Jiangzhou, Qionglong Mountain.
In the innermost small courtyard of Shangzhen Temple, it is quiet and deep, and the morning light is just right. There was a sound of small footsteps, and a person walked from the back house to the courtyard, tightened his robe, and began to practice physical skills.
I saw him stepping on the god tiger, his fists were wide open, and his momentum was mighty. He played a few tricks like this, and then suddenly changed. Turning fists into palms, the strokes are also soft, as if hardness and softness are combined, continuous, and there is subtlety in simplicity.
This person is Tan Chongdai, the master of the Qionglong Mountain School, and this set of things is the finely edited style technique left by Xiao Zhai. There are sixteen hands in total, and the old Taoist practiced diligently every day without daring to slack off.
"boom!"
Tan Chongdai hit him a few times, and finally, his interest remained undiminished, and he slapped the tree with his palm. He deliberately withdrew most of his strength, and the thick trunk trembled, and many leaves fell rustlingly.
"Hoo..."
Only then did he exhale and collect his energy, only to feel that his whole body was full of energy and blood, and his face was glowing red, which was completely different from the decayed look of last year.
All cultivators have a feeling that they vaguely know the limit of their lifespan. He can clearly feel now that his aging body is glowing with a ray of vitality, which can at least prolong his lifespan for several years.
This point alone, the disagreement between him and Xiao Zhai is enough to expose it.
"Papa papa!"
Tan Chongdai wiped off his sweat, and was about to go back to the house to light a fire for cooking, when he heard a knock on the door outside. The mottled copper ring knocked on the wooden door, which looked extremely abrupt in the silence of the early morning.
"Which one?"
He opened the door latch, looked up, and it was Qin Yunfeng, the president of the local Taoist Association, who came.
This man was round and round, wearing a pair of glasses. He didn't look like a Taoist priest at all, and he said, "Oh, I'm sorry to disturb you from the old practice, please come early!"
"what's up?"
Tan Chongdai's face darkened, obviously he had a bad sense of him.
It was under the auspices of this person that the good Shangzhen Temple was contracted out, and I was unwilling to cooperate with the commercial hype, so I was often tricked by him. Just like the normal Taoist allowance, it is often delayed, and you have to go to the door to see if you can play with the official authority to get it.
Just two words, disgusting!
But at this time, Qin Yunfeng was smiling all over his face, and handed over an invitation card with cloud patterns and gossip pictures, and said, "I know you don't want to see me, but I'm sending you an invitation card today, take a look."
"Um?"
Tan Chongdai was startled, and opened it casually, and saw that there were three sentences written on it:
"Immortal Dao is precious, and there is no measure for people. Our school will hold the 'Dharma to the world, Dharma to the ten directions' transmission and prayer ceremony from June 20th to 26th. Su admires the great virtues and high reputation, I hereby invite you."
He looked at the inscription again: Longhu Mountain, Sihan Tianshi Mansion!
"this… "
Tan Chongdai's heart trembled, and he hurriedly asked, "Have all the Zheng factions been invited?"
"I heard it is."
"But there has never been such a large-scale event in the past. Why is it different this year?"
"I don't know about that. Why don't you answer first, whether to go or not?" Qin Yunfeng asked.
"..."
Tan Chongdai pondered for a moment, and replied, "I will definitely be there on time."
"That's good! We will arrange it then, and I won't bother you."
Qin Yunfeng was so happy that he dodged as soon as he wiped his body.
And the old man closed the door again, and returned to the back house, he didn't have the heart to cook, and just stared at the invitation card in a daze.
Speaking of Zhengyi, Quanzhen lives separately in the north and the south, each with its own regulations.
For example, in the righteous sect, if ordinary people want to become Taoists, conversion is the first step. After taking refuge, lay Buddhists, that is, believers, can live in Taoist temples.
The second step is transmission. It is clearly stated in the document of the Tianshi Mansion's transmission of degrees: All monks should pass on the teachings in the name of the ancestors to promote Taoism and benefit people.
This is equivalent to a formal accreditation. Only after passing can one be called a Taoist priest, and one can be given the name, scriptures, and magic tools.
The third step is called conferring.
Lu, refers to the records about the meritorious service of the heavenly officials, the names and genus of the gods of the ten directions, the summoning of the gods and officials, and the execution of meritorious deeds. Only by granting the dharma can one have a Taoist rank and be protected by the gods.
