Limitations

While Daoists traditionally recognize the importance of lineage, such affiliation may be enlivening or distorting. There are contributions and limitations of lineage.

One primary benefit of lineage-locatedness is direction in one’s practice. Specific lineages emphasize specific aspects of Daoist practice. For example, Longmen is most well-known for internal alchemy and precept study, while Wudang is famous for martial arts. Being located in a lineage may also lead to greater ease and relaxation, a clear sense of identity and belonging. One does not need to worry about the tradition as a whole or differences in training models.

Formal lineage affiliation may also lead to problems. One may feel a sense of superiority, become complacent, or be attached to personal identity. One may also misidentify oneself with the lineage itself, rather than the principles, practice, experience and community that lineage represents and inspires.

Lineage also expresses a specific understanding of Daoist ways of life. In addition, different lineages emphasize different scriptures. In the Quanzhen tradition, the fourth-century BCE Daode jing 道德經 (Scripture on the Dao and Inner Power), the sixth-century CE Yinfu jing 陰符經 (Scripture on the Hidden Talisman), and eighth-century CE Qingjing jing 清靜經 (Scripture on Clarity and Stillness) are especially important. Quanzhen is also fairly open to Buddhist insights and models.

The importance of ordination and lineage within the Daoist tradition may also lead to other types of confusion. There were Daoists before ordination and lineage systems developed, and there are Daoists outside of established or known lineages. Such statements of course lend themselves to misunderstanding and manipulation, but they point to the importance of personal practice and experience. There are many mystical dimensions of Daoism, including numinous transmission, dream teachings, and revelation. Daoist lineages thus express different forms of connection with the Dao.

Emphasis on lineage affiliation becomes even more problematic within Daoist systems that incorporate Buddhist views of karma and reincarnation. Modern Daoists frequently discuss “predestined affinity” (yuanfen 緣分). From this perspective, it is possible to have been a Daoist in a former existence. Religious affinity comes from a place simultaneously within and beyond oneself.