What are the successful methods of Taoist cultivation?
paulpeng
Three ways to achieve success in Taoist cultivation
Taoism is a native religion of China and is deeply characteristic of the nation. Different from other religions, Taoism does not place its hopes on the afterlife at all. What it pursues is becoming an immortal in this present life. To achieve this goal, there are three ways to realize it.
The first way is to worship deities. Taoism takes "the Dao" as its fundamental belief, and deities are the incarnations of the Dao. At the very beginning, the Wudoumi Taoism sect believed in Lao Tzu and deified him as the Supreme Lord Lao Jun. As it is said, "When dispersed, it becomes qi. When gathered in form, it becomes the Supreme Lord Lao Jun." The Wudoumi Taoism sect also believed in the "Three Officials," namely the Heavenly Official, the Water Official, and the Earthly Official. It is believed that the Heavenly Official bestows blessings, the Water Official relieves disasters, and the Earthly Official pardons sins. When believers fall ill, Taoist priests draw three talismans and hide them on the mountaintop, throw them into the water, and bury them in the ground respectively to eliminate disasters and solve difficulties.
Another early sect, the Taiping Dao, believed in Zhonghuang Taiyi. Taiyi is the Taiyi God, the North Star in the sky, and is considered by the ancients as the Heavenly Emperor. Unfortunately, the Taiping Dao completely failed in the Yellow Turban Uprising, and the belief in Zhonghuang Taiyi did not survive. In the Eastern Jin Dynasty and the Southern Dynasties, the highest deity worshipped in Taoism became the "Three Pure Ones." The position of Yuanshi Tianzun surpassed that of the Supreme Lord Lao Jun and became the main deity of the first rank in Tao Hongjing's "Diagram of the Ranks of True Spirits."
In later generations, Taoist sects are numerous and complex, but all worship the Three Pure Ones as the highest deities. Each sect has its own founders, and some founders are respected by different sects. "Deities" represent the Dao. Worshiping deities may gain their favor. Being chosen by deities naturally makes it possible to achieve success in cultivation.
The second way is self-cultivation. Compared with other religions, Taoism is the most active and enterprising. This is also different from the inaction and following nature of traditional Taoism. Taoism says that following the natural course leads to being a human being, while going against it leads to becoming an immortal. My fate is in my own hands, not in heaven and earth. Why are Taoist priests so confident? This is because they think they have found an exclusive "method." Through these cultivation techniques, the ideal of an indestructible physical body can be achieved.
The most important self-cultivation method in early Taoism was refining external elixirs. Zhang Tianshi, the founder of Taoism, found the secret book "The Yellow Emperor's Nine Tripod Elixir Scripture" in the stone chamber of Mount Song. Later, he came to Mount Longhu and finally refined the elixir of immortality. It is said that General Zhao Gongming, the Black Tiger Marshal, guarded the elixir furnace. So later, the Tianshi also made him the God of Wealth. Originally, taking the Nine-Turn Divine Elixir could make one become an immortal. However, for the ideal of saving the world and its people, Zhang Tianshi did not take the golden elixir but went to Sichuan and founded the Wudoumi Religion.
It is said that Tao Hongjing, the ninth-generation ancestor of Mount Mao, was also good at refining elixirs. However, he generally did not dare to take the golden elixir he refined casually. He said, "For those without immortal predestination, taking more golden elixirs is useless!" But the truth is likely that the golden elixir is highly poisonous, and taking it improperly can easily be fatal. Many ancient emperors blindly took external elixirs and not only did not achieve longevity but instead died from poisoning.
The lesson is not far away. Later generations of Taoist priests therefore invented internal alchemy. Refining elixirs by taking one's own body as the furnace and cauldron completely avoids the problem of poisoning. After the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties, internal alchemy became the mainstream of Taoist cultivation and the only orthodox cultivation method in Taoism. Other techniques instead all became "side doors."
The third way is to accumulate merits and virtues. This concept was put forward by Ge Hong, a famous Taoist priest in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and was commonly accepted by Taoist priests in later generations. Before Ge Hong, as long as one refined the golden elixir and took it, one could become an immortal. Liu An, the King of Huainan in the Western Han Dynasty, refined elixirs at home. One day, he finally succeeded in refining them, and there were so many golden elixirs that they overflowed the furnace. The chickens and dogs in the prince's mansion swallowed the golden elixirs that fell to the ground and also ascended to heaven. When one person attains the Dao, even chickens and dogs ascend to heaven.
This concept is likely to make cultivators selfish and cause adverse effects. So Ge Hong said, "If one does not cultivate virtue but only pursues techniques, one cannot achieve longevity." Merely cultivating cannot lead to success in refining. If one does evil, there are special records in heaven. If one commits a major offense, "the God of Fate will take away one's lifespan. For minor offenses, one's days will be deducted." "Jì" refers to three hundred days; "suàn" refers to three days. Making mistakes will shorten one's lifespan. To become an earthly immortal, one needs to perform three hundred good deeds. To become a heavenly immortal, one needs to perform one thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine good deeds.
Taoism advocates respecting heaven, loving the people, saving the world and helping people, and that one's fate is in one's own hands. Aren't the three ways to achieve the goal of cultivation in Taoism the embodiment of this view?
