History and Symbolism 历史和象征

According to the oral tradition, our monk spade form was created by Laozi himself, and was strictly transmitted through the millennia within closed lineages to be helpful for wandering Daoists during the cloud wandering 云游 phase of their training.  More historically, our form comes from Guo Gaoyi who taught it to master Zhong in the 1980’s.  

The Daoist monk spade has three sections: the head 头, the handle 柄, and the tail 尾.  The head is supposed to be one foot eight inches long, representing the 18 Daoist hells 十八重地狱.  At the base of the head are two rings, representing the cosmic forces of Yin and Yang.  On the neck are five more iron rings, representing the five elements.  The idea is that human life transpires within the five elements, and by balancing yin and yang one enters the correct dao, and can be properly (fang) liberated from the ocean of suffering, and flatten (chan) the eighteen hells.  

The handle is three feet and three inches, representing the thirty-three heavens 三十三重天, the idea being that just as you grasp the handle of the monk spade, you grasp the fruits of good and evil actions within the thirty-three heavens.  

The tail is 8.6 inches long, representing the eight directions and the six harmonies 八方六合.  The three spokes on the drill represent the three powers 三才 (heaven, earth, and human), while the three rings (one on each spoke) represent the three treasures 三宝 (jing, qi, shen), the idea being that heaven, earth, and the human each has its own jing, qi, and shen.  On that basis, one travels in the eight directions with a mind set on the six harmonies.