Classification of cultivating immortals

Ask who is carefree in the world, only the immortal is carefree. He lives in Luotian. He is a fairy, a fairy, and there is nothing to worry about in fairyland. Mortals in the world of mortals, living in the border, want to live and die, endless life, gain and loss. For those who cultivate immortals, the world is rich and famous, but in the long river of time, it is only an eternal pursuit to ascend to the purple mansion and rank among the immortals. Tao is invisible, but it breeds everything in the world. The expression of "Tao" in people and everything is "virtue". Therefore, everything respects Tao and morality. The Tao disperses into qi and gathers into God. Immortals are both the embodiment of Tao and the model of Tao. There are different ways to learn the Tao, and there are different levels of morality. Taoism says that burning incense is evil without any benefits. It's okay to lean over and look at me without worshipping. Immortals only have a deep understanding of Tao, and there is no difference between rank and position. They all aim to help the world and others. However, cultivating immortals is an act against nature and will be tested by the checks and balances of fate. The road to soaring is extremely rugged and difficult.

The end of the world is a restriction of nature on life on earth. Only after the baptism and transformation of Armageddon can we refine the transcendental things of god and body, and those who fail to cross them will turn into ashes and return to the origin of heaven and earth. Early cultivators did not have this kind of trouble. Life is less than a certain number of years, and the apocalypse will not come. However, when the means of cultivating immortals are constantly improved, effective cultivation methods are widely popularized, and it is easy to live forever, how to resist natural disasters has become a top priority for cultivating immortals. Cultivation has become the main daily affairs of most people who cultivate immortality.

In order to ascend to heaven or resist robbery and save lives, both good and evil attach great importance to cultivation. The right path focuses on refining its own essence, and the side door likes to use natural energy. Evil schools are popular in collecting and taking pictures to refine the soul. Each sect has different ways of practicing, but if it wants to rise to the upper world, it needs to go through all kinds of doom tests. The vastness of Tianwei is the touchstone to test the achievements of immortal cultivation. Even if they voluntarily give up the physical "military solution" and escape with magic weapons, they will face the test again sooner or later. The method of cultivating immortals is mainly composed of "karma" and "learning":

"The fate of cultivating immortals" consists of three methods: luck, geography and popularity. Lucky opportunity to take pictures from the sky, look at the stars, take the essence of the sun and the moon, and eat the summer purple jade dew, which is the virtue of heaven. Geography should pay attention to: law, husband and wife, wealth and land. Among them, the word "land" is the most important. We should use the spirit of Beidou to find the eye of the earth, and we should have an aura and a way to follow the earth. Popularity must be an immortal, and one must be the unity of heaven and man, with a clear mind. Therefore, people who cultivate immortality must have great perseverance, great will and great courage, and they can only succeed after years of hard work.

There are five immortals in Zhong You's Lectures.

