Grand Supreme Elder's cultivation content included many aspects. It was mentioned in the Taishang Laojun's Manual of Daily Life that cultivators should settle down after eating and drink. They should not sit alone, forget everything, maintain their spirit and mind, and keep their lips and teeth together. They should not see anything, and their ears should not hear anything. They should keep their hearts in check and regulate their breathing continuously. This way, the heart fire would drop, the kidney water would rise, and the mouth would be bathed in fluid. Through this way, they could achieve the spirit and body. They could always keep quiet at twelve hours. The spiritual platform was clear when there was nothing, and the mind was quiet when there was nothing. When one's will acts, one's spirit will act and qi will disperse. When one's will stays, one's spirit will stay and qi will gather. One should pay attention to preserving spirit and nourishing qi. The true qi of the five elements forms a knife and Gui, and there is a sound in the body. There is a special sense of body when one walks or sits. It also mentions the condition of the seven treasures of the human body, such as the full essence of qi and blood. The essence is mercury, the blood is gold, etc. The seven treasures can be refined into a great medicine to help all gods ascend to immortality. "Taishang Laojun Neiguan Sutra" points out that the heart is the master of the whole body, can restrain the spirit of evil, the heart changes unpredictable. It elaborated on the process of human conception, such as the ten-month change process of holding gold and blood in one month. It also mentioned the views of the Taishang Emperor in the head of the gods, emphasizing the importance of introspection. It believed that if the heart was pure, all disasters would not happen. If people could not be preserved for a long time, they could not introspect the heart, and introspection would lead to the eternal existence of Tao. In addition, the Taishang Laojun explained the heart sutra. Yun Ruofu had to observe his heart first when cultivating. Cultivators had to observe whether they could maintain a pure heart and a calm heart. This was not only important in cultivation, but also in work, life, and interpersonal relationships. On the whole, the cultivation content of Taishang Laojun emphasized many elements such as observing one's own body, maintaining one's spirit and qi, and maintaining a pure heart.
Grand Supreme Elder's cultivation ground was Mount Laojun. Mount Laojun was located in Luonan County, Shaanxi Province, at the intersection of Qin, Jin, and Henan provinces. It was 190 kilometers away from Xi'an. It was connected to Mount Hua in the north and overlooked Qin Mang in the south. It was said that this was the place where the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord cultivated to become an immortal. It was famous for its beautiful peaks, dense forests, secluded paths, and strange caves. It enjoyed the reputation of "natural oxygen bar". Mount Laojun had scenic spots such as Laojun Temple and Jade Emperor Hall, as well as Taoist tokens such as Laojun Immortal Cave. In the cave, there were Taoist tokens formed by natural dissolved columns, such as "Sage King's couch, Niu Bai, Alchemy Furnace, Pagoda Forest, Mountain Waterfall, Heavenly Gate, Green Cattle, Tofu Square" and so on.
Taishang Laojun was one of the Taoist's "Three Pure Ones", the Lord of Dao and Virtue. His full name was "Taiqing Lord of Dao and Virtue". Its image originated from the deification of Laozi, the founder of Taoism. The deification began in the Eastern Han Dynasty. At that time, Zhang Tianshi of Zhang Ling founded the Five Buckets of Rice Taoism to resist Buddhism and respected Laozi as the Supreme Lord. In terms of status, Taishang Laojun was the ancestor of chaos, the parent of heaven and earth, the master of Yin and Yang, and the emperor of all gods. He was on par with Confucius and Buddha. He was one of the highest leaders of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. He had a high status in the immortal world and was respected as the ancestor of Daoism. There were many stories in Journey to the West. For example, Sun Wukong secretly ate the Nine Transformations Golden Pill he had refined. When he attacked the Huaguo Mountain twice, he used the diamond chakram to sneak up on Sun Wukong and helped Erlang Shen capture him. After Sun Wukong was captured, he put Sun Wukong into the Eight Trigrams Furnace and forged it with Wenwu Fire for 49 days. When Sun Wukong escorted Tang Sanzang to learn from the scriptures, he sent the boy to incarnate into the Golden Horn King and the Silver Horn King to make things difficult for Tang Sanzang and his disciples. When the king of Wuji Kingdom was killed, Sun Wukong asked him to borrow the Soul Returning Pill. After pulling him, he gave one away. His mount, the green bull, fled to the human world to stir up trouble. Later, Sun Wukong found him under the guidance of Tathagata and was able to solve it. In the novel, due to the tendency of worshipping Buddha and belittling Taoism in Journey to the West, his image was vilified to a certain extent by the author Wu Chengen. He had a white beard and eyebrows, and he was wearing a tall hat and a broad belt. He lived in the Tushita Palace and guarded the Eight Trigrams Furnace to refine pills and preach. Its skills included deducing the Eight Trigrams, refining immortal pills, and playing with talismans. It was a combination of the Danding Sect and the Talisman Sect. Taishang Laojun's birthday was on the 15th day of the second month of the lunar calendar. On this day, all the temples would hold a grand blessing ceremony. His image was derived from many types of works, such as the film and television drama Journey to the West, the game Summoner, the comic Journey to the West, the novel Three Realms, and the anime Dragon Ball.
