That's interesting, Mario. Not the Taoism I know. I would have to assume that there are a number of varieties of Taoism out there...geared to different levels of awareness, I suppose.

My understanding of ALL deities is this: they are allegorical. They are symbols. They are personifications of great concepts. A rather simple person may take the viking god Thor as a literal being, for example. I would take Thor as a symbolic being...a metaphor for a force of order that takes on and defeats a force of chaos (as seen in the thunderstorm).

Statues, paintings, etc...of Buddhas or of any religious figure...serve as a focal point for focusing attention. That's useful for a lot of people. As such, you can take them literally if you wish to, but you don't have to.

They serve to inspire, that's all.

A nation's flag (like the USA's "Old Glory") does the same thing...in a different context. But it's just a piece of cloth or a picture of a piece of cloth, isn't it? So what's going on there? Sounds like a form of religious worship to me! ;-)