Zhong Yue said: "Buddhism is 30%, and there is a difference between small success, medium success and great success. There are five kinds of immortals: ghost immortals, human immortals, common immortals, immortals and immortals, all of which are immortals. Ghosts and gods can't do without ghosts, human beings and immortals can't do without people, earthly immortals can't do without the earth, immortals can't do without god, and immortals can't do without the sky. " Lu said, "What is the so-called ghost fairy?" Zhong said, "The ghost fairy is the next one under the Five Immortals. Disenchantment in yin, the image of god is unknown, the ghost has no surname, and the three mountains are nameless. Although there is no reincarnation, it is difficult to return to Peng Ying. In the end, there is no return, only giving up when reborn. " Lu Yue asked, "What skills and abilities does this ghost fairy have?" Zhong Yue said: "People who practice will not know the way at first, but want to be quick. If the shape is like wood, if the heart is dying, the gods will keep it and stick to it. It's a ghost of the spirit, not a fairy of pure yang. With one ambition, the spirit of yin will not go away, so it is called a ghost fairy. Although it is called a fairy, it is actually a ghost. Ironically, people who worship Buddha in ancient and modern times have worked hard here. " Lu Yue said, "The so-called immortals are actually nothing." Zhong Yue said, "Immortals are two below five immortals. Those who cultivate truth and reason don't understand Tao, gain a method in Tao and a skill in law, have a firm belief and never move. The qi of the five elements is misunderstood and solid. Eight evils must not be harmed. More sense of security and less illness is called being a human being. " Lu Yue said, "This man is a fairy. How did he do it? " Zhong Yue; "The man of practice, or smell. The evil is heavy and the good is thin, and it is difficult for all demons to change their original intentions, ending in Cheng Xiao. The cloud method is active and cannot be changed for life or at four o'clock. If you have absolute five flavors, you don't know there are six flavors, but if you forget the seven emotions, you don't know there are ten commandments. It's wrong for someone who gargles to spit it out. People who want to make up for it laugh quietly and think they are stupid. Those who are good things and take the breath of heaven and earth will never stop eating. Those who like to think and accept the essence of the sun and moon refuse to guide them. Sit alone and rest, knowing that there is nature. Bend over and do nothing without knowing. It's not the same as people who shrink scarabs and take advantage of women. Yang qi, eat woman milk, and an alchemist. Inferred by category, there are different numbers. However, it's all Tao. We can't stop at the main road, but stop at the middle of the main road, in order to achieve happiness and prolong life. What's more, there are many people in the world who are happy for a while, tired of persistence, diligent, chaotic, and sick, but can't prolong life. " Lu said, "What is the so-called immortal?" Zhong You said, "Immortals spend a long time, but they are talented. If you don't know the way, you will stop at a small successful method. Invisible jobs are only those who live in the world and never die, and there are no people who die in the world. " Lu Yue said, "How do immortals do it?" Zhong You said, "At the beginning, the theory of the rise and fall of heaven and earth was adopted, and the number of the sun and the moon was taken. Time is spent on me, and time is spent in Japan and China. Know the dragon and tiger first, and then match the hurdles. Distinguish between clear water and turbid water, and the climate is divided into morning and evening. Accept the truth, observe the two instruments, list three talents, and divide them into four images. Don't take any chances, gather six qi, seven treasures, gossip and visit nine continents. The five elements are reversed, and the qi is transmitted to the mother while the liquid is even. After three repetitions, it was burned into an elixir, suppressed forever, and refined into eternal life in the world, so it was called a fairy. " Lu Yue said, "What is the so-called immortal?" Zhong You said, "Immortals are tired of living with earthly immortals. They work hard and their joints are connected. They extract lead and add mercury, while gold extracts the top. Jade liquid belongs to Dan, refined into gas, five gases welcome Yuan, and three yang gather at the top. Get carried away, the fetus becomes immortal. Yin essence and yang essence, there is a body outside. Exquisite and immortal, extraordinary and sacred. Rejecting the customs and returning to the three mountains is also a fairy. " Lu said, "What is the so-called immortal?" Zhong Yue said, "The immortal of the earthly world is tired of being born in the world, work hard and get rid of it. It's called a fairy. Immortals hate living in Mishima and preaching to the world. He made meritorious deeds on the road, but the world did deeds and fulfilled his deeds. He was called a fairy when he was sent back to the cave by gobbledygook. As a fairy, when you are tired of living in caves, you should be a fairy official: a water official, a middle-level official, and a heaven official. Heaven and earth have great achievements, and ancient times have great achievements. The official was promoted and served in the 36 th hole, but he returned to the sunny day of August 1 and returned to the realm of nothingness and nature in Sanqing. " Taoism believes that there is a sequence of cultivation and there are different levels of longevity, so Taoist immortals also have different levels of taste. The early Taoist classic Taiping Jing divided immortals into six categories: first, gods, second, real people, third, immortals, fourth, Tao, fifth, saints and sixth, sages. He also said: "God is God, real people are landlords, immortals are the masters of storms, Taoist bishops are good or bad, saints manage the people, and sages help saints manage the people's records and help Liuhe." Jin's Inner Chapter of Bao Puzi. On Immortals, which is quoted from the Classic of Immortals, divides immortals into three categories: celestial immortals, earthly immortals and corpse immortals. He said: "The staff sergeant raises his shape and raises his emptiness, which is called the fairy; The sergeant traveled to a famous mountain and was called a fairy; The corporal dies first and dies, which is called the corpse to solve the fairy. " Liang Tao Hongjing's Bitmap of True Spirit divides immortals into seven levels: Jade Qing, Shangqing, Taiji, Taiqing, Jiugong, Dong Tian and Taiyin. The top secret of the Northern Zhou Dynasty divided the immortals into three categories: Dao, Dao, Dao, Dao, Dao, Dao, Dao, Dao, Dao, Dao, Dao. Among them, "taking ghosts as officials is the way" is the arrangement of immortals and ghosts after death, which shows that there are hopes and opportunities for immortality after death, thus indicating that there was a saying of "ghosts and immortals" in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. In Yin Tian Zi in Tang Dynasty, immortals are divided into five categories, namely, immortals in people, immortals in the earth, immortals in the sky, immortals in water and immortals who can change their magical powers. The "Sanqing" entry in Zhang Junfang's "Seven Signs of Taoist Priests at Three Points" in Song Dynasty divides immortals into nine categories, saying: "Nine immortals in Taiqing, nine immortals in Shangqing, nine saints in Qing Yu, three nine twenty-seven." The nine immortals are: Shangxian, Gaoxian, Taixian, Xuanxian, Tianxian, Xian Zhen, Xianxian, Lingxian and Zhixian. The names of truth and holiness are also above, above, too, mysterious, heaven, truth, god, spirit and even second. This is roughly the same as the classification method of Tezhenke. In a word, there are many kinds of immortals, and then the Secret Library of Immortals summarizes it, saying that "Buddhism is three times, and immortals are divided into five grades". The five grades of immortals are: fairy, fairy, fairy, ghost fairy. Basically laid the taste of the gods.

