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		<TITLE>Laozi 老子 Baiyun Guan White Cloud Temple 北京白云观 Beijing</TITLE>
		

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			<h1><font size="-1" color="white" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Baiyun Guan </font><font size="+1" color="white" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">白云观</font><font size="-1" color="white" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br>
						White Cloud Temple<br>
							San Qing Temple 三清阁<br>
					Taiqing Daode 太清道德天尊</font></h1>
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							<td><font size="-1" color="white" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The god on the right of the San Qing Temple is Taiqing Daode </font><font size="+1" color="white" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">太清道德天尊</font><font size="-1" color="white" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> (Tàiqīng Dàodé Tiānzūn), or as most people know him, Laozi.</font>
								<p><font size="-1" color="white" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Daode </font><font size="+1" color="white" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">道德</font><font size="-1" color="white" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> (Dàodé) means &quot;way of virtue&quot;.  The teachings of Laozi </font><font size="+1" color="white" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">老子</font><font size="-1" color="white" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> (Lǎozǐ) both teach virtue and come from his virtue.  There isn't much known about Laozi as historical fact.  He lived somewhere between the 6th and 4th centuries BC.  There are so many myths surrounding him and few written records that it is anyone's guess.  Sima Qian wrote a history around 100 BC in which he placed Laozi in the time of Confucius (551-479 BC) or slightly earlier.  </font></p>
								<p><font size="-1" color="white" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Traditionally, the <em>Dao De Jing </em></font><font size="+1" color="white" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">道德经</font><font size="-1" color="white" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> (Dàodéjīng), the primary Daoist text, was written by Laozi. (In English, it is often spelt Tao Te Jing). The <em>Dao</em> is more than the Way, it is the organization of things, the pattern, the spirit, and the balance. It does not exist but is everywhere. </font></p>
								<p><font size="-1" color="white" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">During the early days of Daoism, Laozi was simply considered a great philosopher and teacher.  His philosophy was studied and certain practices followed to lead toward greater understanding of self and the universe.  It was a philosophy of retreat from the world of distractions.  </font></p>
								<p><font size="-1" color="white" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Gradually, probably due to the influence of Buddhism, an import from the west, Daoism took on religious significance and elaborate practices. The same thing happened to Confucianism, although in that case with much more deliberate intent. It was during the Han Dynasty that a prime minister recommended to his Emperor that making Confucianism a religion and Confucius a god would stabilize the populace.</font></p>
								<p><font size="-1" color="white" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Daoism developed more gradually and sought to incorporate belief systems already in play. They adopted gods from ancient religious practices from many different regions of China. Laozi became one of the primary gods, and he was seen, not simply as a man, but as a god who had come to impart <em>qi</em> and the Dao throughout history. </font></p>
								<p><font size="-1" color="white" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">He was seen as the advisor to the early mythical kings of China. These kings invented agriculture, writing, the ability to live together, weaving, and many other great cultural inventions, all with the advice of Laozi. Laozi was used to explain the great events of history.  He was seen as the advisor to kings and sometimes as taking the form of the king himself.</font></p>
								<p><font size="-1" color="white" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Over the centuries many different traditions of Daoism came and went.  We explored the Quanzhen tradition earlier in these pages.  Each of them added to the pantheon of gods and to the interpretation of the <em>Dao De Jing</em> with scripture, poems, and guiding principles. One of the early traditions, the Lingbao tradition (</font><font size="+1" color="white" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">灵宝</font><font size="-1" color="white" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> Língbǎo) foreshadowed the Quanzhen tradition by including Buddhist principles and practices.</font></p>
								<p><font size="-1" color="white" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Baiyun Guan includes only some of the pantheon of deities that have become part of Daoism. If you visit other Daoist centers or temples you will find many others represented, but the San Qing will always be there.</font></p>
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