Qigong & Daoist Training Center

American Dragon Gate Lineage

“… award this certificate to prove that you are Taoist Priest … you can ordain your disciples as Taoist Priest.”  Wan Sujian, November 17, 2006

Daoist Priest Training Contract/Platform

 The American Dragon Gate Lineage

 The American Dragon Gate Lineage (ADGL)  is under the umbrella organization of the Qigong & Daoist Training Center (QDTC).  The ADGL was founded by Michael Rinaldini (Li Chang Dao), a Qigong Teacher, and a 22nd generation (Longmen) Dragon Gate Daoist priest.  The ADGL is inspired by the teachings of Chinese qigong and Daoist Master Wan Su Jian from Beijing, and from Daoist Priest Ji Zhi Tong of White Cloud Temple, Beijing.  Historically, the ADGL is linked to the Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) school of the Daoist religion, founded by Wang Zhe (Chongyang, 1113-1170) and his direct disciples.

 The American Dragon Gate Lineage 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 American Dragon Gate Lineage consists of two categories of Companions in The Dao.

 1.  Priest Companions In The Dao.  Candidates who have completed the first novice year and the continued priest trainings of the ADGL, and received ordination as a Daoist Priest.  An annual membership fee of $75 is required which supports the growth of the ADGL.  Membership benefits include continued support from the QDTC.

 2.  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 Companions in the Dao will take Daoist Precepts of the ADGL during their ordination ceremony.

 Platform Statement of The American Dragon Gate Lineage

 Daoism is a philosophical and 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 unnamable and all-pervading mystery.  The Daoists goal is to cultivate alignment with the Dao.

 Historically, for the Quanzhen adepts the goal of practice was to overcome the limitations of this world, realize complete perfection, merge with the Great Mystery, and ascend to immortality.  For present day Daoists of the American Dragon Gate Lineage, the goal is the same.  It is a path of emptying the self of distractions through spiritual disciplines leading to the direct experience of one’s true nature which is identical to the essential nature of the Dao.

 The core of the priest training program is a focus on the Daoist meditation methods of zuowang (sitting in oblivion or forgetting) and the koan method of resolving the question of what is “Not Two.”  These methods lead to the experience of emptiness or nothingness which is the goal of the universe, its highest goal.  Nothingness means return.  Nothingness is the body of Dao.  Everything is one with nothingness. 

 “The Great Way is not difficult” as scripture says, but it is long. Through long practice and direct realization experiences, the adept naturally becomes one with the Dao.  Along the way, the advanced adept brings spiritual relief to those who are receptive to the Daoist path. 

 A Daoist in the ADGL studies the history of Daoism specifically the teachings of the Quanzhen-Complete Perfection school and its founder Wang Zhe (Chongyang) (1112-1170), which eventually resulted in the Longmen Dragon Gate sect in the Qing dynasty (1644-1911). The founder, 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 cultivation methods. 

 In addition to the core practice of meditation, ADGL adepts have a daily practice of reciting texts from a collection of Daoist scriptures.  For 1000 consecutive days, adepts recite texts from this collection.  The life of Wang Zhe was the key source of inspiration for this practice.  It is recorded that upon his mystical conversion experience, he entered a solitary three year retreat, followed by another long retreat.  A secondary inspiration came from the Daoist mystical text, the Scripture of Western Ascension ( Xisheng Jing ).  In it,  Laozi says toYin Xi, the keeper of the pass:  “Practice it very carefully, cherish it like a treasure.  In deep serenity he meditated on the Dao, concentrated his will, and guarded the One.  He recited the scripture ten thousand times and in 1000 days he attained inner sincerity in his essence and pervasion in his meditation.”

 One of the key Daoist scriptures that is recited and studied is the Daode jing.  It is viewed as a guiding source for cultivation principles, such as softness, yielding, emptiness, wuwei or non-contrived action.

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, as in a daily meditation practice, or by participating in a structured retreat with a teacher and other students.  As the adept progresses in their own self-transformation process, it may be more necessary for the retreats to be solitary and prolonged. 

 In addition to the above practices, members of the ADGL practice a variety of energy techniques, like qigong, tai chi, martial arts, healing arts and other practices that support inner cultivation and compassionate actions.  These arts are not part of the ADGL training program, and new candidates are actually required to have a solid foundation in the basics of Traditional Chinese Medicine and qigong.

 Perhaps the best way to conclude the platform statement of the American Dragon Gate Lineage is to present the Precepts:

 I take refuge in the Great Dao.

I take refuge in the Canon.

I take refuge in the Teacher and Hidden Immortals of the Great Way.

 I vow not to create evil or harm to others.

I vow to practice good.

I vow to bring forth good to others.

 I vow to Practice

Not misusing sexuality.

Not clouding the mind with drugs or alcohol.

Not being greedy, or angry.

 I vow to Practice

Being compassionate to self and others.

Being mindful and paying attention to things in my daily life.

Cultivating the Three Treasures of Jing, Qi, and Shen.

Developing a spacious view of self and others.

Dedicating the merits of my cultivation to all beings, both the living and the dead.

 I vow to practice Not Two until I realize Complete Perfection.