There are generally seven grades of conferred talismans, and the first time I received the "Taishang Sanwudu Gong Jinglu", they are titles of sixth and seventh grades. He was promoted to "Taishangzhengyimengwei Jinglu", which was awarded the title of fourth and fifth grades. He also conferred the title of Cong Sanpin with the "Five Thunder Sutras of the Shangqing Dynasty". Added the title of "Shangqing Three Caves and Five Thunders" to the third rank.
Further up is the "Shangqing Dadong Sutra", which is the second-rank title. The highest is "Sanqing Sandong Jinglu", which is the title of Zhengyipin.
Each level is divided into three levels, with a total of twenty-four levels, corresponding to the upper eight sceneries, the middle eight sceneries, and the lower eight sceneries and twenty-four qi. For example, when conferring the "Taishang Sanwu Du Gong Sutra", the seventh grade is the lowest grade.
Only when a layman passes on teachings can he become a Taoist priest, and a Taoist priest can only be called a mage when he imparts the scriptures.
Therefore, in ancient times, passing on teachings and granting scriptures were very strict. Of course, it’s just like wholesale now, you can sell a bunch of them every year, and you can buy them if you have money and connections.
As for the Quanzhen sect, it is another set of regulations.
First of all, the layman is the same, after the layman comes the crown, and after the crown, he becomes a Taoist priest. Taoist priests go up to the precepts. After going through the three altars of precepts, namely "Chuzhen Precepts", "Zhongji Precepts", and "Tianxian Precepts", the grades will be upgraded in turn.
Because the Quanzhen sect is a precept religion, which requires monks to practice, not to marry a wife, not to be a meat eater, not to drink alcohol, etc. The so-called learning the Tao without abiding by the precepts will have no chance to ascend to the fairy world.
The abbot of the ten-direction forest (Taoist abbot) is responsible for passing on the precepts, and he is called the master of the precepts. Under the master, there are also Zhengmengshi (the master who explains the scriptures for the precepts), the preceptor (the master who is responsible for supervising the prestige of the precepts and prohibiting the precepts from violating the precepts), and the correcting teacher (responsible for correcting the rituals of the precepts). The master of the regulations), Ti Keshi (the master who is responsible for chanting, worshiping and repenting and the affairs of the scripture hall), Denglu master (the master who is responsible for obtaining the Taoist number for the ring and filling in the "Dengzhenlu"), and inviting the teacher (responsible for presiding over the large-scale dojo. , serving as the master of high merit), Taoist teacher (the deacon who inspects the dormitories and investigates and punishes fouls) and so on.
It can be said that there are distinct levels and strict order.
Then again, all sects and sects can pass it on, and only Longhushan is qualified to confer the talisman. Therefore, in the previous years, the Dharma transmission conferences were held by themselves, and they were never enlarged.
This year, audiences from various factions were gathered unexpectedly, gathered in Longhu Mountain, and they could guess something tricky with their knees.
Tan Chongdai knew the inside story, and when he turned his head, he understood that it was related to spiritual energy and Taoism. It's just that this time, he didn't know whether it was a blessing or a curse, and there were many changes in causes and conditions.
"well… "
After the old Taoist finished reading, he looked at the empty back house and couldn't help sighing.
The Qionglong Mountain Sect is a branch of the Shenxiao Sect, and the Shenxiao Sect is a branch of the Zhengxiao Sect, so they have quite a long history. But to be honest, he didn't even have any feelings for half a dime.
It is said that people in the world are cold, but Taoism is actually even worse.
The internal polarization is serious, the big sects are popular and hot, while the small sects are dying, and even the basic living security is a problem.
In particular, the branch belongs to an independent sect, and it depends on oneself whether it is good or bad, and no one will help. Like the old Taoist priests, who wholeheartedly seek the Tao and do not want to join forces with others, they end up in a miserable life.
"Goo..."
Tan Chongdai smiled wryly, rubbing his protesting stomach, cooking is more important.
"Papa papa!"
He was about to turn to the kitchen when he heard someone knock on the door again. It's strange today, the Tianshi Hall, which is usually ignored by no one, has visitors one after another.
The old Taoist had no choice but to go to open the door.
The morning light was warm and the sun was shining on the high forest. When the two wooden doors were pulled, a slender shadow fell on the ground.
Gu Yu cupped his hands and said with a smile: "Senior Tan, long time no see."