Cornish Daoism

24/09/2022

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ug0rIG6ZctY

Thank you to Wondrium for sponsoring today's video! Signup for your FREE trial to Wondrium here: http://ow.ly/pNJv50KwXxFDaoism, sometimes spelled as Taoism,...

23/08/2022

Post mortem appearances in Ancient China...

https://medium.com//two-examples-of-post-mortem-apparitions-in-chan-buddhism-daoism-e451303aa138

In this article, I will be briefly discussing two examples of post mortem appearances by religious figures from China, one of whom was a…

04/08/2022

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJfB2vAymPg

One of the oldest civilizations to survive, China’s long-term success can be accredited to its effort to harmonize its society at any cost. Oddly it was the ...

26/07/2022

23/05/2022

An account of the Ascension of Yeh Fa-shan, a Daoist Wonder Worker, written by Emperor T'ang Hsüan-tsung in the year 739, 19 years after Yeh Fa-shans death.

"Coming to the Ta-yeh year of the Sui - when the yearstar was in ping-tzu(616/17), the Master of the Formulae (fa-shih) was born. [It was] altogether 642 cycles (i.e., 107 years) to our K'ai-yüan year - the keng-shenyear (720/21) - when his form dissolved and he ascended on the clouds. Hence his years [totaled] 107."

23/05/2022

An interesting "calming the storm" episode from the Restoration of Omissions in the Lives of the Immortals by Tu Kuang t'ing (850-933) featuring Yeh Fa-shan (631-720), a Daoist wonder worker.

"At the time, Fa-shan's skills with talismans were divinely
evidenced; the wise and the stupid all knew [of his abilities]. Yet those like the household officer, the boatman, and those who traveled along with him were distressed and restive. Fa-shan knew it, and urged them to cast off the lines. They were less than a foot from the bank when fierce winds and violent waves [arose], and the sun was blocked out. The people in the boat all turned pale at once. Fa-shan spoke calmly to his attendants, saying, "Fetch my black talisman and cast it on the prow." When they cast it, the waves and currents became peaceful and still."

15/04/2022

Thank you for commenting on this topic Brad Warner Hardcore Zen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zm7cFDj98g&ab_channel=HardcoreZen

Donate by PayPal - http://hardcorezen.info/donateMy Patreon page - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=4874189LETTERS TO A DEAD FRIEND ABOUT ZEN audiobook - https...

08/04/2022

https://medium.com//two-examples-of-post-mortem-apparitions-in-chan-buddhism-daoism-e451303aa138

Two Examples of Post Mortem Apparitions in Chan Buddhism & Daoism.

In this article, I will be briefly discussing two examples of post mortem appearances by religious figures from China, one of whom was a…

06/04/2022

I've compiled 13 accounts of Non-Christian exorcisms in this article. One of these accounts is a Daoist exorcism and I would be interested in compiling more eyewitness accounts of Daoist exorcisms if possible.

My interest in the matter is mostly motivated by my interest in comparative religion and historical Jesus studies.

https://medium.com//non-christian-exorcisms-2b270d7d9741

I have recently taken an interest in non-Christian exorcisms, partly as a result of my interest in historical Jesus studies, which of…

16/03/2022

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZZJ6Boc4q4&ab_channel=GnosticInformant

https://www.richardcarrier.info/ Richard Carrier (Ph.D), is a world-renowned author and speaker. As a professional historian, published philosop...

08/03/2022

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rq6cU5bs5QQ&ab_channel=HardcoreZen

Donate by PayPal - http://hardcorezen.info/donateMy Patreon page - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=4874189LETTERS TO A DEAD FRIEND ABOUT ZEN audiobook - https...

03/03/2022

https://youtu.be/gQuIG5mhy9E

Examines the different types of religious beliefs that make up the spiritual life of Taiwan, including a Confucian respect for the past, the cosmic pattern o...

01/03/2022

26.

Since I came to Cold Mountain
how many thousand years have passed
accepting my fate I fled to the woods
to dwell and gaze in freedom
no one visits the cliffs
forever hidden by clouds
soft grass serves as a mattress
my quilt is the dark blue sky
a boulder makes a fine pillow
Heaven and Earth can crumble and change

25/01/2022

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3PzGuHxrcQ&ab_channel=HardcoreZen

Donate by PayPal - http://hardcorezen.info/donateMy Patreon page - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=4874189LETTERS TO A DEAD FRIEND ABOUT ZEN audiobook - https...

