In this article, I briefly introduced the differences and connections among Taoism, Dharma and Buddhism, that is, I hope that friends who are interested in seeking Taoism will not regard Buddhism as Taoism, let alone be obsessed with it. I hope everyone will take fewer detours and really find a master to ask for Buddhist practice. If there is, I hope that's enough!
Since Master was merciful and determined to carry forward this Taoism, people have often come to me and said that they want to learn Taoism, hoping that I can take them to practice. I always ask the same question: "Why do you practice?" The answers can be described as varied, roughly summarized, and there are probably the following categories:
Answer 1: I want to learn some methods to treat diseases. I am in poor health and sick at home, so I want to learn Taoism to keep fit, and I can use the methods I have learned to treat diseases and save lives in the future.
Answer 2: I am not calm. I want to cultivate my self-cultivation and calm my heart. Find your own heart, hoping to get rid of your troubles and feel at ease.
Answer 3: Living in the world is too tiring, too much trouble, emotional entanglements, unsatisfactory career, family conflicts and so on. And I want to be born to learn Tao.
Answer 4: Seek and verify the truth.
Answer 5: I am very interested in the traditional culture of China, especially the mysterious culture.
Answer 6: I hope to learn a regimen or master some other abilities, which will help my body, family and work. I hope I can improve my luck and increase my fortune, such as my fortune and career.
Answer 7: I want to know about another hidden world-the spiritual world.
Answer 8: I hope that by studying Taoism, I can help the world and save people, and at the same time increase the blessings and eliminate karma.
Answer 9: Someone in my family is possessed. I want to ward off evil spirits and defend Taoism. ...
There are many such answers, so I won't list them one by one. In addition to being funny, I feel deeply helpless. Sometimes I really want to ask them: Do you want to learn Taoism or Taoism?
In fact, if you think about it carefully, I'm afraid that most people today don't even know what art is, what dharma is and what Tao is, and confuse them. For the true sense of monasticism, what is the ultimate goal of monasticism is even more completely unknown so. Taoism pays attention to "my fate is not determined by heaven", while Taoism emphasizes the present rather than the afterlife, and pursues the achievements in this life, which is very practical. Therefore, true monks from ancient times to the present are all practicing the true scriptures for the sake of the true Tao. Those who have no great courage and great will can never cross this threshold.
Modern people regard monasticism as too simple and easy. What they answered above has nothing to do with monasticism. For example, if you want to keep fit, you can do some physical exercises or learn some boxing techniques with internal or external skills. If you want to save lives, you can learn some medical skills. If you think it is too much trouble to study medicine professionally, many simple and practical Chinese medicine techniques that are popular now can cure diseases, such as scraping, massage, moxibustion and so on. If you like traditional culture, you don't need to practice. Why don't you go to the ivory tower, religious institute or Buddhist college? As for self-cultivation, there are many ways. When you are free, you can play Tai Ji Chuan, or write calligraphy at home, or read a book quietly. If I feel that I am too tired to live, that I am boring to be a man, and that I want to learn Taoism and become quiet and comfortable, then I have to say that learning Taoism is more bitter and tiring. Monasticism is something men do, and it is absolutely not feasible for ordinary people. I can't stand the suffering of this world, let alone the suffering of practice. I really think learning Tao is a fun and enjoyable thing!
Nowadays, on lucky days, many people are interested in monasticism, especially some young people, who read some fantasy novel on the Internet and are determined to become "practitioners of truth" and travel between heaven and earth, but few people know how much suffering monasticism has to endure and how many trials and tribulations it has gone through. Make a few cups of tea, make an appointment with three or five friends, and sit in the mountains or temples and have a chat. It's not practice, it's rest, it's still a very petty thing. Real practice requires great pain and suffering, which ordinary people can't bear. Therefore, if you just want to solve some practical problems in your life, or are just interested in it in general, or just want to escape from this world, then I advise you not to say the words "I want to practice Buddhism" to me easily.
For one thing, you can't go this way if you want to, and for another, do you know what real monasticism is like? Someone asked me, "What about the Tao that Master taught?" I smiled and said, "So, can it be considered Taoism?" The other party was puzzled and said, "I have practiced and it is effective. When I treat people, I draw people in the water, and people will react when they drink it. " I shook my head and said, "That's not Tao or Buddhism. At best, it can only be regarded as a technology. " The other party asked, "What is art then?" I was silent, not because I didn't want to explain, but because I couldn't explain a few words to a person who had no concept at all. But now, I have to explain briefly, because too many people have gone astray because they are vague about these concepts, which makes me sad.
