Taoism is the philosophical thought proposed by people represented by Laozi and Zhuangzi during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Their academic thoughts had a certain influence on the formation of traditional Chinese medicine and health care. Because Taoism advocates nature and lofty ideals and despises narrow utilitarianism, modern people have long mistakenly believed that Taoism goes to extremes. This is because modern people mistakenly believe that Taoism has these historical limitations and negative aspects, which has had many adverse effects on traditional Chinese culture. , and it is also corrosive to the Chinese national spirit. In fact, these views of today's people are extremely wrong. To correctly understand the meaning of inaction in Taoist thought, it does not mean that we do not seek to do anything. It just means that everything must "accord with the time of heaven, the nature of the earth, and the heart of people", and do not violate the "time of heaven, the nature of the earth, and the human heart". Desires and imagination act. Contemporary philosophers and politicians mostly understand Laozi's "inaction" theory as a negative thought. In fact, this is wrong. From the reflection of the entire philosophical concept of "Tao Te Ching", inaction is actually an action without subjective assumptions, no one does it, and it is all actions that follow objective laws. According to common parlance, inaction is a scientific act, a reasonable act, and therefore a positive act. In fact, the words "negative" and "positive" in modern vocabulary are commonly misunderstood by people based on rumors and rumors. To be negative is to eliminate bigotry and extremes, which is a very enemy behavior; to be positive is to strengthen bigotry and extremes, which is a very wrong behavior. Now that lies have spread, there is really nothing we can do. I just hope that those who study carefully will know someone to correct me after reading this.
1. Less selfishness and few desires
"Less selfishness and few desires" as mentioned in the Tao Te Ching. This idea of ??nourishing the mind and longevity has always been valued by health-preserving experts of all ages, and has penetrated into various aspects of health-preserving science such as nourishing the spirit, flirting with the will, Qigong guidance, and fitness exercises.
2. Noble softness, return to nature
I observed in real life that new things are weak, but full of vitality; when things are strong, they will cause aging. He pointed out in the Tao Te Ching: "The strong are the disciples of death; the weak are the disciples of life." If you are often in a weak position, you can avoid premature aging. Therefore, Lao Tzu advocates no desire, ignorance, and inaction, and returning to the original simple state of life, which is the so-called "return to simplicity and truth."
3. Nurturing both body and spirit
Zhuangzi’s health preservation advocates eliminating material desires and causing emptiness and tranquility in order to nourish the spirit, but he does not deny that it has a certain effect on nourishing the body. "Zhuangzi · Deliberately" says: "Expounding the old and embracing the new, the bear's scripture and the bird's recitation are just for longevity. This way leads to scholars and people who cultivate their physical appearance. Peng Zu's longevity test is also favored." It can be seen that the Daoyin technique in ancient my country was advocated by Taoism and has been used for fitness, treatment and disease prevention since its inception.
"Huangdi Neijing"
"Huangdi Neijing" says: "In the past, the emperor was born with a spirit, weak and able to speak, young and partial, long and agile, and mature. "And ascend to the sky." On the surface, this description means that the Yellow Emperor is different from us ordinary people. He is far superior to everyone at every stage of his life - he has a spirit when he is born, can speak when he is weak, and is very fast and powerful when he is young. Decisive; when he grew up, he was very stocky and agile, and he ascended to the position of emperor as an adult. In fact, this is not just talking about the Yellow Emperor, but also talking about all of us - everyone is "born as a god, weak but able to speak, young and partial".
Children come into this world with fists in their hands. This is called "born as gods". Newborn children clasp their thumbs inside to make a fist. The thumbs press an acupoint (between the ring finger and little finger), which is the Shaofu point on the Heart Meridian. The heart hides the spirit and governs the spirit, which means that the baby contains the spirit and the spirit is not leaked out. When everyone is born, the umbilical cord is connected to the essence of the mother. When the umbilical cord is cut with a "snap", the person changes from nature to nurture. When people grow up, their hands slowly loosen up. In the rest of their lives, some people grab power, some grab fame, some grab profits, some grab money, some grab people, and finally gradually When you grow old and let go, there will be no gods left. When the gods disperse, people will die. Lao Tzu also discovered this secret. I found that babies have "weak bones and soft muscles but strong grips." Although the bones and muscles are weak, the fists are strong. Therefore, we are reminded that health preservation requires recovery, and we must slowly return to the state of a baby.
"Weak but able to speak" means that you can speak when you are weak. Let's imagine what children are saying when they first start to speak. They are always asking: "Mom, where did I come from?" Others will ask: "Mom, will people die? Where will they go after death?" This is a question about the essence of life. The ultimate question is a philosophical question. Babies ask philosophical questions. The closer a person is to philosophy, the closer he is to the state of a baby. The closer a person is to the state of a baby, the harder it is for you to live longer. When we grow up, we mostly ask secular questions. For example, we always ask: "Have you eaten?" "How much money can you make in a year?" "What size house do you live in?" We have lost the childlike innocence of our childhood. and detachment, no longer caring about the essence of life, and losing innocence more and more. Today, when we have enough food and clothing, we actually need to be more detached, care about the essence of life, and ask ultimate questions. Only by thinking more about such questions can you become an innocent person and live a long life.