Hongjun and Grand Supreme Elder were two different characters. In the novel Investiture of the Gods, Hongjun was the master of Taishang Laojun, Yuanshi Tianzun, and Tongtian. He was depicted as the embodiment of the Great Dao and the guide and supervisor of the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals of Origin such as the Three Pure Ones, the Two Sages of the West, and Nuwa. Grand Supreme Elder was one of the Three Pure Ones and one of Hongjun's disciples. Therefore, Hongjun was not Grand Supreme Elder, but Grand Supreme Elder's master. While waiting for the TV series, he could also click on the link below to read the classic original work of " The Legend of Mortal Cultivation "!
Taishang Laojun and Guang Chengzi were two important figures in Taoism. Taishang Laojun was regarded as the ancestor of Taoism, and also the Taishang Daozu who had the ability to open up the sky, create the world, and redeem the world. He was called the Grand Supreme Connate Limitless Great Dao, the ruler of the Great Dao and the ruler of the Limitless. Among the five disciples of Grand Supreme Elder, Guang Chengzi was one of them. Guang Chengzi was a Taoist figure during the Yellow Emperor's era. It was said that he cultivated in Kongtong Mountain. The Yellow Emperor specially went to visit him and took him as his teacher to learn the art of governing the country. Guang Chengzi was also known as one of the incarnations of Taishang Laojun. According to different records, Taishang Laojun and Guangchengzi played different roles and identities in Taoism. However, the specific relationship and identity between them may differ in different literature and legends.
In Taoism, Taishang Laojun was closely related to Laozi. Laozi was regarded as one of the incarnations of Taishang Laojun, like the eighteenth incarnation of Taishang Laojun. From the perspective of the development of Taoist mythology, Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching was regarded as the Tao Te Ching by Taoism. Lao Tzu was also regarded as the ancestor of Taoism. With the development of Taoism, he was gradually regarded as an immortal and associated with Taishang Laojun. However, strictly speaking, the god Taishang Laojun had many characteristics such as transcending time and space. He was the embodiment of the Great Dao. The Great Dao gathered into Laojun and dispersed into Qi (One Qi turns into Three Pure Ones). In order to educate the world, Laozi would appear in different forms. Laozi was only one of his incarnations. Therefore, it could be said that Laozi was Taishang Laojun, but Taishang Laojun was not just Laozi. In some literary works, such as Journey to the West, the image of Taishang Laojun was different from traditional religious ideas. The image in the novel could not completely represent the definition of Taoism. 'The Myth of True Love in the Pangu Progenitor Universe' is equally wonderful. Please click to read it!
In the Taoist mythological system, Taishang Laojun was regarded as the ancestor of chaos, the parent of heaven and earth, the master of Yin and Yang, and the emperor of all gods. There was a saying that Pangu came first, followed by heaven, and Taishang came before Pangu. His seniority was extremely high, almost as long as heaven and earth. From this point of view, he had the characteristic of immortality. Furthermore, in many myths and derivative works, the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord had existed for a long time, which also indirectly reflected his immortality. For example, in the story line of Journey to the West, from the time when Sun Wukong wreaked havoc in Heaven to the time when he escorted Tang Sanzang to the West to obtain scriptures, Taishang Laojun always existed and played various roles. For example, he used the diamond chakram to sneak up on Sun Wukong, put Sun Wukong into the Eight Trigrams Furnace, and sent the boy to turn into the King of Gold Horn and the King of Silver Horn to make things difficult for Tang Sanzang and his disciples. His existence ran through the whole story as if he was not affected by time, which also hinted at his immortality.
In the China mythological system and related novels, Taishang Laojun was not a monster. In myths and novels such as Journey to the West and Investiture of the Gods, Taishang Laojun was a god with a respected status. In the Investiture of the Gods, he was the eldest disciple of Patriarch Hongjun and the ancestor of all immortals. Together with Honored Lord of the Origin and Sect Leader Tongtian, he was known as the Three Friends of the Celestial Sect of Wonders. He founded the Sect of Humanity and had a profound cultivation. He had many powerful magical weapons and Master Xuandu as his disciple. In Journey to the West, he was honored as the founder of the world. He was good at refining pills and weapons. Many top magical weapons were made by him. The Heavenly Court even held the Primary Elixir Meeting for him. In the novel, he was one of the Six Saints of the Heavens, the leader of the Three Pure Ones, the leader of the Sect of Humanity, and the Taiqing Saint. Therefore, judging from the character positioning in these novels, he was not a monster. <a href="/?from=ask_words" style="color:red" target="_blank">Read more exciting novels for free</a>
In the Taoist system, Taishang Laojun was one of the Three Pure Ones. The Three Pure Ones were Heavenly Lord Yuanshi, Heavenly Lord Lingbao (Shangqing), and Heavenly Lord Dao De (Taishang Laojun). The Heavenly Lord of Lingbao and the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord belonged to the Three Pure Ones. They had an extremely high status in the immortal system of Taoism. The Three Pure Ones were regarded as the Jade Pure, Supreme Pure, and Supreme Pure Realms revered by Taoism. They also represented the evolution of the Great Dao. There were many theories about the origin of the image of Taishang Laojun, such as Laozi's deification, and Lingbao Tianzun (Shangqing) was also of great significance in Taoist doctrines, myths, legends, and religious rituals.
Taishang Laojun's finger incantation was a kind of finger incantation used to order the divine soldiers and generals during the ritual. The word "Taishang" could be seen on the finger, which meant that the presence of the Dao Ancestor could increase the power of the ritual. While waiting for the TV series, you can also click on the link below to read the classic original work of "Dafeng Nightwatchman"!