The original meaning of Taoism’s belief in Tao

Laozi’s creative use of Tao

The main connotation of Tao

The main function of Tao

Virtue

The main meaning of Virtue

Morality and morality

One can become an immortal if one attains the Dao

Taoism Nature

The connotation of nature

The way to observe the sky and the way to practice the universe Cosmology

The creation of the world

Taoist theory of cosmology The formation of

The process of the creation of heaven and earth

Thirty-six days

Tai Chi and Yin and Yang in the underworld Tai Chi and Yin and Yang

Qi

Wuji and Tai Chi

Wuji

Tai Chi and Tai Chi Diagram

Yin and Yang and Five Elements (1)

Yin and Yang and Five Elements (2) Social ideals Social ideals

The concept of peace

Purity and inaction

The ideal of helping the world and saving people, clarifying the Tao and establishing virtue

Taoist education encourages good deeds Encourage good deeds and do good deeds

Guangji Yin Gong

The secret of cause and effect

Principles of doing good

Methods of practicing good deeds

Taoism With the purpose of learning the Tao, being in harmony with the Tao, and becoming the Tao, the life that the Taoist school expects is a life of moral enrichment. Therefore, knowing one's way and establishing one's virtues are the basic orientation of life. Table of Contents The Tao can be received but not transmitted

The Tao is formless and cannot be directly grasped by the senses. Those who have gained the Tao can tell you their feelings, but they cannot hand over the Tao to you. You can open your mind and welcome it. It comes, but others cannot give it to you. This characteristic of Tao is called being acceptable but not impartable. In this case, the so-called understanding, learning and attaining of the Way are all up to oneself and not up to others. Some people always hope to find a famous teacher who can teach them a few secrets and achieve enlightenment all at once. In fact, you have to rely on yourself to understand the Tao. The guidance of a master can only point in a general direction at most. When you have questions, you can give a little guidance. Whether you understand or not is up to you. Taoism has always attached great importance to seeking advice from masters. If you don’t have the guidance of an expert and just rely on your own exploration, you may take many detours, especially some of the subtle methods in Taoism, which must be guided by someone. However, this cannot replace your own study and practice. It’s up to oneself to understand the Tao, to cultivate the Tao, and to be able to gain the Tao. For the Tao, the sun will lose

Since learning the Tao and understanding the Tao depends on yourself, then there is a question of how to start. General learning is to gradually gain knowledge. Over time, knowledge will become richer and richer. After a long time, the realm of wisdom will become higher and higher. However, since Tao is intangible and imageless, it can be experienced but cannot be taught, so where to start learning it? The Tao is a mixed entity, with no corners, no handles, and inseparable. Of course, it is impossible to learn and master it from each part or side, and it is even impossible to enter the secrets of the Tao from any part. Therefore, the path to enlightenment is very different from ordinary studies. It can even be said that it is completely different from ordinary studies.

Lao Tzu said: "Learning requires gains every day, but enlightenment requires losses every day. Loss after loss, until you reach the state of inaction. When you reach the state of inaction, there is nothing you can't do." "[1] The so-called loss, what is the loss? It turned out to be a requirement to reduce the interference of ordinary knowledge. Ordinary knowledge is knowledge about specific things. Tao is not the same as any specific thing. However, people are accustomed to approaching the process of enlightenment by pursuing knowledge of specific things. I always want to start with a certain image or a certain noun concept to analyze it and understand it. If you don’t understand that Tao cannot be grasped by famous quotes, it cannot be logically analyzed. Lao Tzu clearly said that Tao, whatever can be said, is not the eternal Tao, and name, whatever is called, is not the eternal name. [2] The Tao pursued by Taoism is precisely the Tao that is eternal and transcends all specific things and specific laws.

This great road is originally omnipresent and inherent in the human body. The problem is that people are usually accustomed to pursuing external knowledge, but they cover up their original Tao nature. Of course, they cannot figure out the direction. Only by reducing the pursuit of trivial knowledge, and especially eliminating the habit of memorizing nouns, concepts and specific principles developed in daily studies, can the Taoist body be invented. In short, learning and understanding the Tao requires a pure mind. If you are empty, you will be the home of the Tao. If your heart is empty, the Tao will naturally come to live. Only by experiencing it in silence can you understand the true meaning of the great road. The realm of mystery and mystery

The Tao is nothingness. Because of the Tao, it will be damaged day by day. The mind should be empty, quiet and clear. However, talking about emptiness and tranquility is by no means clinging to a lifeless and empty realm. Ordinary people are accustomed to daily experience. Once they say nothing, they assume that they have nothing. As soon as we talk about guarding the Tao, we think of guarding to nothingness. Taoism talks about existence and non-existence, which are completely interconnected and dialectically viewed, and requires people to go to a higher level and transcend the separation and attachment of existence and non-existence. Taoist theorists Cheng Xuanying, Li Rong and others of the Tang Dynasty developed the Chongxuan theory, which can help us get rid of our attachment to existence and non-existence.

