Daoism Test Review

Tian

"heaven," impersonal, divine force that controls things on earth, a "cosmic moral principle that determines right and wrong," Tian replaces Shang Di, which was thought of as a personal god during 1100-256 BCE.

Laozi

(lived between~600 BCE-~500 BCE) is considered the founder of Daoism, worked as a librarian for many years. He got tired of his job, so he left and traveled west on a water buffalo. At the western border, he was recognized as a scholar, and was not allowed to cross the border until he wrote down his teachings

the Three Purities (Sanjing San Ching)

1. Primordial Dao 2. Heavenly Worthy of Numinous Treasure: responsible for the transmission of Daoist insight 3. Defied Laozi: may be recognized by its white hair

Taiji (t'ai chi)

A series of slow arm and leg motions that are thought to aid balance and circulation.

Doumu

A star deity

Divination

A system of predicting the future. The oldest technique involved reading lines on shells and bones.

Both Buddhism and Daoism are similar in that they _____.

produced a vast number of sacred books with wide-ranging topics

In the context of the basic elements of traditional Chinese beliefs, a pattern in nature that was considered easy to discern is the _____.

progression of the seasons

The two dots of contrasting color inside the light and dark commas of the yin-yang circle represent the

seed of each other.

The Zhuangzi is composed of _____ inner chapters and _____ outer chapters.

seven; twenty-six

The early Chinese believed that _____.

spirits are active in every aspect of nature and the human world

A feature of Daoists is that they _____.

tend to distrust any highly formal education

The realm of the square and the straight line

House

Harmony with nature

Outside

_____ is a system that is used for looking into the future.

Divination

Yin and Yang

After 1000 BCE, the Chinese commonly thought that nature expressed itself in opposite but complementary principles: light and dark, hot and cold, day and night, etc.

In which of the following ways was Tian envisioned as based on the elements of Confucianism?

An impersonal divine force that controls events on earth and a cosmic moral principle that determines right and wrong

Veneration of the Ancestors

Ancestors become spirits when they die, and need to be given positive attention. The veneration of ancestors lays a foundation for Confucianism.

The book of Zhuangzi's writings is called the _____.

Chuang Tzu

Chuang Tzu

Continues the themes of early Daoist thought, such as the need for harmony with nature, the movement of the Dao in all that happens, and the pleasure we can gain from simplicity

The name for whatever mysterious reality makes nature to be what it is and to act the way it does.

Dao

After the Bible, the _____ is the world's most frequently translated book.

Daodejing

The great classic of Daoism that is accepted by most Daoists as a central scripture is the _____.

Daodejing

Origins of Daoism

Daoism comes out of Chinese indigenous religions and is a collection of many different things: philosophical insights, observations about nature, guidelines for living. In certain historical phases it was more institutional—with ritual, monasteries, deities and other things.

In the context of the main teachings of the Daodejing, identify a true statement.

Daoism emphasizes the elimination of whatever is unnecessary and artificial and an appreciation of the simple and the apparently ordinary.

Becoming one with the Dao

Daoist teachings recommend physical discipline for bringing a person into union with the Dao

Simplicity

Eliminate all that is unnecessary, live simply. Distrust of formal education—it is complex and artificial. Daodejing, Chapter 20: "Give up learning, and put an end to your troubles."

True or false: The extent of Daoist influence in many Chinese art forms can be determined both easily and precisely.

False

The realm of the circle and the curve

Garden

Identify one of the main teachings of the Daodejing and the Zhuangzi.

Gentleness

Family harmony

Inside

_____ is a yogic practice that aims at transforming and spiritualizing the life force (chi) of the practitioner. Can create an entity-the "immortal embryo"- that can survive the death of the body

Internal alchemy

The Yijing, (I Ching) the Book of Changes

Interprets life through hexagrams,

The Daodejing, a short book of about five thousand Chinese characters, was written by

Laozi (Lao Tzu).

_____ was a master of the empty space effect in Chinese nature painting.

Ma Yuan

Daoist deities

Mother Li: mother of Lord Lao Mazu: a defied girl who has become the patroness of fishermen Doumu: a star deity called Mother of the Big Dipper Queen Mother of the West: a mother figure responsible for all the immortals. Jade Emperor: an ancient legendary figure, is thought of as an emperor who rules heaven and earth and who judges people's deeds at the end of each year

Queen Mother of the West

Responsible for all the immortals

Heavenly Worthy of Numinous Treasure

Responsible for transmission of Daoist insight

Spirits

Spirits are alive in every aspect of nature and human life. They are good and bad: when bad things happen, it's because humans have done things to get the world out of balance. When this happens, harmony can be restored through rituals and sacrifice

The Dao

The movement of the yin-yang reveals the nature and reality of the Dao: the Dao is what creates the movement of the yin-yang, one yin and one yang. Humans can become one with the Dao (way, pattern, existence, process) in the way they live. In Daoism, the Dao is about harmony with nature

Mazu

The patroness of fishermen

the Way of Complete Perfection

The second persistent form of organized Daoism involved monasteries and related groups of celibate monks and nuns

Patterns in nature

They viewed the natural world as something they couldn't control, but could work with if they understood its patterns. This emphasis on patterns in nature with which humans need to be in harmony is a foundation for Daoism.

Which of the following statements is true of the Dao?

To experience the Dao, one must leave behind his or her desires for individual things.

The Yijing

Used to interpret patterns that can develop human life

The term Quanshen can be translated as the _____.

Way of Complete Perfection

Properties of Yin and Yang

Yin: Earth, Dark, Night, Female, Cool, Moist, 2 lines Yang: Sky, Light, Day, Male, Warm, Dry, 1 line

The Daoist organization, the Way of the Heavenly Masters, traces itself back to a second-century teacher called _____.

Zhang Daoling

The cautious reverence that the early Chinese showed to spirits was also naturally felt for _____.

ancestors

A true statement about the Dao is that it _____.

can be experienced by every individual thing that has a name

According to the Daodejing, the Dao _____.

cannot be known, beyond any description, the Dao that is spoken of is not the eternal Dao, we cannot put into word exactly what the Dao is, the Dao is "nameless", has no form, can be experienced, does not care or dislike humans, the rhythm of nature, cannot be perceived directly (only by intuition)

The Daodejing is known for its

deliberate obscurity, involve early shamanistic elements, shows some repetition, has no clear order, deliberate lack of clarity. Each chapter has more poetry than pose. It is suggested that this book is the assembled work of many people

The Dao is not God because it _____.

does not have personality

The notion of wu wei refers to

effortlessness, Avoid unnecessary action or action that isn't spontaneous. Do what is necessary, and it is not necessary to do more. As opposed to the idea of „no pain, no gain," wu wei would say, "no strain."

Qi (chi)

energy of the body

A feature of the Daodejing is that it _____.

exhibits a deliberate lack of clarity

Daoists believe that _____.

it is necessary to attain a vision of things that goes beyond apparent opposites

In the context of the main teachings of the Daodejing and the Zhuangzi, the term wu wei literally means "_____."

no action

Gentleness

no weapons, no war: the wise person loves peace.

The name Laozi means _____.

old master

The Dao is

the origin of nature, translated as "way," "existence," "pattern," and "process."

A feature of the complementary principles of yang and yin is that _____.

they are not the same as good and evil

Relativity

we see the world from our own narrow viewpoints—I-you, good-bad. We should strive for a vision that goes beyond opposites