22/01/2022

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b04mj989/sacred-rivers-with-simon-reeve-3-the-yangtze

Simon travels along the Yangtze, discovering a revival of religious faith in China.

21/01/2022

A gentle soul has departed...

The International Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism announces that our beloved teacher Thich Nhat Hanh has passed away peacefully at Từ Hiếu Temple in Huế, Vietnam, at 00:00hrs on 22nd January, 2022, at the age of 95. We invite our global spiritual family to take a few moments to be still, to come back to our mindful breathing, as we together hold Thay in our hearts in peace and loving gratitude for all he has offered the world.
More official news will be coming shortly.
Please sign up for email updates here: https://bit.ly/3fJx7pd

18/01/2022

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTO4t_Bsa3U&ab_channel=GeorgeThompson

The Web of Meaning by Jeremy Lent has transformed how I see the world, by far my best book of 2021!Check it out: https://amzn.to/3xzLc0nYou can listen to the...

15/01/2022

Very good...

11/01/2022

Eyewitness Account of Demonic Possession and a Taoist Exorcism in China.

«...We arrived at a medium-sized stone courtyard, half-way up the hill, situated in front of a temple. There was a small group of onlookers standing in corners in the shadow of the wall, among them a distracted couple who … were the energumen's parents. The energumen [one possessed] himself, a rather emaciated man of about twenty-five... lay on an iron bedstead on a rush mat. He was very pale and there was a wild, roving look in his fevered eyes. The [Taoist] priest... was attired in full ritual robes and stood before a portable altar on which was an incense burner, the small image of a god, a vase with holy water, a ritual sword and other articles and a book from which he was reading. Two monks were assisting him, whilst four muscular men watched the prostrate demoniac.
The abbott was reading the scriptures in a monotonous, droning voice, repearing mantras [spells] over and over again with a great deal of concentration. Then he stopped and, taking an elongated ivory tablet, the symbol of wisdom and authority, he held it ceremoniously in both hands in front of his chest and approached the bed slowly. There was a visible transformation on the energumen's face. His eyes were filled with malice as he watched the priest's measured advance with a sly cunning and hatred. Suddenly he gave a be***al whoop and jumped up in his bed, the four attendants rushing to hold him. “No! No!You cannot drive us out. We were two against one. Our power is greater than yours.” The sentences poured out of the energumen's distorted mouth in a strange, shrill voice, which sounded mechanical, inhuman − as if pronounced by a parrot. The priest looked at the victim intensely,
gathering all his inner strength; beads of perspiration appeared on his thin face. “Come out! Come out! I command you to come out!” He was repeating in a strong metallic voice with great force. “I am using the power of the One compared to whom you are nothing. In His name I command you to come out.” Immobile, he continued to focus his powers on the energumen's face. The man was struggling in the bed with incredible strength against the four men who held him. Animal growls and howls issued from time to time from his mouth which became square, his teeth gleaming like the fangs of a dog... I had the impression that a pack of wild animals was fighting inside his body... Terrible threats poured out of the contorted mouth, now fringed in white foam, and interspersed with such incredible obscenities that women had to plug their ears with their fingers... Again the abbott cried his command to the unseen adversaries to leave the prostrate man. There was a burst of horrible laughter from the victim's throat and suddenly with a mighty heave of his supernaturally-strengthened arms he threw off the men who held him and jumped at the priest's throat
like a mad bloodhound. But he was over-powered again. This time they bound him with ropes and fastened the ends to the bedposts... The abbott, still immobile, continued his conjurations in a metallic voice, his eyes never leaving the body. With unutterable horror, we saw that it began to swell visibly. On and on the dreadful process continued until he became a grotesque balloon of a man.
“Leave him! Leave him!” cried the monk concentrating still harder... Convulsion shook the monstrous, swollen body... It seemed that all the apertures of the body were opened by the unseen powers hiding in it and streams of malodorous excreta and effluvia flowed on to the ground in incredible profusion... For an hour this continued and then the energumen, resuming his normal size, seemed to come to rest, with his eyes watching the unmoved priest who was still reading... The priest stopped reading; with sweat pouring down his face, he backed down to the altar, laid down the tablet and took up the ritual sword. Threateningly and commandingly he stood again over the energumen. “The struggle is useless!” he cried. “Leave him! Leave him in the name of the Supreme Power who never meant you to steal this man's body!” Another scene of horror evolved itself before our dazed eyes. The man on the bed became rigid and his muscles seemed to contract turning him into a figure of stone. Slowly, very slowly, the iron bedstead, as if impelled by an enormous weight, caved in, its middle touching the ground. The attendants seized the inert man by his feet and arms. The weight was such that none of them could lift him up and they asked for assistance from the onlookers. Seven men could hardly lift him for he was heavy as a cast-iron statue. Suddenly he became light again and they put him on a wooden bed which had been brought in. A long time passed with the abbott reading and commanding interminably. At last he sprinkled the inert man with holy water and advanced to him again with a sword. His concentration was so deep that he did not seem to see anybody. He was utterly exhausted and swayed slightly. Two novices came up to support him. “I have won!” he cried triumphantly in a strange voice. “Get out! get out!” The energumen stirred and fell into dreadful convulsions. His eyes rolled up and only the whites were visible. His breathing was stertorous and he clawed his body until he was covered with blood. Foam was issuing from his mouth and a loud gurgling sound... “Damn you! Damn you!” came a wild scream from the foaming lips. “We are going but you shall pay for it with your life.” There was a terrific struggle on the bed, the poor man twisting and rolling like a mortally wounded snake and his colour changing all the time. Suddenly he fell flat on his back and was still. His eyes opened. His gaze was normal and he saw his parents who now came forward. “My parents!” he cried weakly. “Where am I?” He was very feeble and they carried him out in a specially ordered sedan chair. The abbott himself was in a terrible state of prostration and was half-carried and half-dragged away by his novices...»

