The old man disappeared and the audience dispersed.
Zhao Chuan was a little surprised, not knowing whether this old man was a human or a god.
Seeing that Zhao Chuan didn't react and was still sitting there, Jiang Feng went over to pull him.
With this pull, Zhao Chuan shouted in a low voice: "Don't pull, my leg is numb!"
Seeing that there was no one around, Jiang Feng smiled and said, "You have good kung fu and your qi and blood flow smoothly. How come your legs are numb?"
Zhao Chuan said that was not the case, and I was also puzzled, but as soon as I got here, I felt like my kung fu was gone.
At this time, a little boy came over to clean up the things on the stage. He thought that Zhao Chuan had not heard enough, so he said that there would be lectures tomorrow and he could come again.
Zhao Chuan asked who the old man was? The little boy replied that he was a Taoist from South China.
Zhao Chuan wanted to ask something more, so the boy walked out.
After a while, Zhao Chuan regained consciousness in his legs and had to follow Jiang Feng out of the house and go home.
Zhao Chuan didn't speak all the way. When we broke up, he just told Jiang Feng that he would call me to listen together tomorrow. He had to call in advance and don't listen too late.
Jiang Feng smiled after hearing this and happily agreed.
Sure enough, the next day, Jiang Feng asked Zhao Chuan to come early to listen to the lecture as promised.
This time Zhao Chuan came earlier and occupied a good position, closer to the stage in front.
They were sitting on the floor under the stage, with many futons placed on the floor.
Not long after Zhao Chuan sat down, the old man came again yesterday.
The old man glanced at the audience, his gaze seemed to linger on Zhao Chuan's face for a moment, and then he said, "Today we are going to preach on the Dharma."
When the audience heard this, some people began to cheer.
The old man waved his hand to stop making noise and continued to speak:
"In the past two days, someone told me that I should try not to involve Buddhist content in my lectures to avoid misunderstandings.
Actually, I want to tell you something about this. Regardless of whether it is Taoism or Buddhism, it is just that certain methods of practice are different, or the ideals pursued are different. These are normal, and you should not argue about them. Just like there are differences within Buddhism such as Zen, Tantra, Tiantai, Pure Land, etc., we cannot say who is superior and who is inferior.
I say that Buddhism means eternal death but no rebirth. This is not a derogatory meaning. Death here does not mean death as everyone understands it, but a kind of ultimate nirvana. The so-called neither dirt nor purity, neither increase nor decrease, is also a state. , which is the so-called perfection, the possession of self-nature.
So I hope everyone will not cause unnecessary debates in this regard.
Also, someone warned me whether these would be suppressed.
In fact, in my opinion, what I talked about are very common things, and I don’t think there is anything weird about them.
I talk about this just like everyone talks about where they went and what they did today. They are very common words.
But the current environment may not allow it, so for the sake of safety, we will try our best to cover it later, especially some content that everyone thinks is metaphysics, and will not extend too much to let everyone know what is going on.
Okay, let's start the lecture.
Before, we talked about the concept of a Taoist, the Taoist temple, and the joy of life.
Regarding the concept of the dojo, everyone needs to understand that the dojo does not mean how big a career you want to do in the world, or how high a position you reach in the world. Only then can the dojo be considered a higher level. It is not like this.
Any little thing can lead to enlightenment.
No matter what you do, as long as you do it well in your own dojo, you can directly access the Tao.
The level of Tao depends on the strength of your heavenly mind, not your position in the human world.
Zhuangzi was a small official in Qiyuan, and Jiang Taigong was still fishing when he was eighty years old, but their level of Taoism was already much higher than that of many people in the world.
There is also the concept of happiness and disgust in life.
Let me give you an example.
For example, Fan Li helped King Gou Jian of Yue defeat King Fu Cha of Wu, but after that, he quit the temple and went into business, where he became a business sage. After that, he dissipated all his wealth and retired with Xi Shi. . This is the joy of his life.
In other words, as long as you gain access to the Tao, you can do it well no matter what you do.
Another example is the case of my master, Taoist Priest Ran Deng. Why did the Taoist priest leave when he was more than a hundred years old? That's because he feels like what he has to do has been done. The Vajra Longevity Technique has been passed down, and the origin of the Qi Ti and the good prescriptions for relieving the world have also been announced and circulated, so after the Huangzhong Palace was built, he left. I've done what I wanted to do, so I went somewhere else.
For example, the same is true for me when I talk about medicine now. After I finish talking about it in two years, I will still have other things to do. And if I finish other things, then I will completely retire.
There are also some people who have traveled in the world for too long and finally choose to go back. For example, Sun Simiao, Sun Zhenren, traveled around various places, helped people see doctors, wrote two books worth a thousand gold, and finally went back.
Everyone has things they want to do. When he feels there is nothing left to do, or when many things have become a drag on him, he will choose to leave and go somewhere else. went.
In fact, isn't life the same? For example, many people in history abandoned officialdom and chose to live in seclusion in the countryside, focusing on the joy of mountains and rivers. Therefore, China has always had a tradition of hermits.
This is what the joy of life means.
The world is far bigger than we imagine, and there is not only the paradise on earth in the universe.
