CH’ÜAN-CHEN TAO Chin., lit. “Way of the Re­alization of Truth”; one of two main streams of religious Taoism (tao-chiao), the other being the “Way of Right Unity” (cheng-i tao). The ch’uan-chen tao is also known as chung-yang (pure yang) and chin-lien (golden lotus).

The Way of the Realization of Truth is said to have been founded by Wang Ch’un-yang (1112- 70 C.E.), who, according to tradition, in 1159 C.E. met a hermit who was a reincarnation of two immortals, Lü Tung-pin and Chung Li­ ch’üan (pa-hsien), and from this hermit re­ceived secret verbal teachings, which came to form the basis of the school founded by him. In 1167 C.E. he established a monastery on Shan­tung peninsula, known as the Monastery for the Realization of Truth. According to Wang Ch’un­ yang a Taoist realizes the truth by understand­ing his mind and realizing his true nature.

Ch’üan-chen tao is a synthesis of the basic tenets of the three great religions of China­ Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism with Zen Buddhist elements predominating. In his Treatise on the Foundation of the Way for the Realization of Truth (Li-chiao shih wu-lun), which outlines the practices of the school founded by him, Wang Ch’un-yang combines the teachings of the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra with those of the Inner Elixir School (nei-tan). Seven of his pupils known as the seven enlightened ones of the North initiated separate movements with­ in the ch’üan-chen tao. One of them Ch’iu Ch’u-chi is said to have been well connected to the imperial court. He was a protege of the Emperor T’ai-tzu (1206-27 C.E.), who founded the Yüan Dynasty and bestowed on Ch’iu the title divine immortal (shen-hsien). The wide dissemination of the ch’üan-chen tao was largely due to this imperial patronage.

In time, two movements within the ch’üan chen tao gained special importance. The first of these was the Lung-men (lit. Dragon Gate) School, founded by Ch’iu and also known as the North­ern School. One of its best-known texts is The Secret of the Golden Flower (T’ai-i chin-hua tsung-chih). Its main seat is the Monastery of the White Clouds (Pai-yün kuan). The second is the Southern School, which was founded by Chang Po-tuan and died out near the beginning of the 18th century.

The followers of the ch’üan-chen tao aim at transcending the mundane world through ex­periencing the Tao. To this end they practice meditation without the use of external objects of faith, such as talismans (fu-lu) or methods employed by the followers of Outer Alchemy (wai-tan). The tao-shih of the ch’üan-chen tao remain throughout their lives in strict celi­bacy.

The ch’üan-chen tao lays claim to five patriarchs: Wang Hsiao-yang (to whom the teachings were trans­mitted by Lao-chün, a pupil of Lao-tzu); Chung Li-chüan; Lü Ch’un-yang; Liu Hai-shan (who is said to have initiated Chang Po-tuan, the founder of the Southern School); and lastly the actual founder of the ch’üan-chen tao, Wang Ch’un-yang.

The teaching and practice o f the school are based on the foliowing fifteen points of Wang Ch’un-yang’s Treatise on the Foundation of the Ch’üan-chen tao: ⁽¹⁾ to live in a hermitage, where mind and body can find rest and peace and where ch’i and shen are brought into balance and harmony; ⁽²⁾ to follow the path of the clouds, i.e., to be untiring in the search for the Tao; ⁽³⁾ the study of books, letting their meaning deeply penetrate into oneself, as a result of which spontaneous insight arises and the “wisdom mind” manifests; ⁽⁴⁾ on the coagulation of elixir materials; ⁽⁵⁾ on the construction of a hermitage; ⁽⁶⁾ on winning Tao friends; ⁽⁷⁾ on correct sitting meditation; ⁽⁸⁾ on keep­ing one’s soul in check and cultivating the mind of stillness; ⁽⁹⁾ on keeping one’s nature in balance; ⁽¹⁰⁾ on fusing the five elements [wu-hsing]; ⁽¹¹⁾ on the manifestation of spirit nature in life; ⁽¹²⁾ on sacred­ness; ⁽¹³⁾ on transcending the threefold world (i.e., the world of desire, the world of appearances, and the world of the unformed); ⁽¹⁴⁾ on nourishing the spirit; ⁽¹⁵⁾ on leaving the world. (Miyuki 1 984, p. 62ff.)

Tao-Chiao Schools

Tao-chiao Chin., religious Taoism; one of the two streams of Taoism, the other being philosophical Taoism (tao-chia). The tao-chiao embraces all Taoist schools and movements whose aim consists in the attainment of immortality (ch’ang-sheng pu-ssu).

The most important of these are:

A) The Inner Deity Hygiene School;

B) Five-Pecks-of-Rice Taoism (wu-tou-mi tao);

C) The Way of Supreme Peace (t’ai-p’ing tao);

D) The School of the Magic Jewel (ling-pao p’ai);

E) The Way of Right Unity (cheng-i tao), and

F) The Way of the Realization of Truth (ch’üan-chen tao).

The methods employed to attain immortality range from meditation to alchemical practices, physical exercises, breathing exercises, and sexual practices.

Source: The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion: Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen. Shambhala Publications, Inc.

Books on Ch’üan-chen tao

External links: Taoism / Tao-chiao / Cheng-i tao / Pa-hsien / Confucianism / Buddhism / Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra / Nei-tan / T’ai-i chin-hua tsung-chih / Pai-yün kuan /  Fu-lu / Wai-tan / Lao-tse / Ch’i / Shen / Wu-hsing