三清

 道教三清圖片

Void & Chaos

VoiDàos

a time of pre-Creation when the Universe was still null and the cosmos was in disorder

• 道生一， 道 berths Unity,
• 一生二， Unity yields Duality,
• 二生三， Binarity bears Trinity,
• 三生萬物。𝚫 Triangularity supplies All.
• 萬物負陰而抱陽，沖氣以為和。

道德經第四十二章‧「道生一，一生二，二生三，三生萬物。」

It is generally agreed by Dàoist scholars that 道 produced One means 無極 Wújí produced 太極 Tàijí and One produced Two means 太極 Tàijí produced 陰 & 陽 [or Liangyi (兩儀) in scholastic term]. However, the subject of how Two produced Three has remained a popular debate among Dàoist Scholars. Most of them believe that it refers to the Interaction between 陰 and 陽 with 有氣 the presence of Chi or 生命力 life force.

In religious Dàoism, the theory of how 道 produces One, Two, and Three, is also explained. In 道 produces One—無極 Wújí produces 太極 Taijí, it represents 大道 the Great Tao, embodied by 混沌 Hùndùn 混沌無極元始天王: Hùndùn Wújí Yuánshǐ Tiānwáng, "Heavenly King of the Chaotic Never-ending Primordial Beginning" at a time of pre-Creation when the Universe was still null and the cosmos was in disorder; manifesting into the first of the Dàoist Trinity, 元始天尊 Yuánshǐ Tiānzūn. 元始天尊 oversees the earliest phase of Creation of the Universe, and is henceforth known as 道寶 Dàobǎo "Treasure of the 道". In One produces Two—太極 Taijí produces 陰陽, 元始天尊 Yuánshǐ Tiānzūn manifests into 靈寶天尊 Língbăo Tiānzūn who separated 陽 from 陰, the clear from the murky and classified the elements into their rightful groups. Therefore, he is also known as 經寶 Jīngbǎo "Treasure of the Law/Scripture". While 經 Jīng in popular understanding means "scriptures", in this context it also means "passing through" [the phase of Creation] and the Laws of Nature of how things are meant to be. In the final phase of Creation, 道德天尊 Dàodé Tiānzūn is manifested from 靈寶天尊 Língbăo Tiānzūn to bring civilization and preach the Law to all living beings. Therefore, He is also known as 師寶 Shībǎo "Treasure of the Master".

Each of the Three Pure Ones represents both a deity and heaven. 元始天尊 Yuánshǐ Tiānzūn rules the first heaven, 玉清 Yu-Qing, which is found in 玉山 the Jade Mountain. The entrance to this heaven is named 金門 the Golden Door. "He is the source of all truth, as the sun is the source of all light". 靈寶天尊 Língbăo Tiānzūn rules over the heaven of 上清 Shang-Qing. 道德天尊 Dàodé Tiānzūn rules over the heaven of 太清 Tai-Qing. The Three Pure Ones are often depicted as throned elders.

Schools of Dàoist thought developed around each of these deities. Dàoist Alchemy was a large part of these schools, as each of the Three Pure Ones represented one of the three essential fields of the body: 精, 氣 and 神. The congregation of all three Pure Ones resulted in the return to 道.

The first Pure One is universal or heavenly 氣. The second Pure One is human plane 氣, and the third Pure One is earth 氣. Heavenly 氣includes the 氣 or energy of all the planets, stars and constellations as well as the energy of God (the force of creation and universal love). The human plane 氣 is the energy that exists on the surface of our planet and sustains human life, and the earth force includes all of the forces inside the planet as well as the five elemental forces.

As the Three Pure Ones are manifestations of Primordial Celestial Energy, they are formless. But to illustrate their role in Creation, they are often portrayed as elderly deities robed in the three basic colours from which all colours originated: Red, Blue and Yellow (or Green) depending on personal interpretation of colour origins by additive or subtractive means. Each of them holds onto a divine object associated with their task. 元始天尊 Yuánshǐ Tiānzūn is usually depicted holding the Pearl of Creation, signifying his role in creating the Universe from void and chaos. 如意 the Ruyi held by 靈寶天尊 Língbăo Tiānzūn represents authority: the second phase of Creation where 陽 was separated from 陰  and the Law of Things was ordered in place. 靈寶天尊 Língbăo Tiānzūn then took his seat on the left of 元始天尊 Yuánshǐ Tiānzūn. Later, when all was complete, 道德天尊 Dàodé Tiānzūn took his place on the right, with the fan symbolizing the completion of Creation, and the act of fanning representing the spreading of 道 to all Mankind. 道德天尊 Dàodé Tiānzūn is 太上老君，簡稱老君，全稱「一炁化三清太清居火赤天仙登太清境玄氣所成日神寶君道德天尊混元上帝」道德天尊 Dàodé tiānzūn 乃道教主神，傳說中的道教教主及最高尊神，為「三清」之第三位（取自老子《道德經》不敢為天下先之意），三清為「玉清」元始天尊、「上清」靈寶天尊、「太清」道德天尊，相傳他化身為周朝的思想家老子。