− from an autobiographical book by Russian traveller Peter Goullart, “The Monastery of Jade Mountain” (London: John Murray, Ltd., 1961), pp. 86−89.

10/01/2022

I'm coming to the end of this excellent book by Gus DiZerega. This book does not discuss Chinese polytheism specifically, but it does make an effective case for polytheism and against monotheism, particularly in regards to the logical problems of "omno-monotheism" (referring to omni-benevolence, omniscience omnipotence) that are often very troubling to ex members of the Abrahamic faiths.

09/01/2022

Finished this today, an excellent read...

08/01/2022

"In Feng-hua Hsien in Ming-chou, there lived Pu-tai Ho-shang. His family name is not known; he called himself Ch'i-tzu. He was so fat that he looked like a bag. His forehead was narrow (or possibly he had a habit of wrinkling his brows) and his stomach big.

His speech was very unexpected. He used to lie down and sleep wherever he happened to be. He always carried on a staff slung over his shoulder a bag in which he kept all his necessaries. When he came to a market-place or town, he begged for whatever he saw. Whether it was hsi-hai (pickled and seasoned mincemeat) or yu-chu (pickled fish & vegetables), as soon as he got hold of it, he put it in his mouth. He would sometimes break off a bit and stick it in his bag. His contemporaries called him Ch'ang-t'ing-tzu & Pu-tai Shih.

He often slept in the snow and the snow did not hurt his body. Because of this, he was regarded as unusual. Again, the things he begged from others, he sometimes sold. He was never mistaken in telling people's fortunes, even to the length of time involved. Before rain, he put on grass sandals. softened by water, and walked quickly on the street. In clear weather he wore high wooden clogs. On the city bridge, he sat down with his knees raised and, in this position, went to sleep. The people in his neighborhood knew for a certainty by following his movement what the weather would be."

The Transmission of the Lamp.

07/01/2022

An account of the post mortem appearances of Budai, the Laughing Buddha, recorded in the Ching-te ch'uan-teng-lu (The Transmission of the Lamp), written between 1004 and 1007 CE by the monk Shi Daoyuan.

"In the third month of the third year of Cheng Ming (917 AD), the Master proclaimed his approaching parinirvana. At the Yueh-lin Temple, he took up his seat, cross legged, on a flat stone below the Eastern veranda, and spoke the following verse:

"Maitreya, the Veritable Maitreya, divides his body into ten thousand million parts. From time to time, appearing among men, he proclaims the Truth to the men of that era, but they naturally do not recognise him."

When he had finished reciting this verse, he quietly passed away. Afterwards, there were men in his neighbourhood who saw the Master, carrying his bag as before and walking. Because of this, the monks vied with one another in painting his likeness. Now in the Yueh-lin Temple, in the Eastern part of the Great Hall, is preserved his body (embalmed) , and people in many places speak of his re-apparition as a proven fact."

06/01/2022

A very happy birthday to Alan Watts who was born on this day in 1915.

"The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance." —Alan Watts

02/01/2022

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wECuDT-qEsc&ab_channel=VideosByCaine

Welcome to part 1 of my new series that will introduce you to the diverse customs, traditions and beliefs of Chinese folk religion.In this video I discuss Ch...