and ancient China, combined with the matrix of the Universe at the transition point between the Upper and Lower worlds of the matrix. Both characters " get married
"foundation of the Upper World as a place" last step
"in front of the Lower World of the matrix of the Universe. Their semantic meaning is an indication of “ primacy
» The Upper World above the Lower World of the Matrix. Left, A–Vedic symbol AUM (OM). Right, IN– the type of symmetrical hieroglyph and concept I propose – DAO. Basic elements of both symbols OM And DAO pass through the same positions of the Upper World of the matrix. But, unlike the symbol OM, which touches with an arc only the top of the pyramid of the Lower World, symbol DAO more " covers
"or passes through all six upper positions of the Lower World of the matrix. In this sense, the symbol DAO indicates significance and " character
» processes at the place of transition from the Upper world of the matrix to the Lower world. It is clearly seen from the figure that both symbols were constructed according to the laws of the matrix of the Universe and describe or reflect the processes occurring in this “ The invisible world
».
Each of us has seen symbol of the Taoist monad, but not everyone thought about the meaning of the black and white dots located in the center of the black and white areas. Ancient Chinese mythology says that Yin - Yang is a symbol of the creative integrity of diametricalities in the Universe. It is depicted in the form of a circle, which symbolizes the image of infinity. This circle is divided into two halves by a wavy line. One part is black, the other is white.
Inside the circle are symmetrically located two points: white on a black background and vice versa, black on white. These points tell the story that the two great forces of the universe carry within them the birth of opposition. Black and white fields means Yin and Yang, they are also symmetrical, but their symmetry is not static. Thanks to this symmetry, a continuous cycle occurs, and when one of the principles has reached its apogee, it is ready to retreat: “Yang, reaching the peak of its development, retreats before Yin. Yin, reaching its peak of development, retreats before Yang.”
Yin and Yang- these are two opposite and interchangeable principles that permeate the entire Chinese culture. The ancient Chinese believed that all manifestations of Tao were generated through the interaction of two diverse forces.
The division of Heaven and Earth was preceded by the primordial integrity of the world. Chaos was called the beginning of everything that exists. For the creation of the world, chaos had to disintegrate. It dissociated into 2 main elements: Yin and Yang.
Originally, Yin and Yang meant the dark and light sides of the mountain. From one point of view, they represented only different slopes of the mountain; from another, they were no different from each other. Their qualitative difference can be determined by a certain force, the sun, which illuminates both slopes in turn.
Yin and Yang correspond to the elements such as fire and water. The cycle of these elements includes 2 stages, which are symbolized with the elements of metal and wood. Thus, a transformation circle of Yin and Yang is formed, which has its own center. Emblem center of the circle- This is the element of Earth. Thus, a fivefold structure unfolds, combining Yin and Yang with the triad of creation, and therefore is a symbol of the universe.
Symbol of Yin and Yang. Yang - white, masculine, emphasis on the external; Yin - black, feminine, emphasis on the inner.
Yin and yang (Chinese trad. ‰A-z, ex. ??, pinyin: yon yбng; Japanese in-yo) - one of the main concepts of ancient Chinese natural philosophy.
The doctrine of yin and yang is one of the theoretical foundations of traditional Chinese medicine. All phenomena of the surrounding world, including humans and nature, are interpreted by Chinese medicine as the interaction between the two principles of yin and yang, representing different aspects of a single reality
Philosophical concept
In the “Book of Changes” (“I Ching”), yang and yin served to express the light and dark, hard and soft, male and female principles in nature. As Chinese philosophy developed, yang and yin increasingly symbolized the interaction of extreme opposites: light and dark, day and night, sun and moon, sky and earth, heat and cold, positive and negative, even and odd, etc. Purely abstract meaning yin-yang was obtained in the speculative schemes of neo-Confucianism, especially in the doctrine of “li” (Chinese vX) - the absolute law. The concept of the interaction of the polar forces of yin-yang, which are considered as the main cosmic forces of movement, as the root causes of constant variability in nature, constitutes the main content of most dialectical schemes of Chinese philosophers. The doctrine of the dualism of yin-yang forces is an indispensable element of dialectical constructions in Chinese philosophy. In the V-III centuries. BC e. In ancient China there was a philosophical school called Yin Yang Jia. The concept of yin-yang has also found various applications in the development of the theoretical foundations of Chinese medicine, chemistry, music, etc.