1. Fairy flavor is also called "immortal", "flying fairy" and "picking Jin Xian". Refers to the immortal who lives in Tianfu and can hold the soaring. Immortal products: "Flying in the clouds, ignoring deification, thinking that immortals are flying in the clouds", "Holding a child, discussing immortals" and "The Secret Library of Immortals" all ranked first. The Records of Immortals in Yucheng divides the immortals who ascended to heaven into nine categories: one immortal, two immortals, three immortals, four immortals, five immortals, six immortals, seven immortals, eight immortals and nine immortals. From the perspective of cultivation, immortals are the top 10% of the cultivation certificate, and they are the best in cultivation. The great realm of "refining the air and uniting the Tao" referred to by Dan Dao. At that time, the gods will shine and incarnate in thousands; Once you get it forever, once you get it forever, your magical power is boundless. Heaven and earth are different; When heaven and earth opened, people also opened.

2. Fairy flavor is also called "immortal" and "real person", collectively referred to as "fairy truth". Refers to people who live forever and practice Tao. Tao Jing said: "refining the shape into qi is called a real person." "With the original vitality, it will be refined into gas, it will be positive and true, and it will become a real person." Zhuangzi said, "Only when there are real people can there be true knowledge. What is a real person? The real people of ancient times are not rebellious, unsuccessful and ignorant "; "It's not too late to climb the mountain, it's not too hot to enter the water, it's not too hot to enter the life", "I don't know how to live happily, I don't know how to die miserably", "I don't dream when I sleep, I don't worry, I don't want to eat, take a deep breath, real people breathe with their heels, and everyone breathes with their throats." Huainan Confucius said, "Being neither born nor dead, nor empty, is a real person." From the perspective of cultivation, immortals are above cultivation. Dandao is said to be the lactation stage of refining essence and returning to deficiency. At this time, the shape is fine, the fetal fairy is self-transforming, and the yang god has become a quality. In other words, using the heat of the week to combine with God, God is one, and there is no difference in interests. Heavy turbidity turns to light clarity; The body of pure yang is magical. At that time, the body will become pure yang, and the yang god will become an avatar.

3. The taste of the earth fairy is a kind of Taoist immortal pedigree, and it is a kind of immortal without god and cooperation. According to Tian Yinzi, the earth is immortal. "Immortal Classic" said: A sergeant swam in a famous mountain and was called a fairy. Immortals belong to the middle immortals in the Taoist immortal pedigree. According to "The Secret Library of Immortals", there is no distinction between immortals and immortals. You will live forever, become immortal on the land, and you will take advantage of it. The Secret Classic says, "If you do 300 good deeds, you can live as a fairy and live in a cave in wuyue." From the point of view of cultivation, immortals are successful in cultivation. In Dan Dao, it refers to the stage of completing prenatal education to refine and deify God. At this time, I can achieve immortality on the basis of immortality, but there is no magical change and I can only walk on the ground. At this time, there is still breathing and eating, and the shape and quality have not completely turned into light and clarity. But at this point, I am radiant, light-footed, and live a long life.

