American Dragon Gate Lineage
Priest Authorization
“… award this certificate to prove that you are Taoist Priest … you can ordain your disciples as Taoist Priest.” Wan Sujian, November 17, 2006
The American Dragon Gate Lineage (ADGL) is a non-monastic order of Daoist practitioners who have made a conscious commitment to self-cultivation and to the spreading of the Daoist View. Membership in the ADGL consists of two categories, those completing the priest training program, including ordination, or as a general member status as a Companion In The Dao.
Details of Categories of Companions In The Dao
Priest Companions In The Dao. Candidates who have completed the Daoist priest training and received ordination as a Daoist Priest. Some of the features of the training program includes: Completion of the 1000 Day Daoist Scripture Recitation Retreat, studies in Daoism, especially that of the Quanzhen-Complete Perfection School of Daoism, and practice of Daoist Zuowang Meditation and related cultivations on a daily basis, as well as in intensive solitary retreats. Another requirement is that priest companions have a solid background in medical qigong. The tuition of $300 per year is the cost of the training, and an annual membership fee of $75 is required to maintain active status in the ADGL.
General Member Companions In The Dao. A General Member is someone with a sincere interest in belonging to a Daoist lineage, but without the continued trainings and requirements for the priest level. General Members will be offered guidance as to ADGL practices, but will have no formal requirements for membership. An annual membership fee of $50 is required which supports the growth of the ADGL. Membership benefits include continued support from the QDTC.
Priest and Member Companions In The Dao take specific Daoist Precepts of the ADGL.
- Priest Ordination
PLATFORM STATEMENT OF THE AMERICAN DRAGON GATE LINEAGE
Daoism is religious tradition which has its roots in the Chinese culture, history and philosophy. The ultimate concern for Daoists is the return to the Source, which is the Dao. The Dao may be understood as the Primordial Origins, the Source of all that is. It is unnameable and all-prevading mystery and is the on-going process we call the universe. The Daoist practice is to cultivate alignment with the Dao. To follow the Dao is to return to nothingness.
The Daoists in the ADGL studies the history and teachings of the Quanzhen school of Daoism, founded by Wang Zhe (Chongyang) 1112-1170, and which eventually resulted in the Longmen Dragon Gate Lineage. Wang Zhe also emphasized the study of Buddhism and Confucianism as important to Daoist cultivation. The ADGL therefore encourages the integration of Buddhist practices into one’s methods. The ADGL supports the art of sitting in oblivion or forgetting (zuowang), and the cultivation of the Three Treasures of Jing, Qi, and Shen. The goal is to cultivate these three energies to their fullest potential.
Another important practice for the ADGL Daoist is an appreciation for his/her need for personal retreats. The adept withdraws from the ordinary world to pursue self-cultivation, whether on a daily basis, or by participating in a structured retreat with a qualified teacher. And eventually, the adept may spend prolonged time in solitude in order to experience the deeper recesses of the Dao.
Returning To The Source
As Daoists of the ADGL, we emphasize the transformative powers of the Dao. Through long practice and direct realization experiences, the adept gradually and naturally becomes one with the Dao. Along the way, the advanced adept brings spiritual relief to those who are receptive to the Daoist path. Eventually, the adept’s body is dropped off and the immortal body is fully merged with the eternal Dao where there are no boundaries and one soars with the pantheon of immortals, returning to the Source.
For more information about the American Dragon Gate Lineage, contact:
michaelrqi@aol.com
The next Priest ordination ceremony will take place in September of 2010 at the Qigong and Daoist retreat. See the Retreats – 2010 link above.
Three newly ordained Daoist priests of the ADGL