Discovered in China several thousand years ago, this principle was originally based on physical thinking. However, as it developed, it became a more metaphysical concept. In Japanese philosophy, the physical approach has been preserved, so the division of objects according to yin and yang properties is different between the Chinese and the Japanese. In the new Japanese religion oomoto-kyo, these are the concepts of the divine Izu (fire, yo) and Mizu (water, in).
The single primordial matter of taiji gives rise to two opposite substances - yang and yin, which are one and indivisible. Initially, “yin” meant “northern, shadowy”, and “yang” meant “southern, sunny slope of the mountain.” Later, yin was perceived as negative, cold, dark and feminine, and yang as positive, light, warm and masculine.
The Nei Ching treatise says on this matter:
Pure yang substance is transformed into the sky; the muddy substance of yin is transformed into the earth... The sky is the substance of yang, and the earth is the substance of yin. The sun is the substance of yang, and the moon is the substance of yin... The substance of yin is peace, and the substance of yang is mobility. The yang substance gives birth, and the yin substance nurtures. The yang substance transforms the breath-qi, and the yin substance forms the bodily form.
Five elements as a product of Yin and Yang
The interaction and struggle of these principles give rise to the five elements (primary elements) - wu-xing: water, fire, wood, metal and earth, from which arises the entire diversity of the material world - “ten thousand things” - wan wu, including man. The five elements are in constant movement and harmony, mutual generation (water gives birth to wood, wood - fire, fire - earth, earth - metal, and metal - water) and mutual overcoming (water extinguishes fire, fire melts metal, metal destroys the tree, the tree destroys the earth, and the earth fills up the water).
A. A. Maslov
Taoist symbols
Maslov A.A. China: bells in the dust. The wanderings of a magician and an intellectual. -
M.: Aletheya, 2003, p. 70-82.
Taoism is a bizarre phenomenon, different, like a patchwork quilt. This is not a religion, not a doctrine, not a philosophy, not even a conglomerate of schools. Rather, it is a special mood of consciousness inherent in the Chinese ethnic group. If Confucianism is what the bearers of this tradition think of themselves, then Taoism is what they really are, and these parts of the “I” - the real “I” and the ideal “I” - are indissoluble and must live together.
Taoism is a somewhat random term, as the Confucians called all those people - and there were many of them - who “talked about Tao.” They could perform different rituals and adhere to different types of practices, be healers, healers, magicians, and wandering warriors.
Taoism left behind a considerable number of symbols that are associated with the most ancient, most archaic ideas about spirits, “floors” of Heaven, travel to the afterlife and communication with ancestors. Taoism still widely uses a kind of “secret writing”, so reminiscent of the magical signs of shamans - a system of slightly modified hieroglyphs, which, when written, for example, on the wall of a house or on colored paper, influence the world of spirits in a certain way.
There can be no holiness and “trembling of the soul” before meeting the divine in Taoism, because Tao does not require personal experience. What is more important here is the practical aspect of self-development, numerous methods of “internal art” (neigong), sexual practices of nurturing the energy-qi and seed-jing, leading to the birth of an “immortal embryo” in the body.
Once, the famous calligrapher and follower of Taoism Wang Xizhi, who loved to eat geese, asked for one of them from the famous Taoist who raised these birds. The Taoist refused, Wang Xizhi made his request several more times, but the answer was still negative. Finally, the Taoist had mercy on the calligrapher and said that he would give up the goose if Wang Xizhi rewrote the Tao Te Ching with his own hand. He did so, and the strange exchange of the sacred text for the unsacred goose took place. This story is usually cited as an example of the popularity of Taoist teachings, but it is more reasonable to see in it devotion to the goose - that is, an absolute lack of distinction between the sacred and the profane.
