Why Taoist Temples don’t allow cats or dogs

by Xuan Yun Zhou

I was thinking about something today that I think this group might find interesting. In China, Daoists living in temples are not allowed to raise dogs or cats. The reason for this is because cats might kill mice living in the temple, and nothing should be killed on sacred ground. Also, dogs are capable of seeing ghosts and spirits. When they do, they usually bark and scare them off. But, it is necessary to have spirits in the temple. Also, many ghosts will be attracted to the temples because they need to find peace and move on. If they get scared off by a dog, they will not be able to gain the help of the spirits in the temple. Also, when a Daoist is meditating or practicing internal alchemy, it is very important to minimize distractions and disturbances.