The first chapter of "Laozi": "Always have no desire to observe its wonders, and always have desires to observe its apertures. The two have the same origin but different names, and they are both called mysterious. The mysterious is mysterious, and all the wonderful things are "The door." It means that only when people have no desire in their hearts can they understand the mystery of Tao. If they have desire to look at Tao, they can only see the edge of Tao. Desire and non-desire are originally from the same source but have different names. They are all Xuan, or different aspects of Xuan. In this regard, Cheng Xuanying explained: "Xuan means profoundness and non-attachment. The two mentalities of desire and non-desire, and the two ways of observing the subtle and the wonderful, originate from the same avenue and the same source, but There are different names. Although they have different names, they are called profound. In principle, they are neither attached to anything nor attached to anything, so they are called neither. "Xuan."[3]

The profoundness of Tao, first of all, does not fall into existence or non-existence, so of course those who understand Tao must follow its nature and understand it in a way that is not limited to existence or non-existence. However, it is not enough to simply not remain at existence and non-existence. It is also necessary to emphasize again that Xuan is Xuan, that is, the Xuan is more profound, and further eliminates the attachment to "non-stagnation", that is, non-attachment. Cheng Xuanying said: "People who have desires are just obsessed with being, and people who have no desires are obsessed with nothing, so we talk about one mystery to eliminate the two kinds of attachments." I am also afraid that scholars will be obsessed with this "mystery". Now Again, it’s mysterious, and further eliminates the latter problem. In this way, not only is there no attachment; This is dispatching and dispatching, so it is called Xuan Zhi Xuan. [4] Only when you reach the realm of mystery and mystery can you have a correct understanding of Tao. Weakness does not fight

The Tao is originally weak. Lao Tzu said: "The Tao is for the weak", which means that weakness is the function of the Tao. Of course, those who follow the Tao must follow the natural laws of the Tao, guard their weakness, and not fight for victory or be the first. Volume 89 of "Yunji Qizhuan" says: "Tai Shang Laojun once said that the law of nature is to benefit all things and not harm. The principle of a saint is to just follow nature and not compete. So the fight against time Prosperity means that those who fight with others will perish. Therefore, even though they have armaments, they do not prepare themselves for battle because it is unlucky that people will not fight. Being able to bear what others don't want is sufficient. The non-dispute mentioned here is based on the standpoint of doing good. [5] Water is good at benefiting all things. But he doesn't strive to win, he just stays in a low place that is hated by everyone, so he is close to the Tao [6]" This is exactly the same as some people who are eager to win, seek fame and fortune, and put personal interests first. of comparison. Nine Shou of Learning the Tao

Learning the Tao and cultivating the Tao are not just about understanding the general idea of ??the Tao, but more importantly, practicing the Tao. This requires following some basic guidelines. "Yunji Qizhu" puts forward nine principles that should be observed, which are called the Nine Shou. One is to maintain harmony: all things in the world bear yin and embrace yang, and use qi to maintain harmony. The sage obeys the laws of heaven and earth, does not adhere to the customs, and does not seduce others. "Therefore, the most important thing is to maintain peace." The second guardianship is to protect one's own spirit and not let it wander with external things and become tired and wasted. Three Guards of Qi: Human beings take blood and Qi as their essence. If the Qi is sufficient, disasters cannot enter and evil spirits cannot attack. People are dragged down by desires, which leads to mental depletion and insufficient internal energy.

The ascetics must be pure in mind and keep their vitality in check. Four Shouren: A righteous person can move others with benevolence but cannot force him to do so. He is not afraid of the threat of death. The ascetic regards the world as light, so there is no burden, and sees all things as trivial, so the mind is not confused. He regards life and death as the same, so he has no fear, and sees change as the same, so he is wise and will not be dizzy. He is more benevolent than ordinary people who practice righteousness. Five Guardian Slips: Get rid of filth and tiredness, know the neutral way to maintain health, eat only to satisfy hunger and maintain vitality, wear only to cover the body and protect the body from cold, and never be greedy for more. If you don’t see too much with your eyes, don’t hear too much with your ears, don’t talk too much with your mouth, and don’t think too much in your heart, you don’t need to be clever. Of course you can be simple. Six principles of change: People will inevitably be rich or poor, but a righteous person will never change his original intention no matter how the environment changes. Qi Shou Qing: The heart is as pure as water, with no thoughts of corruption and no indulgence in desires. Ba Shouying: When the sun and moon are full, they are flat. People cannot seek to be full, but they must never be complacent, improve their virtues day by day, and dare not do anything to strengthen their position. Nine Shourou: Only by practicing softness can you be consistent with the way of simplicity. Specifically speaking, you must have no joy, no anger, no pleasure, no suffering. All things are mysterious, nothing is wrong, maintain the spirit, and be weak. Qi flattens its shape and rises and falls with the Tao. Nine Difficulties in Learning the Tao