4. Fairy taste is a kind of Taoist immortal pedigree, and it is a person with a solid body and a long life. Zhong You's Preaching Collection: "Immortals, under the Five Immortals, are monks, who don't understand the Tao, get the method in the Tao, get a skill in the method, be confident and bitter, never move, have no spirit of hard work, make mistakes without committing them, and be solid and qualitative." The plague of eight evils cannot harm people, and it is called a fairy. " He also said: "A man of practice is familiar with the road at the beginning, with a heavy career and poor fortune. He changed his mind and stopped at a small success. He has made meritorious service and will never change it. He can't change it at four o'clock If you have five flavors, you know there are six; Those who forget the seven emotions know the ten commandments; Gargle and swallow saliva, making mistakes in training; People who make up for it are silly and quiet smiles; Those who take good things from heaven and earth refuse to rest; Those who want to gather the essence of the sun and the moon refuse to guide them; Only by sitting alone and holding your breath can you know that there is nature; Bend down and work hard, knowing nothing; It is different from shrinking beetles to take yin and female qi; Yang qi, eat woman milk, and an alchemist. There are countless inferences according to categories, but they are all Tao. You can't stop on the avenue, just stop in the middle of the avenue, which can not only achieve happiness, but also prolong life, so it is a fairy. " The preface to the true story of the then-elixir said: "After qi and blood are supplemented, the body becomes dry, the external medicine is recycled, and the inner elixir is formed. This person is also immortal. " "Wu Dehui Zong": "Whoever works hard from Shimonoseki, does not let the true qi vent to Yangguan, keeps his vitality, guards the field, and does not know the method of moving the tripod and changing the furnace, but lives forever, or prolongs his life for hundreds or thousands of years, which is called immortality." From the perspective of cultivation, immortals are cultivated. In Dan Dao, it refers to the basic stage of refining essence. At this time, the man of practice obtains a method in the Tao, a skill in the Dharma, and can succeed for a long time, thus prolonging life. Its methods include: despair valley, forgetfulness, pleasure in suffering, deep breathing, meditation, keeping precepts, observing thoughts, adopting the essence of the sun and the moon, guiding, stopping, doing nothing naturally and so on. If you can be confident and persist, you can save your life, stay happy and prolong your life, but the tangible body will eventually deteriorate.

5. The smell of ghosts and gods is also called "ghost". Refers to and has not yet been refined into pure yang, and became a ghost fairy after death. Zhong You's Preaching Collection: "The ghost fairy is the next of the five immortals, detached from the shade, with unknown gods, no surname in the ghost gate and no name in the three mountains. Although there is no reincarnation, it is difficult to return to Peng Ying. In the end, there is no turning back, only reincarnation and loss of tongue. " It has also been said, "A man of practice doesn't understand the Tao, haste makes waste, and is shaped like a log. If his heart is purple-gray, he will hide his knowledge in it and keep his will. He is a ghost with a clear spirit, not a pure fairy, so he is called a ghost fairy. Although he is a fairy, he is actually a ghost. " Hui Zong: "If you just sit with your eyes closed, your mind is silent, you will find peace in silence, and you will realize that people are dull and silent. But if it doesn't disappear completely, it will only get a powerful yin god. When you are exhausted, the Yin God will come out. It will be a ghost, called a ghost fairy. " From the perspective of cultivation, ghost fairy is the lowest cultivation method. In Dan Dao, it refers to the basic stage of sexual cultivation. When I was in the practice license, my body was like a stake, my heart was gray, and my brain was locked inside, so I knew that people were stupid. When it's over, the Yin God is born. The Yin God belongs to a pure spirit ghost, not a pure yang fairy. When practicing, some people are old, their bodies are rotten, or the environment is hard, so there is no guarantee and there is no hope of success in this life. However, by using this method, they can show their ghosts and think that they will continue to practice in the next life. They are also ghosts. This method includes reincarnation, possession, corpse borrowing, reincarnation and so on.

