If one practices without knowing the "Three Treasures" of Taoism, all efforts are in vain
paulpeng
Buddhism takes the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha as the Three Treasures. Taoism also has three treasures. The Three Treasures are three precious treasures. There are also several different sayings about the Three Treasures of Taoism.
The earliest Three Treasures of Taoism come from the "Tao Te Ching". Lao Tzu said, "I have three treasures. Hold on to them and keep them safe. The first is kindness. The second is frugality. The third is not daring to be the first in the world." The Three Treasures are three virtues that practitioners must possess. Possessing the virtue of "kindness", one can embrace all things. "Frugality" is to restrain one's desires and maintain inner peace. "Not daring to be the first in the world" requires practitioners to experience the inaction of the Great Dao and benefit all things without contending.
The ancients said that in Taoism practice, "the top is Lao Tzu, then the immortals are described, and the bottom follows Zhang Ling." If one can understand the true meaning of the Three Treasures said by Lao Tzu, it is of great help to life practice. Wu Yun, a famous Taoist priest of the Shangqing School in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, once said, "The essence of Taoist magic arts is not as good as the five thousand words of the 'Tao Te Ching'. Other Taoist scriptures are all long-winded and only waste paper."
The Three Treasures often mentioned in Taoist sacrificial rites and scriptures, such as what Taoists often recite in their morning and evening classes, "After making vows, return and submit to the Three Treasures. With utmost sincerity, I bow to the Supreme Infinite Great Dao." Here, the Three Treasures refer to the Dao, scriptures, and teachers. "Dao" is the basic belief of Taoism. The Dao Treasure is the incarnation of "Dao" and the highest deity in Taoism, the Three Pure Ones. The Three Pure Ones are Yuanshi Tianzun, Lingbao Dao Jun, and Taishang Laojun. The Three Pure Ones represent the Dao and are the ancestors of all things.
The Scripture Treasure is the Taoist scriptures, which are various true scriptures of the Three Caverns and Four Supplements of Taoism. The Three Caverns is the classification method of Taoist scriptures created by Lu Xiujing, a Three Caverns mage in the Southern Dynasties. The Three Caverns are Dongzhen, Dongxuan, and Dongshen. In the Southern Dynasties, the three largest sects of Taoism were the Shangqing School, the Lingbao School, and the Sanhuang School. Therefore, the "Shangqing Scriptures" series is classified into Dongzhen; the "Lingbao Scriptures" series is classified into Dongxuan; and the "Sanhuang Scriptures" series is classified into Dongshen.
Later, Taoist scriptures increased, and the Three Caverns were obviously not enough, so Four Supplements were added.
The Four Supplements are "Taiqing", "Taiping", "Taixuan", and "Zhengyi". "Taiqing" supplements "Dongshen", "Taiping" supplements "Dongxuan", "Taixuan" supplements "Dongzhen", and "Zhengyi" runs through the Three Caverns. The compilation of Taoist canons in all dynasties follows the classification principle of the Three Caverns and Four Supplements. Taoist scriptures are the bridge to save the world. Practitioners must be familiar with them and understand their true meaning before they can achieve success in cultivation.
The Teacher Treasure is the teacher of practitioners. In Taoism, the three teachers are the initiating teacher, the registering teacher, and the scripture teacher. In the Zhengyi School, when initiating and conferring registers, the initiating teacher, the recommending teacher, and the supervising teacher are the three teachers. The Teacher Treasure is the saints who have attained the Dao in all directions and can open the eyes of those who learn the Dao. Therefore, practitioners must respect teachers and abide by the Dao and worship the Three Treasures.
After the late Tang Dynasty, Taoism practice mainly focused on inner alchemy cultivation. Inner alchemy cultivation takes essence, qi, and spirit as the Three Treasures. Inner alchemy is taking the practitioner himself as the furnace and cauldron, and the art of taking from Kan and filling Li. The key steps are refining essence into qi and refining qi into spirit. In later generations, the Quanzhen School is the northern sect of inner alchemy practice and is known as the orthodox of inner alchemy. "Quanzhen" means "complete essence, complete qi, and complete spirit". A large sect is named after this, which shows the importance Taoism attaches to the Three Treasures of essence, qi, and spirit.
Since the Three Treasures are three treasures for practice, they have always been valued by practitioners. If someone who is interested in practice doesn't even understand the meaning of the Three Treasures, then it can be said that this person cannot enter the door of practice, let alone reach a higher level.