It is not easy to learn the Tao, but it is even more difficult to understand and abide by the Tao. Lao Tzu once said: "When a superior man hears the Tao, he follows it carefully. A medium-level man seems to remember or forget it. A lower-level man laughs loudly when he hears the Tao. If you don't laugh, it is not the true Tao." [7]" Because Tao and daily understanding are different. Therefore, Taoism has always believed: "It is easy to know but difficult to believe in the Tao; it is easy to believe in the Tao but difficult to practice it; it is easy to practice the Tao but difficult to obtain it; it is easy to obtain the Tao but difficult to keep it." Keeping the Tao without losing sight is the pursuit of Taoists. There are nine types of difficulty in keeping the Way. The first difficulty is being forced to have food and clothing; the second difficulty is being blocked by elders; the third difficulty is being entangled by your wife and daughter; the fourth difficulty is being entangled in fame and fortune; the fifth difficulty is bringing disaster; the sixth difficulty is restraint by a blind teacher (the teacher who is ignorant); the seventh difficulty is being constrained by mistakes in discussion; the eighth difficulty is being slack in your will; and the ninth difficulty is wasted time.

Only by being able to eliminate the interference of these nine difficulties and withstand the test can we hope to succeed. Opening the gate

The nine difficulties can only be mentioned as the main obstacles. In fact, there are far more obstacles on the road to learning. Liu Yiming, a high-ranking Taoist of the Longmen School in the Qing Dynasty, called the obstacles in learning and practicing Taoism barriers. He wrote the "Tongguanwen" to analyze the harm and pointed out the correct way to pass these barriers. He listed as many as fifty tests. The contents are: Intelligence, tongue, disbelief, and fantasy.

Book and Demon, no owner, life and death, willfulness, sex, body, and delusion. ***, delusion, cause and effect, evil. Guan Zhi related

Complacency Guan Wealth Guan Guan Dan Dan Guan Hot and Cold Guan Poverty Guan

Deceit Guan Praise Guan Yang Guan Fire Guan Fearing Suffering Guan Greedy Guan Guan Liquor

Contempt, honor, ambition, fear of difficulties, shame

Love, high, speed, conjecture, carelessness

Debt, waste, suspension, emptiness, arrogance

False knowledge, decoration, jealousy, abandonment, irritability

Hatred, laziness, cowardice, others and self, difficulties

Some of these gates are within cultivation. It is unique to elixirs, but most of them are encountered in ordinary Taoism and Taoism. Liu Yiming believes that by opening up these barriers, Taoists can first become a good person without any disease, humble themselves and climb high, from near to far, and then they can receive guidance from the wise master and gradually learn the Tao. Accumulating virtue as the foundation

Eliminating all kinds of obstacles is only a prerequisite for learning Taoism. Being able to withstand the test of nine difficulties is a manifestation of a firm Taoist heart. Only by doing so can we ensure that we will not give up halfway. To actively learn Taoism, we must still base ourselves on virtue. Ge Hong, the Baopuzi of the Jin Dynasty, said: According to the middle chapter of the Jade Seal Sutra, making meritorious deeds is the most important, followed by eliminating mistakes. Those who practice the Dao should save people from danger, save people from disasters, save people from diseases, and prevent them from dying in vain, which is the greatest merit. If you want to become an immortal, the most important thing is loyalty, filial piety, gentleness, and benevolence. If you don't practice virtue and just seek alchemy, you won't be able to live forever. [8] Taoists throughout the ages have also advocated this. This is completely consistent with the proposition of advocating good deeds and doing good deeds mentioned above. To learn Taoism and practice Taoism, you need to seek various methods, such as refining qi, taking food, guiding, etc. After the Song Dynasty, the most important thing was inner alchemy.

↑ The best is like water. ↑ Water is good for all things and does not compete with it. It is disliked by everyone, so it is close to the Tao. ↑ When a sergeant hears the Tao, he will practice it carefully; when a sergeant hears the Tao, he will live or perish. The corporal heard this and laughed. Not smiling is not enough for the Tao. ↑ "Baopuzi." Internal chapter. "Dui Su": According to the middle chapter of "The Jade Seal Sutra", making meritorious service is the most important thing, and removing mistakes is the second most important thing. Those who follow the Tao regard it as meritorious service to save people in danger so that they can avoid disasters, and to protect people from illness so that they do not die in vain. Those who wish to become immortals should be based on loyalty, filial piety, docility, and benevolence. If you don't cultivate your virtues and just seek alchemy, you won't be able to live forever. ↑ "Xiaoyaoyou": "If you take advantage of the righteousness of heaven and earth to control the debate of the six qi, and you want to swim infinitely, what kind of evil will you do? Therefore, it is said: "The perfect person has no self, the god has no merit, and the saint has no name."