Complete Reality Taoism
From Barbelith
Ch'üan-chen Taoism is the school, strongly influenced by Zen Buddhism and Confucianism, established 1,000 years ago by Wang Chongyang (or Chunyang) and his seven pupils, known variously as the Seven Exalted Ones, the Seven Immortals, or the Seven Golden Lotuses. Each of the seven found their own key to the Tao by following their own special virtue... and established their own "sub-schools" of Complete Reality Taoism by setting up seven temples in different places around China. The Seven Golden Lotuses, we're told, also correspond to a system of Taoist Inner Alchemy (http://www.eng.taoism.org.hk/daoism&human-civilization/daoism-literature&art/pg5-2-5-23-20.asp), making the pupils of Wang Chunyang both historical and allegorical figures.
Complete Reality the school that gave us some of Taoism's best scholars, and its famous martial art, Tai Chi Chuan.
When he started out, Wang was so eager to learn the truth of the Tao, he was willing to eat dung. (http://www.eng.taoism.org.hk/daoism&human-civilization/daoism-literature&art/pg5-2-5-23-19.asp) Sacred dung that could turn water to wine, but still.
The Seven Immortals/Exalted Ones are:
T'an Ch'ang (Tan Chuduan) - master of discipline.
Hao T'ai-ku (Hao Datong) - master of selfless giving.
Sun Pu-erh (Sun Bu'er) - mistress of willpower (She leaves her family and destroys her beauty).
Ma Tan-yang (Ma Danyang) - master of simplicity. (...and of breathing techniques. And, he's Sun Pu-erh's husband).
Ch'iu Ch'ang (Qiu Chuji) - master of faith in the Tao. (He met Genghis Khan (http://www.eng.taoism.org.hk/daoism&human-civilization/daoism-literature&art/pg5-2-5-23-24.asp) and convinced him that maybe killing all those people wasn't the greatest idea.)
Wang Yu-yang (Wang Chuyi) - master of sitting meditation.
Liu Chang-sheng (Liu Chuxuan) - master of clairvoyance
External Links
- This book excerpt on Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0877735441/ref=sib_dp_bod_ex/002-9176927-3446461?%5Fencoding=UTF8&p=S00U#reader-page) relates the legendary beginning of Wang Chunyang's career, when he happens to show kindness to a pair of unassuming beggars.
- There's more information here, at the Complete Reality School Taoism page (http://www.fortunecity.com/business/influence/1805/taoism.htm)].
- This academic article on asceticism in Ch'üan-chen Taoism (http://nacrp.cic.sfu.ca/nacrp/articles/ascetic/ascetic.html) refers to Wang Chunyang's writings with special attention to Buddhist syncretism, the concept of Immortals and methods for becoming a Perfected Man.
- Here's a great overview of Sun Pu-erh (Sun Buer) (http://home.infionline.net/~ddisse/sunbuer.html), including some of the poems she wrote. And here are a few stories about her. (http://users.erols.com/dantao/buer.html).
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