70
In its pure form, Taoism was never the prevailing teaching in China and, in essence, occupied a rather modest place. The idea that most Chinese perform Taoist rituals is due to the fact that Taoism is often confused with local cults, prayers to the spirits of ancestors, that is, what really is the core of the spiritual life of both ancient and modern Chinese. Today, dozens of Chinese come to Taoist monasteries every day, but not at all in order to “practice the Taoist religion,” but then to worship the spirits of their ancestors or to cleanse themselves of harmful spirits. Taoist, as well as Buddhist monks, fulfilling the role of ancient mediums and magicians, serve the population by performing wedding ceremonies, rituals associated with funeral services for the dead or the birth of children.
Taoism begins to take shape during the period of the earliest archaic cults and completes its formation in the 12th-12th centuries, when it becomes a “completely” state cult, fits into the imperial ideology and when clearly structured schools appear, each with its own name
(purely mystical schools were usually named after their leaders, and non-doctrines), for example, “Quanzhendao” (“The Way of the Integral Truth”), which has survived to this day, or “Zhenyidao” (“The Way of the True One”) and others.
Early Taoist ideas are believed to have been based primarily on the doctrine of xiang yah immortals, the concept of prolonging life and achieving immortality, as well as ideas about fanshi magicians capable of performing incredible things and performing miracles. According to one version, religious Taoism originated in Shandong, Jiangsu and other coastal provinces. According to other assumptions, the first Taoists settled in the central Chinese province of Sichuan, which has long been known for its love of the mystical.
71
During the brief period of the Three Kingdoms and Western Jin in the 3rd century. The imperial court treated the Taoists with great suspicion, and therefore Taoism developed very slowly. But already a century later, in the 4th century, under the Eastern Jin, it began to arouse interest among many representatives of the highest levels of government, aristocrats and county administration. The reason was simple and did not lie in the mystical depths of the teaching - Taoism offered effective methods of healing and prolonging life, and this, of course, worried everyone. Actually, what is commonly called “religious Taoism” with its numerous cults and monastic living, as follows from what we stated above, to some extent was precisely the rationalization and formalization of mystical knowledge, while this knowledge itself did not exist only in the Taoist environment , but in different strata of Chinese society.
And yet, Taoism was not so much an isolated spiritual teaching as a kind of repository of ancient mystical ideas and magical methods, which were “thrown” into secular culture from time to time. Let us give just one example of how this could happen.
In the 4th century. After a brief unification under the rule of the Jin dynasty, China is again subject to raids by northern nomads, who eventually occupy the northern territories of China. The Chinese intellectual elite, wenren - “people of culture”, fleeing the barbarians, gradually moved south of the Yangtze. The Yangtze once again becomes a natural demarcation line between north and south, between barbarism and culture. The Wenren intellectual tradition overlapped with local Taoist cults, and Taoism rapidly became part of the cultural life of the elite. Taoist magical cults now feed secular culture, again “throwing” mysterious sensations into society. This is how interest in breathing-meditative systems such as Daoyin and Neigong arose and quickly developed, Taoist magical healing methods turned into everyday methods of treating court officials and the intellectual elite. Interest in calligraphy is also awakening, but in calligraphy of a special nature. In the Taoist environment, “calligraphy classes” often consisted of writing some obscure signs, written out at the moment of trance and ecstatic communication with spirits. Name-mystical Taoism became the main source of all modern concepts of calligraphy. One way or another, they come down to methods of establishing “written” communication with spirits, while calligraphically written manuscripts were a special form of addressing the spirits.
73
The Tao manifests itself through everyday life and is embodied in the actions of fully trained people, although few of them completely “follow the Path.” Moreover, the practice of Taoism itself is built on a complex system of symbolism of mutual correspondence and unity of the general, cosmic and internal, human world. Everything, for example, is permeated with a single qi energy. A child is born from the mixing of the original qi (yuan qi) of the father and mother, the person lives only by continuing to nourish the body with some external qi (wai qi), transferring it to an internal state with the help of a system of breathing exercises and proper nutrition. Everything truly “great” is connected with the beyond, with the Tao, which at the same time manifests itself instantly in things, phenomena, actions and in this sense is completely “this-worldly”. The cosmic here is constantly projected onto the human and appears in a special vital “energeticism”, the energetic potency of both the Tao itself and the people who were able to fully comprehend it. The path-Tao itself is perceived as an energetic, spiritualizing principle, for example, in “Zhuang Tzu” it is said: “He (that is, the path-Tao - A.M.) spiritualized deities and kings, gave birth to Heaven and Earth.”
