INTERFAITH PROJECT PRESENTATION Title : Multifaith Centre Building and Design - Introduction to Asian Culture and Religion (Taoism) Presented by : Chuen-Tat Kang ( 江俊达 ) January 2011

Purpose of the Project Propose the typical design for multifaith centre development in Australia Assist the understanding of the culture and religion of Asian countries in the aspects of religious centre development Design interfaith activity education program in the state of Victoria in Australia

TAOIST TEMPLE ESTABLISHMENT 1. For the establishment of Tao temple, the builder who follow the Tao can align themselves with the flow of cosmic power and strive to cultivate and purify the universe within the body temple where the physical entity, similar to the nature of human body, is perceived as a sacred microcosm. The ideas of the Tao temple establishment were in accordance to Tao Te Ching a book of Tao philosophy written by Laozi the founder of Taoism. 2. Temples and shrines of Taoist are often erected on or near the sacred places especially those with geographical features like rivers, mountains and caves. 3. The temple is always recommended to be built in the places where qi can be found in great quantity and with exceptional quality that flows through channels and grids in the earth, giving life and energy to all creatures in the universe.

TAOIST TEMPLE ESTABLISHMENT 4. Tao temples are usually recommended to be built on mountains, that are reputed to be he homes of immortals, because mountains are always deemed to be the sacred places where the deities, human and divine could meet together. 5. The other sacred geographical sites are grottoes, literally "cave heavens", have also been considered as sources of vitalizing energy, places of the deities, and were deemed as sacred microcosm, worlds within themselves. 6. The sacred temples that built in grottos could be connected by subterranean passageways. Usually the Taoist designated and mapped ten great grotto heavens, thirty six smaller grotto heavens and seventy-two blessed realms in the temple design concept in grottos.

TAOIST TEMPLE ESTABLISHMENT 7. These ideas of holy Taoist temple design are based on the ancient art of feng-shui (literally "wind" and "water"). This is the art of fixing the most auspicious space for temples and many other infrastructure like grooves, buildings and cities etc, as another means of accessing cosmic power and also to make the most of the qi present in the environment and to live harmoniously within the natural orders, other wise conflicts and disturbances to the beings living in the structures and the beings connected to the structures may arise if the wrong qi is accumulated. 8. The auspicious of the site of Tao temple building may be determined by a special type of compass to take the bearings on the site and on visible features of the surrounding landscape, such as prominent rocks, mountain peaks, paths, watercourse etc. 9. The optimum usage and access of a natural channel of energy could be through feng-shui, where the qi could be manipulated in order to take advantage of the natural qi for prosperity of them temple with same structure and feature to the cosmos.

TAOIST TEMPLE ESTABLISHMENT 10. The natural apperance and drawings available inside and outside of the temple may influence the qi of the building. By knowing the true form of various structures of power sources of energy, adepts have control over these sources of power. 11. Diagrams show the true shape of grottoes, mountains and other geographical features may be able to protect the adept from any danger that might exist within the vicinity of the Tao temple, such as demons or evil spirit. 12. Some popular temples and abbeys may have received imperial patronage where the shrines and monasteries were established on numerous peaks and at sites where famous Taoist has "obtained the Way".

TAOIST TEMPLE ESTABLISHMENT : CONCEPTS OF CHINESE PHILOSOPHIES IN BUILDING DESIGN 1. In order to understand the basic concepts of Taoist temple, the basic qualities and modes of interaction are used as a highly abstract framework to explain the workings of virtually everything, from the physical towards the spiritual wellbeing of everything existed in the universe. 2. The material and effort used to construct the temple, from spirits to rock, are made of the same material qi. From the chaotic but fertile Tao comes qi, or "vital matter", in its primordial state. 3. The qi, as the main constituent of Tao temple, could be divided into yinqi, which is heavy and sinks down, and yangqi, whichis light and ascend.

TAOIST TEMPLE ESTABLISHMENT : CONCEPTS OF CHINESE PHILOSOPHIES IN BUILDING DESIGN 4. From the basic binary relationships of Ying (negative) and Yang (positive) the temple as a part of the universe is created, manifest in a variety of groupings and divisions. 5. The pentads, or groupings of five, have played important role, with the "Five Phases" (wuxing) becoming apowerful organization principles in the building design and set-up. 6. The "Five Elements", "Five Phases" or "Five Agents" articulate qi as greater and lesser yang (fire and wood), greater and lesser ying (water and metal) and a balanced centre (earth) where these phases are related through the mutually destructive pattern like fire-water- earth-wood-metal and mutually engendering pattern like wood-fire- earth-metal-water.

TAOIST TEMPLE ESTABLISHMENT Reference material : Oldstone-Moore J : Taoism – Sacred Space (Part 3.6). In Eastern Religions. Edited by Coogan MD. USA : Oxford University Press; 2005: page