Taoist Terms/Glossary/Glossaries

Taoist Glossaries

Taoist Terms and Explanations
Chinese	Pronunciation		Literal meaning	Translated to	Explanation
Chinese	Cantonese	Mandarin	Literal meaning	Translated to	Explanation
	Doe	Dao	way; path the universal truth the supreme perfection the origin	Tao; Dao; Doe; the Principle of Nature;	the way to the supreme perfection the teachings that lead living beings to Tao the fundamental principle of universes the unsurpassed, supreme perfection. The achievement of this perfection is called "The Gain of Tao" . the origin of all the wholeness
	Dug	De	virtue; merit moral gain	Te; De; Dug; virtue; merit; moral; gain; obtain; achieve	virtue; merit moral; morality the gain of merits, virtues, or the prime energy
	Dug	De	gain; obtain; achieve;	gain; obtain; achieve	is another form of
	Ging	Jing	scripture; sacred text; holy text classic; book thread; longitude principle channel path; road	Ging; King; Jing; Ching; scripture; classic; canon; book; sutra; channel; energy channel	sacred text; classic path to the truth energy channels inside one's body
	Fard	Far	law; rule; regulation; principle norm; standard; model; method; way; approach technique follow the laws of; follow the example of; abide by the law; according to law	Law; principle teaching; doctrine; Dharma technique; method	The principles, teachings, techniques, and rites relating to Tao are usually called
	Yeong; Yerng	Yang	the nature of the sun/male; positive	Yerng; Yang; sunny; masculine	the nature of the sun/male the qualities of sun/male, such as brightness, heat, power, selflessness, impartiality, etc. positive visible; noticed; open
	Yarm; Yum; Yaam;	Yin	the nature of the moon/female; negative; the opposite of Yerng	Yarm; Yum; Yin; shady; dark; feminine	the nature of the moon/female the qualities of moon/female, such as softness, gentleness, etc. negative the opposite of Yerng, the nature/qualities of lower-worlds/hells, such as darkness, cold, etc. hidden; unnoticed; private
	Hey	Qi	the original, primary energy; the energy that always exists, even before the creation of universes	the original/prime energy; the uncreated energy; the supreme energy; The origin	the original, purest, lightest, and most pellucid energy; the prime motive force of universes and all living beings;
	Hey	Qi	energy gas atmosphere air breath meteorology solar term odor; smell	energy the created energy vital energy gas breath air and so forth	the created energy, a mixture of uncreated energy and other materials. gas; atmosphere; air; breath; smell; and so forth In some texts, has the same meaning as
	Yud	Yi	one first origin wholeness same; identical every; each certain only; single	the One; the origin; the source; the root; the oneness; the wholeness first same; identical every; each certain only; single	the original pivot/source/root of a living being or an universe. If one knows this pivot and keeps holding it (), he will achieve Tao . In certain cases, "" is the same as ""
	Zorng	Zhong	middle; central; center core	the middle; the center; the core	"" in Taoist texts has a similar meaning as "", see above. keeping/holding it is called
	Tzun	Zhen	true; real; truth; reality	true; real; truth; reality the original nature the immortality the ultimate truth	Physical bodies and material worlds are false/illusionary, and the Reality transcending them is True, thus: Taoist practices are called "Cultivating the True" , or "Cultivating the True by using the False" ; A person who has achieved Tao is called "True person" or "Real person" ; A scripture that leads us to the reality is called "True scripture" or "Truthful scripture" is also written as
	Sam Tsing	San Qing	the three pure pellucid ones	The Three Pure Pellucid Ones The Three Pure Ones; The Three Clarities The Three Purities	The Three Pure Pellucid Ones are the highest divinities in Taoism. They are: The Jade Pure Pellucid One : The Original Universal Lord ; The Superior Pure Pellucid One : The Universal Lord of Divinity And Treasure ; The Ultra Pure Pellucid One : The Universal Lord of Way(Tao) And Virtue They also represent the three divine natures of all living beings.
	Sam Boe	San Bao	the three treasures; the three preciousness	the three treasures the three preciousness the three jewels the triple jewels	The three treasures are: 1. Tao; 2. Scriptures (Teachings of Tao); 3. Teachers (of Tao)
	Sam Boe	San Bao	the three treasures; the three preciousness		The three internal treasures are: 1. Tzing: essence; sexual energy; 2. Hey: vital energy; 3. Sun: divinity; divine nature; true self; spiritual energy Sex cells (sperm/eggs) are produced from vital energies, and vital energies are produced from divinities A mundane person's vital energy and divinity (spiritual power) are weak because he often wastes his sexual energies; A Tao-cultivator accumulates his Three Treasures, so that his sexual energies will be transmuted back into vital energies, and his vital energies will be transmuted back into spiritual energies, then his divinity (True Self) will become stronger, and he will achieve Tao.