Thus, it becomes clear that the early mystics, and especially the Taoists, were so keen on various gymnastic, breathing and meditative exercises, usually united under the general name daoyin - “to introduce [qi into the body] and conduct it [through the channels of the body].” Moreover, under this the term meant not only exercise, but also proper nutritional methods that fill the human body with qi, for example, the use of tree mushrooms and hallucinogens.
Various tree mushrooms called zhi (tinder fungi) were most often used as hallucinogens - for example, concentrated decoctions of the lingzhi tree mushroom, which is used today as a medicine. Modern lingzhi do not have a pronounced hallucinogenic effect, so it can be assumed that in ancient Taoist practice some other type of tree mushroom appeared under this name. By accepting lingzhi, one could see the spirits or turn into a spirit oneself, as evidenced by the translation of the name lingzhi - “mushrooms of spirits.”
Early Taoist practice, closely related to archaic magical practice, was generally largely based on the visualization of spirits using hallucinogenic mushrooms, and in connection with this, for example, Taoist temples were called zhizhichan - “abode of mushrooms.” The magical energy of the Xian immortals was largely due to the fact that they lived among certain “mushroom fields” (zhi tian), often understood as a true “field of grace” in which the corresponding components for longevity potions, essentially hallucinogens, are grown.
74
Taoism would have long remained the main exponent of the magical teachings of China if not for Buddhism. It was Buddhism that forced Taoism to transform from an amorphous movement of “magicians” and “immortals,” that is, mediums and fortune-tellers, into a fully formed teaching with a powerful religious complex, a system of rituals and worship, a clearly established, albeit somewhat amorphous pantheon of gods and spirits. -III centuries as a ready-made and relatively harmonious teaching - here it was opposed by a bizarre conglomerate of beliefs and mystical experiences called Taoism. And it was Buddhism that interrupted the rise of Taoist mysteriology, forcing it, on the one hand, to “land” to rationalism, which was expressed primarily in the creation of numerous texts explaining mystical doctrines, and on the other hand, to “rise” to one of the main ideological systems of imperial China. Thus, as a relatively integral complex of beliefs, rituals and schools with its patriarchs, Taoism developed quite late, at least later than Chinese historiographers write. Back in the 3rd century. BC Taoism under Qin Shihuang received official institutionalization, that is, it was recognized by the imperial court as one of the court teachings, and in the 2nd-3rd centuries. already appears as a very influential movement at court, and this “external” or “visible” part of it turned out to be entirely subordinated to the interests of the court and the highest aristocracy, for example, it satisfied the interest in prolonging life, predicted by the stars and sacred signs. The mystical knowledge of Taoism was reduced only to particular techniques, which then became associated with Taoism in general.
Buddhism itself has adopted a lot from Taoism, and above all terminology and many forms of practice, but at the same time it makes Taoism realize itself as something holistic and harmonious. Moreover, not only Buddhism became sinicized when it entered the Celestial Empire, but Taoism also became “Buddhized,” and this “Buddhized” continued for many centuries. The Taoists adopted from the Buddhists, first of all, many methods of meditative practice, the reading of established prayers and the daily routine; they were attracted by the Buddhist
75
Drawing symbolism - and Taoism had its own “mandala”: the famous black and white “fish” of yin and yang. In the XII-XIII centuries. in Taoism, which previously practically did not recognize monks, the institution of monasticism appears, observance of vows is required and monastic rules are introduced - and all this also comes from the highly developed monastic doctrine of Buddhism.
It is this absolute flexibility that has allowed Taoism to take on a variety of forms and incorporate many methods of spiritual practice. For example, Taoism actively interacted with legalism (“the teaching of legalists”), it is no coincidence that in ancient texts the term “Tao” (Way) is often replaced by the term fa - “law” or “method” precisely in the meaning that is meant by it in legalism , and in particular in the “Four Books of Huang Di” (“Huang Di Si Jing”), discovered during excavations in Mawandui near Changsha in the 70s. last century.