Lotus chose the Aikido which was difficult for him.

After a lot of hardships, 99 is one, and finally it is magical and great.

God asked him what he wanted. Lotus answered, a star in the Big Dipper. The Emperor of Heaven laughed and made Lotus the marshal in charge of Tianhe.

When Lotus went to Tianhe, she found that the girl washing yarn there was as beautiful as ever. But on the other side!

He incarnated as a fish swimming in the river. Sometimes he bubbles on the water because of breathing. He doesn't have big and beautiful scales or big and bright fish eyes, but he can see the bright underwater world and the scenery on the shore.

The woman washing yarn on the shore closed her eyes and kissed the breeze. A hint of coolness made her open her charming eyes, watching the water rippling and shining like a fish scale. The simplest thing that women do every day is to keep washing wool. Every time she sits by the river, her mind is condensed in ripples. There are bright sunshine, cheerful fish and distant memories in the ripples.

No matter the lotus on earth or in the sky, they are dreaming the same distant dream. The distance seems far but near, and it seems near but far.

It was not until the appearance of Chang 'e that I had another dream. .................................................................................................................................................................................. took medicine and refined it to help others. In ancient times, there were many alchemists who made alchemy in the mountains. It is said that you can become immortal after refining. It is said that the chickens and dogs of the Wangs in Huainan can ascend to heaven, which is the reason.

2。 Practice inner alchemy. Similar to Qigong, it is said that meditation and gas refining can become immortal. Lv Dongbin and others belong to this category.

3。 Learn philosophy. Knowing the nature of heaven and earth makes you immortal. For example, Lao Dan who wrote the Tao Te Ching.

4。 Suicide, make contributions. Loyal ministers who died for their country, such as Guan Yu and Yue Fei.

5。 Cultivate spiritual realm, sit quietly and meditate, and achieve complete wisdom. Knowing the depth of the change of heaven and earth and the mystery of the universe, only by looking at heaven and earth can we enter the room. Even heaven and man are one.

6。 Dig a hole in the mountain and choose a place to practice according to Feng Shui, thinking that you can absorb the aura in the mountain, break through the mortal body, control the spiritual body to achieve self-control, and reach the realm that my life is not determined by heaven!

7. accumulate virtues and benefit all beings. It is a real secret that there is a peerless fate inside and a hidden evil outside. Heaven and earth have become gods. Those who want to become immortals should set up three thousand good deeds, and those who want to become immortals should set up three hundred good deeds, three good deeds a day, see good deeds, say good deeds and do good deeds. After a long-term prevalence, a religion will inevitably produce some dross and burdens, so it often needs to inject new blood or reform it to adapt to the times, make it last forever, and make its theory and missionary methods more and more perfect. For example, Buddhism was founded in India, but it has become one of the three major religions in the world today. In fact, it is to constantly absorb the strengths of others and take them for yourself. Hinayana Buddhism advocates impermanence, bitterness, emptiness and selflessness, and is a religion based on birth; After Mahayana was introduced to China, influenced by China culture, it absorbed a lot of Taoist thoughts of metaphysics in Wei and Jin Dynasties, and began to change, advocating righteousness, happiness, self-sufficiency and purity. In the Tang Dynasty, tantra turned to worship the altar and went deep into the ordinary life of ordinary people seeking money and treating diseases. After the Republic of China, the west wind spread eastward and the traditional society changed greatly. In the second year of the Republic of China, Master Taixu of Buddhism vigorously advocated the Buddhist revolution, advocated human Buddhism from the aspects of doctrine, organization and property, and got rid of Buddhism as a religion of rebirth (the dead) and became a religion of the living. Although these changes made Buddhism gradually become a non-Buddhist Buddhism, and at that time, it also attracted strong opposition and struggle, but it made Buddhism survive. The space Buddhist revolution has made great contributions to Buddhism.

