106
JULIAN F. PAS
Therefore we next light a lamp in front of the Primordial Old One (Lao Tzu Heavenly Worthy) to clarify (signify) the proceeding and descent of the Third Ch'i from the Original August One,34
The parallelism between the Taoist and the Christian Triad or Trinity should be left out of the discussion here; what is significant in this context, however, is how the trinitarian formula in each case is used in the new-light ceremony. Another, minor, detail is the raising of the chanting tone in the two cases: the deacon chants “Lumen Christi” three times in successively higher intonations; the Taoist “deacon” or tu-chiang, repeats three times the phrase chanted by the high-priest, elevating his tone of voice.
(iv) The liturgical procession. After the new light has been struck and carried into the temple, a procession takes place in which Taoist high-priest and all his assistants participate. The Christian version is a little different: the new light, struck outside the sanctuary, is carried into the darkened church during a procession in which all those present participate. Although the details differ, the main ritual event of a light-procession is strikingly similar.
(v) The context of both rituals leaves considerable room for speculation. Although in the case of the Taoist fen-teng, the ritual context has become rather obscure, still, a careful analysis of this context may open up new avenues of interpretation. The context in question are two rituals which in the present chiao celebration, as witnessed in Taiwan, as well as in the older ritual texts derived from China, seem always to follow the fen-teng. These two rituals, already mentioned above (p.95) are: the "rolling up of the screen" and the “sounding of bell and chime”.35 It appears that the connection between these two and the fen-teng is rather uncertain and is probably not older than the Sung dynasty. As M. Saso mentions, not all Taoist priests perform the ritual at the same time or in the same ritual context.36 In other words, the phenomenological significance of these two rituals is not obvious and new speculations are possible. If again the Christian Easter rituals are called upon, it is possible to come up with a plausible interpretation of the three ritual acts as a whole: the Christian Easter celebrations contain indeed three similar rituals of which the relationship is clearly understandable. Although the historical links are still left out of the discussion here, the very structure of the Christian ritual may throw light on its Taoist counterpart and help us to understand the
106
JULIAN F. PAS
Therefore we next light a lamp in front of the Primordial Old One (Lao Tzu Heavenly Worthy) to clarify (signify) the proceed- ing and descent of the Third Ch'i from the Original August One, 34
The parallelism between the Taoist and the Christian Triad or Trinity should be left out of the discussion here; what is significant in this context, however, is how the trinitarian formula in each case is used in the new-light ceremony. Another, minor, detail is the raising of the chanting tone in the two cases: the deacon chants “Lumen Christi” three times in sucessively higher intonations; the Taoist “deacon” or tu-chiang, repeats three times the phrase chant- ed by the high-priest, elevating his tone of voice.
(iv) The liturgical procession. After the new light has been struck and carried into the temple, a procession takes place in which Taoist high-priest and all his assistants participate. The Christian version is a little different: the new light, struck outside the sanctuary, is carried into the darkened church during a proces- sion in which all those present participate. Although the details differ, the main ritual event of a light-procession is strikingly similar.
(v) The context of both rituals leaves considerable room for speculation. Although in the case of the Taoist fen-teng, the ritual context has become rather obscure, still, a careful analysis of this context may open up new avenues of interpretation. The context in question are two rituals which in the present chiao celebration, as witnessed in Taiwan, as well as in the older ritual texts derived from China, seem always to follow the fen-teng. These two rituals, already mentioned above (p.95) are: the "rolling up of the screen" and the “sounding of bell and chime”. 35 It appears that the connection between these two and the fen-teng is rather uncertain and is probably not older than the Sung dynasty. As M. Saso men- tions, not all Taoist priests perform the ritual at the same time or in the same ritual context.36 In other words, the phenomenological significance of these two rituals is not obvious and new speculations are possible. If again the Christian Easter rituals are called upon, it is possible to come up with a plausible interpretation of the three ritual acts as a whole: the Christian Easter celebrations contain indeed three similar rituals of which the relationship is clearly understandable. Although the historical links are still left out of the discussion here, the very structure of the Christian ritual may throw light on its Taoist counterpart and help us to understand the
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