Encyclopedia of Religion Second Edition, copyright 2005 Thomson Gale a part of The Thomson Corporation, Lindsay Jones Editor in Chief, Vol.3, pgs.1602-1603, Daniel L. Overmyer & Joseph A. Adler
Encyclopedia of Religion Second Edition, copyright 2005 Thomson Gale a part of The Thomson Corporation, Lindsay Jones Editor in Chief, Vol.4, pgs.2184-2186, Stephen R. Bokenkamp
Encyclopedia of Religion Second Edition, copyright 2005 Thomson Gale a part of The Thomson Corporation, Lindsay Jones Editor in Chief, Vol.4, pgs. 2199-2201 , John Lagerwey
Encyclopedia of Religion Second Edition, copyright 2005 Thomson Gale a part of The Thomson Corporation, Lindsay Jones Editor in Chief, Vol.4, pgs. 2207, Judith Magee Boltz
Encyclopedia of Religion Second Edition, copyright 2005 Thomson Gale a part of The Thomson Corporation, Lindsay Jones Editor in Chief, Vol.11, pg. 7415, John Lagerwey & Livia Khon
Encyclopedia of Religion Second Edition, copyright 2005 Thomson Gale a part of The Thomson Corporation, Lindsay Jones Editor in Chief, Vol.14, pg. 9676, Kubo Noritada
Religions of the world: a comprehensive encyclopedia of beliefs and practices/ J. Gordon Melton, Martin Baumann, editors; Todd M. Johnson, World Religious Statistics; Donald Wiebe, Introduction-2nd ed., Copyright 2010 by ABC-CLIO, LLC. Reproduced with permission of ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara, CA.
This particular sect of Taoism was founded by Wang Zhongfu who is also known by various other popular names such as Wang Chongyang, Zhongyangzi and Wang Zhe. In summary the development of Wang’s religious philosophy involved his Confucian upbringing as well as later practicing Buddhism only to be finally trained in Daoist forms of belief and ritual through some secret oral teachings as he supposedly obtained from a mystical encounter with two superhuman beings known as the Daoist Immortals, Zhongli Quan/ Zhong Liquan and Lu Dongbin/ Lu Chunyang, and then a year later also receiving further written instructions from one of these Immortals which has become known as the Ganshui Xianyuan Lu.
What I find difficult to believe in regards to this visitation or the nature of such an event is that the content of such teachings are not unique as adding or supplementing to the already established knowledge of teachings that were already found within his cultural setting at that time and the only thing that he did was join them together so as to create a syncretization of his experiences within Confucianism, Ch’an Buddhism and Daoism in taking what he believed to be the best of these three ideologies and worldviews as forming a conglomerated belief system. Again what is essentially enlightening about this that you need a special divine encounter as much of what he accomplished has been by standing on the shoulders of other mortals as essentially he taught nothing new in developing a unique philosophical view but rather only conjoined his ideas that were taken from these various groups as plagiarizing Daoistic universalism along with the Buddhist philosophy with its teachings about celibacy, quite sitting in mediation, denying daily comforts, rebirth and karma as well as borrowing the Buddhist iconography and architecture to fashion as well as formulate this universalism as an attempt to allure others to possess his own movement as followers. Even today in Hong Kong you see its own unique expression of this as Lu Dongbin characterizes Taoism along with the Jade Emperor and Guanyin as the female figure of Avalokiteshvara the bodhisattva of compassion representing Buddhism as developing a three-headed god so to speak.
From a philosophical standpoint my challenge to this whole perspective is if none of these movements by themselves are completely enlightening then what reassures Wang that his position is any more enlightening as the sum total of adding three zeroes still equals zero as applied to this religious equation.
Anyway I have previously written some posts on all three of these religious movements at
Also these types of religious expressions are common and defining among various cults and religions especially as not having to authenticate their experiences giving them a sense of unrivaled religious authority without providing the significant evidence to test the reliability to their truth claims. Essentially anyone who has a little charisma and imagination combined with perhaps some form of mental instability can come up with these sorts of ideas as putting them in the religious spotlight and it’s no wonder that people who have a tendency towards these kinds of religious ideations are considered abnormal under the guidelines of psychology. His eccentric behavior further alludes to this conclusion as he dug and lived in a human grave known as the tomb of the living dead as well as stories of him sleeping on the ice which hindered him at first to gain converts as this caused some of his local contemporaries to question his sanity in that many regarded him as madman. Others can be gullibly drawn to such fascinating stories giving rise to personality cults which defines much of the Eastern religious landscape as leading to these legends and myths that surround such honored and mysterious people which may also coincide with this movement with their evolved hagiographic storytelling traditions such as the patron saint Lu Dongbin who is depicted as a scholar with a fly whisk and a sword that dispels evil spirits as found in popular art and drama. This would also include such characters as Qui Changchun living in a cave for seven years or Hao Datong spending six years under a stone bridge neither moving nor speaking and only eating when offered food and then there is Wang Chui who spent his nights in a cave standing on one foot so as to not fall asleep. These ascetic stories are either exaggerated folklore/legend or if true shows that these disciples of Wang Zhe could be suffering from the same religious delusion as their enlightened leader. Nonetheless I think it calls to question the sense of ultimate truth with either the fabrication of these stories or the unstable psychological makeup of these individuals who originated this movement.
Another way in which I question its enlightenment theory is by its original practice to use external alchemy with the ingestion of herbs and minerals which was later conveniently spiritualized and altered or changed to internal alchemy after proving fatal as perhaps it was even responsible for poisoning some of the emperors with its toxic elixirs of cinnabar, mica or gold. Ironically this sort of practice promised such things as longevity and immortality but only demonstrated to be deadly in the end. Thus if external methods were proven to fail then how reassured are you that this reactionary response of human intervention to develop a more adaptive approach of meditation is any more enlightening than its predecessor?
