“Kowtow” is a traditional national etiquette, the most solemn form of worship. Taoism has inherited this national tradition and endowed the kowtow with special religious significance.
In Taoist kowtow rituals, there are distinctions between one bow, three bows, and nine bows. Generally, when meeting someone, the gesture of “holding fists and cupping hands” signifies a polite “salutation,” similar to a handshake today. (Of course, this is not the ancient salutation.) Regardless of gender, one holds the left hand over the right hand because the left hand is considered the good hand. There is also a specific fist-holding posture where the left thumb is inserted into the right hand’s palm while gripping it; the right thumb bends under the left thumb while gripping it as well, presenting an external shape resembling “Taiji,” while internally forming a grip known as “Zi Wu Jue.”
This fist-holding form is often used during meditation; one typically performs a bow as a greeting by simply holding fists naturally. If there is something to inquire about, one must bend slightly and perform a bow known as “Zuo Yi,” which shows a bit more respect. When performing Zuo Yi while bending, one’s feet should be naturally positioned in an ‘eight’ shape with knees straightened; head and back should bend naturally like a crescent moon; hands should hang down naturally at the dantian area holding fists while standing upright and raising hands until they reach mouth level. The kowtow ritual consists of one bow followed by one kowtow and then another bow, referred to as “one礼.” This is considered heavier than just performing Zuo Yi. One bow followed by three kowtows and then another bow is also called “one礼,” which represents an even greater respect and is typically performed when burning incense to honor deities or in ceremonies for teachers.
The kowtow ritual requires standing with feet in an ‘eight’ shape; both knees and hands touch the ground simultaneously with the left hand resting on top of the right hand, palms facing downwards forming a cross shape. The head and back should lower together resembling a frog lying down, avoiding having one’s hips higher than their back. If one’s hips are higher than their back, it creates an imbalance that appears unrefined and loses propriety. The Taoist kowtow symbolizes reverence towards Taishang Laojun’s image through standing in an ‘eight’ shape with hands crossed while lowering one’s head as one unit. Performing three times of one礼 followed by nine kowtows is called “three礼 nine叩,” which represents the most solemn grand gesture reserved for honoring deities during birthday celebrations or major ceremonies. When we kowtow to our ancestors or masters, we should visualize our ancestors’ golden forms transforming in thought while praying for our wishes during our head bows.
Currently, many devotees do not distinguish between Buddhism and Taoism; they perform ‘合十’ (He Shi) gestures at temples too but also mix in palm-up gestures during kowtowing which should not be done. It’s important to perform Chinese rituals before Chinese deities—deities will certainly appreciate this gesture. Chinese people who believe in Buddhism can perform He Shi without issue; however, non-Buddhists performing He Shi at Taoist temples seems inappropriate. Taoism maintains traditional Chinese etiquette reflecting its own ethnic identity—broadly speaking it expresses national pride through cultural rituals that should not be dismissed as trivial matters. If you observe images of various deities performing He Shi gestures wouldn’t you find it surprising?
Taoism’s practice of ‘kowtow’ towards deities embodies respect for heaven and ancestors through action. When we worship deities we must also learn from them—learning from deities means taking various divine masters as our role models. We learn from our masters’ great virtues: great equality, great tranquility, great gentleness, great benefit to others, great wisdom, great compassion, great mercy, and great willpower—constantly aligning ourselves with our masters’ words and actions.
When we worship Taishang Laojun we reflect on how he tirelessly helps beings escape suffering—the compassion he shows spans over eighty transformations connecting beings across six realms; his five thousand secret teachings integrate profound truths from heaven and earth making him a master among three teachings—the ancestor of all people—possessing vast mystical skills along with high sacred virtues—which compels us to pay homage to Laojun.
When we worship Yuhuang Dadi (Jade Emperor), we contemplate how he has cultivated himself over three thousand kalpas; supreme within golden palaces he alleviates countless beings’ sufferings with boundless divine abilities resulting in immeasurable merits. When Yuhuang Dadi incarnated descending into Miao Le Kingdom as Prince he underwent over three thousand kalpas of cultivation performing various acts benefiting beings before attaining his position as “Yuhuang.” Other ancestral masters similarly benefit beings through their immense virtues so we must venerate all ancestral masters who possess great divine power along with profound wisdom allowing us to receive their protection resulting in auspiciousness.
The scriptures state: To point towards immortals means learning from them ultimately leading us toward Penglai (a mythical paradise). Only by cultivating ourselves through learning from our masters’ virtues can we achieve “first attaining blessings in this life then ensuring no fall into misfortune in future lives.” Teaching everyone to learn from immortals does not mean that worshiping them isn’t important; merely worshiping without learning often leads only to formality whereas only learning without sincere respect renders such learning insincere thus both aspects are indispensable.
by- Wang Ye Dao Zhang