"Young and partial" means that when you are young, you do things very quickly, do what you want to do immediately, without hesitation or hesitation.
Everyone is so focused when they are young. For example, if a child sees a flower, he will grab it immediately, regardless of whether there are thorns on the flower, whether it is poisonous, or how bumpy the road is. But when we grow up, when we want something, we often hesitate, think about it, hesitate, and waver. Thinking too much about problems, no longer "favouring others", doing things intentionally or unintentionally deviate from the truth and concentration, causing troubles and damage to health.
So, the life of the Yellow Emperor described in the "Huangdi Neijing" is actually the life of each of us. But as we grow up, we gradually forget and lose the "spirit", "ability to speak", "Yi Qi" and "Dun Min" lose their innocence. And through practice, we can return our increasingly older lives to childhood, and return to the "dunmin", "qiyi" and "spirit" of babies. This is health preservation.
Health Dilemma
No one leads the reform
It is difficult to improve the quality of believers by focusing on skills and neglecting learning
Taoist priest, ask him to give a speech The rituals can last for three days and three nights; but if he is asked to preach the Dharma, it is difficult for him to speak or last for half an hour. There is a serious imbalance between "learning" and "skill". Today, the abbots of many palaces and temples in Taiwan not only cannot understand Taoist scriptures, but even recite Buddhist scriptures mistakenly for Taoist scriptures. There is a common problem of low quality among the abbots and believers of palaces and temples. Although there are many reasons for the formation of this phenomenon, Taoist temples emphasize "skills" rather than "good words". In April 1982, Keelung Shifang Dajue Temple printed and donated other books. "Master Yinguang's Wenchao" is a collection of printed The book with the most comprehensive text was later published by the Taichung Lotus Society, but this letter was not included, probably out of the mentality of being a sage. Yin Guang was attacked by Taixu's students more than once. In the 18th year of the Republic of China, Yin Shun's "Chronology of Master Taixu" says: "Lao Yin (on May 29th) wrote a book written by a certain layman, denounced the great fool." It can be seen that in addition to the leaflets of the Buddhist Youth Association, Taixu's ordained disciple Dayu also wrote an article attacking Yin Guang.
"Learning" is one of the main reasons
"Skills" refers to rituals, Feng Shui, divination, and fortune telling. "Learning" refers to the elaboration of the principles of the scriptures. The Chinese societies in Taiwan and Southeast Asia attach great importance to the five arts commonly known as "mountain", "medicine", "fate", "xiang" and "divination". Shan (immortal path) refers to meditation, Qi refining, health preservation, medicine, spiritual practice, etc. Medicine (medical treatment), acupuncture, prescriptions, massage, diet therapy, spiritual therapy, etc. Fortune telling (fortune telling) refers to Ziwei Dou Shu, eight characters, four pillars, etc. Phase (survey) refers to palm reading, face reading, bone reading, name reading (name science), tomb reading (yin house), house reading (yang house), Feng Shui survey, etc. Divination (divination) refers to divination techniques such as Yi Zhan, Liu Ren, and Tai Yi Shen Shu. These long-standing theories on magic have their own value. However, excessive emphasis on "techniques" and scientific rituals without a coherent discussion from a philosophical perspective can easily lead to false accusations of superstition. "Skills" must be led and introduced by "study", so that they will not become vulgar and inferior. Moreover, the deeper the skill, the higher the practice should be, so that the skill will not be regarded as evil. "Learning" refers to the philosophical essence of the scriptures. There are many good classics in the Taoist scriptures, some of which talk about principles, such as "Tao Te Ching", "Nan Hua Jing", "Huang Di Yin Fu Jing", "Taiping Jing", "Zhou Yi Shen Tong Qi", "Bao Pu Zi", "Qing Jing" Sutra", "Wuzhen Chapter", etc., some of which involve folk customs such as "Beidou Sutra", "Nandou Sutra", "Laozi Shou Geng Shen Seeking Immortality Sutra", "Shou Sheng Sutra", "Jade Calendar Treasure Notes", "Jade Box" "Records" and so on, these must be simplified and selected by someone, and their meaning and influence on the folk customs of later generations can be introduced to the world in the form of ancient books and modern translations. Today, there are too many Taoist techniques, and the understanding of academic principles is generally ignored, making it difficult to improve the quality of believers.