Briefly described as follows: technology can be understood as methods, means and strategies, and "technology" focuses on a practical function. Different skills, like different keys, open different locks and achieve different goals. If someone eats fish and gets caught in the throat by a fishbone, they will probably take a bowl of water, say a spell and drop the fishbone after drinking it. Someone's hand was cut and bleeding. Read the hemostatic and analgesic mantra and draw a symbol on the affected area, and the bleeding will stop immediately. Recently, someone was unlucky in gambling, and burned a symbol at his door to make his partial fortune better these days; Someone's recent marital disharmony, draw a bowl and water for both sides to drink, so that the couple's feelings can be reconciled; For example, when a child goes out to play evil spirits, he goes home with a high fever and doesn't get better when he goes to the hospital to hang water. Ask people to do some exorcism rituals at home, and so on. These are all operations, also called surgery. It must be admitted that these technologies are very effective and attractive to the public.
The original meaning of art is "road", through which you can reach a place. Therefore, it is for this reason that "technique" was later extended to methods and strategies.
What is the law? Buddhists compare Buddhism to a raft, and only by this raft can we hope to reach the other shore and escape from reincarnation. Family teachers compare the Dharma to a ladder, and we should rely on this ladder to step onto the road step by step, beyond the three realms and not in the five elements. Therefore, without master's instruction, the so-called practice is behind closed doors, wishful thinking, castles in the air, in vain.
There are four conditions for spiritual practice-legal circle and financial circle. Learning from teachers is the first step and the most difficult step to enter a monastery. If we don't get the method first, everything is empty talk. If you can't practice according to law, how can you eliminate your karma? How to see sex clearly and stimulate spiritual consciousness? Not to mention the opportunity to know, prove and understand Tao. For those who are determined to practice, seeking dharma is a major event in life. In ancient times, with respect for the Yellow Emperor, not far from Wan Li, he sought the truth from the immortal wide. In the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Master Shen Guang knelt in the snow and asked the Zen master for dharma with his broken arm, which shows the importance and arduousness of dharma seeking. If the path is shallow, you may pursue it hard all your life, and you will not meet the real teacher's instruction.
In particular, the method of repairing the truth of the door is very practical, and it pays attention to the secular blessing, which will not die in this life. As Master said, "There is only this life, and there is no afterlife." Unlike Buddhism, which pays attention to the afterlife, except tantric Buddhism, the laws of other Buddhist sects are not practical and practical. Therefore, Taoism has extremely high technical requirements, which also leads to the difficulty of finding a master, and most Taoist methods are hidden. I have seen many people toss and turn for years and more, traveling thousands of miles between remote areas and mountains and rivers, and even visiting experts abroad, spending a lot of money and getting only some skills, or some low-level methods, or some simple things taught by monks in temples. It doesn't matter. What's worse is being deceived and bullied by some evil teachers and fake teachers. Therefore, Qiu Chuji once said with emotion: "Individuals are rare, but Buddhism is hard to meet". It can be said that it is difficult, and it is difficult to go to the sky. Therefore, once fate meets the teacher's teaching method, even if it is only a basic method, we should cherish it, practice it, practice it, and never put it on hold. After all, the real Buddhism is true and will not be passed on to those mediocre lazy people who refuse to work hard.
The purpose of law revision is to prove Tao, which is the mother of law. Once you reach the main road and the other shore, you can abandon the raft. The ultimate goal of learning the law is to abandon it.
Knowing the importance of law, let's talk about the difference between law and art. Law precedes operation and law precedes operation. Operation is a branch of law and an applicable means of law. Skill is very important in use, and law is very important in repair. It can also be roughly regarded as a collection of techniques. Any method is profound and all-encompassing, covering many technologies. The so-called curse, there is no law first, where does it come from? It can be said that one method can achieve everything. By the same token, anything is possible. If you just want to learn special protection, exorcism, or fortune telling to achieve a single function, this is the pursuit of surgical function.
Surgery can only solve some small problems in life, but not the big problems of life and death. Therefore, it is a fool's behavior to emphasize the technique and ignore the avenue.
Nowadays, many people keep saying that they want to learn Tao, but they are actually pursuing art instead of Tao. What they pursue is the magical function of art, which can solve many problems for their own lives. They don't know that if they really want to practice Buddhism, then these problems can't be solved and avoided by surgery.
In all my years with Master, I have never seen my tutor earn a penny with the Taoist teachings he has learned. In fact, many of the secret teachings he learned can be used to cultivate the blessings of the world. However, he often tells me that a true yogi should share weal and woe. Only in this way can he practice to the point where his body is empty and there is no place to repay his sins.
It's a pity that people nowadays have impure ideas, cherish and cling to their bodies, only seek happiness and refuse to bear their own sins. What can they cultivate with this mentality? No wonder so many people covet the magical power of Buddhism, just like many Buddhist scholars who practice Buddhism in pure land now. Why do monks lament that there are more Buddhists and fewer people die? Because few people really want to go to the pure land, most people covet the blessings of chanting Buddha, hoping to be reincarnated and continue to enjoy happiness in the next life. Alas, what I want is not merit but wealth. I am greedy and don't know the three poisons, which is harmful to people's hearts. If I don't cling to the three poisons, even if I learn a skill, I will be a warlock at best, not a man of virtue. If I can't get rid of life and death, what good is it to learn Taoism? Of course, I'm not belittling this technology. In fact, technology and methods belong to Tao, which is also the embodiment of avenue.
