The Daoist Foundation (Daojiao jijin hui 道教基金會) is a non-profit religious and educational
organization dedicated to preserving and transmitting traditional Daoist (Taoist)
culture. Established in September of 2007, the foundation is a federal non-profit
organization (501[c][3]) and public charity (170[b][1][A][vi]).
The Daoist Foundation was formed by Louis Komjathy and Kate Townsend with the vision
of establishing a viable Daoist community in America rooted in Daoist practice-realization.
With some forty-five years of combined experience in Daoist study and practice, they
are uniquely qualified as guides for Daoist training. Their experience includes intensive
training with lineage-based Chinese Daoist monastics and prominent second-generation
American Daoist teachers as well as formal academic study with some of the foremost
senior scholars of Daoism. As Daoist practitioners and spiritual directors, they
are committed to fostering the flourishing of authentic and tradition-based Daoist
practice, community, and culture with attentiveness to the needs and concerns of
Western students.
Our Directors
Louis Komjathy (Kang Siqi 康思奇; Xiujing 修靜; Wanrui 萬瑞; Ph.D.; C.S.O.) is a scholar-practitioner
of Daoism and an ordained Daoist priest of the Huashan 華山 (Mount Hua) lineage of
Quanzhen Daoism. He received his Ph.D. in Religious Studies (Boston University; 2005)
with an emphasis on Daoism and comparative religious studies. In 2006, he lived
and trained as a Daoist recluse in Chengdu, Sichuan, at which time he received ordination
into the Huashan lineage. Following his ordination, he lived as a visiting Daoist
monk in the monasteries of Laoshan 嶗山 (Mount Lao; near Qingdao, Shandong) and Huashan
華山 (Mount Hua; Huayin, Shaanxi). He has published Title Index to Daoist Collections
(Three Pines Press, 2002), Cultivating Perfection: Mysticism and Self-transformation
in Early Quanzhen Daoism (Brill, 2007), and Handbooks for Daoist Practice (Xiudao
shouce 修道手冊; Yuen Yuen Institute [Hong Kong], 2008). Louis Komjathy lives in San
Diego, California. He serves as a senior teacher and spiritual director for the Gallagher
Cove Daoist Association and as Co-director of the Daoist Foundation. Email.
Kate Townsend (Tang Xiang'en 唐鄉恩; Baojing 抱靜; Wanqing 萬清; L.Ac.; LMP; C.S.O.) is
a Chinese medical practitioner and an ordained Daoist priest of the Huashan 華山 (Mount
Hua) lineage of Quanzhen Daoism. During her twenty-five years of practice of Daoism
and the healing arts, she has cultivated a nuanced understanding of women's healing
and alchemical practices. She received ordination into the Huashan lineage in Chengdu,
Sichuan in 2008. Kate Townsend currently lives in Seattle, Washington. She serves
as a senior teacher and spiritual director for the Gallagher Cove Daoist Association
and as Co-director of the Daoist Foundation. She also oversees and practices Chinese
medicine at an acupuncture, herbal and massage therapy clinic in the upper Queen
Anne area of Seattle. Email.
