Ren Farong, former president of the Chinese Daoist Association If people do what Taoism teaches, then the environment will reach a balance again. So in cooperation with the ARC, they built the Tiejia Taoist Ecology Temple along one of the paths and opened an ecology education centre next to it, making the route the most appealing way up the mountain. If the tourists all took the same path up the mountain, the monks thought, the pandas would enjoy more peace. As more and more tourists flock to the summit of the sacred Mount Taibai, they cut through the forest that is home to the pandas, slowly destroying their habitat. “I think they will really have an impact.”Īt Louguantai, Taoism has also taken on the task of protecting China’s most iconic animal, the panda. “These places are committed to being ecological temples,” He Yun, the officer in charge of projects in Asia at the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC), which supports the Chinese Taoists’ efforts, told Sixth Tone. While other environmentalists march and protest, write petitions and distribute leaflets, Taoist believe that change will come about organically: Their contribution to the cause is to serve as role models that others can aspire to emulate. Thomas Cristofoletti for Sixth Toneīy definition, Taoists are nonintrusive, even passive, and this is a mentality that is mirrored in the green temple network. If the shout is not heard, he will shout again, and yet again, and begin cursing.Ren Farong, one of the highest-ranking Taoist masters in China, poses for a photo inside the courtyard at Louguantai Taoist Temple, Tayu Village, Shaanxi province, Jan.

“To a mind that is still, the entire universe surrenders.”Īnd an empty boat collides with his own skiff, All the while they claim to be just on the point of attaining happiness.” All I know is that when I consider the way they go about attaining it, I see them carried away headlong, grim and obsessed, in the general onrush of the human herd, unable to stop themselves or to change their direction. “I cannot tell if what the world considers ‘happiness’ is happiness or not. You can deal with whatever life brings you, Now I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly, dreaming I am a man.” Soon I awaked, and there I was, veritably myself again. I was conscious only of my happiness as a butterfly, unaware that I was myself. “Once upon a time, I dreamt I was a butterfly, fluttering hither and thither, to all intents and purposes a butterfly. “Flow with whatever may happen, and let your mind be free: Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. Where can I find a man who has forgotten words so I can talk with him?” Once you’ve gotten the meaning, you can forget the words. Once you’ve gotten the rabbit, you can forget the snare. The rabbit snare exists because of the rabbit.

Once you’ve gotten the fish you can forget the trap. “The fish trap exists because of the fish.

Tao quotes conflict