I received this e-mail: My name is James Morrison, and I teach a World Religions course at Red Wing High School (Red Wing, Minnesota). It has not been easy. Over the years I have been condemned by Christian fundamentalists for “polluting the minds of children with false ideas” and for “doing the devil’s work.” I have been teaching for […]
Tag Archives: Deng Ming-Dao
Five Sacred Mountains of Taoism
The Five Sacred Mountains of Taoism are Taishan, Huashan, Hengshan (Shanxi), Hengshan (Hunan), and Songshan. Each of the Five Sacred Mountains is a center of history, spirituality, art, and poetry. Pilgrimages to the sacred mountains are highly valued as inspiring, reverent, and beneficial journeys. Pilgrims believe that they can absorb the power of the mountain […]
The Darkest Day
In the course of a year, who among us goes through over three hundred days without any misfortune or trouble? All of us do, and sometimes, those troubles can try us to our souls, drive us to madness, and leave us staring in bewilderment at the complete darkness outside our filmy windows. For all of […]
Winter Solstice
The Winter Solstice Festival (Dongzhi) is celebrated when the sunlight seems to be at its weakest and the days are the shortest. Therefore, it is a festival deeply tied to the observation of yin and yang: this may be a day that yin is seemingly at its greatest, and yet people know that yin must […]
The I Ching and the Winter Solstice
Some hexagrams of the I Ching are associated with the seasons. Hexagram 24, Returning (Fu), is specifically linked to the Winter Solstice and the eleventh moon. Understanding the graphic structure of this hexagram can help make the philosophy and symbolism of the solstice clear. The bottom of the hexagram is the early stage of a situation, the […]