3. Lack of religious organizations, inability to preach, and no sense of identity
Most of the religions in the world today, such as Western Christianity, Catholicism, and even Taiwanese Buddhism and emerging religions, etc. There are regular gatherings (or frequent gatherings), religious organizations, and methods of preaching. But in contrast, Taoists are scattered. They usually worship their own gods and have no regular gatherings. The palaces and temples do not belong to each other, and no one preaches or preaches. Those who worship Mazu consider themselves followers of Mazu; those who worship Guan Gong consider themselves followers of Guan Gong; they have no concept of Taoist gods and have no sense of identification with Taoism, and do not even consider themselves Taoists; some even deliberately try to get involved with Buddhism and engage in The Enlightenment Temple was abboted by a monk, and it became a strange phenomenon that was neither Buddha nor Taoism. Therefore, although there are many popular palaces and temples in Taiwan, they are unable to play their due role because they are independent and have no sense of identity.
4. Lack of preachers
The abbots and Taoist priests of palaces and temples mostly focus on rituals and skills throughout their lives. There are very few people who can preach the scriptures. There are no regular public lectures. There are many wireless TV stations in Taiwan. There are six or seven TV stations that broadcast Buddhist lecture programs on a regular basis. There are even many TV stations that broadcast Buddhist programs all day long. Buddhism has its own dedicated TV station for preaching. In addition to television stations, expanded radio stations also have Buddhist sermon programs. In contrast, there are almost no Taoist sermon programs on television or radio stations. How can we win believers by preaching like this? In terms of cultivating talents, although there is a small-scale Taoist college in Muzha, it has never cultivated talents who can preach scriptures. A religion that lacks the initiative to preach to the people has lost a lot from the starting point. Not training sutra preaching talents and not paying attention to sutra preaching talents will lead to the rapid loss of Taoism among the younger generation of believers. The consequences of an old trunk without new branches can be imagined.
5. Practice methods are too scattered and not organized
In various religions around the world, believers are often divided into "holy" and "ordinary". Ordinary people are "ordinary". Only after going through specific religious practices can they turn from "ordinary" to "holy". "Practice" plays an important role in religious activities. In terms of Taoism, those who understand the Tao are considered saints, and those who do not understand the Tao are ordinary. Ordinary people are ordinary people, gods are saints. Ordinary people who have not practiced and become ordinary people; those who have contributed to the society and become "gods" after death, and "immortals" who have accumulated good deeds and practiced practice are all "holy". From ordinary people to saints, practice (cultivation) must be the bridge. Since Taoism has been around for a long time, it has many sects and different cultivation methods. The main talisman is a talisman, the upper part is pure and the thought is concentrated, the outer elixir is yellow and white, the inner elixir is for refining essence and spirit, and the room is for men and women to harmonize; in addition, prayer, summoning, medicine and bait, avoiding grains, eating Qi, keeping one, and being quiet and inactive There are many different methods. In today's utilitarian society that favors simplicity and dislikes complexity, someone needs to simplify the order of practice and guide it step by step. If there is no one to comprehensively organize the many teachings of Taoism, it will be difficult for beginners to get started and they will not be able to attract believers.
6. Excessive tolerance leads to loss of oneself
Tolerance and inclusiveness are originally a virtue and should also be one of the conditions for success; because Taoism is broad and tolerant, so in In China, although there are religious disputes, there will be no religious wars. The result of the dispute is gradually moving towards integration. However, excessive tolerance turns advantages into disadvantages, loses its own characteristics, and becomes the main cause of failure. Since the Song Dynasty, a large number of Buddhists have been mixed into Taoism for a long time. As a result, today's people cannot distinguish between Buddhism and Taoism, thinking that worshiping Buddha means believing in Taoism. This situation is not only true in Taiwan, but also in overseas Chinese societies. The author went to Singapore for a meeting in early March this year. Taoist priest Li Zhiwang told the author that some Taoist temples in Singapore even worshiped Indian gods and Muslim gods together in the temple. However, this seems to be a fusion of religions and ethnic differences. Not only was his broad-mindedness not recognized, but it also attracted protests from Hindus and Muslims, who believed that it had blasphemed their gods. This example shows that excessive tolerance is not only unhelpful, but also harmful. Tolerance is not a bad thing, but it must be selective, and it cannot just start by tolerating the other party's gods, but must start from many aspects such as philosophy, scientific rituals, and missionary methods, and use tolerance to absorb the other party's strengths as one's own. Only in this way can we benefit. The tolerance of Taoism has promoted the integration of Buddhism and Taoism, but excessive tolerance has also caused Taoism to lose itself. For example, due to the advocacy of novels such as "Journey to the West" and "The Romance of the Gods" in the late Ming Dynasty, Taoism absorbed gods such as Guanyin, Dingguang Buddha, and Manjusri as its own gods, all under the jurisdiction of the Jade Emperor. However, because it is given too high a status, this approach has the consequences of not distinguishing between Buddhism and Taoism. In contrast, although Buddhism also absorbs Taoist gods, for example, Guan Gong is an emperor in the Taoist hierarchy, but Buddhism regards him as a god who was transformed by Zhiyi, and his hierarchy is only a Buddhist protector god, with a low status. It can be known. Taoism places the gods of Buddhism at a high level, and Buddhism places the gods of Taoism at a low level, thus causing the Buddha to mislead on the Tao.