Anecdote Drawn From The Evergreen Taoist Church of Australia
The priests of the Evergreen Taoist Church of Australia are devotees of an order of Taoism known as the Evergreen Taoist Religious Order (EVTRO). They follow the teachings of the “principal canons” of Taoism (Verellen, 1995). The Taoists of the EVTRO believe in being apart from the need of worldly possessions, and aim at creating a solidarity and harmony between heaven and man. One way in which they hope to achieve this is by giving freely of their time in public ceremonies to help others come closer to their own inner harmony.
In the Taoist ceremony of the birth of Quan Yin, music was a key component of the service. The entire dialogue of the ritual was intoned or sung by the priests, and these prayers were always accompanied by instrumentation . The chanting and instrumentation are used by the priests of Taoism as a tool to achieving the Tao (Bowker, 2000). The Tao is described as the way or the path (Park, 2001). Taoists understand that by following the path of Tao and reaching a balance with all things a human can gain self-realization. Music assists the follower on his/her path to the Tao by helping to communicate with gods, reach inner harmony and come closer to finding balance with the world.
Read more about this topic: Taoist Music
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