Wu-liu pai (), or Wu-liu fa pai (), also known as Xianfo () — a school of

Taoism Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ' ...

with main focus on

internal alchemy Neidan, or internal alchemy (), is an array of esoteric doctrines and physical, mental, and spiritual practices that Taoist initiates use to prolong life and create an immortal spiritual body that would survive after death. Also known as Jindan ...

(neidan).

Main principles

The school's doctrine is related in the works of the school's founders: "Common Teachings of Immortals and Buddhas" and "True Principles of Heavenly Immortality" by

Wu Chongxu Wu may refer to: Places * Wu (region) (), a region roughly corresponding to the territory of Wuyue ** Wu Chinese (), a subgroup of Chinese languages now spoken in the Wu region ** Wuyue culture (), a regional Chinese culture in the Wu region *Wu ...

; and also in "Book of Understanding Life" and "Confirmatory Teachings of Golden Immortals" by Liu Huayang. The school puts its main emphasis on the practice of internal alchemy, in order to realise

Tao The Tao or Dao is the natural way of the universe, primarily as conceived in East Asian philosophy and religion. This seeing of life cannot be grasped as a concept. Rather, it is seen through actual living experience of one's everyday being. T ...

, thus achieving a status of "an immortal and a

buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

". A distinctive trait of the school is its postulated identity of Taoist principles with those of early

Chan Buddhism Chan (; of ), from Sanskrit '' dhyāna'' (meaning " meditation" or "meditative state"), is a Chinese school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. It developed in China from the 6th century CE onwards, becoming especially popular during the Tang and Song ...

. As E. A. Torchinov noted in the foreword to his translation of Zhang Bo-duan's "Chapters of Understanding Life", "With time the immortals came to be regarded as taoist counterparts of Buddhas, which have led to creation of syncretical schools (albeit dominated by Taoism) of Immortals and Buddhas (xianfo) in 16th-17th centuries; in these schools tenets of Buddhist doctrine were only perceived through the lens of taoist tradition."

Translated canons

A canon of the school translated and printed in several

European languages There are over 250 languages indigenous to Europe, and most belong to the Indo-European language family. Out of a total European population of 744 million as of 2018, some 94% are native speakers of an Indo-European language. The three larges ...

is the "Book of Understanding Life" by Liu Hua-yang. It was first translated into

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

and published in 1926 under the title of "Liu Hua Yang, Hui Ming King. Das Buch von Bewusstsein und Leben". Later this German translation was translated into

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

, and printed in 1934 with title of "Lieou Hua Yang. Le Livre de la Conscience et de la Vie". The

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

translation was made by V.V Maliavin and was included into "Ascending towards Tao: a Compendium (Chen Kai-guo, Zhen Shun-chao)" under the title of "Book of Consciousness and Life". A translation from the German by Carl F. Baynes as 'The Book of Consciousness and Life' was added to "The Secret of the Golden Flower" and published in 1962 by Routledge & Kegan Paul, London. There is also a direct translation by Eva Wong, titled "Cultivating the Energy of Life".

The History of The School

The Wu-Liu Pai school was established in 16th-17th centuries at the time of

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

being succeeded by the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

. The founders of the school are believed to be the Taoist Wu Chung-xu (Shou-yang) initially from the Dragon Gate school, which is a sub-sect of the Complete Reality school; and his student Liu Hua-yang, a Chan monk who converted to

; both were originally from Yuzhan (now

Nanchang Nanchang is the capital of Jiangxi, China. Located in the north-central part of the province and in the hinterland of Poyang Lake Plain, it is bounded on the west by the Jiuling Mountains, and on the east by Poyang Lake. Because of its strate ...

Later Branches of the School

One of the more widely known of such lines of transmission is the Qian Feng Pai or Thousand Peaks school, whose popularity stems from a book by Zhao Bi-chen "Secrets of cultivation of Life and Destiny". This book was translated into English by Lu K'uan Yu, known also as Charles Luk and published under the title "Taoist Yoga, Alchemy and Immortality".Charles Luk, "Taoist Yoga, Alchemy and Immortality", Weiser Books, 1999 The orthodox Wu-Liu Pai school does not recognize Qian Feng Pai as preserving the full transmission.

The Wu-Liu Pai school in Russia

Since September 2007 there is an officially functioning school branch in

Saint-Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, Russia. There are branches in several cities of Russia and of former

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

countries.

Bibliography

* ''Torchinov Е.А.'
Taoism. An attempt of historico-relogiological description.
St.P.: Andreev I Sinovia, 1993 (2nd enlarged edition: St. P.: Lan, 1998). — In Russian. * ''Wu Chong-xu'

— In Chinese. * ''Wu Chong-xu'

— In Chinese. * ''Liu Hua-yang'

— In Chinese. * ''Liu Hua-yang'

— In Chinese.

Notes

{{Reflist, 2

External links

A link to the site of the Wu-Liu Pai School
— In English
A link to the site of the Wu-Liu Pai School Branch in Russia
— In Russian

— In Chinese

— In Chinese Taoist schools