My Approach to Teaching
Students at Queen's University interviewed me for a video project to help introduce new students to life at Queen's. Here are some of the clips that focus on my approach to teaching.
The Luo Tian Da Jiao Ritual in Hong Kong
The Luo Tian Da Jiao ritual is a major Daoist ritual dating from the Tang dynasty. It was performed in Hong Kong in 2007 to mark the tenth anniversary of the return of Hong Kong to China. The following film was made on the penultimate day of the ritual and is designed to explain some basic elements of Daoist philosophy and religion.
China's Leap of Faith
In this clip, from the Cogent/Benger documentary, China's Leap of Faith, I comment on the relationship between religion and politics in contemporary China. As China experiences a crisis of belief, the government appears to be relaxing its controls upon certain forms of religion with a view to bolstering its legitimacy and national identity. Indigenous traditions such as Confucianism and Daoism are the main beneficiaries of this policy, as well as thoroghly sinicized Buddhism. Tibetan Buddhism, Islam and Christianity, however, continue to be viewed with suspicion.
Chinese Religions in Contemporary Societies
This video is an extract from a 30 minute feature about my book Chinese Religions in Contemporary Societies
China's Relationship with Nature
Following the Sichuan earthquake of 2007, I gave various interviews about China's relationship with nature. The following is taken from CanadaAM, the top-rated morning TV show in Canada.
American Daoist Cultivation
In 2001 I made a series of video interviews with leading American qigong practitioners. The interviews were then broken up into clips and arranged with teaching material into a website called American Daoist Cultivation, which is now incorporate into my Daoist Studies website.