If one practices without knowing the Three Treasures, all attempts can only be regarded as futile efforts, and all efforts are in vain.
The earliest Three Treasures of Taoism come from the "Tao Te Ching". Lao Tzu said, "I have three treasures. Hold on to them and keep them safe. The first is kindness. The second is frugality. The third is not daring to be the first in the world." The Three Treasures are three virtues that practitioners must possess. Possessing the virtue of "kindness", one can embrace all things. "Frugality" is to restrain one's desires and maintain inner peace. "Not daring to be the first in the world" requires practitioners to experience the inaction of the Great Dao and benefit all things without contending.
The ancients said that in Taoism practice, "the top is Lao Tzu, then the immortals are described, and the bottom follows Zhang Ling." If one can understand the true meaning of the Three Treasures said by Lao Tzu, it is of great help to life practice. Wu Yun, a famous Taoist priest of the Shangqing School in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, once said, "The essence of Taoist magic arts is not as good as the five thousand words of the 'Tao Te Ching'. Other Taoist scriptures are all long-winded and only waste paper."
The Three Treasures often mentioned in Taoist sacrificial rites and scriptures, such as what Taoists often recite in their morning and evening classes, "After making vows, return and submit to the Three Treasures. With utmost sincerity, I bow to the Supreme Infinite Great Dao." Here, the Three Treasures refer to the Dao, scriptures, and teachers. "Dao" is the basic belief of Taoism. The Dao Treasure is the incarnation of "Dao" and the highest deity in Taoism, the Three Pure Ones. The Three Pure Ones are Yuanshi Tianzun, Lingbao Dao Jun, and Taishang Laojun. The Three Pure Ones represent the Dao and are the ancestors of all things.
The Scripture Treasure is the Taoist scriptures, which are various true scriptures of the Three Caverns and Four Supplements of Taoism. The Three Caverns is the classification method of Taoist scriptures created by Lu Xiujing, a Three Caverns mage in the Southern Dynasties. The Three Caverns are Dongzhen, Dongxuan, and Dongshen. In the Southern Dynasties, the three largest sects of Taoism were the Shangqing School, the Lingbao School, and the Sanhuang School. Therefore, the "Shangqing Scriptures" series is classified into Dongzhen; the "Lingbao Scriptures" series is classified into Dongxuan; and the "Sanhuang Scriptures" series is classified into Dongshen.
Later, Taoist scriptures increased, and the Three Caverns were obviously not enough, so Four Supplements were added.
The Four Supplements are "Taiqing", "Taiping", "Taixuan", and "Zhengyi". "Taiqing" supplements "Dongshen", "Taiping" supplements "Dongxuan", "Taixuan" supplements "Dongzhen", and "Zhengyi" runs through the Three Caverns. The compilation of Taoist canons in all dynasties follows the classification principle of the Three Caverns and Four Supplements. Taoist scriptures are the bridge to save the world. Practitioners must be familiar with them and understand their true meaning before they can achieve success in cultivation.
The Teacher Treasure is the teacher of practitioners. In Taoism, the three teachers are the initiating teacher, the registering teacher, and the scripture teacher. In the Zhengyi School, when initiating and conferring registers, the initiating teacher, the recommending teacher, and the supervising teacher are the three teachers. The Teacher Treasure is the saints who have attained the Dao in all directions and can open the eyes of those who learn the Dao. Therefore, practitioners must respect teachers and abide by the Dao and worship the Three Treasures.
After the late Tang Dynasty, Taoism practice mainly focused on inner alchemy cultivation. Inner alchemy cultivation takes essence, qi, and spirit as the Three Treasures. Inner alchemy is taking the practitioner himself as the furnace and cauldron, and the art of taking from Kan and filling Li. The key steps are refining essence into qi and refining qi into spirit. In later generations, the Quanzhen School is the northern sect of inner alchemy practice and is known as the orthodox of inner alchemy. "Quanzhen" means "complete essence, complete qi, and complete spirit". A large sect is named after this, which shows the importance Taoism attaches to the Three Treasures of essence, qi, and spirit.
Since the Three Treasures are three treasures for practice, they have always been valued by practitioners. If someone who is interested in practice doesn't even understand the meaning of the Three Treasures, then it can be said that this person cannot enter the door of practice, let alone reach a higher level.
If one practices without knowing the Three Treasures, all attempts can only be regarded as futile efforts, and all efforts are in vain.