Taixu was born in December of the 15th year of Guangxu (1890) and became a monk at the age of sixteen. At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, I deeply felt the social changes at that time, the influx of western thoughts, the prevalence of Darwin's theory of evolution, the great changes in social customs and the necessity of Buddhist reform. In the late Qing Dynasty, Taixu often interacted with revolutionaries. After the founding of the Republic of China, Taixu advocated the Buddhist revolution. In the second year of the Republic of China (19 13), Taixu advocated at the memorial service of Shanghai's eight-fingered Buddhist monk:

"There are three suitable revolutions in Buddhism: one is organizational revolution, the other is property revolution, and the third is academic revolution. However, such an idea was slandered as fallacy by the Buddhist series at that time, and was regarded as framing devadatta of Sakyamuni. Moire: "The monk Taixu said that Buddhism needs revolution in three aspects: organizational revolution, property revolution and academic revolution. ..... Our reporter: It's ridiculous to find the term "Buddhist Revolution" in the near future! It would be reckless to openly talk nonsense in public! However, just like a monk's speech, Buddhism wants revolution for three reasons, and only the second property issue remains to be discussed. If the third article involves academic theory, devadatta, pretending to be a new Buddha, will rise from hell! The word "organizational revolution" in Article 1 is not only unreasonable, but also illogical! 」

Although Taixu's reform thought was attacked by Buddhists themselves from the beginning, Taixu still kept his original intention, publishing personal articles, universal truth, atheism and other articles in Buddhist monthly magazines one after another, denying the theory of creator and soul, and thinking that "there is no God, neither creator nor soul, and everything is inaction." Taixu regards Buddhism as an atheistic religion, and the Taoist language uses the word "inaction". It can be seen that there is a difference between Taixu and traditional views in doctrinal interpretation. In the fourth year of the Republic of China (A.D. 19 15), Taixu wrote "Sorting out the Sangha System", which established a Buddhist organizational structure quite similar to the western Catholic organization model and advocated the separation of church and state. "The Institute of Education, religious organizations, religious books, religious articles and religious rules are divided into different systems and centralized production system is implemented. He also wrote "People Take the Right Path", which regards the five precepts and ten virtues of Buddhism as the moral norms of believers at home, so as to go deep into the people and improve society. Gradually turn Buddhism from secularization to the world. In the 9th year of the Republic of China (1920), the first issue of Haichaoyin magazine founded by Taixu was published. Haichaoyin magazine is an important publication of Buddhism, and Taixu used it to publicize his reform ideas. He has published articles in this magazine and different publications under his real name or pseudonym. Taixu himself has trained many students, and his students are also infected with Taixu's revolutionary enthusiasm. In order to achieve the goal of reforming Buddhism, he constantly struggled with the conservative monks at that time and made extreme remarks. In the fierce reform movement at the annual meeting of Buddhist youth under Taixu's jurisdiction, he distributed leaflets and attacked Yin Guang and other traditional monks, calling Yin Guang "the first demon king".

Taixu students Ning and Zhang Zongzai, etc. Describing Yin Guang and Xian Di as great demons; Space students woke up and called Yin Guang and Xian Di "pig-headed elders" and Wang Yiting and Han Huang "maggots and laymen". The words are extremely abusive and thrilling. We can imagine the fierce attack of the Buddhist reformers on traditional monks at that time from the fact that Yin Guang's letter contained "3,000 words in leaflets" and Taixu disciples called Yin Guang and other monks "devils" and "pig heads". This situation is easily reminiscent of the fierce debate, mutual attack and even killing between the traditional Hinayana Buddhism and the reformed Mahayana Buddhism when Hinayana changed into Mahayana. Although Mahayana later won, the teachings of Mahayana were absorbed and preserved. Hinayana and Mahayana were opposed by contradictions and eventually unified. By the same token, although modern reformist Buddhism has won with the change of the current situation, the conservative forces represented by Yin Guang have been absorbed and carried forward by modern Buddhism because of their traditional practice of Buddhism, especially the simple and easy-to-understand Pure Land Buddhism such as chanting Buddha. The Buddhist revolution described in detail above is mainly used to show that the reform process of a religion is arduous, but it has to be. On the other hand, Taoism advocates that "my life lies in lawlessness", believing that there is no need to die if I live, and I can contend with heaven and pursue eternal life by myself. According to Records of Historical Records Guan Chan, the theory of seeking immortals was popular during the Warring States Period. Since the Zhou Dynasty, there have been great reforms, such as the Five Taoism in the Eastern Han Dynasty, the improvement of Koudui in the Northern Wei Dynasty, and the creation of Quanzhen Taoism in the Jin (Song) period. None of these changes is as great as Buddhism. Since the Southern Song Dynasty, there have been no major new reforms in 800 years. Especially after the Republic of China, under the impact of the west, great changes have taken place in the whole social ideological trend and social form. Various religions, old and new, have emerged in China and the West. Taoism did not adjust its pace to suit it, nor did it organize complete missionary work, so it could not compete with other religions, thus gradually losing its followers and heading for decline. The decline of Taoism is related to the lack of powerful people to lead Taoist reform; Here are a few more examples to discuss the main reasons for its decline: attaching importance to skills over learning, and it is difficult to improve the quality of believers

