Religious Expression & Worship

[Dame Du Lac]

Does anyone have any resources or experience on worship in Daoism or Chinese folk religions? Most of what I can find online only lightly touches on these aspects and is primarily interested in things like martial arts and meditation. Are home altars a thing in Daoism? I understand that the majority of what we would see as worship is done by daoshi on behalf of others, but is there a book or website about common folk traditions, Daoist adjacent religious expression, etc?

[Walker]

The Taoist Manual by Brock Silvers is a pretty good intro, and it has a good discussion of home altars.

 

I think The Taoist Body by Kristopher Schipper might talk about some of the overlap between Daoism and folk religion, but if I recall he was more interested in discussion of the differences than the syncretism and ambiguity one can find everywhere in this arena.

 

I don't know if the overlap between folk practices/beliefs as well as the Fa school (法教) is getting much attention in English publications, but it is a rich subject. I think one can safely say blending and fuzzy borders are more the rule than the exception. That said, there are limits to the blending, after which point those in the know will suggest that something essential has been distorted or lost. That happens plenty, too. 

[Rara]

In Wudang, the worship tends to be more of previous brave figures, warriors/kings etc. Legends have been made of them with fantastical stories.

 

I asked my shifu about this and he said for people like me born in the west, we only really need to pay respects to Laozi for giving us the Daodejing doctrine.

 

Home altars can be a thing. Check out a book called Chinese Beliefs by Frena Bloomfield

[SirPalomides]

6 hours ago, Dame Du Lac said:

Does anyone have any resources or experience on worship in Daoism or Chinese folk religions? Most of what I can find online only lightly touches on these aspects and is primarily interested in things like martial arts and meditation. Are home altars a thing in Daoism? I understand that the majority of what we would see as worship is done by daoshi on behalf of others, but is there a book or website about common folk traditions, Daoist adjacent religious expression, etc?

In addition to the above Brock Silvers suggestion I would highly recommend Michael Saso’s book Daoist Master Zhuang as a very detailed portrait of the work of a Daoist priest in Taiwan. He reveals a lot about daily life and a surprising amount of esoteric stuff- don’t try this at home is the watchword for a lot of it. You can also find a lot of videos on YouTube of various Daoist rituals. A German Daoist Association  priest, Patrick Liu, has been releasing tutorial videos (in English) of the morning and evening liturgy, including how to use the various implements, how to set things up, how to chant, etc.

[SirPalomides]

19 minutes ago, Rara said:

In Wudang, the worship tends to be more of previous brave figures, warriors/kings etc. Legends have been made of them with fantastical stories.

 

I asked my shifu about this and he said for people like me born in the west, we only really need to pay respects to Laozi for giving us the Daodejing doctrine.

 

Home altars can be a thing. Check out a book called Chinese Beliefs by Frena Bloomfield

 I’m pretty sure on Wudang itself the ritual is fairly standard to what you would see elsewhere. A friend of mine got in a relationship with a Wudang monk and even after he left the monastery he did some version of the gongke every day.

[SirPalomides]

Speaking of the Gongke (morning and evening prayers) there is at least one text of it available in English from Parting Clouds Taoist Association. And yes, laity can do it too.

[SirPalomides]

From personal experience my family has a main shrine for gods and ancestors at the old family house and then aunts and uncles have their own mini-shrines at their own homes except the Catholic ones who have, well, Catholic shrines. Ritual is pretty simple and not done every day. The selection of gods depends on who and where the altar is. Fujian people often have Tiangong (a version of the Jade Emperor) or the sea goddess Mazu if they do a lot of stuff related to sailing, fishing, etc.

Edited January 10, 2020 by SirPalomides

[Rara]

5 hours ago, SirPalomides said:

 I’m pretty sure on Wudang itself the ritual is fairly standard to what you would see elsewhere. A friend of mine got in a relationship with a Wudang monk and even after he left the monastery he did some version of the gongke every day.

 

Sure, I didn't get any specifics because of the language barrier but I did see plenty of prayer etc. But from what I'm told, it's only really important if you're Chinese.