A Brief Meditation on Daoist Prayer
Edinost in Dialog January 1, 2024 DOI: 10.34291/edinost/79/02/bokenkamp (opens in new tab) via OpenAlex
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractPrayer, a little-studied aspect of religious experience, is examined within Daoism (Taoism), a Chinese religion often confused with Buddhism for its meditation practices. From its beginnings as an organized religion in the second century CE, Daoism prescribed methods of verbal communication with higher powers in communal and private settings. This essay explores a few of these methods to prompt further investigation into Daoist prayer.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Buddhism Meditation |
| Keywords | Prayer Traditional medicine Philosophy |
| Key finding | Argues that Daoism has historically included prescribed methods of verbal communication with higher powers, which are understudied compared to its meditation practices. |
Abstract
Prayer is a little-studied aspect of religious experience.This is especially true for a religion such as Daoism (Taoism), a Chinese religion widely known for its meditation practices and often confused with Buddhism.But, beyond meditation, Daoism had, from its beginnings as an organized religion in the second century C. E., prescribed methods of verbal communication with the higher powers, both in communal and private settings.This essay explores a few of these in hopes of prompting further investigation.