Taoist priest, ask him to perform the ceremony, which can last for three days and three nights; But it's hard for him to give a lecture, and it's hard to last for half an hour. There is a serious imbalance between "learning" and "technique". Now the abbots of many temples in Taiwan Province Province not only can't read the Taoist scriptures, but even mispronounce them. The abbots and believers in temples generally have the problem of low quality. Although there are many reasons for this phenomenon, Taoism and temples attach more importance to "technique" than "Jia Yan Road". 1April, 1982, Shifang University in Keelung printed a gift book, and "Printing Main Banknotes" is the most comprehensive book for collecting banknote printing. Later, the Taichung Lotus Society also published it, but it did not include this letter, almost out of a taboo mentality for sages. Yin Guang was attacked by Taixu students more than once. In the 18th year of the Republic of China, Yin Shun's Chronicle of Master Taixu said: "When I was old (May 29th), I reviled the great fool. It can be seen that in addition to the leaflets of the Buddhist YMCA, Tai Xu's disciple Dayu also wrote an article attacking Yin Guang.

Learning is one of the main reasons.

"Art" refers to scientific instruments, geomantic omen, divination and fortune telling. "Learning" refers to expounding the truth of Confucian classics. Chinese communities in Taiwan Province Province and Southeast Asia attach great importance to the five techniques commonly known as "mountain", "medicine", "destiny", "physiognomy" and "divination". Mountain (immortal road) refers to meditation, gas refining, health preservation, medicine bait, practice and so on. Medicine (medical treatment) refers to acupuncture, prescription, massage, diet therapy and psychotherapy. Fate (fortune telling) refers to the number of Chinese characters, eight characters, four pillars and so on. Facade (reconnaissance) refers to palm reading, physiognomy, physiognomy, name reading (Ming Xue), tomb reading (Yin Zhai), house reading (Yang Zhai), geomantic mapping and so on. Divination refers to divination such as Yizhan, Liu Ren and Taiyi. These ancient sayings of numerology have their own value. They only pay too much attention to "skills" and instruments, but don't discuss them from a philosophical point of view, which can easily lead people to falsely call them superstitions. "Skill" must be guided and introduced by "learning" so as not to be vulgar and inferior, and the deeper the skill, the higher the practice, so as not to take skill as evil. "Learning" refers to the essence of philosophy in Confucian classics. There are many good classics in the Taoist scriptures, some of which are about benevolence and righteousness, such as Tao Te Ching, Nanhua Ching, Huangdi Yinfujing, Taiping Ching, Zhouyi Shentongqi, Baopuzi, Neijing, Wuzhenpian and so on. Some of them involve folk customs such as Beidou Qing and Nandou Qing. Today, there are too many Taoist techniques, but academic theoretical knowledge is generally ignored, and it is difficult to improve the quality of believers.

Third, there is a lack of religious organizations, poor preaching and no sense of identity.

Religions in today's world, such as Christianity and Catholicism in the West, and even Buddhism and emerging religions in Taiwan Province Province, mostly meet regularly (or often), and they organize religious groups to preach. On the other hand, Taoists are scattered. At ordinary times, everyone worships their own gods and doesn't get together regularly. Temples don't communicate with each other, and no one teaches. Those who worship Mazu consider themselves Mazu believers; Those who worship Guan Yu are Guan Yu believers; I have no concept of Taoist immortals, have no sense of identity with Taoism, and don't even think I am a Taoist; Some even deliberately cling to Buddhism, making Taoist temples abboted by monks and becoming a strange phenomenon that is neither Buddhism nor Taoism. Therefore, although there are many temples with flourishing incense in Taiwan Province Province, they can't play their due role due to their own fragmented ways and lack of sense of identity.

