Taoism way of fasting
The Causes of Fasting:
Fasting is one of the principal tasks in Taoists' daily religious
practice. The aim is for pious Daoists to keep their body clean and
their soul pure. Fasting existed long ago in ancient China. The
Book of Changes claims that to fast is to take preventive measures
against wrong-doings to reform oneself thoroughly. In the book
Mencius it is written: "Even a villain can worship the Higher
Emperor so long as he fasts." Records about fasting can also be
found in several chapters of the Book of Rites. It is recorded that
to fast is to commune with spirits and ghosts. As one is going to
fast, he must guard against everything evil and get rid of hobbies
and desires. It would be better not to listen to music, not to
worry about anything, and not to move with one's hand and feet."
Taoism inherited the skill of fasting for the purpose of
restraining Daoists and to offer sacrifice to the spirits as well
as to Heaven and Earth.
The Book of Esoteric Explications of the Three Heavens written in
the Liu Song dynasty of the epoch of division between South and
North said: "To learn Tao, one must fast first. Thus one can keep
one's body clean externally and one's mind empty and pristine
internally, so much so that one ascends while the Perfected
descend. Finally he and Tao will be one. A long time of fasting can
help one communicate with the Perfect Tao without violating any
taboos."
Since the Tang and Song Dynasties, fasting has been closely
connected with chanting scriptures, which has become a part of
Taoists' routine practice. The Collected Annotations of the Book of
Salvation wrote that if one persists in fasting, burning joss
sticks and chanting scriptures, one is sure to be rewarded with
boundless fortune, for he has accumulated so many merits and
virtues. On the one hand, fasting is powerful enough to eliminate
natural disasters and ensure the king's throne as well as blessings
for the state. On the other hand, it can put an end to various
poisons and save the common people from misfortunes.
The Functions of Fasting:
Fasting has two functions. Firstly, it is a step to cultivate the
Tao. Taoist scriptures state: "Fasting is necessary for a Taoist to
cultivate Perfection in a Taoist temple. Be careful about what you
say and be prudent so as not to make mistakes. Then you may
approach Tao." Taoism believes tha fasting is the root of Tao and
the bridge of skills. If one is to cultivate Tao, he must fast and
obey the commandments, keep the perfect Tao in one's mind, and then
one's evil desires disappear automatically."
Secondly, it is a method of communicating with divines. When it
comes to fasting and reciting scriptures, Zhang Yuchu wrote in the
Ten Daoist Commandments: "Anyone cultivating Tao must fast for a
clean body as well as a pure heart, and he must visualize the
divines and read Taoist scriptures silently in his mind. It is as
if facing the Higher Emperor, communicating with him with the
heart. Once concentrating on it with a pure heart, he will
understand the perfect meaning of the Tao. If one reads aloud the
scriptures in a clear and melodious sound, the Vital Breath will
rise and harmonize smoothly, so one can accumulate merits
quickly.
Then the jade sound of reading can nourish the breath with
spontaneous inspiration. As a result, Heaven will be peaceful and
the Earth safe, and good customs will help the people with fortune
collected and misfortune disappeared. But if one recites Daoist
books absent-mindedly without any belief in it or without a pious
heart, what is the good of reading hundreds or thousands volumes
daily? Then how can it be possible to dispel misfortune?
Generally for Taoists, it is encouraged to fast(vegeterian diet) on
the first and fifteen day of the lunar month.
On special days, such as divines' birthday, aniversaries and time
of rituals, it is important to fast too.
In some scriptures, there are certain days set aside in the month
whereby Taoists who are cultivating are encouraged to fast on these
unique days.
For Quanzhen Taoist priests who lived in the temple, they need to
observe a vegeterian diet. For zhengyi Taoists, only certain group
of them observe that, for the others, they only fast during
rituals.