Purpose of the Taoist Lineage Tradition

Traditionally, the primary purpose for the tradition of lineage in Taoist occultism is accountability. You clearly identify temple and master so that there is a chain of accountability for whatever it is that you do. If you act up, people know which temple to go to for reporting your bad behavior, and which master teacher, shifu, to hold accountable for what you've done so that your master teacher will then hold you accountable. The lineage tradition was not intended in terms of spirit of purpose to validate your abilities or the authenticity of your practice. The purpose for citing lineage is to let people know what sorts of moral obligation and codes of conduct you are beholden to, which is to say that historically it's a form of consumer protection. So if you don't name your temple or master teacher but simply leverage the concept of being lineaged as pseudo bragging rights, then what exactly is the purpose for claiming that you are lineaged? Because historically, the purpose for referencing lineage publicly is to establish trust. It's to say, hey, you can trust my work because I answer to so-and-so tradition or temple, and we both know if I step out of line, my shifu is going to have my ass. Lineage is not to be used as a crutch for propping up your status or authenticity. When you claim lineage, you represent that lineage, and everything that you do is a representation of that specifically named lineage. It is not about you. It's about the institution and the tradition you represent. Fun urban legend. For a particular organized rebellion that took place in Fujian during the Boxer Rebellion, Qing Dynasty, participants of a violent revolt against Christian missionaries and white colonizers did not have the blessing or authorization of their temple master to revolt. And this was a really well-known, established, high-visibility temple in the Taoist lineage tradition. So the participants wore cloth masks covering their faces and essentially de-identified themselves so their acts of revolution would not blow back to their temple master. It's just a fun urban legend, but the point of sharing it is this. The rebels, both physically and spiritually, felt the affirmative moral obligation to detach themselves from their temple lineage to be personally liable for their acts so that there would not be blowback against their temple master. Lineage accountability is sacred. Everything you do, even the mundane stuff, is a reflection of the institutionalized tradition that you are a part of. There's no denying that lineage is branding 101, and it's a method for cultivating brand recognition and brand trust. If you could say you were affiliated with a particular lineage tradition, people knew what to expect in terms of the quality of your work. The temple would answer for your bad acts, and then you would definitely be under fire for it. That's why being able to affiliate with a lineage tradition was an honor. You reaped the benefit of that tradition's brand trust, but also the cost you pay for reaping that benefit is having to uphold very stringent quality standards and codes of conduct. One example of a generic, typical code of conduct, you cannot publicly criticize or speak ill of another lineage tradition or temple unless you can say that that temple provoked you and started it first. And yes, absolutely, that code of honor applies among individual practitioners as well. As in, they did something to come after you, they went on the offense, and now you're playing defense. So in Chinese martial arts and Daoist mystical practice, many do generally hold to a code of honor, which is, you cannot start the fight, but you can finish the fight. Sadly, this might be a long-lost ideal, and maybe it no longer reflects the reality of what's actually happening among self-proclaimed Daoist practitioners today. None of this is to say that there aren't bona fide occult objectives to being lineaged. Being lineaged gains you keys of access to gates leading to certain closed astral realms and inner palaces and to certain channels of power that, according to Daoist metaphysical theory, you would not be able to gain access to without that lineage. It authorizes you to practice proprietary wealth practices. It's arguably the difference between going to Harvard, getting to learn from the exclusive, amazing professors that only an institution like Harvard can attract, and then having that Harvard degree to brag about, versus not getting a formal degree and having to attempt to learn the same amount of educational information on your own, through whatever scrappy materials you're able to get your hands on. The average Harvard graduate is probably going to be better educated than the average person with no formal institutionalized training. But, big but, the outlier exceptional individual with no formal training can far exceed any Harvard graduate. Meaning, sure, statistically, your likelihood of achieving the success you are seeking goes up when you study under a lineaged tradition and have a master's guidance every step of the way. But it's not a requirement. And in fact, historically, culturally, it is almost always the lone wolf diverging from tradition who is the hero of the story, who attains what it is that all others had been seeking by means of a traditional route. Here's another present day reality. If it's not a Harvard degree that you're getting, and it's some piece of paper from a for-profit college staffed by questionable instructors, then what's the point? Instead of shelling out that much dough for Zoom classes, personally, I would spend that money on high-end exotic ritual tools. Just saying. But of course, we all know why lineage matters. The public is easily charmed by claims of lineage, and they see that as a testament of authenticity and validity. Likewise, practitioners themselves, us, we are often at risk of feeling imposter syndrome. And claims of lineage, being able to claim lineage is a band-aid fix to that feeling of imposter syndrome, even if you have to pay a couple thousand dollars for it. Also, to be fair, the social bonds of having brethren and that sense of belonging to something much bigger than yourself is truly an amazing euphoric feeling. Lineage traditions offer you a greater sense of importance. It's like you think that by associating yourself with a tradition that has a long history of success, you automatically are successful too. Without lineage, there's no one watching your back, no one guiding you at every step of the way, no one with greater knowledge and experience personally invested in your success. You're on your own. There's no dispute that lineage and who you learn from matters. Hence my Harvard analogy, acknowledging the greater likelihood of gains from pursuing an Ivy League education. In that same vein, there are dangers and pitfalls when you end up in a for-profit situation because you're obsessed with getting some sort of degree to validate yourself because you're tying your sense of intelligence and IQ to pieces of paper. Not all for-profit educational situations are bad, but a lot of them are. The harsh reality is among those who go at it alone, independently, on a solitary path, it's only the outlier exception who makes it. The content that I share here publicly is very mission-driven and that mission is to give you everything you need to have a fighting chance at being that outlier exceptional individual. For the people by the people I say, level the playing field and make sure everyone has equal access to power. Let the gods sort out who will ultimately be the one to attain it.