Furthermore this practice initially attracted the Mongol monarch Genghis Khan/Chinggis Khan who was drawn to the notion of this fountain of youth in obtaining a drug for immortality as prolonging life but in turn was only given hygienic techniques by a notable disciple of Wang Zhe named Qiu Chuji or Qiu Changchun as the founder of the famous White Cloud Monastery of Beijing as establishing the longmen pai lineage/branch with its school of Dragon Gate Taoism. Qiu was given special privileges as being in charge over the religious affairs in China which is probably the main reason why this movement continues to survive to this day. Anyway one of the most controversial aspects of this relationship is his association and alliance with this ruthless murderer and tyrant and like Khan, Qui also abused his new power and authority by using tax and labor exemption for himself and his disciples which also lead to many contrived conversions as well as a round of confrontations with the Buddhists. Moreover the Quanzhen sect would deprive others of their own unique form or expression of faith as invading existing religious establishments in reinterpreting the texts of their rivals as well as occupying their temples to form their single great system so that their religious agenda would become more empowering rather than enlightening which coincides which Wang Zhe practice of shocking people into enlightenment in which his methods were uncompromising and even violent.
Some of the other questionable practices revolve around the occultist ritual of divining through automatic or spirit writing in which a sharp stick fastened to a frame would move automatically over a planchette of sand which is used as a tool to attract people to a paranormal experience yet this practice does not necessitate ultimate truth as being any more enlightening than using a Ouija board, magic eight ball, horoscopes, palm readings, tarot cards and crystal balls, etc. as this only makes you vulnerable to the harmful entities as being subjugated or subdued by the evil influence of demonic possession and attack.
Another thing which is contradictory about their group is their message of unity in that Wang’s seven original disciples established seven different lineages or branches in giving the impression of division amongst its founding members and successors. My question is if there were any differences within these lineage holders how can a movement in just one generation degenerate to form any kind of disagreement and how can a person ascertain that they are following the true branch of enlightenment as representing the valid and authentic expression of Daoism?
Anyway I find the features of this religious organization as having an outward appearance of wisdom but upholding to a pseudo form of godliness with its ascetic or monastic lifestyle in emphasizing a communal life of discipline with its vows of celibacy as to cultivate a lack of attachment, purity of mind and immortality through its practice of internal alchemy. Perhaps you have come to the complete realization that these hollow promises do not convey the means to obtain “all truth” with its empty claims and falsehoods in promising perfection which has never been substantiated as being inconsistent with your lifestyle and that of others within your organization and essentially this should cause you to question the authenticity of such a movement as failing to be vital or complete towards enlightenment. In reality this idealism of perfection is unattainable through the mode of self-cultivation as it can never become realized in that this vehicle of religion is not equipped to drive you to your final destination which appears to be just over the horizon which in reality is unreachable as the horizon continues to move/shift and perhaps you just keep running out of gas along the way but whatever the case I would like to encourage you that enlightenment or salvation can be obtained but not as trusting in your works, efforts and actions but rather it can received by having faith in God. This is possible through the Eastern Asiatic religion of Christianity that has proved itself as changing the entire world by its influence as manifestly affecting millions of lives including my own and here are some of their testimonies.
So in closing my declaration to you as confirmed by the stories of these believers is that Jesus is the perfect embodiment of truth as He has obtained a superior priesthood over all humanity as being the only way, truth and life as there is salvation in no other name mentioned among men by whom we can receive the gift of eternal life. Thus it is the three holy and pure ones namely the Father who sent Jesus to represent mankind on earth and the Holy Spirit as the ultimate life source who comes to inhabit or indwell the believer as enabling them through a new nature to live according to the wondrous virtue of a moral life. Finally Jesus said that if we give our lives to Him that He will provide you with this spiritual fulfillment.
Mt:11:28-30
28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Encyclopedia of Religion Second Edition, copyright 2005 Thomson Gale a part of The Thomson Corporation, Lindsay Jones Editor in Chief, Vol.3, pgs.1602-1603, Daniel L. Overmyer & Joseph A. Adler
Encyclopedia of Religion Second Edition, copyright 2005 Thomson Gale a part of The Thomson Corporation, Lindsay Jones Editor in Chief, Vol.4, pgs.2184-2186, Stephen R. Bokenkamp
Encyclopedia of Religion Second Edition, copyright 2005 Thomson Gale a part of The Thomson Corporation, Lindsay Jones Editor in Chief, Vol.4, pgs. 2199-2201 , John Lagerwey
Encyclopedia of Religion Second Edition, copyright 2005 Thomson Gale a part of The Thomson Corporation, Lindsay Jones Editor in Chief, Vol.4, pgs. 2207, Judith Magee Boltz
Encyclopedia of Religion Second Edition, copyright 2005 Thomson Gale a part of The Thomson Corporation, Lindsay Jones Editor in Chief, Vol.11, pg. 7415, John Lagerwey & Livia Khon
Encyclopedia of Religion Second Edition, copyright 2005 Thomson Gale a part of The Thomson Corporation, Lindsay Jones Editor in Chief, Vol.14, pg. 9676, Kubo Noritada
Religions of the world: a comprehensive encyclopedia of beliefs and practices/ J. Gordon Melton, Martin Baumann, editors; Todd M. Johnson, World Religious Statistics; Donald Wiebe, Introduction-2nd ed., Copyright 2010 by ABC-CLIO, LLC. Reproduced with permission of ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara, CA.
