Taoism and Chinese religion by Henri Maspero

Author:Henri Maspero
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Taoism -- China, China -- Religion
Publisher: Univ of Massachusetts Pr; First Edition edition
Published: 1981-03-06T16:00:00+00:00

27S Taoism and Chinese Religion

the great Immortals who would have the power to govern the world, let it go, keeping themselves well away from disturbing its mechanism. Their role is quite different: from the greatest to the smallest, they are all instructors; and what they teach are the procedures of salvation, not so much doctrines or beliefs as the physiological, medical, or alchemical recipes which prepare the faithful and make them worthy to receive doctrines and beliefs.

Such are the Taoist gods, and such is their role in the world. It is with them that the Taoist Adept must enter into relations. At the start, the gods and Immortals themselves come to meet apprentices who give evidence of merit, so as to set t+iem upon the way. But it would be neither proper nor prudent to expect them all the time: human life is brief and one might wait for them too long. So one must go to seek them out and strive to reach them. They never refuse their aid to men of good will.

Still, one must know where to find them. Their Celestial Palaces are well known; the exact location is known and so are the roads of access. But it is not within everybody’s reach to “ascend up to heaven in full daylight”. Very far from this being a procedure of preliminary searching, it is rather the last phase in gaining Immortality, and is furthermore only for the greatest Immortals, since most Taoist Adepts never attain this level. Fortunately the gods often descend to earth and dwell in the grottoes of the mountains. Many mountains and grottoes are known to serve thus as temporary dwellings for gods and Immortals; but they do not live there always, and even if the grotto is discovered, one cannot be sure of finding them there. Indeed, gods and Immortals, though they do not refuse to teach those who seek them out sincerely, proportion their assistance according to the searchers’ degree of advancement. These must advance step by step and are never received except by Immortals or gods whose rank, and in consequence whose knowledge, is such that their teaching is not beyond the grasp of the person to whom it is addressed. There is no use in addressing too high a god too early; he can do nothing for an apprentice who is too little advanced to understand his teaching. He will not show himself or, if out of good will he deigns to show himself, that will be to send the too-hasty seeker back to other, lower-ranking gods and Immortals who are more within his reach.

Seeking the gods across the world is thus a long business and very exhausting. It takes many years, and one must travel the world in all directions, passing from master to master, with a thousand fatigues and a thousand delays, not to mention the expenses involved in these trips and the impossibility of living a normal life. For, in China as elsewhere.

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