Taoism is a native religion of China and is deeply characteristic of the nation. Different from other religions, Taoism does not place its hopes on the afterlife at all. What it pursues is becoming an immortal in this present life. To achieve this goal, there are three ways to realize it.
The first way is to worship deities. Taoism takes "the Dao" as its fundamental belief, and deities are the incarnations of the Dao. At the very beginning, the Wudoumi Taoism sect believed in Lao Tzu and deified him as the Supreme Lord Lao Jun. As it is said, "When dispersed, it becomes qi. When gathered in form, it becomes the Supreme Lord Lao Jun." The Wudoumi Taoism sect also believed in the "Three Officials," namely the Heavenly Official, the Water Official, and the Earthly Official. It is believed that the Heavenly Official bestows blessings, the Water Official relieves disasters, and the Earthly Official pardons sins. When believers fall ill, Taoist priests draw three talismans and hide them on the mountaintop, throw them into the water, and bury them in the ground respectively to eliminate disasters and solve difficulties.
Another early sect, the Taiping Dao, believed in Zhonghuang Taiyi. Taiyi is the Taiyi God, the North Star in the sky, and is considered by the ancients as the Heavenly Emperor. Unfortunately, the Taiping Dao completely failed in the Yellow Turban Uprising, and the belief in Zhonghuang Taiyi did not survive. In the Eastern Jin Dynasty and the Southern Dynasties, the highest deity worshipped in Taoism became the "Three Pure Ones." The position of Yuanshi Tianzun surpassed that of the Supreme Lord Lao Jun and became the main deity of the first rank in Tao Hongjing's "Diagram of the Ranks of True Spirits."
In later generations, Taoist sects are numerous and complex, but all worship the Three Pure Ones as the highest deities. Each sect has its own founders, and some founders are respected by different sects. "Deities" represent the Dao. Worshiping deities may gain their favor. Being chosen by deities naturally makes it possible to achieve success in cultivation.
The second way is self-cultivation. Compared with other religions, Taoism is the most active and enterprising. This is also different from the inaction and following nature of traditional Taoism. Taoism says that following the natural course leads to being a human being, while going against it leads to becoming an immortal. My fate is in my own hands, not in heaven and earth. Why are Taoist priests so confident? This is because they think they have found an exclusive "method." Through these cultivation techniques, the ideal of an indestructible physical body can be achieved.
The most important self-cultivation method in early Taoism was refining external elixirs. Zhang Tianshi, the founder of Taoism, found the secret book "The Yellow Emperor's Nine Tripod Elixir Scripture" in the stone chamber of Mount Song. Later, he came to Mount Longhu and finally refined the elixir of immortality. It is said that General Zhao Gongming, the Black Tiger Marshal, guarded the elixir furnace. So later, the Tianshi also made him the God of Wealth. Originally, taking the Nine-Turn Divine Elixir could make one become an immortal. However, for the ideal of saving the world and its people, Zhang Tianshi did not take the golden elixir but went to Sichuan and founded the Wudoumi Religion.
It is said that Tao Hongjing, the ninth-generation ancestor of Mount Mao, was also good at refining elixirs. However, he generally did not dare to take the golden elixir he refined casually. He said, "For those without immortal predestination, taking more golden elixirs is useless!" But the truth is likely that the golden elixir is highly poisonous, and taking it improperly can easily be fatal. Many ancient emperors blindly took external elixirs and not only did not achieve longevity but instead died from poisoning.
The lesson is not far away. Later generations of Taoist priests therefore invented internal alchemy. Refining elixirs by taking one's own body as the furnace and cauldron completely avoids the problem of poisoning. After the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties, internal alchemy became the mainstream of Taoist cultivation and the only orthodox cultivation method in Taoism. Other techniques instead all became "side doors."
The third way is to accumulate merits and virtues. This concept was put forward by Ge Hong, a famous Taoist priest in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and was commonly accepted by Taoist priests in later generations. Before Ge Hong, as long as one refined the golden elixir and took it, one could become an immortal. Liu An, the King of Huainan in the Western Han Dynasty, refined elixirs at home. One day, he finally succeeded in refining them, and there were so many golden elixirs that they overflowed the furnace. The chickens and dogs in the prince's mansion swallowed the golden elixirs that fell to the ground and also ascended to heaven. When one person attains the Dao, even chickens and dogs ascend to heaven.
This concept is likely to make cultivators selfish and cause adverse effects. So Ge Hong said, "If one does not cultivate virtue but only pursues techniques, one cannot achieve longevity." Merely cultivating cannot lead to success in refining. If one does evil, there are special records in heaven. If one commits a major offense, "the God of Fate will take away one's lifespan. For minor offenses, one's days will be deducted." "Jì" refers to three hundred days; "suàn" refers to three days. Making mistakes will shorten one's lifespan. To become an earthly immortal, one needs to perform three hundred good deeds. To become a heavenly immortal, one needs to perform one thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine good deeds.
Taoism advocates respecting heaven, loving the people, saving the world and helping people, and that one's fate is in one's own hands. Aren't the three ways to achieve the goal of cultivation in Taoism the embodiment of this view?
