forbearance
Arctic
breath coils the mountain,
Rattling the forests’ bones.
Raindrops cling to branches;
Jewelled adornment flung to earth.
Trees
in winter lose their leaves. Some trees may even fall during
storms, but most stand patiently and bear their fortune.
They endure rain, snow, wind, and
cold. They bear the adornment of
glycerin raindrops, glimmering icicles, or crowns of snow without care.
The are not concerned when such lustrous splendor is dashed to the
ground. They stand, and they wait, the power of their growth apparently
dormant. But inside, a burgeoning is building imperceptibly.
Theirs is the forbearance of being
true to their inner natures. It is
with this power that they withstand both the vicissitudes and
adornments of life, for neither bad fortune nor good fortune will alter
what they are. We should be the same way. We may have great fortune or
bad, but we should patiently bear both. No matter what, we must always
be true to our inner selves.
forbearance
365
Tao
daily
meditations
Deng
Ming-Dao (author)
ISBN
0-06-250223-9
Incense
Burner with Li Tieguai
Incense
Burner with Li Tieguai (detail)
Ming dynasty5,
15th/16th century
Bronze 31 x 23 cm
Sichuan4
Provincial Museum, Chengdu
cat. no. 62
Incense
Burner with Li Tieguai
The incense burner is the most
important object in a Taoist ritual. The
smoke from the incense purifies the ritual space, alerts the gods that
a ritual is about to be performed, and draws the gods to the altar.
Incense smoke is also believed to resemble the swirling patterns of
cloudlike energies underlying all matter. As such, the smoke infuses
both the altar and the body of the priest with sacred energy. In this
incense burner, the vents that allow the smoke to escape are in the
shape of four trigrams from the Book of Changes, symbolizing the
interactions of yin and yang.
The incense burner is topped with an image of Li Tieguai, "Iron-Crutch
Li," one of the Eight Immortals1,
important deities of the Complete
Realization sect2
of Taoism. Legend has it that Li's soul was able to
leave his body and travel to other places. Once, Li ordered a student
to watch his body while his soul visited Laozi3,
instructing that
student to burn his body if his soul did not return in seven days. On
the sixth day, the student had a family emergency, so he burned Li's
body and left a day early. When Li returned and found his body in
ashes, he was forced to take the nearest body—that of a disabled
beggar who had recently died. He had this form forever after
and relied on an iron crutch to walk.
glossary:
1 Eight Immortals A group of legendary, semi-historical
figures important in both religious Taoism and popular religion.
Artistic representations of each are usually recognizable by
identifying their respective attributes. The
names of the Eight Immortals are
Zhongli Quan, He Xiangu, Zhang Guo, L¸ Dongbin, Han Xiangxi, Cao
Guojiu, Li Tieguai, and Lan
Caihe. Stories
of the Eight Immortals were popularized in folklore, drama, novels, and
woodblock prints.
2
Complete
Realization Sect
A Taoist monastic order founded
in northern China around 1160. The sect combines the teachings of
Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. The goal of the sect's followers
was to attain immortality by perfectly realizing the Tao in themselves.
Both male and female members of this sect practiced a strict monastic
lifestyle. It survives today as one of the two major sects of Taoism,
and its headquarters is the White Cloud Monastery in Beijing.
3
Laozi
Literally,
"old master," traditionally assumed to have been born in the sixth
century B.C. He is considered the author of the earliest Taoist
philosophical text, the Classic of the Way and Its Power (Daode
jing). Historians now agree that Laozi was a legendary figure developed
to provide an author for the Daode jing, which was compiled by a
group of scholars in the third century B.C. During the Han dynasty,
Laozi was deified; he remains one of the most important deities in
religious Taoism.
4
Sichuan (Szechwan)
A province in southwestern
China noted for its warm climate, fertile farmland, and abundance of
natural resources; the birthplace of religious Taoism
5
Ming dynasty (1368—1644) The period following the Yuan dynasty
in which native rule was restored. Ming emperors and empresses
sponsored the renovation of Taoist sacred sites and the practice of
reformed Taoist rituals. In the Ming dynasty, the Taoist god Zhenwu
became a national protector. Paintings characterized by great energy
and vigor flourished during this time, and the porcelain industry
received major imperial patronage. Early Ming energy was followed by a
powerful conservative movement, echoed in the efforts to isolate China
from the outside world. Nevertheless, the Portuguese landed in China in
1514. In the 17th century, trade with the Netherlands began and Jesuit
priests entered southern China. Corruption in the late-Ming imperial
court ultimately led to another foreign occupation.
This lesson finishes up our ‘Taoist
Ritual’ section about the Taoist
Church. Here are some reminders of what we have already
studied:
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