Fourth, there is a lack of preachers.

The abbot and Taoist priest of the Palace Temple have devoted their whole lives to science, instruments and skills, and few people can explain the scriptures, and there are no regular and public lectures. There are many wireless TV stations in Taiwan Province Province, six or seven of which regularly broadcast Buddhist lectures, and even many TV stations broadcast Buddhist programs all day. Buddhism has its own dedicated TV station to preach. In addition to the TV station, the expanded radio station also has Buddhist lectures. In contrast, there are few lectures on Taoism on TV and radio. How can you win believers by preaching like this? In terms of training talents, although there is a small-scale Muzha Taoist College, it has never trained talents who can preach and preach. A religion that lacks the initiative to preach to the people has lost a lot in its starting point. Failure to train and attach importance to lecturers will lead to the rapid loss of Taoism among the younger generation of believers. You can imagine the consequences of the old job without new branches.

Fifth, the practice method is too wandering and not sorted out.

In all religions in the world, believers are often divided into "sacred" and "secular". Ordinary people are "models". Only by practicing Buddhism in a specific religion can they become "models" and "saints". Practice plays an important role in religious activities. As far as Taoism is concerned, enlightened people are sacred, and those who are not enlightened are all. Ordinary people are ordinary, and immortals are sacred. Ordinary people, no practice; Being a "god" after death and a "fairy" after practicing good deeds are all "saints". From being a saint, we should take practice as a bridge. Taoism has a long history, so there are many factions and different cultivation methods. It is a heavy symbol, and it is important to keep thinking on the surface. The outer Dan is yellow and white, and the inner Dan is exquisite, emphasizing the harmony between men and women in the room; In addition, there are different methods of worship, calling, sending, drug bait, avoiding grain, eating gas, keeping one, being silent and so on. In today's utilitarian society, someone needs to simplify the practice order and summarize it in order. If no one collects and sorts out many methods of Taoism, it will be difficult for beginners to start and attract believers.

Six, excessive tolerance, lost himself.

Tolerance, originally a virtue, should also be one of the conditions for success; Because Taoism is broad and tolerant, although there are religious disputes in China and Turkey, there will be no religious war. The result of the dispute is gradually moving towards integration. However, excessive tolerance has turned advantages into disadvantages and lost its own characteristics, which has become the main reason for failure. Since the Song Dynasty, a large number of Buddhists have been mixed with Taoism for a long time, which leads to people today who can't distinguish Buddhism from Taoism and think that worshipping Buddha means believing. This is not only the case in Taiwan Province Province, but also in overseas Chinese communities. At the beginning of March this year, the author went to Singapore for a meeting. Li, a Taoist leader, told the author that some Taoist temples in Singapore even put Indian gods and Muslim gods in temples for worship. However, this seemingly big mind of religious integration and ethnic coexistence has not only failed to gain recognition, but has attracted protests from Hindus and Muslims, who believe that their gods have been desecrated. This example shows that excessive tolerance is not only useless, but also harmful. Tolerance is not a bad thing, but it must be selective, not just from tolerance, but from philosophical principles, scientific instruments, missionary methods and other aspects, using tolerance to absorb each other's strengths for their own use, so as to benefit. The tolerance of Taoism promotes the integration of Buddhism and Taoism, but excessive tolerance also makes Taoism lose itself. For example, at the end of the Ming Dynasty, due to the advocacy of novels such as The Journey to the West and Romance of Gods, Taoism absorbed Guanyin, Yuanbao Buddha, Manjusri and other gods as its own gods, which were under the jurisdiction of the Jade Emperor. However, this practice has been given a high status, resulting in the consequences of regardless of Buddhism and Taoism. In contrast, although Buddhism also absorbs Taoist gods, for example, Guan Gong's rank in Taoism is emperor, but Buddhism regards him as a wise god, and his rank is only the protector of Buddhism, so his status is low. Taoism puts the gods of Buddhism at a higher level, while Buddhism puts the gods of Taoism at a lower level, which leads to the misleading of Buddhism.