	Tzing	Jing	essence; quintessence essential; refined; sex cells (sperm/egg) star sunlight or moonlight	the Essential Vigour sexual energy essence sex cells (sperm/semen/egg)	There are two kinds of Essence (Tzing ): 1. uncreated Essence 2. created Essence: sex cells. Every living being is always losing his Uncreated Essence, especially during sexual excitement, orgasm, and ejaculation A human being or animal loses his Created Essence when he is having sex, ejaculating, or ovulating
	Sun	Shen	divine nature; sacrosanct nature divinity; god; deity; soul(s); spirit; omniscience;	god; divinity; deity; spirit; true self; soul(s); angel	One must accumulate his Three Treasures to nurture his divine nature and become a divinity. One's divinity has something to do with his souls.
	Tin	Tian	summit; head; top sky heaven; paradise nature	heaven sky	heaven sky the top part of an universe the top part of a body: one's head and the area above it. see the Pictures for cultivating the Reality for detail
	Day	Di	earth ground; land; fields territory place; locality; position	earth ground stage place	earth; ground; etc. the lower part of an universe the lower part of a body. In the Pictures for cultivating the Reality, there are many hells in the lower part of one's body.
	Seen Tin	Xian Tian	before heaven; before all	uncreated; prenatal; unborn; non-produced; pre-cosmic; natural;	A Before-Heaven thing exists forever, even before the creation of a universe or body
	Hao Tin	Hou Tian	after heaven	created; produced; postnatal; artificial	An After-Heaven thing exists after its birth and dies out at the end of its lifespan.
	Seen	Xian	immortal supernatural person	immortal; immortal person; supernatural person; seer; celestial being	A successful cultivator of Tao. There are several kinds of immortals(): A lower level immortal person has a human flesh body, but never becomes old, he can live in the human world for as long time as he like. A higher level immortal person has matured his divine body so that he can abandon his flesh body; An even higher level immortal has not only matured his divine body, but also converted his flesh body into light (photons). he can transform himself to anything and can have many dividing bodies, so that he can appear as various forms synchronously at many places, or be invisible to human eyes. For an immortal of the level higher than the above, the whole universe is his body, all things in the universe are his manifestations. he can also appear as an individual being, but even heavenly gods cannot recognize him.
	Whun	Hun	soul of Yerng	Whun; Hun; soul of Yerng; soul of Yang; positive soul; sunny soul; holy soul	A normal person has ten souls, three of them are Yeong, called Whun, and seven of them are Yarm, called Pug. They are often mentioned together as The Three Whuns and Seven Pugs: View their pictures These souls affect one's wisdom, behaviors, appearance, health, fortune, etc. Some Taoist Scriptures talk about them in detail.
	Pug / Puk	Po/Bo	soul of Yarm	PUG; PUK; Po; Bo; soul of Yarm; soul of Yin; negative soul; dark soul; shady soul; nether soul
	Sam See	San Shi	the three corpses	the three Corpses the three Corpse-Spirits; the three spirits; the three dead bodies;	three spirits that live in every normal person's body. View their pictures A Tao cultivator must defeat them to overcome his desires, greed, delusions, etc.
	Gau Tsong	Jiu Chong	the nine worms	the nine kinds of worms; the nine worms	the nine kinds of worms that live in one's body. The three Corpses and the nine kinds of worms are often mentioned together as
	Hey	Qi	container	container; vessel; utensil	A body is like a rechargeable battery, so that it is often called "container" or "container of Tao". Normally, a living being's body leaks energy uninterruptedly so that he becomes older and older and finally die; however, one who knows how to recharge and prevent the leaking can accumulate more and more energy, refine his souls and body, and become a divinity. A flesh body is filthy and heavy, but it is also very valuable because it is a container for subliming.
	Yerg	Yao	medicine	Elixir; Medicine; Holy Medicine; drug	The thing used to make Dharns
	Dharn / Dhaan	Dan	red; pill; pellet	Elixir; Dharn; Dan pill; pill of immortality ball; Elixir Ball; Energy Pellet	The thing made of Yerg (Medicine)
	Dharn / Dhaan	Dan	red; pill; pellet		In some translations, both Dharn and Yerg are translated into "Elixir".
	Dharn Tin	Dan Tian	Farmland of Dharm; Field of Dharn	Dharn Farmland; Elixir Field; Cinnabar field;	a major energy storage in a body There are three well known Dharn-Farmlands, which are: 1. The upper Dharn-Farmland in one's head; 2. The middle Dharn-Farmland near one's chest; 3. The lower Dharn-Farmland near one's navel
	Gwok	Guo	nation; state	country; nation; state; kingdom;	In Taoist Scriptures, "nation", "world", "universe", "heavens and earths", "mountains, rivers and the ground", etc. also mean a microcosm, that is, a living being.
	Yiu	Yu	fish	fish	In Taoist Scriptures, "fish" is another metaphor. The Tie-Gic Picture is considered to be formed by the two fishes of Yarm and Yerng.
	Doe/Tow	Dao	steal; stealing; stealer	steal; stealer; robber	The terms "steal" and "thief" can be found in some Taoist scriptures and Zen scriptures. "Steal" is a metaphor for a secret way of accumulating merits and virtues, and a cultivator of such a Way is sometimes called "thief". Anyway, such kind of "stealing" does not violate the precept against stealing.
	Tsuk	Zei	thief	thief