Altars
The Taoist Mountain
In 2009 The Center of Traditional Taoist Studies acquired an extremely rare Taoist artifact known as the Taoist mountain. This piece is a collection of Taoist Gods and actually represents a miniature Taoist Temple. The Taoist Mountain consists of four levels of divine dimensions. On the top level you can see The Three Pure Ones.
The second and third levels belong to the Mother of Big Dipper surrounded by various celestial masters and generals. The bottom level shows mortals bringing offerings and praying to the Gods. Unfortunately, almost half of the statues on the Mountain were lost during delivery.
Members of the Temple of Original Simplicity devoted much time and energy in order to replace lost parts of the artifact. Together with Trefler & Sons, members of the congregation rebuiltand recreated lost and broken parts of the Taoist mountain. After a year of hard work, this magnificent piece of Taoist history is showcased on the first floor of the Temple of Original Simplicity-Center of Traditional Taoist Studies.
Thangkas Gallery
In the late 1990’s, the Center of Traditional Taoist Studies acquired an exceptionally rare and complete set of Taoist Ceremonial Paintings, sometimes referred to as “Thangkas.” There are only a few complete sets that exist in the world today. These Taoist Thangkas are essentially an ancient mobile Taoist Temple used by a nomadic Taoist clan known as the Yao. These portable temples moved along with their associated Taoist clans from mainland China to Southeast Asia. Each time the Thangkas were moved, the Taoist Priest would have to consecrate the heavenly Celestial Spirits captured in those Taoist icons for prayer, guidance and communication. The full set of Yao paintings exist from vegetable dye paints done on fragile tree bark and includes venerable images of the Three Pure Ones, the Hall of Taoist Ancestors, the Initiation of Masters, the Taoist Hall of Celestial Deities, the Taoist Underworld, the Bridge Between the Physical and Astral Dimensions and various Taoist masks worn by the Priest during sacred ceremonies to channel the great power of the Celestial Taoist Gods. In order to properly display these artifacts, the Center embarked upon a three-year construction project to build a ceremonial hall and gallery to display and properly honor these beautiful, fragile treasures. Taoist rituals and ceremonies using these sacramental icons are regularly conducted by Grandmaster Alex Anatole at the Temple of Original Simplicity.
