Take the precepts as a teacher. In practice, one must strictly observe the precepts, and only by keeping the precepts can wisdom be born. In fact, any religious order emphasizes precepts, and Taoism is naturally included in it. Wang Changyue's patriarch made the first true precepts, saying that there are five precepts, eight precepts, ten precepts and nine Jurchen precepts. Therefore, the phrase "taking precepts as a teacher" is also instructive for Taoist practice.
However, at the same time, Taoism also takes "Taoism and Nature" as the basic concept of cultivation, emphasizing that all laws are adapted to the different circumstances of each practitioner. In response to this, many people are puzzled and think that the practice of precepts and the pursuit of nature are contradictory and should not be confused. To solve this doubt, we must first understand what is the root of Taoist practice.
In a hundred lifetimes of life, we will always face all kinds of mundane troubles, and because of this, we will have seven emotions and six desires, and even be trapped in desires and sins for the rest of our lives, and we will not be able to see the yin and yang behind all the fate gathering and dispersing. If you are stuck in the river of desire, you will feel that life is a sea of suffering. What a cultivator must ultimately realize is the truth behind the impermanence of life, that is, the "Tao". Taishang Daozu used 5,000 words to explain the meaning of the word "morality", and in the final analysis, he was still exhorting people to take the Tao as the foundation and morality as the use. Here, "Tao" is the true state of all things in heaven and earth, and "virtue" is the specific and different ways and means of connecting with each other. Returning to the human society, people's birth, old age, sickness and death, and your coming and going are all the foundation of the Tao and the use of virtue with social attributes. Then, the most basic meaning of cultivation is to penetrate this colorful appearance of the human world, and not to attract the true mind because of all fate. The so-called "cultivation" will eventually come down to the word "quiet".
The Xuanmen classic "Taishang Laojun Says Changqing Jingjing" mentions: "Chang should always be quiet, always be quiet." It means that when people are faced with the disturbances that the world must experience, if they can always maintain a common mind that things should be done when they come and things will be done, then they will attain true tranquility. Only when the mind is quiet can we not be swayed by the outer edges. Although the human body is born in the Tao, it is a metaphysical existence, and people always pay too much attention to physical and material needs, so there will be a desire gap that can never be satisfied, which is the opposite. The most practical significance of monasticism is to polish out certain acquired qualities in the way of "cultivation", so that sentient beings can return from the metaphysical concern to the metaphysical contemplation. Under this concept, "precept" is a common expression of "cultivation".
One of the precepts of a monk is to seek physical and mental tranquility and to be noble and true in a clear body, which is the basic need of faith. Furthermore, many of the requirements in the precepts are originally the goal of a kind of practice, and those who hold the precepts can refer to the precepts to correct the deviation in the direction of the practice in a timely manner, so that the Taoist can correct the body and mind and continue to improve.
For example, in the Jurchen Nine Precepts, it is mentioned that filial piety and gentleness, prudence and jealousy, chastity and self-discipline, detachment from filth, cherishing all things and life, mercy and not killing, diligent recitation, abstaining from meat and wine, quality clothing and clothing, no ornamentation, adjusting temperament, not causing trouble, not going to fasting meetings, not abusing slaves, and not stealing characters. These nine precepts are inseparable from the daily practice of female cultivators, and they can be observed as a restrictive rule, but the more important significance is that the precept holder can control the mind of the horse and the ape, be both quiet and compassionate to things, and be free from dust and morality. If you can practice to this level, you can be said to be a person who is separated from the dust.
For example, when attending a Taoist puja, everyone is usually required to fast and bathe a day in advance, and to pray sincerely and make offerings to their hearts. This includes both the physical purity maintained by the precepts and the spotlessness of the practitioner's mind. "Lao Tzu Xiang'er Note" mentions "Xiang'er Nine Rings", and is divided into upper, middle and lower grades.
The high-grade precepts are: do nothing, act weakly, and do not move first.
The precepts are: to be nameless, to be quiet, and to do all good.
The next precept is: Walk without desire.
Even though many precepts have been derived from this on the basis of the following generations, they are still inseparable from the word "quiet" on the whole. This is also the basis for monks to keep their vows. Monasticism particularly emphasizes the word "one", that is, the unity of inside and outside, the body is quiet, and the heart is quiet, so that "no red dust peach and plum blossoms" can be realized.
In the eyes of many lay people, the life of a monastic is pure and the life in the mountains is lonely, so they tend to look at the monastic precepts with compassion and pity, and consider such things to be a bondage to their emotional and physical desires. This is only a superficial view of the precepts. Although it is inevitable that a practitioner will have to go through some physical training, the purpose of taking the vows is not to endure hardship, but to free oneself from the ups and downs of the sea of desire, so as to pursue ultimate enlightenment. Therefore, for a true Taoist practitioner, what one gains after taking the vows is the peace and happiness that can be maintained in the face of all changes.
The precepts are based on the tranquility of one's body and mind. When the mind is clear, looking back at the process of taking the vows, you will find that the weakening of desires is not suffering. When the needs of the body and mind tend to be gone, it is easier to obtain the great happiness in the practice. Daozu said:
"The five colors make people blind, the five tones make people deaf, the five flavors make people feel refreshed, the galloping field hunting makes people crazy, and the rare goods make people get in trouble. ”
Although the flow of five colors and five tones refers to material temptations, they still refer to the human heart. When facing external desires, the heart is still moving, and only then does it keep its true nature. The ancients once said, "If you follow the desires of the body, this is the way to become an adult; on the contrary, if you use the "reverse" method to abstain from yourself, this is the law of becoming an immortal. The so-called "precepts" are the words of admonition handed down by the patriarch because of his own attainment, which carries the ardent expectations of our predecessors and future scholars. Taking the precepts as a teacher and doing it is not only a blessing for our generation, but also a reward for the kindness of our predecessors.
However, there is still one thing to pay special attention to: even though it is said that "if you do not keep the precepts for learning the Tao, you will not have the opportunity to ascend to the true urn", whether or not you practice the precepts is not the only criterion for defining the realm of cultivation. The precepts are only an adjunct to a certain stage of practice, through which one can understand one's nature and realize one's true nature. If we blindly regard this as the foundation of our cultivation and misunderstand the path of cultivation as the cultivation of precepts, I am afraid that this will be a thousand times wrong. Cultivation requires cultivating the truth through falsehood, pretending to be the changes in the world, and what is true is the constancy of one thought in the heart. True and false, right and wrong, Mitoyo Patriarch said, "only upside down in it". All the karma in the world can be used as a source of power for cultivation, and when you can see that everything is in unison, your understanding of cultivation may reach a higher level.