How can an ordinary person become a Taoist priest?

  Taoism is a native religion in China. Taoism has a long history, lofty status and unfathomable energy in China! And the ultimate goal of Taoism to pursue immortality and become an immortal is also believed and worshipped by more and more people! In short, believing in Taoism and reaching the realm of the unity of heaven and man is the pursuit of the vast majority of people in the world! So how can an ordinary person become a Taoist priest? Generally, this requires four steps:

Step 1: Believe in the Tao. Many people have a misunderstanding. They think that as long as they want to enter the Tao, they can become a Taoist priest. Isn't there someone in TV dramas who becomes a Taoist priest when they are frustrated in love and lose heart? This is a very outrageous mistake!

To become a Taoist priest, the first thing is to "believe". Generally, there are several words "Respectfully devote oneself with all one's heart" in front of the eulogy of Taoism, expressing piety and gratitude. To become a Taoist priest, one must have the greatest piety and make the greatest vow and convert to the great patriarch of the Tao.

The object of belief is the great patriarch of the Tao, that is, the "Tao". What is the Tao? The Tao is ineffable. As the saying goes, "The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao." It cannot be described in words. Only a name is given reluctantly: the Tao. Generally speaking, the Tao is an absolute authority, with omnipotence, immortality, universality and mystery. The Tao is supreme, and the Supreme Patriarch of Taoism is the incarnation of the Tao.

Step 2: Enter the Tao. With pious belief in the Tao, one can enter the Tao. Chinese Taoism is divided into two mainstreams: Zhengyi Taoism and Quanzhen Taoism. These two sects have great differences in practice. Briefly speaking, Zhengyi Taoism does not require becoming a monk, while Quanzhen Taoism must become a monk for practice. Therefore, the initiation ceremonies of the two are also different.

Zhengyi Taoism holds the ceremony of conferring registers. A register is a document composed of various writings and talisman diagrams issued to Taoist priests. The register is not only a sign of the Taoist magic level of Zhengyi Taoist priests, but also a sign of religious rank. The "official document" issued to the recipients in the register-conferring ceremony mainly includes the Taoist name, Dharma name and secular name of the recipient Taoist priest, date of birth, native place, the Taoist temple to which he belongs, and the conferred register name and grade.

Compared with Zhengyi Taoism, Quanzhen Taoism attaches more importance to precepts. Therefore, the document issued by Quanzhen Taoism to believers is called a "precept certificate". Precept means precept. Quanzhen Taoism also has a three-precept system similar to Buddhism, also known as "the great precepts of three altars". Including the initial true precepts, the middle extreme precepts and the great precepts of immortals. The ceremony of issuing precept certificates is called the ceremony of bestowing precepts.

After the above two steps, an ordinary person can become a Taoist priest. However, to become a qualified Taoist priest, two more steps are needed. Due to space limitations, we will talk about it next time!