1990 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
A Study on the Doctrinal System of the Taoist Religion during the Nanbei-chao Sui Tang Period and the Compilation of a Glossary of Taoist Technical Terms
| Project/Area Number |
63510012
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for General Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Research Field |
Chinese philosophy
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| Research Institution | Waseda University |
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Principal Investigator |
KOBAYASHI Masayoshi Waseda University, School of literature, Professor, 文学部, 教授 (80153641)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
KOBAYASHI Masayoshi Waseda University, School of literature, Professor (80153641)
KOBAYASHI Masayoshi Waseda University, School of literature, Professor (80153641)
KOBAYASHI Masayoshi Waseda University, School of literature, Professor (80153641)
KOBAYASHI Masayoshi Waseda University, School of literature, Professor (80153641)
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| Project Period (FY) |
1988 – 1990
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| Keywords | The religious Taoism / Tianshi-dao / Geshi-dao / Shangqing-pai / Eschatological theory / The World of Great Peace / Taoist meditation / Taoist repentance |
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| Research Abstract |
The Taoist religion was not created by a religious founder. It resulted from the merging together of a variety of systems. Consequently, I had to start my study by investigating the evolution of each of these systems. The study focuses upon the Dong-Jin Liu-Song epoch, viz. The main formative period of the religious Taoism, and by analyzing the doctrines of the main sects (Tianshi-dao, Geshi-dao, and Shangqing-pai) I prove that all these systems share an eschatological theory. According to this theory, the world will be soon visited by a cataclysm which will destroy the whole Universe and kill all sinners. It will be only the virtuous people ("the seed people") who will survive and be able to serve Jinquehousheng-dijun in the World of Great Peace which will come after the catastrophe. It became clear that the Lingbao and Shangqing scriptures were compiled against this eschatological background and that the spiritual practices and rituals found in these scriptures were aimed at becoming one of the "seed people". The findings of these studies were put together in a book entitled A Study on the History of the Taoist Religion during the Six Dynasties.
Furthermore, I made a comparison between the Taoist meditation and the Buddhist meditation as well as between the Taoist repentance ritual and the Buddhist repentance ceremony. A part of the findings will be presented at the 42nd Congress of the Japanese Association of Indian and Buddhist Studies and published in vol.40 of the Journal of the Association.
I have also conducted research and collected Taoist terms mainly connected with the Taoist divinities and meditation. I intend to continue this work and systematize the whole material.
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