A man of practice can touch and understand the road step by step by practicing art and Buddhism. For example, for pain relief, there is no need for experts to draw symbols and recite spells. As long as the skills go up, using your head is the way, and thinking in your mind can alleviate the pain. The spell is superfluous. In addition, technology is not useless, as long as it is used to save the world and save people, it doesn't hurt to use it occasionally. The key point is that even if you practice or use these techniques, your mind can't leave the road for a moment, you can't think about making money, you can't think about enjoying it with art, otherwise not only the level of techniques will be lowered, but also the effectiveness in application will be greatly reduced. If the heart is on the road, these skills will be effective even if they are not practiced at ordinary times.
Sometimes, if you ask for an avatar, you can't. If you don't ask for an avatar, it's easy to do. That's why. Someone asked me: since a person's fortune in this life has been doomed, so has his fate. Can practice change luck? Can you increase your wealth or make yourself better in other aspects of life?
My answer is: by practicing Buddhism, you can cultivate your self-cultivation, eliminate karma, enhance the energy field of the five elements and drive away bad luck, and your luck will indeed be greatly improved.
But this is not the main purpose of practice. Everyone wants to add happiness to himself and prolong his life, but don't cling to greed for Fu Lushou's sake, otherwise even if you practice Buddhism and get a little magic, if you indulge in greed, you will still be a mortal in your heart. Therefore, I don't agree to use the power of spiritual practice to improve my fortune, or to take the normal road of making money. For example, working, doing business, or making money by one of your own specialties. Making money is a normal life. After all, practice requires eating and dressing, and there is no reason to get something for nothing. Even monks who became monks in ancient times accepted offerings from all directions and often ordered food in temples. Fulu itself is not a demon, but if you are afraid, you will be possessed by yourself. If so, then Fulu becomes an external demon, and blindly chasing will lead to your own inner demon.
If you want to practice a kind of Buddhism and then use it to gain wealth, it deviates from the original intention of practice and falls into the magic road. I used to hear from master that some magic is like this, and once you practice it, you can make a fortune, thus confusing people. For example, I also saw someone "preach the Dharma" on the Internet, claiming that after learning his Dharma, with the help of a token, you can immediately transfer money and everything goes well. There are really many people who want to learn, and they all want to learn at once and get rich quickly. I don't know if this low-level technique is true or not, so many people are flocking to it, which really makes me sigh. Taking advantage of people's greed and ignorance to collect money in the name of "law" and introducing ignorant and greedy people into the magic road step by step is really not what people with good deeds do. Unfortunately, the public has reversed their understanding. This kind of thing really emerged in the last days of France.
Unfortunately, in the last days of Buddhism, some people wore Buddhist robes or Taoist robes, used "Buddhism" to infinitely expand the greed of the world, lured the world with "Buddhism", guided them to pursue fame and fortune, and ruined the image of practitioners. In fact, both Buddhists and Taoists have their own ways to make money, which are legal, but they are by no means used to make money for themselves and pick up girls. This was originally a very simple truth, but unfortunately the world is stubborn. It is no wonder that when the Buddha preached, he lamented that he could not preach Buddhism to benefit all beings, because what he said was just the opposite of what the world pursued. The world thinks that wealth and fame are happiness, but they think it is the root of distress. They think the truth is pure and happy, but the world thinks it is illusory and unrealistic. Even the Buddha sighed so much, which shows how the world has reversed its understanding and it is difficult to turn around.
Therefore, some people keep saying that they practice monasticism, but in the end they walk under the door of evil teachers and false teachers. In fact, in the final analysis, it is because I deviated from my own understanding and pursuit, missed the Bodhisattva in front of me, and fell into the embrace of the devil. Just because I can't stand the temptation, I can only blame myself. After all, not everyone has the roots of learning Buddhism and practicing.
Why do you want to learn Tao? We practice the mind in the world of mortals and the dharma in a quiet place, with only one ultimate goal, that is, to get rid of reincarnation, to get rid of life and death, and to realize the Tao, instead of seeking wealth and glory. Did the Yellow Emperor, together with Emperor Wanli and god of light, seek Tao from Guang, kneeling in the snow and seeking dharma from the founder of Dharma, and seeking wealth and blessings in the world? Therefore, we must put our minds right and understand the ultimate significance of learning Tao. Only in this way will we not go astray.
To learn Tao, you must first seek and practice it. By practicing Buddhism, you can cultivate your self-cultivation, protect yourself, reduce evil and morality, eliminate karma, see your heart clearly, and have many magical powers. There are indeed many benefits, but the ultimate goal is to get rid of reincarnation, drive backwards, and be kind to all beings again.
(Xuanzhentang)