Step by step, Taoism pushes into the background the original central teaching of the magicians and increasingly fits into the cultural-imperial environment of Chinese life. He even “discovers” genetic links to Buddhism. This is how the legend usually called “Lao Tzu Enlightens the Barbarians” appears: the great Lao Tzu, as the classical version of the legend says, “went to the West” through the Hangu outpost in the 6th century. BC, actually retired to India, where he enlightened the barbarians and at the same time taught Gautama from the Shakyamuni clan (but another version, he himself reincarnated as Shakyamuni). Thus, Gautama was none other than a disciple of Lao Tzu, and therefore the followers of Taoism perceived Buddhism as the reflected light of their own teaching.
Despite the “secrecy” of many methods, which the Taoists formally preached, a colossal amount of literature was created among them. In general, at first glance, even the very coexistence of these facts seems extremely strange: the constant preaching of “secrecy” and “hiddenness”, “incommunicability to the outside” (bu waichuan) - and extensive works, even a tenth of which no Taoist or Buddhist would undertake to read . Willy-nilly, the assumption arises that all this is either “self-exposure”, the disclosure of “secrets”, or, conversely, a powerful mechanism for concealing the most important thing, empirically developed by the mystical culture of China over the centuries. This is also hinted at by the actual education system in modern Taoist and Buddhist schools, which is built exclusively on oral communication. Thus, a large number of works are intended not so much to tell about Taoist or Buddhist spiritual and mystical practice, but to hide it.
76
The Taoist canons were collected into a single and very extensive compendium “Dao zang” - “Treasury of the Tao” or “Guardian of the Tao” - only in 1607, during the late period of the Ming dynasty, when much effort was made to organize the written spiritual heritage. And at the same time, another surprising property of Taoism was revealed - it did not have not only a constant form of doctrine, which was essentially absent, but even stable canonical versions of texts. For example, at that time there were about 40 versions of the Tao Te Ching circulating in China, and four of them were included in the Tao Tsang. China thereby practically refused to think about the truth of the text, omitting equally its presence in various lists and its complete absence in at least one of the versions. The Chinese version of the collection of Buddhist texts “Tripitaka” was constructed in the same way; for example, it included several versions of the classical Chan Buddhist text “Sutraplato of the Sixth Patriarch”, which differed in the time of writing and commentaries.
77
Obviously, what was important was not the text, or even its content, but the fact that “true people” touched it, and great sages were involved in commenting on it. It is no coincidence that versions were often named after their commentators, for example: “Tao Te Ching” by Heshan Gong’s version, “Tao Te Ching” by Wang Bi’s comments. It was the sages who sanctified the canon with their name and proved its truth by their participation in them.
In the Western tradition, such a situation is hardly possible. There cannot be different versions of the Bible (although from a historical point of view this is quite acceptable) - any other version or even translation can be declared heretical. The Western, and in particular the Judeo-Christian tradition is based on the absolute unity of faith and the uniformity of the canon of this faith, the unity of its understanding and adherence. The Chinese tradition tried to reduce the canon to the level of individual understanding or direct mentoring outside the institution of the church.
However, Taoism gradually loses its creative impulse, the mystery becomes open to everyone. And it ceases to be an attractive mystery of “non-existence”. And in response to this, throughout China in the 18th-15th centuries, folk sects appeared like mushrooms, spiritually based on Taoist postulates. This is a desperate attempt to return the feeling of sacred space and immersion in non-existent flows that once existed in pre-Buddhist and pre-state Taoism. Alas, Taoist sects often served as excellent soil for popular uprisings, merging with similar sects of popular Buddhism, but were not able to revive the former mystery. The rationalism of Chinese culture has eaten up the secret of “penetrating the Tao.”
