Wu (awareness)
| Part of a series on |
| Chinese folk religion |
|---|
| Stylisation of the 禄 lù or 子 zi grapheme, respectively meaning "prosperity", "furthering", "welfare" and "son", "offspring". 字 zì, meaning "word" and "symbol", is a cognate of 子 zi and represents a "son" enshrined under a "roof". The symbol is ultimately a representation of the north celestial pole (Běijí 北极) and its spinning constellations, and as such it is equivalent to the Eurasian symbol of the swastika, 卍 wàn. |
|
Internal traditions Major cultural forms
Main philosophical traditions: Ritual traditions: Devotional traditions:
Confucian churches and sects: |
Wu (Chinese: 悟; pinyin: Wù) is a concept of awareness, consciousness, or spiritual enlightenment in the Chinese folk religion.[1]
According to scholarly studies, many practitioners who have recently "reverted" to the Chinese traditional religion speak of an "opening of awareness" Kai wu (Chinese: 開悟; pinyin: Kāi wù) or "awakening of awareness" Jue wu (Chinese: 覺悟; pinyin: Juéwù) of the interconnectedness of reality in terms of the cosmic-moral harmony (bào yìng ) as it relates to mìng yùn and yuán fèn .[2]
This spiritual awareness, wu, works as an engine that moves these themes from being mere ideas to be motivating forces in one's life:[2]
- awareness of mìng yùn ignites responsibility towards life;
- awareness of yuan fen stirs one to respond to events rather than resigning.
Awareness is a dynamic factor and appears in two guises: first, as a realisation that arrives as a gift, often unbidden, then as a practice that the person intentionally follows.[2]
See also
[edit ]- Chinese folk religion
- Ming yun
- Bao ying
- Yuan fen
- Satori , a similar concept in Japanese Buddhism
References
[edit ]- ^ Fan & Chen (2013), p. 26-27.
- ^ a b c Fan & Chen (2013), p. 27.
Bibliography
[edit ]- Fan, Lizhu; Chen, Na (2013). "The Revival of Indigenous Religion in China" (PDF). China Watch. Fudan University, Fudan-UC Center for China Studies. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195338522.013.024. Preprint from The Oxford Handbook of Religious Conversion, 2014.