Page 90 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

50 THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TAOISM VOL. I

Mysterious (xuan~n, Original (yuan 51:), and Inaugural (shi ~in. First, these
triads are blended in unity in the Void, then they generate the highest Heavens,
and finally they divide into Heaven and Earth. Since the fifth century, this pattern
has been enriched by texts that associate the Three Pneumas with the three
highest Heavens, the three corporeal divinities (the Three Primes, *sanyuan),
the three qualities of the Dao-said to be invisible (yi 5I!f), inaudible (xi ftT),
and imperceptible (wei 1t&) in Daode jing I4-and the three bodies (sanshen =
~) or appearances of the Ultimate Truth. This view of a single but threefold
Origin gave rise to meditation practices focused on the three corporeal dei-
ties and to speculations on the Three Ones (*sanyi); later it also merged with
*neidan notions. Another threefold pattern is represented by the *sanhuang,
or Three Sovereigns, two of whom are precosmic.
The fivefold pattern first appears in the Han "weft texts" (weishu ~$.;
see *TAOISM AND THE APOCRYPHA) and in the opening chapter of the *Liezi.
This pattern imagines a genesis in five stages called Five Greats (wutai Ji
A; see fig. 8): taiyi A M (Great Simplicity), taichu ),( M (Great Beginning),
taishi ~ ft€l (Great Commencement), taisu ~ ~ (Great Plainness), and *taiji
A ~~ (Great Ultimate). The second, third and fourth stages are the origin of
pneuma, form, and matter, respectively. They evolve progressively but are in a
state of chaotic unity until they transform into the One (the taiji), which is the
"beginning of form." This pattern was adopted by Taoist texts from the Tang
period onward, and was related to the *wuxing. In neidan, it was integrated
with the view that the cosmos begins with the union of the trigrams qian ljit
(pure Yang) and kun trfl == (pure Yin), which generate the eight trigrams
(*bagua); it was also related to fire phasing (*huohou) and the birth of the im-
mortal embryo (*shengtai).
In fact, there are several variations of the main cosmogonic themes out-
lined above. In the early Lingbao texts, for example, the number of precosmic
eras ranges from three to four or five, called Draconic Magnificence (longhan
J'j~il), Extended Vigor (yankang Rrift), Vermilion Brilliance (chiming !!IdA),
Opening Luminary (kaihuang ~ ~), and Higher Luminary (shanghuang L 1£).
Some of these precosmic eras are represented as former worlds. In addition,
a syncretic tendency blended these systems together, creating an extremely
complex cosmogonic process. In some instances, Taoist scriptures describe the
state that antedates the world in an attempt to prove that they, or the schools
which they represent, are anterior and superior to other scriptures or schools,
in a "cosmological battle" (Bokenkamp I997, I90) that generates a regressus ad
infinitum.

Primordial deities. Taoist cosmogonies are often theogonies, based on the notion
of a god as creator and teacher of the world. In this view, a primordial divinity
exists in emptiness and takes form progressively. Transforming its name and