Medieval Taoism now strives for a comprehensive, but already rational religious experience - and this is also influenced by Buddhism. Many schools arose, for example, Zhen Dadao Jiao (“Teaching of the True Great Way”), Taiyi Jiao (“Teaching of the Great One”), Quan Zhen Jiao (“Teaching of the Completeness of Truth”). Even earlier, Taoism became “healing” - Taoists were highly valued, especially at the imperial court, as excellent healers. One such example was the famous Taoist doctor Sun Simiao, who was one of the first to develop a system of health-improving breathing exercises based on Taoist techniques. This was no longer Taoism with its fullness of experience, but a purely applied and in this sense very rational technique that gave a specific therapeutic result.
78
Taoism preaches the original naturalness, naturalness and simplicity of being. Moreover, simplicity should manifest itself not so much in the form of life itself, but in a special view of the world. Since the path of Tao reigns over the world objectively and independently of human desire, the only way to live a “correct” life is to be, as the Chinese themselves said, “in accordance with Tao,” or “to follow Tao.”
Taoism is one of the most amazing schools, which does not have a fixed form, clearly structured teaching, rigid forms of worship and practice. Even the very concept of Taoism (Taoq Jiao - Dos L. “the teaching of Tao” or the radiation of Tao”), following the best concepts of Taoism about “emptiness,” is a dummy word that is filled each time with new content depending on the era, school and even locality All attempts by the state to bring Taoism to a common denominator, to create a hierarchical institution of Taoist mentors receiving certain licenses from the state, failed. That bizarre conglomeration of thoughts, ideas and forms of worship that were united under the name Taoism simply does not accept structure as such.
79
Strictly speaking, Taoist symbols actually have only an indirect relation to Taoism; Taoism operates with signs, symbols, visions and concepts that are overwhelmingly characteristic of any ancient mystery culture.
At the center of the Taoist worldview is the invisible, intangible and absolutely empty Tao. Taoist authors themselves emphasized that "Tao" is nothing more than a word for that which infinitely surpasses our understanding. (In the “Tao Te Ching”: “Tao is just a word coming out of the mouth”; “I don’t know how to designate it, but in words I will call it Tao.”) In the same way, in the biblical tradition it is believed that “No one has ever seen God” ( 1 John 4:12), - direct vision of this kind is impossible and inaccessible to man, for physical “sight” is inherent only in the earthly world, but is incredible in the heavenly world.
Formally, from the point of view of worship and rituals, the head of the Taoist pantheon is either the “Heavenly Ancestor” (Tianzong) or the “Ruler of Tao” (Daojun), often associated with Laojun (“Ruler of Lao”), deified by Lao Tzu. It is his image that occupies the central part of altars in temples, is placed in home shrines, and incense is regularly burned to him.
And yet, Taoism is the embodied method of communicating with spirits, establishing the closest contacts with the invisible world and at the same time creating protection from this unknown world. Spirits bring intimacy to communication with Heaven; they are guides and representatives of the invisible Tao. The end point of aspirations is absolute emptiness - the “resonant emptiness of the cave,” which is both the final and initial state of the world. And in this sense, Taoism disembodied culture down to its structure and lost culture altogether.
80
Due to the absolute “ungivenness” of the Tao in China, the role of the teacher, who was the embodiment of the Tao itself, its material expression, was especially great. Being, on the one hand, a physical, concrete person - a mortal man, fallible and full of desires - he simultaneously materialized the Tao itself, standing beyond definitions and manifestations. It is important to realize that the mentor did not explain some “teaching of the Tao” and did not tell the “Taoist theory,” but was an absolute manifestation of this Tao, and therefore could “teach beyond words.” It is no coincidence that in modern Taoist schools the most important thing is not listening to the explanations of a famous Taoist teacher, but simply staying next to him for some time to acquire his inner image. Sometimes this leads to well-known paradoxes. In a Taoist monastery in Henan province, elderly Taoists come from afar to one of the famous mentors in order to work with him as a hoe for several days in a small monastery garden. After this, satisfied and filled with joy from communicating with the master, they leave. Training begins not with the demonstration of some mediative techniques or exercises of “inner art” and “nurturing the inner pill,” but with numerous purely everyday “arts,” for example, the art of eating (chifan gongfu) or rationally wearing clothes (ifugongfu). Ultimately, it all comes down to the restructuring of a person’s internal energy image, therefore it is impossible to comprehend such an art in a short period of time, and all classes of “proper nutrition” and “rational dressing” are intended only for one thing - to extend the period of stay of the adept next to his mentor, so that the follower can holistically perceive his energetic image.
