Reading Response - Book Report/Review Example

Analysis of The Precepts of Perfect Truth Daoist Sect From the article, it is evident that theDaoist and the Buddhist were recognized in China. They were respectable people as they had specific roles that were relevant and defined in the society. Most of these monks were educated and learnt traditional practices, but their area of specialization differed. It Is clear that the monks were confined to some areas depending on their level of education. For example, the educated ones associated with the scholars, while the typical ones were likely to be found in the village and associated mostly with the villagers and farmers.

The article shows that there was the reformation of the Daoist sects. The reformation process was against the beliefs in magical practices that were believed and practiced in the past. However, the perfect truth of the reform process was founded and had some teachings based on Daoism, Buddhism and Confucianism. The importance of these teachings was emphasized in the perfect truth. Over the years, magical practices got incorporated in the learning process even though there was a rejection of the magical practices in the past, it was in (Lai and Hwa, 328).

Also, the article shows that there were some principles that guided the art of medicine of the Daoists. On the art of medicine, herbs were the basic source of medicine. The herbs were mostly obtained from trees of the forest. However, some of these herbs were used to heal some illness and improve one’s health. On the other hand, there were some herbs that gave the necessary requirements to the body and making it resistant to some diseases. Therefore, only a few people understood the varieties and the type of diseases that a particular medicine from herbs could heal.

(Lai and Hwa, 330). Those who understood the use of such herbs were important in every society in that they were capable of saving people’s lives. On the other hand, those who did not understand the essence of herbs were not supposed to try since they could bring harm to people’s health. However, most people would boast to know the art of medicine with the motive of acquiring worldly goods. Companionship was also a factor that has been outlined in the article. It involved being able to make friendships with other people in the society.

The Daoists were supposed to have good friends who were able to provide care and concern for each other. In this case, the process of choosing friendship was procedural in that one had to learn the behavior and character of the other person before getting involved in the friendship. This was necessary since the Daoists were supposed to follow a neutral feeling of loving and not getting attached to love. These were two different scenarios as love extends to adoring things that were against the doctrines and this was supposed to be avoided.

In general, compatibility was a factor that was highly considered in friendship. This meant that only persons who could understand each other without any conflict could make better friendship relations. “The principle of establishing oneself lies in the grand monastic community”(Lai and Hwa, 331). Therefore, the choice of friends or companion lies in the appreciation of one’s level of understanding and not due to the physical or external nature of the person. Work citedLai, W & Hwa, L.

\ The Percepts of Perfect Truth Daoist Sect