This is just like people often say that they discovered a new world. When your ability is limited, you may only be able to understand one village, one township, or one country. But when your ability is strong, you can go further. , discover new continents.
Some people say, what do those people eat? Just like you can burn firewood to cook at home, the energy required to travel further away is naturally different.
So why do we still make sacrifices?
In fact, sacrifice is not for others to eat, but an expression of one's thoughts.
Here I want to talk to you about the concepts of teacher and trust.
As Taoists, everyone is a subject of Tao. So what is a teacher? A teacher is someone who preaches.
After the Taoist ancestor Tao Zong, all those who preached Taoism in the past generations can be called teachers.
A teacher refers to someone who helps you show the way, but a teacher cannot help you directly reach the Tao. The Tao must be walked by yourself, so we say that everyone must practice cultivation and experience on their own.
That is to say, the Tao depends on self-cultivation.
Our worship to our ancestors is based on respect and belief, not on praying for blessings or blessings.
We worship anything because they point us in the direction, and it comes from the respect and reverence in our hearts, so we say we respect heaven and earth, not a transaction. I worship you, and you have to help me, help me get rich, and help me. I find a good partner, help me have a son, etc., that's not the case.
This is the concept of trust. Be trustworthy and not superstitious.
This is what is called respecting teachers and teaching.
Okay, let’s start preaching the Dharma. That is, how can we live forever, how can we be happy forever, and how can we realize the happiness of life? How can we be ourselves in our own dojo?
My teacher once gave me eight words, and today I will give these eight words to everyone, that is: know what is good, do it, and be content with it.
Here we talk about them separately.
What is clarity? Ming refers to seeing things clearly, that is, seeing things as they are.
We often say that to be a sensible person, to be a sensible person, it means to be able to see things clearly. Only when we know the true situation of things and see everything in the world clearly can we decide our actions and understand How should we deal with things.
So what is good? This goodness is not good or evil, nor does it mean that everyone should be kind and do charitable deeds, but it refers to proper goodness and perfect goodness. Goodness means a good way, a way of doing things thoughtfully.
Lao Tzu said that the best is like water, which is like water, able to take shape with things, able to respond to things without being endless.
Nowadays, people always have misunderstandings about kindness. They understand kindness as charity and kindness, but many times it turns out to be hypocrisy. In fact, the meaning of the word kindness itself refers to good laws and good laws, but everyone misunderstood it.
Therefore, when we do things, we cannot talk about charity or hypocrisy, but we must talk about kindness. Mingshan refers to a good approach based on seeing the true nature of things.
Seeing it as it is, this is called understanding, and being a sensible person. If there is no shortage of things, this is called goodness and doing everything in an all-round way. This is what it means to know what is good and to do it.
So what does it mean to be content with everything?
Only after people achieve understanding and kindness, can they achieve inner peace no matter what happens, which is the state of peace of mind without fear as mentioned in the Nei Jing. At the same time, only then can they be at peace with everything and everything. This is called peace of mind.
So, these eight words can be summed up as follows: see things with clarity, act with kindness, look at the true nature, do good deeds, and gain peace.
This is my understanding of these eight words teacher.
Only when a person reaches the state of peace and his mind is pure and stable, can he lay the foundation for subsequent spiritual practice.
Just imagine, if a person can't even do good deeds, his mind is unstable every day, he can't be at peace with others, and he can't be at peace with things, then how can he practice Taoism?
This is the Tao method I want to talk about, and it is also the standard and method for people in the Tao sect to behave.
Then there is a problem here, that is, what should we do if we cannot see clearly?
We cannot be at peace with ourselves, nor can we be at peace with others. What should we do?
Cultivation is a kind of wisdom. As your wisdom improves, some things will be solved naturally. But what should we do before we reach such a high level?
This is the content of Taoism that I will talk about next, that is, it is not enough for us to have the Dharma, we must also have the technique.
As for Taoism, there are five arts, namely mountain, medicine, fortune, fortune telling, and divination.
For example, what problems does medical skill solve? If a person has been sick and in poor health, he will naturally not have peace of mind and will lose the foundation for further spiritual practice, so he needs medical treatment at this time.
So what should we do when we can’t see clearly about many things? Then divination is needed to solve it.
How we see people, the sky, and the earth, and how we make predictions about fortune and destiny are the contents of fate and fortune.
How to further improve yourself and constantly improve your level is the content of the mountain.
In addition to these five arts, there is another one, which is what we often call spells, which is also a type of Taoist arts. But this kind is generally not included in the five Taoist arts.
Okay, that’s all we’ll talk about today. Next time I will explain the five Taoist arts and spells to you in detail.
Do you have any questions?
Someone immediately got up and asked: Hello, teacher. Should you seek seclusion in a place where no one will disturb you, or should you choose to travel around the world? Wait until you get tired before going out? Or enter a higher level?
The old man said: This is not a general rule.
Someone asked: Hello teacher, how does the power of heavenly mind come into being? Is cultivating the Tao a process of gradually improving one’s mind power?
The old man said: Yes.
Someone asked: Hello teacher, are what we call the nature of Tianxin, Mani Pearl, and the mind of seeing one’s nature the same thing?
The old man replied: No.
Then he sighed and said that after finishing this series, we will mainly focus on medicine.
