Sign-In
Cart
Taoism: Growth of a Religion
Hardcover
ISBN13: 9780804728386
Publisher: Stanford Univ Pr
Published: May 1 1997
Pages: 320
Weight: 1.23
Height: 0.88 Width: 5.50 Depth: 8.50
Language: English
This is a survey of the history of Taoism from approximately the third century B.C. to the fourteenth century A.D. For many years, it was customary to divide Taoism into philosophical Taoism and religious Taoism. The author has long argued that this is a false division and that religious Taoism is simply the practice of philosophical Taoism. She sees Taoism as foremost a religion, and the present work traces the development of Taoism up to the point it reached its mature form (which remains intact today, albeit with modern innovations).
The main aim of this history of Taoism is to trace the major lines of its doctrinal evolution, showing the coherence of its development, the wide varieties of factors that came into play over a long period of disconnected eras, the constant absorptions of outside contributions, and the progress that integrates them. The author shows how certain recurrent themes are treated in different ways in different eras and different sects. Among these themes are the Ultimate Truth, immortality, the Sage, the genesis and the end of the world, retribution for good and evil acts, representations of heavens and hells, and the connections between life and the spirit, between life and death, between man and society, and between mystical experience and the social form of religion.
The plan of the book is chronological, but the chronology is somewhat fluid given the way Taoism evolved; as it assimilated new features in the course of its growth, it never ceased to continue to develop the old ones. Thus the Celestial Masters sect, which is chronologically the first to attain a structure, is treated at the outset of the book though it exists down to our day, and the Shangqing tradition took shape in the fourth century though its glory years were under the Tang (618-907).
1 different editions
Also available
Also in
Taoism
The Tao of Immortality: The Four Healing Arts and the Nine Levels of Alchemy
Wei, William U.
Chia, Mantak
Paperback
Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching: A Book about the Way and the Power of the Way
Lao Tzu
Le Guin, Ursula K.
Paperback
Coming Home to Embodied Awakening: Reclaim Your Body, Power, and Purpose in an Age of AI
Gu, Mingtong
Paperback
Coming Home to Embodied Awakening: Reclaim Your Body, Power, and Purpose in an Age of AI
Gu, Mingtong
Hardcover
Awaken Healing Energy Through the Tao: The Taoist Secret of Circulating Internal Power
Chia, Mantak
Paperback
The Tao of Physics: An Exploration of the Parallels Between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism
Capra, Fritjof
Paperback
The Tao of Craft: Fu Talismans and Casting Sigils in the Eastern Esoteric Tradition
Wen, Benebell
Paperback
The Sage's Tao Te Ching, 25th Anniversary Edition: Ancient Advice for the Second Half of Life
Martin, William
Paperback
The Sage's Tao Te Ching, 20th Anniversary Edition: Ancient Advice for the Second Half of Life
Martin, William
Paperback
Returning to the Source: Daoist Meditations for Rediscovering the Sacred in Everyday Life
Towler, Solala
Paperback
Lao-Tzu: Te-Tao Ching: A New Translation Based on the Recently Discovered Ma-wang tui Texts
Henricks, Robert G.
Paperback
The Caregiver's Tao Te Ching: Compassionate Caring for Your Loved Ones and Yourself
Martin, Nancy
Martin, William
Paperback
The Tradition of Natural Taoism: The Way of Free and Easy Wandering in Oneness
Gregory, Jason
Paperback
The DAO de Jing: Laozi's Book of Life: A New Translation from the Ancient Chinese
Huang, J. H.
Hardcover
The Original I Ching: A Landmark Translation of the Book of Changes Based on Recent Discoveries
Pearson, Margaret J.
Paperback
A Path and a Practice: Using Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching as a Guide to an Awakened Spiritual Life
Martin, William
Paperback
The Eternal Tao Te Ching: The Philosophical Masterwork of Taoism and Its Relevance Today
Hoff, Benjamin
Hardcover
Cambie Sus Pensamientos y Cambie Su Vida: Viva la sabiduria del Tao = Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life
Dyer, Wayne W.
Paperback
Original Tao: Inward Training (Nei-Yeh) and the Foundations of Taoist Mysticism
Roth, Harold
Paperback
Grace Unfolding: Psychotherapy in the Spirit of Tao-te ching
Johanson, Greg
Kurtz, Ronald S.
Paperback
Understanding the I Ching: The Wilhelm Lectures on the Book of Changes
Wilhelm, Richard
Wilhelm, Hellmut
Paperback
Thinking Body, Dancing Mind: Taosports for Extraordinary Performance in Athletics, Business, and Life
Huang, Chungliang Al
Paperback
Taoist Inner Alchemy: Master Huang Yuanji's Guide to the Way of Meditation
Guolong, Ge
Yuanji, Huang
Paperback
Classical Indian Philosophy: A History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps, Volume 5
Adamson, Peter
Ganeri, Jonardon
Paperback
Taoism for Beginners: Understanding and Applying Taoist History, Concepts, and Practices
Reninger, Elizabeth
Paperback
Finding a Life of Harmony and Balance: A Taoist Master's Path to Wisdom
Shunchao, Zheng
Kaiguo, Chen
Hardcover
The Way Within Without Recovery Edition: A Modern Tao Te Ching Interpretation For Healing, Presence, and Recovery
Rios, Miguel J.
Paperback
Lao Tzu's Wu Wei - The Tao of Effortless Power: The Ancient Art of Doing Less and Achieving More
Ancient Wisdom Institute
Paperback
Tao Te Ching Oracle Book & Card Deck: Includes 128-Page Book and 52 Inspirational Cards
Flanders, Julian
Paperback