A Simple Approach to Taoism: Festivals, Worship and Rituals

By Khoo Boo Eng

Most people would look at Taoism as a religion per se. If one is not familiar with Taoism, one would be surprised that the concepts of feng-shui, astrology, geography, traditional medicine, Yin-Yang and many others influencing modern western cultures are, in fact, Taoism concepts!
Others had ideas of Taoism steeped in rituals, branded as superstitious and even looked at it with apprehension. It is quite understandable as the concepts and culture of Taoism hardly cross the path of the Western world. Taoism remains deeply rooted in the Far East and its propagation to the world is rather slow and lethargic.
A Simple Approach to Taoism – Festivals, Worship and Rituals and together with A Simple Approach to Taoism – of Gods and Deities will provide in a simple to understand language, yet vivid and alluring, the basic history, concept and the rich, colourful culture of Taoism.
The book is organized around six important themes: Historical Development, Religious Taoism, Philosophical Taoism, important Festivals, Worship and Rituals. It also touches on certain aspects of the sacred texts such as the Tao Te Ching.
The sections on important Festivals, Worship and Rituals will help the reader to understand the building blocks of Taoism and provide an in-depth understanding and appreciation of the rich culture and way of life and traditions.
Let then the journey begins, slowly unfolding the vast ocean of Taoism, its beliefs, culture and traditions.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing Singapore
• Release date: Jan 2, 2013
• ISBN: 9781482892062

Khoo Boo Eng

The author has already written two books on Taoism. They are 1) A Simple Approach to Taoism – of Gods and Deities 2) A Simple Approach to Taoism – Festivals, Worship and Rituals. The books are now internationally recognized. They were exhibited in the International Book Exhibition in Frankfurt, Germany and in London, United Kingdom.

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Copyright © 2014 Khoo Boo Eng. All rights reserved.

ISBN

978-1-4828-9531-5 (sc)

978-1-4828-9206-2 (e)

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04/07/2014

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Contents

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction

History

Important Taoist Festivals

Taoist Worship and Rituals

Taoist Concepts and Glossary

Bibliography

About the Author

Foreword

I am very pleased to know of the impending publication of this book about Taoism and its traditional rites in English. I must start by congratulating the author, Mr Khoo Boo Eng, for realising his long-harbored wish.

The commendable point about this book is that it not only presents the basic history and concept of Taoism in simple-to-understand language, but portrays the Taoist traditions and practices that Singaporean and Malaysian Chinese inherit in their daily life. It is both vivid and alluring.

The daily life of Chinese in Singapore and Malaysia is almost inseparably steeped in the Taoist faith and traditions. But most of these people remain in a state of ‘daily use without understanding’. This is what initially sparked the desire of Mr Khoo Boo Eng, an English-educated Chinese intellectual living in Penang, to write a popular book that is informative and, at the same time, propagates Taoism.

There are those who say that the proliferation of English education in Singapore and Malaysia is a hurdle for the propagation and inheritance of Taoism. In my opinion, the mastery of and fluency in English of the Chinese populace actually presents an unprecedented opportunity for the development of Taoism. Since the formation of Taoist religious groups, the history of Taoism is over 2,000 years. But up to the present, Taoism, as one of the five major religions in the world, remains rooted in Chinese communities. Its pace of propagation to the rest of the world is extremely lethargic. Other than the philosophical Dao De Jing (The Classic of the Way and its Power), which is widely recited, Taoist scriptures that are translated into other languages are very few. One of the reasons is due to the fact that Taoism knowledge involves such wide spectrum of diverse and hard-to-understand subjects such as astrology, geography, native medicine, and fortune-telling; another reason is that the theory of Taoism is inextricably rooted in the cultural foundation of China, and rarely crosses paths with Western philosophy, making apt and accurate translation into Western languages difficult. Thus, while many are worried that the general dominance of English may bring about various cultural crises, I can still see in many English-educated Chinese the dawn of globalisation of Taoism. Due to historical and geographical factors, many Chinese in Singapore and Malaysia are fluent in English, but they are simultaneously strong in their identification with their own Chinese ethnicity and culture. This group of individuals will be an infinite driving force in the propagation of Taoism and will be the core and vigour in the globalisation of Taoism.

Mr Khoo Boo Eng is the representative of this group. He completed this book in English after his retirement from his career in education. Probably due to his many years in teaching profession, Mr Khoo’s writing is precise, clear, and articulate. It is highly readable by a multitude of readers. In our conversations, I am acutely aware of his fondness for his own culture. In order to really understand Taoist culture, he accepted conversion and learned religious doctrines from Taoist monks. I am deeply awed by his spirit of quest for knowledge and his strong sense of mission.

I am truly honored to be invited to write the Foreword for this book by Mr Khoo Boo Eng. I am also anxious to read books about Taoism that Mr Khoo will author in the future. May more and more people have the opportunity to learn about the vast and intricate culture of Taoism.

Dr Xu Liying

Academic Director

Taoist College, Singapore

Preface

When the word ‘Tao’ or ‘Taoism’ is mentioned, some people would think that it is part of Buddhism. Until recently, in a birth certificate or an identity card in Malaysia, under the item ‘religion’, one has to fill in Islam, Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, or others. Tao does not exist. Yet a vast majority of the Chinese population (non-Christians) in Malaysia is actually practising some form of Tao worship or rituals without realising it. But when asked which religion they practise, the answer is Buddhism!

Others had ideas of Tao as a religion steeped in rituals – the burning of paper money of all sorts, joss sticks, big and small, praying with a vast array of food, and going into a trance. It is branded as superstitious. Others still looked at it with apprehension.

It is hoped that with this book, A Simple Approach to Taoism – Festivals, Worship and Rituals, and the first book, A Simple Approach to Taoism – of Gods and Deities, Taoism will be made available to the English-speaking community and offer a better understanding of what Taoism is all about. Hopefully, a reader, especially a Chinese, will be able to appreciate and understand better his cultural roots and the various rituals and festivals that are being celebrated in the country.

At the same time, I hope that this book will help in the efforts of fostering better interreligious understanding among the rich cultures in the country.

Do treat this book as a