devotion
      Chinese characters for devotion
scroll



Make the crooked straight,
Make the straight to flow.
Gather water, fire, and light.
Bring the world to a single point.




If we have devotion—total faith and commitment to our spiritual path—our determination will naturally build momentum. Fewer and fewer obstructions will come before us. Our path becomes like a crooked one made straight. No matter what tries to keep us from our purpose, we will not be deterred.

Proper devotion lies not simply in a headlong course. It also requires fortitude. Our bodies, our hearts, and our spirits must be totally concentrated upon what we want. Only by uniting all our inner elements can we have full devotion.

If we see our path clearly and our personalities are completely unified, then there is no distinction between the outer world and the inner one. Nothing is faraway anymore, nothing is not open to us. That is why it is said that the world is like a single point: So strong is devotion that there is nothing that is not a part of it.



devotion
365 Tao
daily meditations
Deng Ming-Dao (author)
ISBN 0-06-250223-9
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     Chinese characters for Tao Priest Robe
Taoist Priest's Robe (detail)
Qing dynasty, c. 1650/1700
Embroidered satin 127 x 208.7 cm
Victoria & Albert Museum, London;
Chester Beatty gift cat. no. 47
thank you to the Art Institute of Chicago Taoism in Art exhibit and lessons

close view of robeTHE TAOIST CHURCH
Taoist Ritual

Taoist Priest's Robe
Among the most visually and technically stunning works of Taoist art are the robes worn by Taoist priests. These sumptuous garments, like most other pieces of Taoist art, were made for ritual use. Their spectacular images were thus not just decorative, but also symbolic, designed to transform the area around the altar from an ordinary space into a celestial court. Taoist deities themselves are often depicted wearing such robes. By putting on a robe such as this one, the Taoist priest shared in the divinity of the gods.

As a bridge between the human and spirit worlds, the Taoist priest is required to continually renew the good relationship between the people of his community and the gods. Most Taoist rituals lead up to an audience with the gods modeled after an official meeting between the emperor and his ministers. In such an audience, the priest envisions himself in a celestial court like the one depicted on the back of this robe.

In the center of the top register are the Three Purities1, the three highest Taoist gods. Included in their number is the Celestial Worthy of the Way and Its Power2, the title of the deified sage Laozi. Below them, in the center of the group, is the Jade Emperor. While the Three Purities were high-ranking deities far removed from the world of mortals, the Jade Emperor was a more active spiritual leader who governed the popular pantheon of regional gods incorporated into Taoism. This explains his central place on this robe. The Jade Emperor3 is surrounded by a celestial assembly. Many of those gathered can be identified by the names embroidered near their images. During a ritual, the Taoist priest would have visualized each of these deities descending to the altar to hear petitions on behalf of his patrons. On the bottom of the robe are four trigrams from the Book of Changes (Yi jing) that symbolize different combinations of yin (represented by a broken line) and yang (represented by an unbroken line) energy.

1Three Purities (Three Clarities)   the highest deities in Taoism, they reside over the three greatest heavenly realms. Their names are the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning, the Celestial Worthy of Numinous Treasure, and the Celestial Worthy of the Way and Its Power.

2Celestial Worthy of the Way and its Power  divine title of Laozi by the second century A.D. In this guise, Laozi is one of the Three Purities, the greatest Taoist gods. The name is derived from the Taoist text attributed to Laozi, the Classic of the Way and Its Power.

3Jade Emperor  chief of the pantheon of popular gods incorporated into Taoism

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