81
At the same time, many famous Taoists of modern China, as well as enlightened Buddhists, may have very vague ideas about the theory of their teaching, which is described in such detail in treatises and repeated many times in Western monographs on Taoism. For example, Taoists in various Chinese monasteries, in conversations with me, named the different number of souls that a person has, none could accurately describe the “floors of Heaven” on which the immortals are located, etc., although all this information is presented even in popular Chinese brochures about Taoism. Famous Taoist Buddhist teachers in this sense turn out to be bad mentors - they cannot teach any theory or even formal techniques. Moreover, they themselves do not need this information, because direct practice is reduced to a mystical experience that can only be reproduced by being close to them. Conversely, formal education, the creation, as is happening in modern China, of various official “schools”, “academies”, the publication of textbooks on Taoist theory and practice most likely indicate the absolute profanation of mystical knowledge, which cannot be obtained otherwise than by communicating personally with the teacher in over a long period of time.
It is noteworthy that all this exactly repeats the general tradition of the sage ruler of China, embodied in the image of the emperor. It was important not to communicate with the emperor, but to stay close to him or even at a distance from him, for example, without personally seeing the ruler, but on the territory of the palace, where everything was permeated with his grace. Both the emperor and the Taoist master are equally carriers of the beneficial impulse de, thanks to which they acquire their status as teachers and magical leaders.
"Carolina" by Cynthia Wright. Find other books by the author/authors: Cynthia Wright, Galina Vladimirovna Romanova. Find other books in the genre: Detective (not classified in other categories), Historical romance novels (All genres). Forward →. No one but you could do this - steal the plan and not get caught.
Alex was aware that, despite all the horrors of the war, his work had an undeniable charm. Caroline. Author: Cynthia Wright. Translation: Denyakina E. Description: Alexandre Beauvisage is used to considering himself an impeccable gentleman. Therefore, having picked up a girl who has lost her memory in a deep Connecticut forest, he decides to behave with dignity and give the lovely “find” to the care of his aristocratic family.
But the girl’s seductive charm puts Alexander’s good intentions in serious danger. ^ ^ Wright Cynthia - Caroline.
download the book for free. Rating: (7). Author: Cynthia Wright. Title: Caroline. Genre: Historical romance novels. ISBN: Cynthia Wright other books by the author: Wild Flower. Caroline. Love has a thorny path. Fire flower. Here you can read the book “Carolina” online by author Cynthia Wright read online - page 1 and decide whether it’s worth buying. CHAPTER 1. It’s hard to imagine that it could be such a beautiful day in October.
CYNTHIA WRIGHT CAROLINA. CHAPTER 1. It’s hard to imagine that it could be such a beautiful day in October. No one but you could do this - steal the plan and not get caught. Alex was aware that, despite all the horrors of the war, his work had an undeniable charm. He wandered the swamps of South Carolina with Francis Morion, sailed as a captain on a privateer ship, and drank cognac with Washington and Lafayette on the banks of the Hudson.
Caroline Wright Cynthia. You can read the book online and download the book in fb2, txt, html, epub format. No one but you could do this - steal the plan and not get caught. Alex was aware that, despite all the horrors of the war, his work had an undeniable charm. He wandered the swamps of South Carolina with Francis Morion, sailed as a captain on a privateer ship, and drank cognac with Washington and Lafayette on the banks of the Hudson. Wright Cynthia. Caroline. Abstract of the book, opinions and ratings of readers, covers of publications. Reader reviews of the book “Carolina” by Cynthia Wright: voin: I read it a long time ago.
I remember the plot perfectly, pleasant memories, a good Christmas story (5). “Carolina”, Cynthia Wright - download the book for free in fb2, epub, rtf, txt, html formats. No one but you could do this - steal the plan and not get caught.
Alex was aware that, despite all the horrors of the war, his work had an undeniable charm. He wandered the swamps of South Carolina with Francis Morion, sailed as a captain on a privateer ship, and drank cognac with Washington and Lafayette on the banks of the Hudson.
Categories Post navigation
