| Summary: | 碩士 === 輔仁大學 === 宗教學系碩士在職專班 === 102 === Abstract
The author started her observation of and involvement in religious activities organized by a local religious organization in Taiwan since 2005. The research materials are the large number of responses to online fortune telling and discussions open to the public on its website. The data collated and in-depth interview with the sect founder Mr. Zhao indicate that he has unique interpretations of “Nandou jing” and “Beidou jing”.
Very few works among “Daozang” (Repositories of the Tao) are passed down and still referred to as classics. “Taishang xuanling beidou benming changsheng zhenjing”, a.k.a. Nandou Jing” and “Taishang shuo nandou liusi yanshou duren miaojing”, a.k.a. “Beidou jing” remain the cornerstone of the Chinese Taoism. A thousand years on, these two books are still the references to daily practices by many Taoist schools. Some Taoist sects refer to these two books in rituals such as prayers for guilty repentance and disaster eliminations. However, the focus of “Nantou” and “Beidou” was on the application of the repentance rituals. Whilst both systems offer comprehensive codes for these rituals, the discourse and logics behind the rituals are yet to be explored and examined at length. This paper studies Chinese Astrology of Karma Zi Wei and connects the dots revealed in “Beidou jing”, “Nantou jing”, “Chisong zi zhangli”, “Ziwei doushu quanshu” and “Shi Yu Ge” in association with the summaries and secret instructions on adjustment to souls and spirits according to Karmic judgements and the destiny and lessons in incarnations. The examinations of the abovementioned classics and the studies on all the relevant cases present an in-depth discourse on Karma of direct reflection and Karma of outsiders. Finally, the application of rules of thumb and logical analyses suggests that some cases revealed the context, framework and validation of some of the ultimate questions to life, such as the original and components of souls, verification of Karmic causes and effects, the connection between the present and past lives and the links between Karmic retributions and incarnations. If some of these ultimate questions to life can be explained, maybe it will benefit the progress of human civilizations and the development of peaceful societies.
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