Page 112 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

SACRED SITES

Taoist sacred sites

In considering Taoist sacred sites, it might be best to begin by distinguish-
ing between natural sites (caves and mountains) and man-made sanctuaries
(temples, monasteries, and shrines). For Taoist practitioners, mountains and
caves are sites for the practice of self-cultivation, the goal of which was to
attain longevity or immortality. They also constitute places of refuge, lib-
eration, and transcendence. Worship at such natural sites involves a journey
that can be either upward or inward, or in some cases both. For mountains,
the journey's goal is not to attain the summit, but to locate and enter caves
containing Grotto-Heavens (*dongtian). Such a journey is in many ways a rite
of passage, involving entry through portals and the crossing of streams. The
journey can be fraught with danger, and adepts had to purify themselves and
perform rituals before ascending. Mountains are also renowned for containing
exotic animals, for example deer and cranes.
Mountains have traditionally been home to all manner of hermits or recluses
(yinshi ~! ±). Like their Near Eastern counterparts, some remained secluded
throughout their religious careers, but others chose to return to the world after
completing their regimens or self-cultivation or asceticism in order to advise
emperors or provide succor and salvation for the masses (Brown 1982; Eskild-
sen 1998; Porter 1993). These adepts also studied a mountain's flora, especially
medicinal herbs that could be used in preparing alchemical elixirs. They were
also interested in the mountain's geomancy (fengshui oo.7j(), including a site's
"earth texture" (diwen JtP,)( ; Ward 1995). Of particular significance were texts
that attempted to guide practitioners through underground passages to the
Grotto-Heavens below the mountains, such as the *Wuyue zhenxing tu (Charts
of the Real Forms of the Five Peaks), and the Fengdu shan zhenxing tu ~I)t~
LlJ ~J~ IiI (Chart of the Real Form of Mount Fengdu). The Grotto-Heavens
on mountains often contained scriptures and treasures (especially swords)
hidden in these caves by immortals, and the most fortunate adepts might even
encounter an immortal in person. Some Taoist mountains could also be sites
for ritual suicide, including ingesting poisonous elixirs or throwing one's body
off a cliff (Strickmann 1979, 129-38; Lagerwey 1992, 319- 20).
Perhaps the best-known Chinese mountains with clear links to Taoism-
and in most cases Buddhism as well- are the Five Peaks (*wuyue): *Taishan
(Shandong), *Hengshan 00 LlJ (Hunan), *Huashan (Shaanxi), *Hengshan 'lE?: LlJ