Preface and Acknowledgements Introduction
1 The Origins of Taoism: Ancient China
Taoism: the nature of the word
The Chinese psyche
The roots of Taoism in ancient practices
The Chinese dynasties
The Hsia/Xia ÒdynastyÓ
The Shang dynasty
The Chou/Zhou dynasty
The age of philosophers
Confucius
Early Taoists
2 The Interconnected Cosmos: The I Ching/Yijing
The Book of Changes: the I Ching/Yijing
Historical development
Reality as perpetual flux and change
The Pa-kua/Bagua or Eight Trigrams
The hexagrams
Consulting the I Ching/Yijing: finding the hexagram of the
moment
3 Creative Forces: Yin and Yang and
the Five Agents
Yin and yang
The origins of yin and yang
Yin
Yang
The interplay of yin and yang
Diversity in unity
Creation
The wider applications of the yin and yang theory
Evaluating yin and yang
The Five Agents
Historical development of the Five Agents
The Five Agents as cosmological functions
The characteristics of the Agents
The theory of correspondences
Wider influences
4 Tao and its Early Philosophers
Lao-tzu/Laozi and the Tao Te Ching/Daodejing
Chuang-tzu/Zhuangzi
Lieh-tzu/Liezi
Tao
Creation
Te/De
Wu-wei: non-action
Tzu-jan/ziran: naturalness and spontaneity
The functioning of Tao in life
5 Taoism in Imperial China
Imperial China: Early period
The ChÕin/Qin dynasty
The Han dynasty
The period of the Three Kingdoms
The Chin/Jin dynasty
The period of disunity: the Six Dynasties
The Sui dynasty
Imperial China: Middle period
The TÕang/Tang dynasty
Imperial China: Late period
The period of the Five Dynasties
The Sung/Song dynasty
The Y±an/Yuan, Ming and ChÕing/Qing dynasties
6 Alchemy
What is alchemy?
The origins of alchemical ideas
The Golden Elixir
Outer alchemy
The Taoist anatomy of the body
The Three Treasures
The Spirit Embryo
Sexual alchemy
Inner alchemical praxis
Returning to Tao
Meditation
The firing process
Becoming the Void
7 Life beyond Earth: Ancestors, Deities,
Immortals and Sages
Ancestors
Deities
Immortals
The Eight Immortals (Pa-hsien/Baxian)
Sages
8 Religious Taoism
The eclectic nature of religious Taoism
Schools of Taoism
Priests
Spirit mediums
Exorcists
Divination
Temples
Ritual
The chiao/jiao ceremonies
Worship
The calendar
Festivals
Symbols
Life-cycle rites
9 Taoism Today
Communist China
Taoism in the West
TÕai Chi ChÕ±an/Taijiquan
Feng-shui
Notes
Glossary of Chinese Names and Terms
Bibliography
Index
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“This is a balanced insight into a most difficult and complex subject. The author manages to present a vast wealth of factual information and academic study on subjects such as history, philosophy, religion and science, while remaining true to the inner mystical tradition. Performing such impossible feats is the essence of ‘The Tao that cannot be spoken’.” Jim Pym is the author of a number of best-selling books, including Listening to the Light, You Don’t Have to Sit on the Floor, and The Pure Principle. He is also the Editor of the Buddhist publication, Pure Land Notes |
