Proven Enduring

“Throughout Chinese history there have always been people who preferred to spend their  lives in the mountains, getting by on less, sleeping under thatch, wearing old clothes,  working the higher slopes, not talking much, writing even less—maybe a few poems,  a recipe or two. Out of touch with the times but not with the seasons they cultivated  roots of the spirit, trading flatland dust for mountain mist. Distant and insignificant,  they were the most respected men and women in the world’s oldest society. Hermits were simply there: beyond city walls, in the mountains, lone columns of smoke after a snowfall.”

*Source: Bill ‘Red Pine’ Porter, Road to Heaven

 

What are the beliefs and practices of my people regarding how a human being is meant to exist in relationship with a living earth?

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Proven Resilient

“I stopped to talk with… (abbot) Jen Fa-chou… deputy director of the province’s Taoist Association.  He said when he first arrived… in 1958 the number of monks and nuns had declined to 150. There had been more than 500 before “Liberation” as the Communists liked to call their 1949 takeover. Only about a dozen managed to weather the Cultural  Revolution (1965-1976) at the temple. In addition to chasing out most of the temple’s monks and nuns, Jen said the Red Guards destroyed all the buildings…“The Red Guards came and destroyed the shrines and statues and burned our books. They also beat up the monks.”  According to Jen’s report extensive damage was done to almost all Taoist temples in Shensi Province during the ten years of the Cultural Revolution.”

*Source: Bill ‘Red Pine’ Porter, Road to Heaven

 

What are the beliefs and practices required to survive and thrive in the contemporary world?

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Additional Resources

Powerpoint

Download the entire Zhongnan Mountain Hermits slide deck for educational purposes