Sacred mountains Examples of this would be the Hindu belief that Mount Kailas is the final resting place for the souls of the dead, as well as the large cemetery placed on Mount Koya-san. Sacred mountains can also provide an important piece of a culture's identity. For example, Messerli and Ives write, “The Armenian people regard Mount Ararat, a volcano in eastern Turkey believed to be the site of Noah's Ark in the Bible, to be a symbol of their natural and cultural identity”. As a result of the mountain's role as a part of a cultural identity, even people who do
Way of the Gods according to the Confucian Tradition is worked on in a long process of "cultivating the Way" (Tao), that is the right mode of living through the basic virtues of benevolence ("ren"), righteousness ("yi"), propriety ("li"), and filial piety ("xiao"). Realising the virtues one reaches the state of continuous sincerity ("cheng") and peace and purity of mind ("jing"), proceeding successfully in the cultivation of one's inner numinous nature ("lingxing"). The cultivation of the Way is conceptualised as a path of learning. The symbol of the phoenix represents spiritual renewal of the disciple and the social community. The tradition of the phoenix halls started in 1853 when